is a Japanese

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

and photographer.

Career

Starting in

8mm film 8 mm or 8mm may refer to: ;Film technology * 8 mm film, a photographic cine film format principally intended for domestic use. The term may also refer to later variants: ** Super 8 mm film ** Single-8 film ** 8 mm video format, a type of video reco ...

and

pink film in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equiv ...

, Ashizawa eventually became an assistant to the cinematographers Hideo Itō and Takayo Oshikiri. She turned independent in 1982 and has photographed the films of directors such as

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic and a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. Although he has worked in a variety of genres, Kurosawa is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre, his honorific ...

Kunitoshi Manda is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and film critic. Biography Kunitoshi Manda was a student at Rikkyo University, where he took Shigehiko Hasumi's filmology class. Manda directed his first feature film, '' Unloved'', in 2001. It won the ...

, and Shō Igarashi, in addition to doing the camera for TV commercials and documentaries. She has also published several collections of her photographs.

Awards

In 2012, she won the award for best cinematography for ''

Chronicle of My Mother is a 2011 Japanese drama film directed by Masato Harada based on a novel by Yasushi Inoue. Cast *Kōji Yakusho - Kosaku *Kirin Kiki - Yae *Aoi Miyazaki - Kotoko *Kaho Minami - Kuwako *Erina Mano - Sadayo *Takahiro Miura - Segawa *Rentarō Miku ...

'' at the

Mainichi Film Awards The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

. In 2018, she was awarded the

Medal with Purple Ribbon are medals awarded by the Government of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and we ...

by the Japanese government.

Filmography

* ''

Naked Blood , literally, ''Naked Blood: Mischief'', is a 1996 Japanese horror film directed by Hisayasu Satō. It is a remake of Satō's 1987 film, , and, according to AllMovie, "contains one of the most appalling scenes in Japanese horror." Plot A scient ...

'' (1996) * ''

Unloved ''Unloved'' is a 2001 Japanese romance film directed by Kunitoshi Manda, starring Yoko Moriguchi, Shunsuke Matsuoka and Tōru Nakamura. It won the Grand Rail d'Or prize and the Future Talent prize at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Plot Mitsuko ...

'' (2001) * ''

Loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

'' (2005) * '' Retribution'' (2006) * ''

Tokyo Sonata is a 2008 Japanese film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It won the award for Best Film at the 3rd Asian Film Awards and received 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards nominations for Achievement in Directing and Best Screenplay. At the 2008 Cannes Film Fe ...

'' (2008) * '' Kyōfu'' (2010) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

Real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

'' (2013) * ''

Tamako in Moratorium is a 2013 Japanese film directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita and starring former AKB48 member Atsuko Maeda. The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Busan International Film Festival and was released in Japan on 23 November 2013. Plot Tamako is ...

'' (2013) * ''

Journey to the Shore is a 2015 Japanese romantic drama film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring Tadanobu Asano and Eri Fukatsu. It is adapted from Kazumi Yumoto's novel ''Kishibe no Tabi''. It screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Fe ...

'' (2015) * ''

Sayonara ''Sayonara'' is a 1957 American Technicolor drama film starring Marlon Brando in Technirama. It tells the story of an American Air Force fighter pilot during the Korean War who falls in love with a famous Japanese dancer. The picture won four Ac ...

'' (2015) * ''

Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease. A person who exhibits creepy behaviour is called a creep. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others. The internet has been descri ...

'' (2016) * ''

Before We Vanish is a 2017 Japanese science fiction film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It is based on a stage play by Tomohiro Maekawa's Ikiume Theatre Company and the novel adaptation written by Maekawa. It stars Masami Nagasawa, Ryuhei Matsuda, Mahiro Takasu ...

'' (2017) * ''

To the Ends of the Earth ''To the Ends of the Earth'' is the title given to a trilogy of nautical, relational novels—''Rites of Passage'' (1980), ''Close Quarters'' (1987), and ''Fire Down Below'' (1989)—by British author William Golding. Set on a former British ...

'' (2019)

Notes

External links

*
"What's in Your Kit: Akiko Ashizawa"
''MovieMaker'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashizawa, Akiko Living people Japanese cinematographers 1951 births Japanese women cinematographers Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon