born May 16, 1898, Tokyo, Japan
died Aug. 24, 1956, Kyōto
Japanese film director.
After studying painting, he became an actor at the Nikkatsu studio in 1919 and made his debut as a director in 1922. His early films include Street Sketches (1925), Tokyo March (1929), Osaka Elegy (1936), and The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939). His pictorially beautiful films, of which he made more than 80, often dealt with the conflict between modern and traditional values. He won international acclaim for Ugetsu monogatari (1953), an allegorical commentary on postwar Japan. He was also noted for his films about women, includinge The Love of Actress Sumako (1947), Women of the Night (1948), and Street of Shame (1956).