|
Early Spring (1956 Film)
is a 1956 film by Yasujirō Ozu about a married salaryman (Ryō Ikebe) who escapes the monotony of married life and his work at a fire brick manufacturing company by beginning an affair with a fellow office worker (Keiko Kishi). The film also deals with the hardships of the salaryman lifestyle. "I wanted," Ozu said, "to portray what you might call the pathos of the white-collar life." With a runtime of 144 minutes, ''Early Spring'' is Ozu's longest surviving film, and his penultimate shot in black and white. Plot Office worker Shoji Sugiyama (Ryō Ikebe) wakes and goes about his morning routine, attended by his wife, Masako (Chikage Awashima), before commuting to his job in the Tokyo office of a fire brick manufacturing company. During a hiking trip with office friends, Shoji spends time alone with a fellow worker, a typist nicknamed "Goldfish" for her large eyes (Keiko Kishi). After the trip Goldfish makes advances to Shoji and the two begin an affair. Masako suspects somethi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yasujirō Ozu
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most prominent themes of Ozu's work are marriage and family, especially the relationships between generations. His most widely beloved films include ''Late Spring'' (1949), ''Tokyo Story'' (1953), and ''An Autumn Afternoon'' (1962). Widely regarded as one of the world's greatest and most influential filmmakers, Ozu's work has continued to receive acclaim since his death. In the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' poll, Ozu's ''Tokyo Story'' was voted the third-greatest film of all time by critics world-wide. In the same poll, ''Tokyo Story'' was voted the greatest film of all time by 358 directors and film-makers world-wide. Biography Early life Ozu was born in the Fukagawa, Tokyo, the second son of merchant Toranosuke Ozu and his wife ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masami Taura
is a common Japanese given name and can be given to either sex. Possible writings *惟美, meaning "Considerate beauty" *真己, meaning "True self" or "Truth, Snake" *昌美, meaning "Prosperous beauty" *雅美, meaning "Gracious beauty" *成美, meaning "Become beautiful" *マサミ in (katakana) *まさみ in (hiragana) People with the name *Masami Akita (秋田 昌美), Japanese Noise musician * Masami Anno, Japanese director of the anime series ''Chūka Ichiban!'' which is based on the manga series of the same name *Masami Hirosaka (広坂 正美), Japanese radio-controlled car racer * Masami Horiuchi (堀内 正美), Japanese actor *, Japanese alpine skier *Masami Kikuchi (菊池 正美), Japanese voice actor *Masami Kobayashi (小林仁, 1890-1977), admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II *Masami Kubota, Japanese former gymnast who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics * Masami Kurumada (車田 正美), Japanese writer and manga artist known for his w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Moon Has Risen
is a 1955 Japanese romantic comedy film and the second film directed by Kinuyo Tanaka. Plot Setsuko and her older sister Ayako live in their father's house in Nara. Ayako's aunt, who is worried about Ayako's marriage prospects as she grows older, tries to set Ayako up with a bank manager's son. Setsuko is determined not to see her sister enter into an unhappy marriage, and sets about trying to spark a love interest between Ayako and Amamiya, a visiting friend from Ayako's past. Setsuko bounces her ideas off of Yasui, a family friend, and enlists his help, ultimately aiming to get Ayako and Amamiya to go for a moonlit walk together. Cast * Chishū Ryū as Mokichi Asai * Shūji Sano as Shunsuke Takasu * Hisako Yamane as Chizuru * Yōko Sugi as Ayako * Mie Kitahara as Setsuko * Shōji Yasui as Yasui * Ko Mishima as Amamiya * Kinuyo Tanaka as Yoneya * Shōji Yasui as Shōji Yasui Background The screenplay was based on an unused script gifted to Tanaka by Yasujirō Ozu. Contemporary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinuyo Tanaka
was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). With her 1953 directorial debut, ''Love Letter'', Tanaka became the second Japanese woman to direct a film, after Tazuko Sakane. Biography Early life and career Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, the youngest of nine children of Kumekichi and Yasu Tanaka. Her family were ''kimono'' merchants. Although her family was originally wealthy, after her father Kumekichi died in 1912, the family began having financial troubles. She learned playing the biwa at an early age and moved to Osaka in 1920, where she joined the Biwa Girls' Operetta Troupe. Tanaka's first credited film appearance was in ''Genroku Onna'' (lit. "A Woman of the Genroku era") in 1924, which also marked the start of her affiliation with the Shochiku Studios. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo Story
is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon release, it did not immediately gain international recognition and was considered "too Japanese" to be marketable by Japanese film exporters. It was screened in 1957 in London, where it won the inaugural Sutherland Trophy the following year, and received praise from U.S. film critics after a 1972 screening in New York City. ''Tokyo Story'' is widely regarded as Ozu's masterpiece and one of the greatest films in history of cinema. It was voted the greatest film of all time in the 2012 edition of a widely-respected poll of film directors by ''Sight & Sound'' magazine. Plot Retired couple Shūkichi and Tomi Hirayama live in Onomichi in western Japan with their daughter Kyōko, a primary school teacher. They have five adult children, four of whom are living. The couple travel to Tokyo to visit their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seiji Miyaguchi
was a Japanese actor who appeared in films of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, Tadashi Imai and many others. He succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 71. Distinctions One of Kurosawa's iconic ''Seven Samurai'', Miyaguchi won the 1955 Mainichi Film Concours Best Supporting Actor award for his role. In 1983 he was awarded Japan's Medal with Purple Ribbon. A character designed as a caricature of Miyaguchi is regularly featured in the cat-oriented manga ''Mon-chan and Me'', published in Fusosha's popular webzine ''Joshi Spa!'' (Women's Spa!). Selected filmography *1945: ''Sanshiro Sugata Part II'' - Kohei Tsuzaki *1946: ''Urashima Tarô no kôei'' *1947: ''Sanbon yubi no otoko'' *1951: '' The Good Fairy'' - Editor-in-chief *1951: ''Early Summer'' - Nishiwaki *1951: '' Fireworks over the Sea'' - Gunzô Ishiguro *1951: ''Inochi uruwashi'' - Oshima *1952: ''Ikiru'' - Yakuza Boss *1953: ''The Last Embrace'' - Gangster *1953: ''Senkan Yamato'' *1953: '' An Inlet of Muddy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nobuo Nakamura
was a Japanese actor, who made notable appearances in the films of Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps his most famous roles in the West were those of the callous deputy mayor in Kurosawa's ''Ikiru'' (1952), and the hairdresser's henpecked husband in Ozu's ''Tokyo Story'' (1953). Nakamura was also famous for many notable contributions to Japanese modern theatre. In 1937, he founded the Bungakuza company along with Haruko Sugimura, Seiji Miyaguchi, and Masayuki Mori. Nakamura played Polonius in ''Hamlet'', Herod in Wilde's '' Salome'', Aleksandr Vladimirovich Serebryakov in Chekov's ''Uncle Vanya'', and Krapp in ''Krapp's Last Tape''. He also appeared in ''Macbeth'', ''The Merchant of Venice'', and ''The Cherry Orchard'' . In the 1950s and 1960s, he played major roles in Yukio Mishima's plays such as ''Rokumeikan'', '' My Friend Hitler'', and so on. In 1963, Nakamura left Bungakuza company and founded the NLT company with Mishima. His most famous and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chieko Nakakita
was a Japanese actress. She appeared in the early films of Akira Kurosawa and later starred in many films by Mikio Naruse. Biography After graduating from Tokyo Film School (東京映画学校), Chieko Nakakita entered the Toho film studios and gave her debut in Yasujirō Shimazu's ''Nichijō no tatakai'' (1944). Her first film with Kurosawa was ''Those Who Make Tomorrow'' (1946), which he co-directed but disowned. Later films with Kurosawa include ''One Wonderful Sunday'' (1947), ''Drunken Angel'' (1948) and '' The Quiet Duel'' (1949). During the 1948 strike at Toho, Nakakita, like actresses Yoshiko Kuga and Setsuko Wakayama, sided with the unionists. Her first film with Naruse was the 1950 ''White Beast'', followed by regular supporting roles in the director's most important films, such as '' Repast'' (1951), ''Lightning'' (1952), for which she received the Blue Ribbon Award and the Mainichi Film Concours, ''Floating Clouds'' (1955) and '' Flowing'' (1956). Other directors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haruo Tanaka
was a Japanese film actor noted for his supporting roles in a career that spanned seven decades. Career Tanaka was born in Kyoto and quit school in order to become a film actor, joining the Nikkatsu studio in 1925. He eventually moved up to secondary leads and even into leading roles against actresses such as Ranko Hanai and Haruyo Ichikawa, but he never succeeded as a matinee idol. Following Masaichi Nagata, he moved to Daiichi Eiga and Shinkō Kinema before eventually going freelance. He appeared in over 250 films, both gendaigeki and jidaigeki, by directors such as Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Sadao Yamanaka, Akira Kurosawa, Tomu Uchida, Mikio Naruse, and Masahiro Makino. He was particularly skilled at comic roles. He also appeared in many ''jidaigeki'' on television. Selected filmography *'' Kyōren no onna shishō'' (狂恋の女師匠) (1926) *''Hawai Mare oki kaisen'' (ハワイ・マレー沖海戦) (1942) *''Rikon'' (離婚) (1952) *''Ikiru'' (生きる) (1952) *'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fujio Suga
Fujio (written: 正行, 藤雄, 藤夫, 不二夫, 富士雄, 冨士夫, 富士夫, 富士男, 希仁男 or ふじを, ふじお in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Mongolian sumo wrestler *, Japanese businessman *, Japanese scientist and writer *, Japanese cyclist *, Japanese golfer *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese inventor *, Japanese businessman *, Japanese boxer *, Japanese writer *, Japanese chef *, Japanese fencer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese artist Surname *Kaori Fujio Kaori Chiba-Fujio ( ja, 千葉 香織; born January 29, 1981 in Minami-Alps, Yamanashi) is a field hockey player from Japan. She represented her native country at the Summer Olympics (2004, 2008 and 2012 [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kōji Mitsui
was a Japanese movie, TV, and stage actor. He appeared in more than 150 films from 1925 to 1975, including 29 of ''Kinema Junpo''’s annual Top-10 winners and three of its 10 best Japanese films of all time. In 2000 the magazine named him one of the 60 most important Japanese actors of the 20th century. Career The son of a Shochiku movie theater owner, Mitsui joined the studio in 1924, making his film debut in 1925 under the name Hideo Mitsui (三井秀男). His short stature, soft features, and expressive face and voice suited him for rebellious “younger brother” roles, and he appeared as a youth lead in many silent and early sound films, notably in several Yasujirō Ozu classics and the “Yota” series, about the antics of a trio of young idlers that also included Akio Isono and Shōzaburō Abe. Mitsui left Shochiku in 1935 to help found the independent studio Tokyo Hassei (Sound), which was largely staffed by talent who had left Shochiku to bring prestige to the new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
