is a Japanese

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, and occasional actor. He is primarily known for directing

Japanese horror Japanese horror, also known as J-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 horr ...

films, including '' Noroi: The Curse'' (2005), '' Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman'' (2007), ''

Occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

'', ''

Teketeke , also spelled ''Teke-Teke'', ''Teketeke'', or ''Teke teke'', is a Japanese urban legend about the ghost of a schoolgirl, where her body was split in half by a train after she had become stuck. She is an ''onryō'', or a vengeful spirit, who lur ...

'' (both 2009), ''

Cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

'' (2013), and '' Sadako vs. Kayako'' (2016).

Early life and career

Kōji Shiraishi was born and raised in Fukuoka, Japan. After making his first video film in his second year of high school, Shiraishi entered the Department of Fine Arts in the Faculty of Art and Design at Kyushu Sangyo University with the intention of pursuing a career in filmmaking. Although he was expelled from the university in his second year for non-payment of tuition, he continued to participate in the Film Studies Society and was involved in film production. Later, while working as a crew member on films such as '' August in the Water'' directed by Sōgo Ishii, he also made his own independent films: ''Violent Men'' (1997), co-directed with Akihiro Kasai, won the Screenplay Award and the Cinematography Award at the Hiroshima Film Exhibition '98, and ''The Wind Shall Blow'' (1998), co-directed with Futoshi Kondo, won the Runner-up Grand Prix at the

Pia Film Festival The (also known as the PIA Film Festival or PFF for short) is an annual film festival established in 1977. According to film scholar Jasper Sharp, the festival "not only ranks as a vital hotbed from which the careers of some of Japan's most talen ...

'99. In the early 2000s, Shiraishi became involved in the production of horror films, and from 2002 to 2003, he directed several videos in the '' Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video'' series. The following year, he made his feature film directorial debut with ''Jurei THE MOVIE Kuro-Jurei''. He rose to prominence in Japan for the

pseudo-documentaries A pseudo-documentary or fake documentary is a film or video production that takes the form or style of a documentary film but does not portray real events. Rather, scripted and fictional elements are used to tell the story. The pseudo-documentary, ...

that have been a notable feature of his career, including ''Noroi'' (2005), ''

'' (2009), ''

'' (2013), '' A Record of Sweet Murder'' (2014), ''Welcome to the Occult Forest'' (2022), and ''Aishiteru!'' (2022), among others. From the mid-2010s, he began directing commercial films with larger budgets, such as '' Sadako vs. Kayako'' (2016), ''Funouhan'' (2018), and ''

Hell Girl , also known as ''Jigoku Shōjo: Girl from Hell'', is a Japanese anime series conceptualized by Hiroshi Watanabe and produced by SKY Perfect Well Think, Tokyo MX, Wakasa Seikatsu, Fujishoji, Aniplex and Studio Deen. It is directed ...

'' (2019), Shiraishi's domestic popularity, along with films such as ''Noroi'', ''Occult'', and ''Cult'', was enhanced by the ''Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi!'' series, which began as a video project in 2012. The series, while taking the format of a psychic documentary like ''Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video'', is clearly made as fiction, featuring strong characterization, physical violence, and a sci-fi horror-like worldview (The series is said to be influenced by the works of

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 opposed to the stereotypical characteristics of

J-horror Japanese horror, also known as J-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 horr ...

. The popularity of the series, and of Shiraishi himself, has grown especially on

Niconico , known before 2012 as , is a Japanese video sharing service based in Tokyo, Japan. "Niconico" or "nikoniko" is the Japanese sound symbolism, Japanese ideophone for smiling. As of 2021, Niconico is the 34th most-visited website in Japan, accordi ...

, which periodically broadcasts the series and his other works, and the fan base has expanded. In 2016, he published a book ''Textbook of Fake Documentaries'' which details his own methods for creating fake documentary works. Shiraishi cites Gakuryū Ishii as his favorite Japanese director, and Ishii's 1980 ''

Crazy Thunder Road is a 1980 Japanese punk-action- biker film written and directed by Gakuryū Ishii. Ishii made the film as his graduation project whilst studying at Nihon University and was subsequently distributed by Toei Studios. Cast * Tatsuo Yamada as Jin * ...

'' as his favorite film. Other directors he admires include

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...

Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of over forty films, including s ...

, and

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...

, and films he enjoy include the original '' Dawn of the Dead'' (1978), ''

The Evil Dead ''The Evil Dead'' is a 1981 American independent film, independent supernatural horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker ...

'' (1981), '' Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn'' (1987), '' The Thing'' (1982), and ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, ...

'' (1974).

Filmography

Film

* '' Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video'' THE MOVIE (2003) * ''Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video'' THE MOVIE 2 (2003) * ''Jurei THE MOVIE Kuro-Jurei'' (2004) * '' Hideshi Hino's Theater of Horror'' (2004) * '' Noroi: The Curse'' (2005) * '' Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman'' (2007) * ''Takada Wataru Teki Zero'' (2008) * ''

Grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German, as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2009) * ''Teketeke 2'' (2009) * '' Shirome'' (2010) * '' Chō Akunin'' (2011) * ''

'' (2013) * ''Ada'' (2013) * ''Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! The Most Terrifying Movie in History'' (2014) * '' A Record of Sweet Murder'' (2014) * ''Murder Workshop'' (2014) * ''Vauxhall Rideshow'' (2016) * ''Mippei'' (in ''Kidan Hyakkei'') (2016) * '' Sadako vs. Kayako'' (2016) * ''Funouhan'' (2018) * ''Crazy Road of Love'' (2018) * ''

'' (2019) * ''Zenaku No Kuzu'' (Cancelled) * ''A Beast in Love'' (2020) * ''Welcome to the Occult Forest: The Movie'' (2022) * ''Aishiteru!'' (2022) * ''Senritsu Kaiki World Kowasugi!'' (2023) * ''Koji Shiraishi's Never Send Me, Please'' (2023) * ''House of Sayuri'' (2024) * ''Kinki'' (2025)

Video

* ''Onmyoji: Juso-Gaeshi'' (2001) * ''Onmyoji 2: Jinma-Choubuku'' (2001) * ''Nippon Onnen Chizu: Kensho!! Sugisawa-mura no Noroi'' (2001) * ''Nippon Onnen Chizu 2: Kensho!! Jukai no Noroi'' (2002) * ''Kaiki! Unbelievable'' (2002) * ''Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video Ver.X:3'' (2002) * ''Honto ni Atta! Noroi no Video Ver.X:4'' (2002) * ''Onmyoji: Jitsuroku! Hyakki-Fumetsu'' (2003) * ''Shudan Jisatsu Net'' (2003) * ''Shinrei Shashin Kitan'' (2006) * ''Uwasa no Shinso! Kuchisake Onna'' (2007) * ''Yurei Zombie'' (2007) * ''Ura Horror'' (2008) * ''Paranormal Phenomenon'' (2010) * ''Bachiatari Boryoku Ningen'' (2010) * ''Kami Idol Sosenkyo Battle'' (2011) * ''Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 01: Operation Capture the Slit-Mouthed Woman'' (2012) * ''Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 02: Shivering Ghost'' (2012) * ''Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 03: Legend of a Human-Eating Kappa'' (2013) * ''Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi File 04: The Truth! Hanako-san in the toilet'' (2013) * ''Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! Preface: True Theory, Yotsuya Kaidan, the Curse of Oiwa'' (2014) * ''Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi!: Final Chapter'' (2015) *''Senritsu Kaiki File Cho-Kowasugi! Fear Adventure: Kokkuri-san'' (2015) *''Senritsu Kaiki File Cho-Kowasugi! Dark Mystery: Snake Woman'' (2015)

Television

* ''Oonamakubi'' in ''Nippon no Kowai Yoru'' ( TBS, 2004) * ''Jintai Mokei'', ''Haikou no Satsuei'', ''Kemono'', and ''Kokkuri-san'' in ''Gakkou no Kaidan'' (BeeTV, 2012) * ''Zekkyo Taikan Kimodameshi'' (d Video, 2014) * ''Museum -Preface-'' (

GYAO! is a Japanese web portal. It was the most-visited website in Japan, nearing monopolistic status. According to ''The Japan Times'', as of 2012, Yahoo! Japan had a footprint on the internet market in Japan. In terms of use as a search engine, ...

/ WOWOW, 2016) * ''Welcome to the Occult Forest'' (WOWOW, 2022)

Web

* ''Mirai Seiki SHIBUYA'' (

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

, 2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shiraishi, Koji 1973 births Japanese horror film directors Living people People from Fukuoka