is a Japanese film director who specializes in films set in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, featuring Okinawan music,

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

, themes and atmosphere. He shared the

Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award The is given annually by the Directors Guild of Japan to a new director of a film released that year who is considered the most "suitable" for the award. The winner is selected by a committee formed of DGJ members. All formats—feature film, docu ...

for his debut film, ''

Pineapple Tours The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centurie ...

'', which was an omnibus film co-directed with

Tsutomu Makiya Tsutomu is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings ''Tsutomu can be written using different kanji characters. Here are some examples: *勉, "make effort" *務, "affairs" *務武, "affairs, warrior" *勤, "diligence" *努, "strive" Th ...

and

Hayashi Tōma Hayashi ( 林, literally " woods"), is the 19th most common Japanese surname. It shares the same character as the Chinese surname Lin. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese synchronized swimmer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese s ...

. He won the award for Best Director at the 25th Hochi Film Award for ''

Nabbie's Love is a 1999 film written and directed by Yuji Nakae about Nanako Agarikinjo (Naomi Nishida) returning to Aguni Island (Okinawa) to visit her grandmother, Nabbie Agarikinjo, played by Tomi Taira. The film score is by Kenichiro Isoda, with two t ...

''.

Filmography

* ''Pineapple Tours'' (1992) (one short of three) * ''

'' (1999) * ''Hotel Hibiscus'' (2002) * ''Koishikute'' (2007) * ''Manatsu no Yo no Yume'' aka "Okinawan Midsummer Night's Dream" (2009) * ''The Zen Diary'' (2022)

References

1960 births Living people Japanese film directors People from Kyoto {{Japan-film-director-stub