is a Japanese actress, cinematographer, director and writer. Her first role was in the American film ''

The Neptune Factor ''The Neptune Factor'', also known as ''The Neptune Disaster'', is a 1973 science fiction film directed by Daniel Petrie, featuring underwater cinematography by Paul Herbermann. The film's special effects utilized underwater photography of miniat ...

'', but she is perhaps best known for starring in the Japanese

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...

cult film '' Tetsuo: The Iron Man''. More recently she has devoted her time to writing and directing, and is known for her

surreal Surreal may refer to: *Anything related to or characteristic of Surrealism, a movement in philosophy and art * "Surreal" (song), a 2000 song by Ayumi Hamasaki * ''Surreal'' (album), an album by Man Raze *Surreal humour, a common aspect of humor ...

and violent

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

s as well as her experimental theater company Organ Vital.

Biography

Fujiwara was born into a poor family in a rural part of Kumamoto in 1957, and moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in her early twenties to pursue a career in

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

. Playwright

Jūrō Kara is a Japanese avant-garde playwright, theatre director, author, actor, and songwriter. He was at the forefront of the ''Angura'' ("underground") theatre movement in Japan. Career Graduating from Meiji University, Kara formed his own theatre troup ...

wrote roles for her to act in his plays and eventually became her mentor. She spent years creating underground theater companies, and collaborated with Shinya Tsukamoto in the 1980s on the plays and 8 mm films he created. Becoming closely involved with Tsukamoto's underground theater troupe Kaijyu Theater, she took on the title of his "right hand" woman and played a contributing role in his films ''The Phantom of Regular Size'' (1986), ''The Adventure of Denchu Kozo'' (1987), and '' Tetsuo: The Iron Man'' (1989). For Tsukamoto's film '' Tetsuo: The Iron Man'', she participated both in front of the camera as the unnamed Girlfriend character, as well as behind the camera as the prop artist and one of the cinematographers. In addition, Fujiwara's apartment was used as a primary set for the film, with even her cats appearing in certain scenes. She also engineered '' Tetsuo'''s iconic phallic drill. After the production of ''Tetsuo'', she returned to underground theater and working with Jūrō Kara. She also formed the Organ Vital company, which produced the play ''Organ'' and adapted the play into the film of the same name. When interviewed, Fujiwara has said that the name "Organ Vital" comes from an

Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

book "...that featured this French term. It meant the vessels of life. When translated to English, I'm told it just becomes, 'vitals of organ,' or something, but in Japanese it is called gozōroppu and to me signifies the corporal. That's the name of my theater company, and it has always been that for me. Born into this three-dimensional world with bodies, we sense and express." Fujiwara returned again as a film actress in ''

Organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

,'' playing the role of Yoko, the eye-patch wearing sister of organ dealer and high school biology teacher Jun. ''Organ'' and her later 2005 film ''Ido'' never gained financial or critical success, but have become noted examples of the

Japanese horror Japanese horror is horror fiction derived from popular culture in Japan, generally noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre differing from the traditional Western representation of horror. Japanese horror tends ...

genre. She has continued producing theatre work through Organ Vital: a new "nomadic" theatre project called ''Ibunkitan'' debuted in 2019, and has been presented in shops, salons, and temples. She lives in a remote part of the

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

mountains and operates a cat shelter in her spare time.

Style and themes

Fujiwara's work deals with themes of morality, spirituality, fear, pain (bodily transformation and decay), and pleasure. Her films are known for their graphic depiction of gore and violence and their surreal, experimental style. She states, "I think humans, in order to live, can't cut those away from existence. If you deny desire, you're not human. The existence of such things causes our misery, too. Thus, desire and slaughter are inescapable. My fear and sorrow regarding this, and my questioning what are they anyway. That's what I wanted to portray." She cites the work of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

novelist Kenji Miyazawa and

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

artists

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

Sanpei Shirato , known by the pen name , was a Japanese manga artist and essayist known for his social criticism as well as the realism of his drawing style and the characters in his scenarios. He was considered a pioneer of the controversial ''gekiga'' genre o ...

, and

Daijiro Morohoshi is a Japanese manga artist. He is well known for science fiction comics, allegorical comics and horror/mystery comics based on pseudohistory and folklore. The indirect influence by Cthulhu Mythos also appears here and there in his works. B ...

as being influential to her creative worldview.

Filmography

;As actress *''

'' (1973) *''Denchu Kozo No Boken (The Adventure of Denchu Kozo)'' (1987) *'' Tetsuo: The Iron Man'' (1989) *''

'' (1996) *''Ido'' (2005) ;As director *''

'' (1996) *''Ido'' (2005) As cinematographer * '' Tetsuo: The Iron Man'' (1989) * ''

'' (1996) * ''Ido'' (2005) As writer *''

'' (1996) *''Ido'' (2005) As costume designer *''Denchu Kozo No Boken (The Adventure of Denchu Kozo)'' (1987) *'' Tetsuo: The Iron Man'' (1989)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujiwara, Kei Japanese actresses Living people 1957 births Japanese women film directors Place of birth missing (living people) Japanese women cinematographers Horror film directors