Mark Schilling (born 1949) is an American

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 ...

, journalist, translator, and author based in

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 ...

. He has written for ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'', ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', and ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

''.

Biography

Schilling began working for ''

'' in 1989. He has been an occasional commentator for

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

's English broadcasts of

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

tournaments since they began in 1992. He wrote ''Sumo: A Fan's Guide'' in 1994, and previously co-wrote ''Jesse: Sumo Superstar'' in 1985 about

Takamiyama Daigorō is a former sumo wrestler, the first foreign-born wrestler to win the top division championship (in 1972). His highest rank was ''sekiwake''. His active career spanned twenty years from 1964 to 1984, and he set a number of longevity records, i ...

. He has also reported on the sport for ''

''. Schilling's 1997 book, ''The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture'', was described by D. James Romero of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' as "a history as well as a guidebook to one of the freshest influences in the American popular stream." He was a script advisor for the 2003 Hollywood film ''

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 ...

''. Schilling has also written books such as ''Contemporary Japanese Film'', ''The Yakuza Movie Book: A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films'', and ''No Borders, No Limits: Nikkatsu Action Cinema''. He curated the "No Borders, No Limits: 1960s Nikkatsu Action Cinema" series for Japan Society in 2007.

Bibliography

Author

* ''Sumo: A Fan's Guide'' (1994) * ''The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture'' (1997) * ''Contemporary Japanese Film'' (2003) * ''The Yakuza Movie Book: A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films'' (2003) * ''No Borders, No Limits: Nikkatsu Action Cinema'' (2007) * ''Art, Cult and Commerce: Japanese Cinema Since 2000'' (2020)

Translator

* ''Princess Mononoke: The Art and Making of Japan's Most Popular Film of All Time'' (1999) *

Kenzo Kitakata is a Japanese novelist, especially known for his hardboiled novels. He studied law at Chuo University in the early 1970s. He served as the 10th President of the Mystery Writers of Japan from 1997 to 2001. Works in English translation ;Hardboile ...

's ''Winter Sleep'' (2004)

References

External links

Mark Schilling's Tokyo Ramen
– Official website
Mark Schilling
at ''

''
Mark Schilling
at ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Schilling, Mark 1949 births American expatriates in Japan American film critics American male non-fiction writers American non-fiction writers Journalists from Ohio Living people People from Zanesville, Ohio Sumo people