is a retired

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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, pr ...

, originally associated with the

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not al ...

Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s.

Early life

Shinoda attended

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

, where he studied theater and also participated in the

Hakone Ekiden , officially called the , is one of the most prominent university '' ekiden'' (relay marathon) races of the year held between Tokyo and Hakone in Japan on January 2 and 3. The race is telecast on Nippon Television. This two-day race from Ōtemachi ...

long distance race.

Career

He joined the Shōchiku Studio in 1953 as an assistant director, where he worked on films by such directors as

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

. He debuted as a director in 1960 with ''One-Way Ticket for Love'', which he also scripted. His focus on youth and the cultural and political turmoil of 1960s Japan made him a central figure in the Shōchiku New Wave alongside

Nagisa Ōshima was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. One of the foremost directors within the Japanese New Wave, his films include '' In the Realm of the Senses'' (1976), a sexually explicit film set in 1930s Japan, and ''Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrenc ...

and

Yoshishige Yoshida , also known as Kijū Yoshida, was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Graduating from the University of Tokyo, where he studied French literature, Yoshida entered the Shōchiku studio in 1955 and worked as an assistant ...

. He worked in a variety of genres, from the

yakuza film is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of ''yakuza'', Japanese organized crime syndicates. In the silent film era, depictions of ''bakuto'' (precursors to modern yakuza) as sympathetic Robin Ho ...

(''

Pale Flower is a 1964 Japanese film noir directed by Masahiro Shinoda. The film is about Muraki ( Ryō Ikebe) a Yakuza hitman just released from prison. At an illegal gambling parlor, he finds himself drawn to a mysterious young woman named Saeko ( Mariko Ka ...

'') to the

samurai film , also commonly spelled "''chambara''", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. ''Chanbara'' is a sub-category of '' ...

(''

Assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

''), but he particularly became known for his focus on socially marginal characters and for an interest in traditional Japanese theater, which found its greatest expression in ''

Double Suicide is a 1969 film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It is based on the 1721 play ''The Love Suicides at Amijima'' by Monzaemon Chikamatsu. This play is often performed with puppets. In the film, the story is performed with live actors but makes use ...

'', in which actors are manipulated like

Bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers ...

puppets. He also was interested in sports, directing a documentary on the

1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Euro ...

. Also known for his collaborations with such artists as

Shūji Terayama was a Japanese avant-garde poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. His works range from radio drama, experimental television, underground (''Angura'') theatre, countercultural essays, to Japanese New Wave and "expanded" cinema ...

and Tōru Takemitsu, Shinoda left Shōchiku in 1965 to form his own production company, Hyōgensha.

Awards

His film '' Gonza the Spearman'' (1986) was entered into the

36th Berlin International Film Festival The 36th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held 14–25 February 1986. The festival opened with ''Ginger and Fred'' by Federico Fellini, which played out of competition at the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to West German film ...

, where it won the

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fes ...

for an outstanding artistic contribution. He won the 1991

Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year The of the Japan Academy Film Prize is one of the annual Awards given by the Japan Academy Film Prize Association. List of winners External links Japan Academy Film Prize official website- {{Japan Academy Film Prize for Director of the Yea ...

for '' Childhood Days''. His film '' Moonlight Serenade'' (1997) was entered into the

47th Berlin International Film Festival The 47th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1997. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film '' The People vs. Larry Flynt'' directed by Miloš Forman. The retrospective dedicated to Austrian fi ...

. He also won the Izumi Kyōka Prize in 2010 for a novel (Shinoda himself had earlier adapted a

Kyōka ''Kyōka'' (, "wild" or "mad poetry") is a popular, parodic subgenre of the tanka form of Japanese poetry with a metre of 5-7-5-7-7. The form flourished during the Edo period (17th–18th centuries) and reached its zenith during the Tenmei era ...

novel for the screen for the 1979 film ''Demon Pond'').

Personal life

Masahiro Shinoda's first marriage was with Kazuko Shiraishi, both had a daughter. In 1967 he married the actress

Shima Iwashita is a Japanese actress who has appeared in about 100 films and many TV productions. She is married to film director Masahiro Shinoda, in whose films she has frequently appeared. She won the award for best actress at the 2nd Hochi Film Award for ...

, who appears in several of his films. He retired from directing after the release of ''Spy Sorge'' in 2003, a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudr ...

on the life of

Richard Sorge Richard Sorge (russian: Рихард Густавович Зорге, Rikhard Gustavovich Zorge; 4 October 1895 – 7 November 1944) was a German-Azerbaijani journalist and Soviet military intelligence officer who was active before and during Wo ...

Filmography

# ''One-Way Ticket to Love'' (恋の片道切符) (1960) # ''Kawaita mizuumi'' (乾いた湖) (''

Dry Lake A dry lake bed, also known as a playa, is a basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body, which disappears when evaporation processes exceeds recharge. If the floor of a dry lake is covered by deposits of alkaline c ...

'' a.k.a. '' Youth in Fury'') (1960) # '' My Face Red in the Sunset'' (a.k.a. Killers on Parade) (夕陽に赤い俺の顔) (1961) # ''Shamisen and Motorcycle'' (三味線とオートバイ) (1961) # ''Our Marriage'' (私たちの結婚) (1961) # ''Epitaph to My Love'' (わが恋の旅路) (1961) # ''Tears on the Lion's Mane'' (涙を、獅子のたて髪に) (1962) # ''Glory on the Summit'' (山の讃歌燃ゆる若者たち) (1962) # ''Kawaita hana'' (乾いた花) (''Withered Flower'', a.k.a. ''

'') (1964) # ''Ansatsu'' (暗殺) (''Assassination'') (1964) # ''

With Beauty and Sorrow is a 1965 Japanese drama film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It is based on the novel ''Beauty and Sadness (novel), Beauty and Sadness'' by Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize winning writer Yasunari Kawabata. Plot Ageing writer Ōki travels t ...

'' (美しさと哀しみと) (1965) # ''Ibun Sarutobi Sasuke'' (異聞猿飛佐助) (''The Strange Story of Sarutobi Sasuke'', a.k.a. '' Samurai Spy'') (1965) # '' Captive's Island'' (処刑の島) (1966) # ''Clouds at Sunset'' (あかね雲) (1967) # ''Shinjū ten no Amijima'' (心中天網島) (''Amijima Effaced to Heaven by Lovers' Suicide'', a.k.a. ''

'') (1969) # ''

The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan is a 1970 Japanese film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It was Japan's submission to the 43rd Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee. Screen play by Shuji Terayama. Cast *Tatsuya Nak ...

'' (無頼漢) (1970) # ''Chinmoku / Silence'' (沈黙 ''/ Silence'') (1971) # ''Sapporo Winter Olympics'' (札幌オリンピック) (1972) # ''

The Petrified Forest ''The Petrified Forest'' is a 1936 American film directed by Archie Mayo and based on Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway drama of the same name. The motion picture stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. The screenplay was writ ...

'' (化石の森) (1973) # '' Himiko'' (卑弥呼) (1974) # ''Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees'' (桜の森の満開の下) (1975) # ''

Ballad of Orin is a 1977 Japanese film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. Its alternate English-language titles are ''Banished Orin'' and ''Symphony in Gray''. It details the life of a ''goze'', a blind female minstrel (played by Shima Iwashita, the director's wife ...

'' (はなれ瞽女おりん) (1977) # ''Demon Pond'' (夜叉ケ池) (1979) # ''Akuryo Island'' (悪霊島) (1981) # '' MacArthur's Children'' (瀬戸内少年野球団) (1984) # ''ALLUSION～'' 転生譚 (1985) # '' Gonza the Spearman'' (近松門左衛門鑓の権三) (1986) # ''The Dancing Girl'' (舞姫) (1989) # '' Childhood Days'' (少年時代) (1990) # ''

Sharaku Tōshūsai Sharaku ( ja, 東洲斎写楽; active 1794–1795) was a Japanese ukiyo-e print designer, known for his portraits of kabuki actors. Neither his true name nor the dates of his birth or death are known. His active career as a woodblo ...

'' (写楽 Sharaku) (1995) # '' Setouchi Moonlight Serenade'' (1997) # ''

Owls' Castle is a 1999 Japanese ninja-themed jidaigeki film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It was co-written by Shinoda and Katsuo Naruse, and stars Kiichi Nakai It is the second adaptation of Ryōtarō Shiba's 1959 novel '' Fukurō no Shiro'', the first bein ...

'' (1999) # ''

Spy Sorge is a Japanese film directed by Masahiro Shinoda in 2003, about the Soviet spy Richard Sorge. Shinoda intended the film, a long and lavish production that had only modest critical and commercial success, as his final feature. Plot The film presen ...

'' (2003)

Film availability

* ''Kawaita hana'' (乾いた花) (''Withered Flower'', a.k.a. ''

'') (1964) **DVD: Region 1 NTSC: Home Vision Entertainment (US) * ''Ansatsu'' (暗殺) (''Assassination'') (1964) **DVD: Region 2 NTSC: The Masters of Cinema Series (UK) * ''Ibun Sarutobi Sasuke'' (異聞猿飛佐助) (''The Strange Story of Sarutobi Sasuke'', a.k.a. '' Samurai Spy'') (1965) **DVD: Region 0 NTSC: The Criterion Collection (US) * ''Shinjû-ten Amijima'' (心中天網島) (''Amijima Effaced to Heaven by Lovers' Suicide'', a.k.a. ''

'') (1969) **DVD: Region 0 NTSC: The Criterion Collection (US) * ''Chinmoku / Silence'' (沈黙 ''/ Silence'') (1971) **DVD: Region 2 NTSC: The Masters of Cinema Series (UK) * ''Shōnen jidai / Childhood Days'' (少年時代 ''/ Childhood Days'') (1990) **DVD: Region 2 PAL: TOHO (Japan) Includes English subtitles.

References

External links

The Movie Experience: Conversation with actress Shima Iwashita and director Masahiro Shinoda
at the Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shinoda, Masahiro 1931 births Living people Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year winners Japanese film directors Samurai film directors Yakuza film directors People from Gifu