Kenji Takama J.S.C. (born March 10, 1949 in

Suginami is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The ward refers to itself as Suginami City in English. As of June 1, 2022, Suginami has an estimated population of 588,354 and a population density of 17,274 persons per km2. The total area is 34.06 km2 ...

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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

) 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 ...

. Takama is a member of the ''Japanese Society of Cinematographers''.

Biography

As a student at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Kenji Takama first studied Economics. Later, he began working as a camera assistant at Wakamatsu Productions and began shooting commercials, leading to his first assignment as a director of photography on the film ''

Gassan is a 1979 Japanese film directed by Tetsutaro Murano. It was Japan's submission to the 52nd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. Cast * Hisashi Igawa as Iwazo * Yūko Katagir ...

'' (1978). He received a scholarship to the Artists' Training Program of the Culture Agency, and moved to Hollywood, and then to New York. While in the United States, he trained under a number of cinematographers: Harry Wolf for ''

Little House On The Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...

'',

John Alonzo John A. Alonzo, ASC (June 12, 1934 – March 13, 2001) was an American cinematographer, television director, and actor known for his diverse body of work in both film and television. Alonzo pioneered handheld work, lighting techniques and high ...

for ''

Blue Thunder ''Blue Thunder'' is a 1983 American action thriller film from Columbia Pictures, produced by Gordon Carroll, Phil Feldman, and Andrew Fogelson and directed by John Badham. The Blue Thunder helicopter itself did exist as two copies of modifie ...

'', John Alcott for ''

The Beast Master ''The Beast Master'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Andre Norton, published by Harcourt in 1959. It inaugurated the Beast Master series, or Hosteen Storm series after the main character. In German-language translation it was pub ...

'',

Vilmos Zsigmond Vilmos Zsigmond ASC (; June 16, 1930 – January 1, 2016) was a Hungarian-American cinematographer. His work in cinematography helped shape the look of American movies in the 1970s, making him one of the leading figures in the American New Wave ...

for ''Table For Five'', Owen Roizman for ''

Tootsie ''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, George Ga ...

'', and

Gordon Willis Gordon Hugh Willis Jr., (May 28, 1931 – May 18, 2014) was an American cinematographer and film director. He is best known for his photographic work on eight Woody Allen films (including ''Annie Hall'' and ''Manhattan''), six Alan J. Pakula fil ...

for ''

Broadway Danny Rose ''Broadway Danny Rose'' is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It follows a hapless theatrical agent who, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. The film stars Allen a ...

'' (IMDb, 2019). After returning to Japan, he worked primarily with younger directors such as Naoto Yamakawa,

Shusuke Kaneko is a Japanese filmmaker. Life and career Shūsuke Kaneko was born in Tokyo on June 8, 1955. According to the biography on his official website Kaneko was interested in science fiction, particularly Godzilla and Gamera films, from a young age. ...

, Shun Nakahara and Fran Kuzui. He received the best photography award twice 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 ''

Summer Vacation 1999 is a 1988 Japanese romantic drama film directed by Shusuke Kaneko, based on the manga series ''The Heart of Thomas'' by Moto Hagio. It follows the lives of four students at a remote all-boys boarding school after one of their classmates commit ...

'' (1988) and ''Misty Kid Of Wind'' (1988). At the Osaka Film Festival, he won best cinematography honors for A High School Teacher and Hear The Duck's Song (1993). He also received the Best photography by children Julie at Poland Film Festival for Naran (1995) and was nominated for best photography at the Japanese Academy Award for Welcome Back, Mr. Macdonald (1997). Further, a Japanese Academy Award nom (1998) for '''Rajio no jikan.

Filmography

*"Watashi wa zettai yurusanai"(2018)-Director of Photography *"The salt of the earth, Gunpei Yamamuro"(2017)-Director of Photography *"Madou: After the Rain"(2017)-Cinematographer *"Kagami no naka no egao tachi" (2016)-Cinematographer *"Manga niku to boku" (2014)-Cinematographer *"Yokohama Story" (2013)-Cinematographer *"Watashi no michi: Waga inochi no tango" (2012)-Cinematographer *"Share House" (2011)-Cinematographer *"Jazz Jii Men "(2011)-Cinematographer *"Manatsu no yo no yume" （2009）-Cinematographer *"Cafe Daikanyama III" （2009）-Cinematographer *"Puraido" (2008)-Cinematographer *''Sunshine Days "(2008) *''The Hole'' (2008)- cinematographer *''Cindellera of the Entrance Exam'' (2008)-Cinematographer *''Kotatsu neko'' (2007)- Cinematographer *''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to May ...

'': The Last Name (2007) - Cinematographer *''Ulysses'' - Cinematographer 2006 *''God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand'' - Cinematographer 2006 *Haha: Toyoko, aru kazoku no ai to kanashimi - Cinematographer 2006 *9/10 - Cinematographer 2005 *'Chô' kowai hanashi the movie: yami no eigasai - Cinematographer 2005 *Taga kokoro nimo ryu wa nemuru - Cinematographer 2005 *Life on the Longboard - Cinematographer 2005 *Synesthesia - Cinematographer 2005 *Fantastipo - Cinematographer 2005 *Metasequoia no ki no shita de - Cinematographer 2005 *Shômei kumagai gakkô (documentary) - Cinematographer 2004 *Road 88: Deaiji shikoku e - Cinematographer 2004 *Mousugu haru - Cinematographer 2004 *Kanzen naru shiiku: onna rihatsushi no koi - Cinematographer 2003 *Shirayuri Club Tokyo e iku (documentary) - Cinematographer 2003 *Iden & Tity - Cinematographer 2003 *Hotel Hibiscus - Cinematographer 2002 * All About Our House - Cinematographer 2001 * Murudeka 17805 - Cinematographer 2001 *Crossfire - Cinematographer 2000 *Nabbie no koi - Director of Photography 1999 *Rajio no jikan - Cinematographer 1997 *Dorîmu sutajiamu - Cinematographer 1997 *Yukai - Camera Operator 1997 *Tokimeki Memorial - Cinematographer 1997 *Kimi wo wasurenai - Cinematographer 1995 *Naran: White Horse - Cinematographer 1995 *Shiroi Uma: White Horse - Cinematographer 1995 *Shoot - Cinematographer 1994 *High School Teacher - Cinematographer 1993 *Ahiru no uta ga kikoete kuru yo. - Cinematographer 1993 *Angel: boku no uta wa kimi no uta - Cinematographer 1992 *Usureyuku kioku no nakade - Cinematographer 1992 *Juninin no yasashii nihonjin - Cinematographer 1991 *Kaze no kuni - Cinematographer 1991 *Jutai - Cinematographer 1991 *Hong Kong Paradise - Cinematographer 1990 * Docchini suruno - Cinematographer 1989 *Kaze no matasaburo - Garasu no manto - Cinematographer 1989 *

Last Cabaret is a 1988 Japanese erotic drama film directed by Shusuke Kaneko. It was released on 23 April 1988. The film was the second-to-last entry in Nikkatsu's series of ''Roman Porno'' films, a higher budget version of the ''pink film''. Plot When a g ...

- Cinematographer 1988 *Tokyo Pop - Camera Operator 1988 *

- Cinematographer 1988 *Yamadamura waltz - Cinematographer 1988 *New Morning of Billy the Kid - Cinematographer 1986 *Broadway Danny Rose - Camera Intern (uncredited) 1984 *Table for Five - Camera Intern (uncredited) 1983 *Blue Thunder - Camera Operator 1983 *Tootsie - Camera Intern (uncredited) 1982 *The Beastmaster - Assistant Camera, Camera Intern 1982 *Gassan - Cinematographer 1978 *Devil's Song Assistant Camera 1975 *Tidal Wave - Assistant Camera 1973 *Sei kazoku - Assistant Camera 1971

References

External links

*
Kenji Takama's Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Takama, Kenji Japanese cinematographers People from Suginami Living people 1949 births