Masaki Kobayashi
Masaki Kobayashi | |
|---|---|
小林 正樹 | |
Kobayashi in 1953 | |
| Born | February 14, 1916 |
| Died | October 4, 1996 (aged 80) Tokyo, Japan |
| Education | Waseda University |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1941, 1946–1985 |
| Notable work |
|
| Spouse |
Chiyoko Fumiya (m. 1952) |
| Relatives | Kinuyo Tanaka (second cousin) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Service years | 1942–1945 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | Azabu Third Regiment |
Masaki Kobayashi (小林 正樹, Kobayashi Masaki; February 14, 1916 – October 4, 1996) was a Japanese filmmaker. He is best remembered for directing the epic war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961), the samurai films Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967), and the horror anthology epic Kwaidan (1964). Senses of Cinema described him as "one of the finest depicters of Japanese society in the 1950s and 1960s." Although victim to being overshadowed by other Japanese filmmakers like Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu in his lifetime, his work has gained wider traction in the 21st century with Harakiri and The Human Condition III: A Soldier’s Prayer being the two highest rated films on reviewing website Letterboxd.