was a Japanese

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

most famous for his gendaigeki of the silent era.

Career

Born in

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

and graduating from

Tokyo University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

, Ushihara joined the

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

studio in 1920 on the invitation of

Kaoru Osanai was a Japanese theater director, playwright, and actor central in the development of modern Japanese theater. Biography Kaoru Osanai was born on July 26, 1881, in Hiroshima, the second son of Director of Hiroshima Army Garrison Hospital, Take ...

. Starting out by helping on the script to

Minoru Murata was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and actor who was one of the major directors of the silent era in Japan. Career Born in Tokyo, Murata started out as a shingeki actor on the stage. Murata's troupe appeared in the first " pure films ...

's Gorky-influenced ''

Souls on the Road is a 1921 Japanese silent film directed by Minoru Murata. Film critic Mark Cousins wrote that it was "the first landmark film in Japanese history". See also * Cinema of Japan The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has ...

'', he made his directorial debut in 1921 and later directed adaptations of such works as

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' under the title ''Aa mujō''. In the mid-1920s he went to America to study Hollywood filmmaking, working under

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

. He returned to film romantic comedies and action films starring

Denmei Suzuki was a Japanese film actor most famous for starring roles in gendaigeki of the silent era. Career Suzuki was born in Tokyo and was a championship swimmer at Meiji University when he first appeared in ''Souls on the Road'' in 1921 under the n ...

and

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). W ...

such as '' Shingun''. Between 1928 and 1932 he co-edited the journal ''Eiga kagaku kenkyū'' (Scientific Studies of Cinema) with Murata. He left Shōchiku in the early 1930s and worked at studios such as

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

Shinkō Kinema was a Japanese film studio active in the 1930s. Background Shinkō was established in September 1931 out of the remnants of the Teikoku Kinema studio with the help of Shōchiku capital. The historian Jun'ichirō Tanaka writes that the studio w ...

and

Daiei , based in Kobe, 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 Corporation ...

. Quitting directing following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he starting to teach filmmaking at institutions such as

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

. In 1959, he was a member of the jury at the

1st Moscow International Film Festival The 1st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 3 to 17 August 1959. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Soviet film ''Destiny of a Man'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. Jury * Sergei Gerasimov (USSR - President of the Jury) * Antonin Br ...

. Four years later, he was a member of the jury at the

3rd Moscow International Film Festival The 3rd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1963. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Italian film ''8½'' directed by Federico Fellini. Jury * Grigori Chukhrai (USSR - President of the Jury) * Shaken Ajmanov (USSR) * S ...

. In 1965 he was a member of the jury at the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. His son, Ushihara Yoichi, is also a film director.

Selected filmography

* '' Yama kururu'' (山暮るる The Mountains Grow Dark) (1921) * ''

Aa mujō AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army * '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992 * Aa!, a J-Pop musical group * Dou ...

'' (噫無情 Ah, Heartless) (1923) * ''

Daichi wa hohoemu Daichi may refer to: * the JAXA's Advanced Land Observation Satellite (aka ''Daichi'') * Daichi (given name) Daichi (written: , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, J ...

'' (大地は微笑む The Smiling Earth) (1925) * '' Kare to Tokyo'' (彼と東京 He and Tokyo) (1928) * '' Riku no ōja'' (陸の王者 A King on Land) (1928) * '' Shingun'' (進軍 Advance) (1930) * '' Wakamono yo naze naku ka'' (若者よなぜ泣くか Why Do You Cry, Youngsters?) (1930) * ''The Rainbow Man'' (1949)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ushihara, Kiyohiko Japanese film directors 1897 births 1985 deaths Academic staff of Nihon University Silent film directors People from Kumamoto Prefecture