Kaneto Shindō

Biography

Kaneto Shindo (新藤 兼人, Shindō Kaneto, April 22, 1912 – May 29, 2012) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and author. He was married to actress Nobuko Otowa (1925–1994), who appeared in several of his films. He directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko and A Last Note. His scripts were filmed by such directors as Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Fumio Kamei and Tadashi Imai. He won the 1996 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year for A Last Note. Shindo was born in Hiroshima Prefecture, and he made several films about Hiroshima and the atomic bomb. Like his early mentor Kenji Mizoguchi, many of his films feature strong female characters. He was a pioneer of independent film production in Japan, founding a company called Kindai Eiga Kyokai. He continued working as a scriptwriter, director and author until his death at the age of 100. Shindo made a series of autobiographical films, beginning with the first film he directed, 1951's Story of a Beloved Wife, about his struggle to become a screenwriter, through 1986's Tree Without Leaves, about his childhoo…

Directed

1. Onibaba (1964) — Director
2. Kuroneko (1968) — Director
3. The Naked Island (1960) — Director
4. Children of Hiroshima (1952) — Director
5. Edo Porn (1981) — Director
6. Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975) — Director
7. A Last Note (1995) — Director
8. Postcard (2010) — Director
9. Tree Without Leaves (1986) — Director
10. Live Today, Die Tomorrow! (1970) — Director
11. The Strangling (1979) — Director
12. Kanawa (1972) — Director
13. The Wolves (1955) — Director
14. Owl (2003) — Director
15. Human (1962) — Director
16. Hymn (1972) — Director
17. Will to Live (1999) — Director
18. The Heart (1973) — Director
19. Mother (1963) — Director
20. The Life of Chikuzan (1977) — Director
21. The Strange Tale of Oyuki (1992) — Director
22. Lucky Dragon No. 5 (1959) — Director
23. My Way (1974) — Director
24. Ditch (1954) — Director
25. Story of a Beloved Wife (1951) — Director
26. Sakura-tai Chiru (1988) — Director
27. Miniature (1953) — Director
28. Conquest (1965) — Director
29. Black Board (1986) — Director
30. By Player (2000) — Director
31. Heat Wave Island (1969) — Director
32. Love is Lost (1956) — Director
33. The Horizon (1984) — Director
34. Teacher and Three Children (2008) — Director
35. Ryûri no kishi (1956) — Director
36. Harbor Rats (1957) — Director
37. Libido (1967) — Director
38. Strong Women, Weak Men (1968) — Director
39. The Bride from Japan (1959) — Director
40. Lost Sex (1966) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975) — Self
2. I Lived, But... (1983) — Self
3. Hymn (1972) — Researcher
4. The Battleship on the Ground (2007)
5. By Player (2000)
6. What's a Director? (2006)
7. Japanese Cinema: New Territories (2011) — Self
8. Onibaba : Film Location (1964)