was 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 ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary ''

Tokyo Olympiad ''Tokyo Olympiad'', also known in Japan as , is a 1965 Japanese documentary film directed by Kon Ichikawa which documents the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Like Leni Riefenstahl's '' Olympia'', which documented the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berli ...

'' (1965), which won two

BAFTA Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

, and the 19th-century revenge drama ''

An Actor's Revenge , also known as ''Revenge of a Kabuki Actor'', is a 1963 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa, based on a novel by Otokichi Mikami. Plot Japan in the late Edo period: Three men — Sansai Dobe, Kawaguchiya and Hiromiya — are responsible fo ...

'' (1963). His film ''

Odd Obsession is a 1959 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It was based on the novel '' The Key'', by Japanese novelist Junichirō Tanizaki. Plot A man who suspects ...

'' (1959) won the Jury Prize at the 1960

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

Early life and career

Ichikawa was born in

Ise, Mie , formerly called Ujiyamada (宇治山田), is a city in central Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan. Ise is home to Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred Shintō shrine in Japan. The city has a long-standing title – Shinto (神都) ...

Prefecture as Giichi Ichikawa (市川儀一). His father died when he was four years old, and the family kimono shop went bankrupt, so he went to live with his sister. He was given the name "Kon" by an uncle who thought the characters in the kanji 崑 signified good luck, because the two halves of the Chinese character look the same when it is split in half vertically. As a child he loved drawing and his ambition was to become an artist. He also loved films and was a fan of "

chambara , 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 '' ...

" or samurai films. In his teens he was fascinated by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's "

Silly Symphonies ''Silly Symphony'' is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Silly Symphonies'' were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces ...

" and decided to become an animator. He attended a technical school in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. Upon graduation, in 1933, he found a job with a local rental film studio, J.O Studio, in their animation department. Decades later, he told the American writer on Japanese film

Donald Richie Donald Richie (17 April 1924 – 19 February 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also dir ...

, "I'm still a ''cartoonist'' and I think that the greatest influence on my films (besides

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * '' Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * ''Chaplin'' (2011 film), Ben ...

, particularly ''

The Gold Rush ''The Gold Rush'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film also stars Chaplin in his Little Tramp persona, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, and Malcolm Waite. Chapl ...

'') is probably

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

." He moved to the feature film department as an assistant director when the company closed its animation department, working under directors including

Yutaka Abe was a Japanese film director and actor. He went to America along with a younger brother to visit an uncle living in Los Angeles. There he enrolled in an acting school, and upon hearing that Thomas H. Ince was looking for Japanese extras to work ...

and

Nobuo Aoyagi (27 March 1903 - 17 May 1976) was a Japanese film director and film producer. Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, he attended Meiji University but left before graduating. He worked at the Zenshinza theater troupe before joining the Toho studio in 19 ...

. In the early 1940s J.O Studio merged with P.C.L. and Toho Film Distribution to form the Toho Film Company. Ichikawa moved to Tokyo. His first film was a puppet play short, ''A Girl at Dojo Temple'' (''Musume Dojoji'' 1946), which was confiscated by the interim U.S. Occupation authorities under the pretext that it was too "feudal", though some sources suggest the script had not been approved by the occupying authorities. Thought lost for many years, it is now archived at the

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

. It was at Toho that he met Natto Wada. Wada was a translator for Toho. They agreed to marry sometime after Ichikawa completed his first film as director. Natto Wada's original name was Yumiko Mogi (born 13 September 1920 in

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city is ...

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

, Japan); the couple both had failed marriages behind them. She graduated with a degree in English literature from

Tokyo Woman's Christian University , often abbreviated to TWCU or , is an independent Protestant university in Tokyo, Japan. Founding TWCU was established by Nitobe Inazō (1862–1933), an author, diplomat and educator, who was appointed as the first president in 1918. The first ...

. She married Kon Ichikawa on 10 April 1948, and died on 18 February 1983 of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

1950–1965

It was after Ichikawa's marriage to Wada that the two began collaborating, first on ''Design of a Human Being'' (''Ningen moyo'') and ''Endless Passion'' (''Hateshinaki jonetsu'') in 1949. The period 1950–1965 is often referred to as Ichikawa's Natto Wada period. It's the period that contains the majority of Ichikawa's most highly respected works, such as ''

'' (''Tōkyō Orinpikku''), for which he was awarded the

Olympic Diploma of Merit The Olympic Diploma of Merit was an award given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to recognise outstanding services to sports or a notable contribution to the Olympic Games. By 1974, the last time the awards were granted, just 58 peop ...

, as well as the BAFTA United Nations Award and the Robert Flaherty Award (now known as the

BAFTA Award for Best Documentary This page lists the winners for the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, formerly known as the Robert Flaherty Documentary Award, for each year. History The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts an ...

). It is also during this period that Wada wrote 34 screenplays, most of which were adaptations. He gained Western recognition during the 1950s and 1960s with two anti-war films, '' The Burmese Harp'' and '' Fires on the Plain'', and the technically formidable period-piece ''

'' (''Yukinojo henge'') about a

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

actor. Among his many literary adaptations were

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 Key'' (''Kagi''),

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work '' Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer ...

's ''The Heart'' (Kokoro) and ''I Am a Cat'' (''Wagahai wa neko de aru''), in which a teacher's cat critiques the foibles of the humans surrounding him, and

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Nationalism, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was ...

's ''Conflagration'' (''Enjo''), in which a priest burns down his temple to save it from spiritual pollution. ''The Key'', released in the United States as ''

'', was entered in the 1960 Cannes Film Festival, and won the Jury Prize with

Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

's ''

L'Avventura ''L'Avventura'' ( en, "The Adventure") is a 1960 Italian drama film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Developed from a story by Antonioni with co-writers Elio Bartolini and Tonino Guerra, the film is about the disappearance of a young woman ...

''.

After 1965

After ''

'' Wada retired from screenwriting, and it marked a significant change in Ichikawa's films from that point onward. Concerning her retirement, he said "She doesn't like the new film grammar, the method of presentation of the material; she says there's no heart in it anymore, that people no longer take human love seriously." His final film, 2006's '' Inugamis'', a remake of Ichikawa's own 1976 film ''

The Inugami Family is a 1976 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa. The film is the first in Kon Ichikawa's and Kōji Ishizaka's Kindaichi Series. Ichikawa remade the film in 2006 as '' The Inugamis''. The soundtrack is composed by Yuji Ohno. Murders take place ...

'', was entered into the 29th Moscow International Film Festival. Also in 2006, Ichikawa was the subject of a feature-length documentary, ''

The Kon Ichikawa Story , also known as ''A Filmful Life'', is a 2006 documentary directed by Japanese director Shunji Iwai about the life of iconic and prolific Japanese director Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast ...

'', directed by

Shunji Iwai is a Japanese film director, video artist, writer and documentary maker. Life and career Iwai was born in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. He attended Yokohama National University, graduating in 1987. In 1988 he started out in the Japanese entertainment ...

. Ichikawa died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on 13 February 2008 in a Tokyo hospital. He was 92 years old. '' The Magic Hour'' marked Ichikawa's last appearance and was dedicated to his memory. (This message can be seen in the end of this film.) In this film, a movie director played by Ichikawa is shooting ''Kuroi Hyaku-ichi-nin no Onna'' (a hundred and one dark women), a parody of ''

Ten Dark Women ''Ten Dark Women'' (, literally "ten black women") is a 1961 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa. Plot A married television executive has many mistresses. Nine of the mistresses and his wife band together and plan to kill him. His wife tells h ...

''.

Legacy

Ichikawa's films are marked with a certain darkness and bleakness, punctuated with sparks of humanity. It can be said that his main trait is technical expertise, irony, detachment and a drive for realism married with a complete spectrum of genres. Some critics class him with

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Uget ...

and

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 ...

as one of the masters of Japanese cinema.
The Kon Ichikawa Memorial Room, a small museum dedicated to him and his wife Natto Wada displaying materials from his personal collection, was opened in

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

in 2015, on the site of his former home.

Filmography

*'' Yowamushi Chinsengumi'' (1935) *'' A Girl at Dojo Temple'' (1946) * '' A Thousand and One Nights with Toho'' (東宝千一夜 Toho senichi-ya) (1947) *'' The Lovers'' (1951) *'' The Woman Who Touched the Legs'' (Ashi ni sawatta onna) (1951) *'' Mr. Pu'' (1953) *''Okuman Chōja'' (1954) *'' Ghost Story of Youth'' (Seishun kaidan) (1955) *'' The Heart'' (Kokoro) (1955) * '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) - black and white version *'' Punishment Room'' (1956) *'' Bridge of Japan'' (1956) *'' The Men of Tohoku'' (1957) *'' The Hole'' (1957) *'' Enjo'' (1958) *''

'' (1959) *'' Fires on the Plain'' (1959) *''

A Woman's Testament is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura, Kon Ichikawa and Yasuzo Masumura. It was entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival. Plot This is a series of three stories revolving around women. The first story is ...

'' (1960) - together with

Kōzaburō Yoshimura was a Japanese film director. Biography Born in Shiga Prefecture, he joined the Shōchiku studio in 1929. He debuted as director in 1934, but continued working as an assistant director for such filmmakers as Yasujirō Ozu and Yasujirō Shim ...

and

Yasuzo Masumura was a Japanese film director. Biography Masumura was born in Kōfu, Yamanashi. After dropping out of a law course at the University of Tokyo he worked as an assistant director at the Daiei Film studio, later returning to university to study ph ...

*'' Bonchi'' (1960) *''

Her Brother is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. The film is based on the novel ''Otōto'' by Aya Koda. It was entered into the 1961 Cannes Film Festival, where it won a prize for Special Distinction. Plot 17-year-old Gen takes care ...

'' (1960) *''

'' (1961) *'' The Sin'' (a.k.a. ''The Broken Commandments'')(1962) *''

Being Two Isn't Easy is a 1962 color Japanese comedy film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was Japan's submission to the 35th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Mo ...

'' (1962) *''

'' (1963) *''

Alone Across the Pacific is a 1963 color (Eastmancolor) Japanese adventure film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. The film is based on the book , Kenichi Horie's account of his 1962 solo voyage across the Pacific, which was t ...

'' (1963) *'' Money Talks'' (1963) *''

'' (documentary) (1965) *'' The Tale of Genji'' (1966) *'' Topo Gigio and the Missile War'' (1967) *'' To Love Again'' (1971) *''

Kogarashi Monjirō is the main character and title of a Japanese novel by Saho Sasazawa, probably best known in the televised version broadcast during prime-time in 1972–1973, directed by Kon Ichikawa. In 1993, the drama was made into a film, titled ''Kaettekita K ...

'' (1972) TV *''

Visions of Eight ''Visions of Eight'' is a 1973 American documentary film offering a stylized look at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Produced by Stan Margulies and executive produced by David L. Wolper, it was directed by eight directors. It was screened out-of-compet ...

'' (1973) - documentary; anthology film *'' The Wanderers'' (1973) *''

I Am a Cat is a satirical novel written in 1905–1906 by Natsume Sōseki about Japanese society during the Meiji period (1868–1912), particularly the uneasy mix of Western culture and Japanese traditions. Sōseki's title, ''Wagahai wa Neko de Aru'', us ...

'' (1975) *''

'' (1976) *''

Rhyme of Vengeance ''Rhyme of Vengeance'' ( ja, 女王蜂) is a 1978 Japanese film, directed by Kon Ichikawa. It is based on Seishi Yokomizo's novel of the same title. It is 4th in Kon Ichikawa and Koji Ishizaka`s Kindaichi film series. Plot In the Daidoji fami ...

'' (1978) *'' Hi no Tori'' (''The Phoenix'') (1978) *'' The Devil's Island'' (1978) *''

Byoinzaka no Kubikukuri no Ie ''Byoinzaka no Kubikukuri no Ie'' ( ja, 病院坂の首縊りの家), also known as ''The House of Hanging on Hospital Slope'', is a 1979 Japanese film, directed by Kon Ichikawa. It is based on Seishi Yokomizo's novel of the same name, and is th ...

'' (1979) *''

Koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

'' (a.k.a. ''Koto, the Ancient City'') (1980) *'' Kofuku'' (1981) *''

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.k.a. ''Fine Snow'', 細雪 Sasame-yuki) (1983) *''

Ohan Ohan is a common masculine Armenian name and can be used as a nickname for Hovhannes or Ohannes. Ohan may refer to: People * Ohan Durian (1922–2011), Armenian conductor *Mikho-Ohan, pen name of Armenian writer Nar-Dos Films * ''Ohan'' (film ...

'' (1984) *'' The Burmese Harp'' (1985) - color remake *''

The Adventures of Milo and Otis is a 1986 Japanese adventure comedy-drama film about two animals, Milo (an orange tabby cat) and Otis (a pug). The original Japanese version, narrated by Shigeru Tsuyuki and with poetry recitation by Kyōko Koizumi, was released on July 12, ...

'' (1986) - associate director *''

Princess from the Moon is a 1987 Japanese film directed by Kon Ichikawa. It is based on ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', a 10th-century Japanese fairy tale about a girl from the Moon who is discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant. Plot One da ...

'' (1987) *''Actress'' (1987) *''Crane'' (Tsuru) (1988) *' (1991) *'' Kaetekita Kogarashi Monjirō'' (1993) *''

47 Ronin 47, 47 or forty-seven may refer to: *47 (number) *47 BC * AD 47 *1947 * 2047 *'47 (brand), an American clothing brand * ''47'' (magazine), an American publication * 47 (song), a song by Sidhu Moose Wala *47, a song by New Found Glory from the alb ...

'' (1994) *'' The 8-Tomb Village'' (1996) *''

Shinsengumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time when ...

'' (2000) *''

Dora-heita is a 2000 Japanese film by Director Kon Ichikawa. It was the 74th film made by Ichikawa. Plot A new magistrate (played by Kōji Yakusho) in the town of Horisoto—widely reputed to be the most lawless township in Japan, uses guile and his oppon ...

'' (2000) *'' Kah-chan(2001) *'' Yume jûya (2006) *'' The Inugamis (2006)

References

External links

* (official site, in Japanese) *
Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ichikawa, Kon 1915 births 2008 deaths People from Ise, Mie Akira Kurosawa Award winners Deaths from pneumonia in Japan Japanese film directors Japanese animated film directors Anime directors Samurai film directors Japanese animators Persons of Cultural Merit