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 ...

, actor, and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Career

Born as Takehiko Kagoshima in Nagasaki, Shima left for Tokyo after graduating from high school. He was in the first class of the Nihon Eiga Haiyū Gakkō and joined the

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 ...

studio as an actor in 1925. Playing mostly romantic leads, he appeared in films directed by such masters as

Tomu Uchida , born Tsunejirō Uchida on 26 April 1898, was a Japanese film director. The stage name "Tomu" translates to “spit out dreams”. Early career Uchida started out at the Taikatsu studio in the early 1920s, but came to prominence at Nikkatsu, ada ...

and

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Uget ...

. He turned to directing in 1939, and quickly came to prominence with films such as '' Kaze no Matasaburō'', an adaption of a

Kenji Miyazawa was a Japanese novelist and poet of children's literature from Hanamaki, Iwate, in the late Taishō and early Shōwa periods. He was also known as an agricultural science teacher, a vegetarian, cellist, devout Buddhist, and utopian social acti ...

story, and '' Jirō Monogatari''. After the war, he directed such films as '' Ginza Kankan Musume'' and '' Jūdai no Seiten'' at

Shintoho was a Japanese movie studio. It was one of the big six film studios (which also included Daiei, Nikkatsu, Shochiku, Toei Company, and Toho) during the Golden Age of Japanese cinema. It was founded by defectors from the original Toho company fol ...

and

Daiei Studios Daiei Film Co. Ltd. (Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, producing ...

. He won a prize 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 ...

for ''

Unforgettable Trail is a 1959 Japanese drama film directed by Koji Shima. It was entered into the 1st Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Fujiko Yamamoto (born 11 December 1931) is a Japanese film and stage actress. She appeared in over 100 films be ...

''. Some of his last films were made in Hong Kong for

Shaw Brothers Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

. He directed over 90 films as a director and appeared in over 90 films as an actor. He was once married to the actress

Yukiko Todoroki Yukiko Todoroki ( ''Todoroki Yukiko''; September 11, 1917 – May 11, 1967) was a Japanese actress. Her real name was Tsuruko Nishiyama. She participated in the Takarazuka Revue. At Takarazuka, she was known not by her real name, but by the stage ...

Selected filmography

Director

* '' Kaze no Matasaburō'' (風の又三郎) (1940) * ' (次郎物語) (1941) * '' Ginza Kankan Musume'' (1949) * ''

Hibari no komoriuta is a 1951 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Koji Shima was a Japanese film director, actor, and screenwriter. Career Born as Takehiko Kagoshima in Nagasaki, Shima left for Tokyo after graduating from high school. He was in the firs ...

'' (1951) * ''

The Phantom Horse is a 1955 color (Eastmancolor) Japanese drama film directed by Koji Shima. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Bontarō Miyake as Yasuke Shiraishi * Ayako Wakao as Yuki Shiraishi * Yukihiro Iwatare as Jiro Shiraishi * Yos ...

'' (1955) * ''

Warning from Space is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' science fiction film released in January 1956 by Daiei, and was the first Japanese science fiction film to be produced in color. In the film's plot, starfish-like aliens disguised as humans travel to Earth to wa ...

'' (1956) * '' Zangiku monogatari'' (1956) * ''

'' (1959)

Actor

*''

Jōnetsu no Shijin Takuboku is a Japanese word and may refer to: * "Jōnetsu" (Kinki Kids song), a 2001 single by Japanese singing duo Kinki Kids * "Jōnetsu" (Miliyah Kato song), a 2005 single by Japanese singer Miliyah Kato (born June 22, 1988), better known by her st ...

'' (情熱の詩人啄木) (1936) *'' '' (裸の町) (1937)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shima, Koji 1901 births 1986 deaths Japanese film directors Japanese male film actors People from Nagasaki 20th-century Japanese male actors 20th-century Japanese screenwriters