PEOPLE WHO CHANGE THE WORLD AKIRA KUROSAWA, FILMMAKER, DIRECTOR (1910–1998)
The Man Who Changed
Film History
Seven Samurai, directed by Akira Kurosawa is the most well-known and influential film to have ever come out of Japan The potency and humanism of Seven Samurai’s message and theme speak for themselves. There is a whole host of movies that have been made all over the world that were either pointedly modeled after it, made reference to it, or mentioned its archetypal plot
AKIRA KUROSAWA
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orn in Tokyo in 1910, Akira Kurosawa begin his career as an assistant director in the years leading up to World War II. In 1950, he gained international acclaim for the samurai tale Rashomon, which he followed with such influential films as The Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood and Yojimbo After a difficult period during which he failed to find backing for his projects and also attempted suicide, his influence on a younger generation of directors led to the resurrection of his career with the films Kagemusha and Ran. Kurosawa died in 1998, leaving behind an impressive body of work that has earned him a place as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. His well-to-do family can trace its lineage as far back as the 11th century, and the young Kurosawa was taught early on that he was a descendant of samurai. But despite this esteemed, distinctly Japanese background, Kurosawa’s father believed he and his siblings should be exposed to Western culture as well, so he frequently took them to see films. Initially, Kurosawa found himself drawn to art; after finishing high school, he studied at the Doshisha School of Western Painting. However, in 1936, his essay application to work at the Photo Chemical Laborato-
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BUSINESS PARTNER JAPAN
ries film studio caught the eye of Kajirō Yamamoto, one of Japan’s biggest director’s at that time, who insisted on hiring Kurosawa. Employed as an assistant director for the next seven years, Kurosawa made about 24 films with Yamamoto and other directors, and learned, in particular, the importance of being able to write a good script. RISING SUN Because he had been labeled unfit for military service after failing an earlier physical, when Japan entered World War II Kurosawa was able to stay in Tokyo and continue to work. Despite the inherent economic hardships of the conflict, it was during this time that Kurosawa was promoted to director and made his first film, Sanshiro Sugata. A martial arts picture set in 19th-century Japan, it was released in 1943 and showcased Kurosawa’s talents as both a writer and director. Kurosawa followed with the World War II–themed Ichiban utsukushiku in 1944, an achievement made even sweeter when he married its star, Yōko Yaguchi, the next year. After the war’s end, Kurosawa returned to filmmaking with his own criticism of Japan’s pre-war militarism, No Regrets for Our Youth in 1946. Two years later, he made his first significant breakthrough with Drunken Angel,