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1-50 of 276
- Writer
- Director
- Animation Department
Satoshi Kon was born in 1963. He studied at the Musashino College of the Arts. He began his career as a Manga artist. He then moved to animation and worked as a background artist on many films (including Roujin Z (1991) by 'Katsuhiro Otomo'). Then, in 1995, he wrote an episode of the anthology film Memories (1995) (this Episode was "Magnetic Rose"). In 1997, he directed his first feature film: the excellent Perfect Blue (1997). In 2001, he finished work on his second feature film, Millennium Actress (2001) (aka Millennium Actress).- Actress
- Additional Crew
Tura Satana started exotic dancing when she was only 13 years old. She integrated acrobatics, humor, and sensual beauty to her dancing art form. As a dancer, she started doing guest appearances in films such as Our Man Flint (1966) and Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963) and made several films with low-budget auteur Ted V. Mikels. Her skills as a martial artist landed her small roles in TV shows such as Hawaiian Eye (1959), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966), The Greatest Show on Earth (1963) and Burke's Law (1963).- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Masaki Kobayashi was born on 14 February 1916 in Hokkaido, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Harakiri (1962), Samurai Rebellion (1967) and The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961). He died on 4 October 1996 in Tokyo, Japan.- Eita Okuno was born on 10 February 1986 in Hokkaido, Japan. He is an actor, known for The Outsider (2018), Alice in Borderland (2020) and Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part II - The Beginning (2021).
- Nobuko Miyamoto was born on 27 March 1945 in Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan. She is an actress, known for A Taxing Woman (1987), Tampopo (1985) and A Taxing Woman's Return (1988). She was previously married to Jûzô Itami.
- Japanese character actor equally adept at comic or seriously unsavory roles. Chiaki graduated from the University of Chuo with degrees in economics and commerce, but almost immediately found that his interest lay more with the theatre. In 1937, he began to study with the Shin-Tsukiji Gekidan ("The New Tsukiji Theatre Troupe"). During the Second World War, he served as director of the Bara-Za theatre company. Director Akira Kurosawa saw Chiaki in a stage production of the play "Dataii" (from which Kurosawa would later adapt for: The Quiet Duel (1949) ) and advised him to enter films. Chiaki became a favorite of the great director, who cast him in Stray Dog (1949) and nearly a dozen other films. Chiaki was notable as the good-natured Heihachi in Seven Samurai (1954) and as the comic deserter Tahei in _Kakushi toride no san akunin (1958)_. In 1975, Chiaki suffered a stroke. He recovered and in 1985 won Japan Academy Award for Best Actor in Hana ichimonme (1985). The last survivor of Kurosawa's Seven Samurai title players, Chiaki died of coronary and pulmonary failure in 1999.
- Actress
- Art Director
- Soundtrack
Tôko Miura was born on 20 October 1996 in Hokkaido, Japan. She is an actress and art director, known for Drive My Car (2021), Weathering with You (2019) and Ooku (2023).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Kana Ichinose was born on 20 December 1996 in Obihiro, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. She is an actress, known for Darling in the Franxx (2018), Weathering with You (2019) and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (2022).- Actress
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Along with Hara Setsuko and Tanaka Kinuyo, Takamine Hideko remains one of Japan's most admired and prolific film actresses. Born as Hirayama Hideko in Hakodate, Hokkaido in northern Japan in 1924, she became a child actress for Shochiku Studio at age five appearing in the film Haha. She would go on to work with directors like Kinoshita, Ozu, and arguably most notably Naruse Mikio. Mid-career she had switched to P.C.L. Film Studio (later Toho Studios) and then become independent yet she would work for notable directors nonetheless. By the time she married director Matsuyama Zenzo in 1955 she had acquired a reputation as depicting feminist roles where women seek their independence or are oppressed. She died in 2010 of lung cancer, but had recorded songs and written biographies before her death.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Masayuki Mori was born on 13 January 1911 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. He was an actor, known for Rashomon (1950), The Bad Sleep Well (1960) and The Idiot (1951). He died on 7 October 1973.- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Hiromi Tsuru was born on 29 March 1960 in Chitose, Hokkaidô, Japan. She was an actress, known for Trigun (1998), Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013) and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (2015). She was married to Keiichi Nanba. She died on 16 November 2017 in Chûô-ku, Tokyo, Japan.- Fusako Shiotani was born in Hakodate, Hokkaido, and grew up in Nagoya. She made her debut as a commercial voice-over artist in Nagoya when she was a teenager. After voicing on many commercials as well as appearing on TV as a reporter and on radio as a personality, she came to the U.S. as a broadcaster. Since she arrived in L.A., she has been expanding her activities to actress, singer, voice-over artist and voice-over director. Fusako is also a third-rank black belt martial artist, and a certified kimono stylist.
- Kô Nishimura was born on 25 January 1923 in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. He was an actor, known for The Bad Sleep Well (1960), Yojimbo (1961) and High and Low (1963). He died on 29 April 1997 in Tokyo, Japan.
- Fumiyo Kohinata was born on 23 January 1954 in Mikasa, Hokkaido, Japan. He is an actor, known for Beyond Outrage (2012), Fullmetal Alchemist (2017) and Outrage (2010).
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Yôtarô Katsumi was born on 11 September 1893 in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, Japan. He was an actor and director, known for Chushingura: The Truth (1928), Sâkasakî dewanokamî (I) (1925) and Aka to shiro (1925). He died on 1 September 1962.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Yô Ôizumi was born on 3 April 1973 in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, Japan. He is an actor and writer, known for When Marnie Was There (2014), Spirited Away (2001) and Howl's Moving Castle (2004). He has been married to Kumiko Nakajima since 2 May 2009.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Kazuya Shiraishi was born on 17 December 1974 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. He is a director and assistant director, known for The Devil's Path (2013), Sea of Revival (2019) and Dawn of the Felines (2017).- Writer
- Animation Department
- Additional Crew
Monkey Punch was born on 26 May 1937 in Hamanaka, Hokkaido, Japan. He was a writer, known for Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979), Lupin III: Farewell to Nostradamus (1995) and Lupin III: Dead or Alive (1996). He died on 11 April 2019 in Sakura, Chiba, Japan.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Miho Nikaido was born on 3 April 1966 in Hokkaido, Japan. She is an actress and producer, known for Fay Grim (2006), Henry Fool (1997) and Tokyo Decadence (1992).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Ken Yasuda was born on 8 December 1973 in Hokkaido, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Spirited Away (2001) and Itoshi no Irene (2018).- Shinichiro Kamio was born on 13 January 1982 in Hokkaido, Japan. He is an actor, known for The Promised Neverland (2019), Zenless Zone Zero (2024) and Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle - Rhyme Anima (2020).
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Akira Ifukube was born on May 31, 1914 in Hokkaido, Japan. He was the third son of a chief constable (his grandfather was a priest of Shin-to) and spent a majority of his childhood in areas with a mixed Japanese and Ainu population. Therefore, Ifukube was strongly influenced by their musical traditions and styles. As a result, he studied the violin. Later, he attended secondary school in Sapporo, and decided to become a composer at the age of 14 after hearing a radio performance of Igor Stravinsky's the Rite of Spring.
Ifukube studied forestry at Hokkaido University and composed music in his spare time. His first piece was the piano solo "Piano Suite" and his big break came in 1935, when his first orchestral piece, "Japanese Rhapsody," won first prize in an international contest for young composers promoted by Alexander Tcherepnin. In 1936, Ifukube studied modern Western composition while Tcherepnin was visiting Japan, and in 1938, Ifukube's piano suite obtained an honorable mention at the I.C.S.M. Festival in Venice, Italy. In the late 1930s his music, including "Japanese Rhapsody," was performed in areas throughout Europe.
After completing his studies, Ifukube worked as a forestry officer and lumber processor. Towards the end of World War II, he was appointed by the Japanese Imperial Army to study the elasticity and vibratory strength of wood. He suffered radiation exposure after carrying out x-rays without protection. As a result, Ifukube left forestry work and ultimately became a full-time professional music composer and teacher. From 1946 to 1953, he taught at the Nihon University College of Art. In 1947, after encouragement from a friend, Ifukube came to the Big Screen, and composed the music score for Toho Studio's Snow Trail (1947). Ifukube continued to compose music scores for many drama and comedy movies, many of them produced by Toho. However, classical music remained Ifukube's greatest passion. But yet, the world would probably remember him mostly as the man who brought music and soul to the King of the Monsters: Godzilla.
When producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, director Ishirô Honda and special effects man Eiji Tsuburaya of Toho Studios decided to make a movie about a gigantic monster brought to life by nuclear bomb testing, Godzilla was born. Having placed together all the elements for the intriguing and haunting monster film, Godzilla (1954), only one element was left: the music score. Thus, Akira Ifukube came into the picture. He created a somber and masterful score to match the on-screen drama. He went on to score eight Godzilla films in Toho's "Showa" Godzilla series. In addition to Godzilla, Ifukube also scored a number of other sci-fi films produced by Toho including "Rodan," "The Mysterians," "Atragon" and "Frankenstein Conquers the World."
A number of the Godzilla films contains the "Godzilla Theme," which will forever etch in fans' minds that this is Godzilla's musical cue, and the "Monster Battle Theme," which occur in several Godzilla films whenever monster attacks and battles erupt. Probably Ifukube's most memorable work in these sci-fi films is his "monster marches," which are militaristic and rousing. The film Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) (Godzilla vs. Monster Zero) was once screened in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, and the audience was stomping to its feet and clapping their hands to the rhythm - most of these were children who have not seen a Godzilla film in their lives.
Ifukube returned to teaching at the Tokyo College of Music in 1974, becoming president in 1976. In 1978, Ifukube retired from film work and in 1985, he became president of the college's ethnomusicology department. He trained younger generation composers such as Toshiro Mayuzumi, Yasushi Akutagawa and Kaoru Wada. He also published "Orchestration," a 1,000-page book on theory. The Japanese government awarded him the Order of Culture and the Order of the Sacred Treasures.
In 1984, after a nine-year hiatus, Toho revived the Godzilla series, and released Godzilla 1985 (1985), thus marked the beginning of the Godzilla "Heisei" series. Five years later, Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) was released. The composer of the film, Kôichi Sugiyama asked Ifukube if he could use some of his Godzilla themes. He said yes, as long as he doesn't change it into "pop music," which Ifukube dislikes. So, his themes were used, but unfortunately, to the contrary of what Ifukube wished. His daughter told him that no matter how much he stays away from scoring another Godzilla film, his themes will always be heard. So, she suggested that he score the next Godzilla film. Taking his daughter's suggestion into consideration, and after Toho came knocking on his door again, Ifukube came out of retirement; he scored the next three Godzilla films. He brought his classic Godzilla themes with him, utilizing the recognizable "Godzilla Theme" and "Monster Battle Theme" where appropriate, and backed with larger orchestras and enhanced with modern-day digital recording techniques.
Ifukube was usually only given a short amount of time to score a movie. He was given only three days to score Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993). After that film was completed, Ifukube said that he couldn't possibly score any more Godzilla films, especially at his advanced age. Therefore, fellow composer Takayuki Hattori scored the next film, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994). He was going to take over the reins, but producer Tanaka decided to make one last Godzilla movie. And, what would be more appropriate than to have Akira Ifukube provide Godzilla's final musical bow? Ifukube agreed, and scored Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995). The score for this film is a blending of haunting music, rousing marches and a heartbreaking requiem. Ifukube stated that he regarded this film score as his best work. The rushed job that Ifukube experienced while writing these monster film scores became his magnum opus. Godzilla was a huge part of his life, and Ifukube stated that writing music for the monster was like writing music for his own. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) was not only the last Godzilla film of the "Heisei" series and the last Godzilla film Tanaka produced, but was Ifukube's last musical work in films. After the film was completed, Ifukube resumed retirement, this time for good.
Ifukube was known as the "John Williams" of Japan, and became one of cinema's finest composers. He passed away in Tokyo on February 8, 2006 at age 91.- Aino Kishi was born on 1 February 1988 in Hokkaido, Japan. She is an actress, known for Samurai Princess (2009), Mask the Kekkou: Reborn (2012) and Chin-jeol-han ga-jeong-boo (2015).
- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Keiko Nobumoto was born on 13 March 1964 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. She was a writer and producer, known for Akira (1988), Tokyo Godfathers (2003) and Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001). She died on 1 December 2021.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Ai Matsubara was born on 9 December 1955 in Hokkaido, Japan. She is an actress, known for House (1977), The Visitor in the Eye (1977) and School in the Crosshairs (1981).