Hiroshi Inagaki

Biography

Hiroshi Inagaki (稲垣 浩 Inagaki Hiroshi, 30 December 1905 – 21 May 1980) was a Japanese filmmaker most known for the Academy Award-winning Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, which he directed in 1954. Born in Tokyo as the son of a shinpa actor, Inagaki appeared on stage in his childhood before joining the Nikkatsu studio as an actor in 1922. Wishing to become a director, he joined Chiezō Kataoka's Chiezō Productions and made his directorial debut in 1928 with Tenka taiheiki. Returning to Nikkatsu, he continued making jidaigeki and participated in the Naritaki Group of young filmmakers such as Sadao Yamanaka and Fuji Yahiro who collaboratively wrote screenplays under the made up name "Kinpachi Kajiwara". Like others in the group, Inagaki was known for his cheerful and intelligent samurai films. Inagaki later moved to Daiei and then Toho, where he made big budget color spectacles as well as delicate works depicting the feelings of children. He also produced many films and wrote the scripts for dozens of others.

Directed

1. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) — Director
2. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) — Director
3. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956) — Director
4. Chûshingura (1962) — Director
5. The Rickshaw Man (1958) — Director
6. Samurai Banners (1969) — Director
7. Incident at Blood Pass (1970) — Director
8. Samurai Saga (1959) — Director
9. The Three Treasures (1959) — Director
10. The Life of Matsu the Untamed (1943) — Director
11. Daredevil in the Castle (1961) — Director
12. Young Swordsman (1963) — Director
13. Sword for Hire (1952) — Director
14. Whirlwind (1964) — Director
15. Rise Against the Sword (1966) — Director
16. Yagyu Secret Scrolls: Ninjitsu - Part II (1958) — Director
17. The Wandering Gambler (1928) — Director
18. Yagyu Secret Scrolls (1957) — Director
19. Signal Fires of Shanghai (1944) — Director
20. Blood Spilled at Takadanobaba (1937) — Director
21. Kojiro (1967) — Director
22. Date Masamune the One-Eyed Dragon (1942) — Director
23. Sasaki Kojiro (1951) — Director
24. The Storm (1956) — Director
25. Life of a Country Doctor (1960) — Director
26. Forgotten Children (1949) — Director
27. Last Days of Edo (1941) — Director
28. Taiko's Rising in the World (1938) — Director
29. Story of Lightning (1951) — Director
30. Omatsuri hanjiro (1953) — Director
31. Rebels on the High Sea (1956) — Director
32. Great Bodhisattva Pass (1935) — Director
33. Children Hand in Hand (1948) — Director
34. Kuro-uma no danshichi (1948) — Director
35. Ippon-gatana dohyo iri (1931) — Director
36. Zoku Sasaki Kojiro (1951) — Director
37. Saigo no joito (1945) — Director
38. The Rabble (1964) — Director
39. Geisha in the Old City (1957) — Director
40. Bandits on the Wind (1961) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Kin no tamago: Golden Girl (1952)
2. King of Swashbuckler: Life of Tsumasaburō Bandō (1988) — Self