is 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 ...

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

, and sometimes an actor; he is best known to foreign audiences as Omura in ''

The Last Samurai ''The Last Samurai'' is a 2003 epic period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz from a story devised by Logan. The film stars Ken Watanabe in the t ...

'' and as Mr Mita in ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

''. In both his acting roles he portrayed the

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

who wants Japan to westernize under the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

in the meantime trying to remove the old ways.

Early life

Harada was born in Numazu, Shizuoka and graduated from Higashi High School. In 1972 he went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to learn English. He then attended Tokyo College of Photography and

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

, where he spent number of years training as a filmmaker. He married journalist Mizuho Fukuda in 1976.

Career

Harada made his directorial debut in 1979. He collaborated and showcased his works in Europe and US and worked as an English to Japanese

subtitle Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

translator for number of American films showing in Japan. As an actor, he appeared in

Edward Zwick Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker and producer of film and television. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and historical drama, epic historical film genres, including ''About Last Night (1986 film), About L ...

's ''

'' in 2003. and Ronny Yu's ''

'' in 2006.

Style and influences

In a 2001 interview, Harada stated that

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

was his mentor.

Filmography

Director

* ''Farewell, Movie Friend: Indian Summer'' (1979) * ''Uindii'' (1984) * ''Paris/Dakar 1500'' (1986) * ''The Heartbreak Yakuza'' (1987) * '' Gunhed'' (1989) * ''Tuff 5'' (1992) * ''Painted Desert'' (1993) * ''

Kamikaze Taxi ''Kamikaze Taxi'' (stylized as ''KAMIKAZE TAXI'' in Japan) is a 1995 Japanese action and crime film by director Masato Harada. The film is about Tatsuo (Kazuya Takahashi), a gangster and pimp who sends out his only prostitute ( Reiko Kataoka) to s ...

'' (1995) * ''

Rowing Through ''Rowing Through'' is a Canadian-Japanese co-produced drama film, directed by Masato Harada and released in 1996. Based on David Halberstam's book ''The Amateurs'', the film centres on American sculler Tiff Wood as he tries to qualify for the 1984 ...

'' (1996) * ''

Bounce Ko Gals is a 1997 Japanese crime drama film written and directed by Masato Harada. Its alternative English-language titles are ''Call Girls'' and ''Leaving''. Filmed in somewhat of a documentary style , it follows the course of three girls for a day and ...

'' (1997) * '' Spellbound'' (1999) * ''Inugami'' (2001) * ''The Choice of Hercules'' (2002) * ''Bluestockings'' (2005) * ''

Densen Uta is a 2007 Japanese satiric Japanese horror film produced by Shochiku Corporation and directed by Masato Harada. Many of the cast are members of the AKB48 idol girl group. Synopsis Anzu Natsuno (Yuko Oshima), a student at an all-girl high sch ...

'' (2007) * '' The Shadow Spirit'' (2008) * ''

Climber's High is a 2008 Japanese film directed by Masato Harada. The film is about a newspaper editor (played by Shin'ichi Tsutsumi) who deals with the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. Accolades 51st Blue Ribbon Awards * Best Film * Best Supporting Actor ...

'' (2008) * ''

Chronicle of My Mother is a 2011 Japanese drama film directed by Masato Harada based on a novel by Yasushi Inoue. Cast *Kōji Yakusho - Kosaku *Kirin Kiki - Yae *Aoi Miyazaki - Kotoko *Kaho Minami - Kuwako *Erina Mano - Sadayo *Takahiro Miura - Segawa *Rentarō Miku ...

'' (2011) * ''Return'' (2013) * ''

Kakekomi is a 2015 Japanese jidaigeki drama film directed by Masato Harada. It was released in Japan on May 16, 2015. Cast *Yo Oizumi as Shinjirō Nakamura *Erika Toda as Jogo *Hikari Mitsushima as Ogin *Rina Uchiyama as Yū Togasaki *Hana Hizuki as Hōsh ...

'' (2015) * ''

The Emperor in August is a 2015 Japanese historical drama film directed by Masato Harada. It was released on August 8, 2015. A remake of ''Japan's Longest Day'' (1967), the film depicts the chain of command of Imperial Japan's government, military, and War Council ...

'' (2015) * ''

Sekigahara The Battle of Sekigahara (Shinjitai: ; Kyūjitai: , Hepburn romanization: ''Sekigahara no Tatakai'') was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 (Keichō 5, 15th day of the 9th month) in what is now Gifu prefecture, Japan, at the end of ...

'' (2017) * ''Killing for the Prosecution'' (2018) * '' Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai'' (2021) * ''Hell Dogs'' (2022)

Actor

* ''

'' (2003) - Mr. Omura * ''

'' (2006) - Mr. Mita

References

External links

* * 1949 births Living people Japanese film directors People from Numazu, Shizuoka Japanese subtitlers {{Japan-actor-stub