was a Japanese film director and actor. He went to America along with a younger brother to visit an uncle living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. There he enrolled in an acting school, and upon hearing that

Thomas H. Ince Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent film - era filmmaker and media proprietor. Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the mo ...

was looking for Japanese extras to work in his studios, he applied and was accepted in 1914. He appeared in such films as '' The Wrath of the Gods'' and '' The Cheat'' with

Sessue Hayakawa , known professionally as , was a Japanese actor and a matinée idol. He was a popular star in Hollywood during the silent film era of the 1910s and early 1920s. Hayakawa was the first actor of Asian descent to achieve stardom as a leading man i ...

. He was often billed as "Jack Abbe" or "Jack Yutake Abbe." He returned to Japan in 1925, finding work at 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, and soon made his debut as a director. Among his early works was the 1926

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

''The Woman Who Touched the Legs'' (Ashi ni sawatta onna), a comedy about a writer and a woman thief. This film, along with most of Abe's early work, is now lost. Before and during World War II, Abe directed a number of nationalistic propaganda films including '' Moyuru ōzora'' (''Flaming Sky'') and ''

Ano hata o ute (Filipino: ''Liwayway ng Kalayaan'') also known as ''Dawn of Freedom'',, pp. 100-102 and ''Shoot That Flag: The End of Corregidor'' is a 1943 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Yutaka Abe and Gerardo de León. Synopsis The opening credits ...

'' (''Fire on That Flag''). After the war, he directed the 1950 film adaptation of

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...

's ''

The Makioka Sisters is a novel by Japanese writer Jun'ichirō Tanizaki that was serialized from 1943 to 1948. It follows the lives of the wealthy Makioka family of Osaka from the autumn of 1936 to April 1941, focusing on the family's attempts to find a husband fo ...

'', a film which brought him commercial success. His later films include the 1959 satirical comedy ''Season of Affairs'' (''Uwaki no kisetsu'').

Filmography

Actor

* '' The Wrath of the Gods'' (1914) * '' The Cheat'' (1915) * ''

Her American Husband ''Her American Husband'' is a 1918 American silent drama film directed by E. Mason Hopper and starring Teddy Sampson, Darrell Foss and Leota Lorraine.Connelly p.360 Cast * Teddy Sampson as Cherry Blossom * Darrell Foss as Herbert Franklyn * ...

'' (1918) * ''

The Tong Man ''The Tong Man'' is a 1919 American thriller film directed by William Worthington and produced by Haworth Pictures Corporation. ''The Tong Man'' survives and is available on home video. The film has long been preserved by the Library of Congress ...

'' (1919) * ''

The Pagan God ''The Pagan God'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Park Frame and starring H.B. Warner, Carmen Phillips and Edward Peil Sr.Connelly p.393 Cast * H.B. Warner as Bruce Winthrop * Carmen Phillips as Tai Chen * Edward Peil Sr. ...

'' (1919) * ''

A Tale of Two Worlds ''A Tale of Two Worlds'' is a 1921 American silent drama film produced and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures and directed by Frank Lloyd. The film stars several well-known actors including Leatrice Joy, Wallace Beery, Edythe Chapman, and J. Frank ...

'' (1921)

Director

* ''A Mermaid On Land'' (''Riku no ningyo'') (1926) * ''The Woman Who Touched the Legs'' (1926) * ''Five Women Around Him'' (''Kare o meguru gonin no onna'') (1927) * ''Children of the Sun'' (''Taiyō no ko'') (1938) * '' Moyuru ōzora'' (燃ゆる大空) (1940) * ''

'' (あの旗を撃て−コレヒドールの最後) (1944) * ''The Makioka Sisters'' (1950) * ''Koibito no iru machi'' (1953) * ''Battleship Yamato'' (''Senkan Yamato'') (1953) * ''Hanran: Ni-ni-roku jiken'' (1954) * ''Nihon yaburezu'' (''Japan Undefeated'') (1954) * ''Season of Affairs'' (''Uwaki no kisetsu'') (1959)

References

External links

*
Abe Yutaka's JMDb Listing (in Japanese)
1895 births 1977 deaths Japanese film directors Japanese male film actors People from Miyagi Prefecture Actors from Miyagi Prefecture {{japan-film-bio-stub