is a Japanese film

script supervisor A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor or script) is a member of a film crew who oversees the continuity of the motion picture including dialogue and action during a scene. The script supervisor may also be called upon to ensure wa ...

and author. She is best known for her work on many of

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

's films, a partnership that began in 1950.

Life and career

Nogami was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

as the daughter of Iwao Nogami, a scholar of

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

and professor at Kobe University after the war. In 1943, she graduated from the Metropolitan Girls' School of Home Economics. She entered the library training school. In 1944, she graduated from the Library Training Institute, and took up a position at the former Yamaguchi High School Library in

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). ...

. After the war she returned to

and in 1946 she joined the ''People's Daily'' and in 1947 she joined Yakumo Shoten. When she was a student circa 1941, she saw Mansaku Itami's ''Akanishi Kakita'' (1936) and wrote a fan letter to him. She became pen pals with the director. After Itami's death, Nogami became an apprentice script supervisor at

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni ...

's Kyoto Studio in 1949. She began her career as a script supervisor on Akira Nobuchi's ''Fukkatsu'' (1950). That year, she also participated in

's ''

Rashomon is a 1950 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shinobu Hashimoto. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura, it follows various people who describe how a ...

'' as a script supervisor. In 1951, she moved to

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

and participated in all Kurosawa films after '' Ikiru'' as recording, editing and

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

. In the meantime, she has also been enrolled in Sun Ad since 1966, and has also worked on commercial production. In 1979 she left the company. In 1984, she won the Yomiuri Human Documentary Award for Excellence for ''Requiem for Father'', which depicts her childhood. In 2008, director Yoji Yamada turned this into a movie called '' Kabei: Our Mother''.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1950) * '' Ikiru'' (1952) – script supervisor * ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...

'' (1954) * ''

Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese epic ''jidaigeki'' film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of English dramatist William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' (1606) fr ...

'' (1957) * '' High and Low'' (1963) * '' Red Beard'' (1965) * ''

Dodes'ka-den is a 1970 Japanese drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film stars Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Toshiyuki Tonomura, and Shinsuke Minami. It is based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1962 novel ''A City Without Seasons'' and is about a group of homeles ...

'' (1970) – script supervisor * '' Dersu Uzala'' (1975) * ''

Kagemusha is a 1980 epic jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class petty thief who is taught to impersonate the dying ''daimyō'' Takeda Shingen to dissuade oppos ...

'' (1980) – associate producer * '' Ran'' (1985) – production manager * ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

'' (1990) – production manager * '' Rhapsody in August'' (1991) * '' Madadayo'' (1993) * '' After the Rain'' (2000) * '' Letters from the Mountains'' (2002)

Awards

* 5th Yomiuri "Female Human Documentary" Grand Prize, Excellence Award (for ''Requiem for Father'', 1984) * Fumiko Yamaji Distinguished Service Award * 3rd

Agency for Cultural Affairs The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The age ...

Film Award, Film Achievement Award (2005) * The 28th (2010) Kawakita Award * The 34th Japan Academy Prize, Association Special Award (2011) * 69th Mainichi Film Concours Special Award (2014) * 2nd Kyoto International Film Festival Shozo Makino Award (2015) * 94th Kinema Junpo Best Ten Special Award * 35th

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...

, Lifetime Achievement Award

References

{{Authority control 1927 births Living people 20th-century Japanese women writers Kobe University alumni Writers from Tokyo