Yasujirō Shimazu (島津 保次郎, Shimazu Yasujirō, 3 June 1897 – 18 September 1945) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, and a pioneer of the shōshimin-eiga (common people drama) genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan.[1]
Yasujirō Shimazu | |
|---|---|
 Yasujirō Shimazu in 1939 | |
| Born | June 3, 1897 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | September 18, 1945 (aged 48) Tokyo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1920–1944 |
Biography
Shimazu was born in Tokyo,[a] the second son of merchant Otojirō Shimazu. His father owned a long-established seaweed business named Kōshū-ya directly in front of the main Mitsukoshi department store in Nihonbashi.[4]
Shimazu entered Shōchiku in 1920 after answering an advertisement and began training under Kaoru Osanai.[3] He gave his debut as director in 1921 at Shōchiku's recently established Kamata studio,[3] directing both comedy and melodrama films, often depicting the everyday life of the lower middle classes.[1] Our Neighbor, Miss Yae (1934) and A Brother and His Younger Sister (1939) are regarded as his most exemplary and best films.[1][5] By the end of the 1930s, he moved to Tōhō studios, where he made some films in cooperation with the Manchuria Film Association.[6] He died of cancer just after the war ended.[2] Many famous directors, such as Heinosuke Gosho, Shirō Toyoda, Kōzaburō Yoshimura, and Keisuke Kinoshita, started their careers as his assistant.[1]
Selected filmography
- 1930: The Belle (麗人, Reijin)
- 1931: Lifeline ABC (生活線ＡＢＣ, Seikatsusen ABC)
- 1932: First Steps Ashore (上陸第一歩, Jōriku dai ippo)
- 1934: Our Neighbor, Miss Yae (隣の八重ちゃん, Tonari no Yae-chan)
- 1935: Okoto and Sasuke (春琴抄 お琴と佐助, Shunkinsho: Okoto to Sasuke)
- 1936: Family Meeting (家族会議, Kazoku kaigi)
- 1937: Three Crows' Engagement (婚約三羽烏, Kon'yaku sanbagarasu)
- 1937: The Lights of Asakusa (浅草の灯, Asakusa no hi)
- 1939: A Brother and His Younger Sister (兄とその妹, Ani to soto imōto)
- 1940: Totsugu hi made (嫁ぐ日まで)
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Wada-Marciano, Mitsuyo (2008). Nippon Modern: Japanese Cinema of the 1920s and 1930s. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3240-7.
External links
- Yasujirō Shimazu at IMDb
- Yasujirō Shimazu at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)