was a Japanese

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

. He was also credited as Masaki Tamra.

Career

Born in

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

, Tamura early on worked at

Iwanami Productions was a Japanese film production company. Founded in 1950 by people associated with the Iwanami Shoten publisher, it mainly focused on producing educational films and public relations documentaries. Iwanami, however, "allowed its filmmakers the (rel ...

(Iwanami Eiga), where as an assistant he helped photograph

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

s. He became a full-fledged cinematographer working on many of the documentaries of

Shinsuke Ogawa (25 June 1935 - 7 February 1992) was a Japanese documentary film, documentary film director. Ogawa and Noriaki Tsuchimoto have been called the "two figures

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

tower over the landscape of Japanese documentary." Career Ogawa began his career at ...

. At the same time, he began photographing feature fiction films by directors such as

Kazuo Kuroki was a Japanese film director who was particularly known for his films on World War II and the question of personal guilt. Career While Kuroki was often listed as being born in Miyazaki Prefecture, he was actually born in Matsusaka, Mie. He att ...

Yōichi Higashi is a Japanese film director. He began his career working on documentary, documentaries at Iwanami Productions but, after going independent, turned to fiction film. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for ''Yasashii Nipponjin' ...

, and

Toshiya Fujita is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Fujita played for Júbilo Iwata, Utrecht, Nagoya Grampus, Roasso Kumamoto and JEF United Chiba. He won five major titles during his time at Júbilo. He also gained 24 ca ...

. He particularly became known for his collaborations with

Mitsuo Yanagimachi is a Japanese screenwriter and film director. Career Born in Namegata District, Ibaraki, Yanagimachi attended the Faculty of Law at Waseda University but began studying filmmaking. Working as a freelance assistant director after graduating, he ...

. After working with many famous directors such as

Juzo Itami , born , was a Japanese actor, screenwriter and film director. He directed eleven films (one short and ten features), all of which he wrote himself. He is the namesake of the Juzo Itami Award, founded in 2009 to honor his legacy. Early life ...

, Sōgo Ishii,

Gō Takamine (sometimes credited as Tsuyoshi Takamine) is an Okinawan director of fiction films, documentaries and experimental films. Born on Ishigaki Island and raised in Naha, Takamine went to university in Kyoto and there began making 8mm films. He made h ...

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic, author, actor, and a former professor at Tokyo University of the Arts (2005-2023). Noted for his psychological films that often focus on ambiguous narratives and on their characters' i ...

, and

Kaizō Hayashi is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with '' To Sleep so as to Dream'' (1986). He is best known for his neo-noir '' Maiku Hama'' trilogy, ''The Most Terrible Time in My Life'' (1994), ''Stairway to the Dista ...

, he began working in the 1990s with a new generation of directors, such as

Nobuhiro Suwa is a Japanese film director working in Japan and France. His directorial works and screenplays often make use of improvisation techniques. Currently, Suwa is the President of Tokyo Zokei University. Biography Having graduated from Hiroshim ...

Naomi Kawase is a Japanese film director. She was also known as , with her former husband's surname. Many of her works have been documentaries, including ''Embracing'', about her search for the father who abandoned her as a child, and ''Katatsumori'', about ...

, and Makoto Satō. His collaborations with

Shinji Aoyama was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, film critic, and novelist. He graduated from Rikkyo University. He won two awards at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his film '' Eureka''. Biography Shinji Aoyama was born in Kitakyushu, ...

were notable in his final years.

Awards

In 1982, he won the

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by ''Mainichi Shimbun'' (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...

for best cinematography for the film ''

Farewell to the Land is a 1982 Japanese drama film directed by Mitsuo Yanagimachi. It was entered into the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Jinpachi Nezu as Yukio Yamazawa * Kumiko Akiyoshi as Junko * Jirō Yabuki also known as Jirō Chiba i ...

''. The same year, he won the best cinematography award at the

Yokohama Film Festival The is an annual awards ceremony held in Yokohama, Japan. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year and various awards are given to personnel. The first festival, held on February 3, 1980, was a small affair by fans and film critics. In 1994, ...

for ''Farewell to the Land'' and ''

A Japanese Village - Furuyashikimura A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

''.

Selected filmography

* ''Narita: The Peasants of the Second Fortress'' (1971) * ''Heta Village'' (1973) * '' Lady Snowblood'' (1973) * '' Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance'' (1974) * ''

Ryoma Ansatsu is a 1974 historical Japanese film starring Yoshio Harada, Yūsaku Matsuda, Renji Ishibashi, and Kaori Momoi, and directed by Kazuo Kuroki. It is based on the true story of the assassination of Sakamoto Ryōma. Plot The film details the last th ...

'' (1974) * ''

'' (1982) * ''A Japanese Village: Furuyashikimura'' (1982) * ''P.P. Rider'' (1983) * '' The Crazy Family'' (1984) * ''

Fire Festival is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling Zero1 to determine the top wrestler in the promotion, typically contested in late July/early August. Within the English-speaking professional wrestling world, the ...

'' (1985) * ''

Tampopo is a 1985 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami, and starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho, and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first " ramen Western", a play on the term spaghetti ...

'' (1985) * ''Magino Village: A Tale'' (1987) * ''

Evil Dead Trap ''Evil Dead Trap'' () is a 1988 Japanese supernatural slasher film directed by Toshiharu Ikeda and produced by Japan Home Video. The film stars Miyuki Ono, Yuji Honma, Aya Katsuragi, Eriko Nakagawa, Hitomi Kobayashi and Masahiko Abe, follow a te ...

'' (1988) * ''

Untamagiru Untamagiru ( Okinawan: , ''untamagiruu'') is a 1989 Okinawan film directed by Gō Takamine. It is a magical realist story of the legendary Okinawan hero Untamagiru participating in efforts to form an independent Okinawa before the island was retur ...

'' (1989) * ''Helpless'' (1996) * ''2/Duo'' (1997) * '' Suzaku'' (1997) * '' Serpent's Path'' (1998) * ''Eyes of the Spider'' (1998) * ''Shady Grove'' (1999) * ''

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

'' (2000) * '' Desert Moon'' (2001) * '' Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name'' (2002) * ''A Boy's Summer in 1945'' (2002) * ''

Lakeside Murder Case is a 2004 Japanese mystery film directed by Shinji Aoyama, starring Kōji Yakusho, Hiroko Yakushimaru and Etsushi Toyokawa. Plot Four couples are staying at a lakeside cottage with their children. They want them to prepare intensely for a prest ...

'' (2004) * ''

My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" is a phrase that appears both in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, in the Book of Psalms, as well as in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, where they appear as one of the sayings of Jesus on the ...

'' (2005) * ''

Crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets and more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 886 ...

'' (2006) * ''

Sad Vacation is a 2007 Japanese drama film written and directed by Shinji Aoyama, adapted from his novel. Being third and last of Aoyama's "Kitakyushu Saga", Sad Vacation brings together several characters from his previous films Helpless (1996 film), Helpless ...

'' (2007) * ''Tokyo Rendezvous'' (2008) * ''I Am a Cat Stalker'' (2009) * ''The Wife of Gegege'' (2010) * ''Drive-In Gamo'' (2014), and director

Notes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamura, Masaki 1939 births 2018 deaths Japanese cinematographers People from Aomori Prefecture Aomori High School alumni