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Few filmmakers have had a career so long or so acclaimed as Akira Kurosawa, perhaps Japan’s best-known filmmaker. His films greatly influenced an entire generation of filmmakers the world over, ranging from George Lucas to Sergio Leone.

His first credited film (Sugata Sanshiro) was released in 1943; his last (Madadayo) in 1993. His many awards include the Legion d’Honneur and an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement.

Kurosawa was born in Omori, Tokyo, the youngest of seven children. He trained as a painter and began work in the film industry as an assistant director to Kajiro Yamamoto in 1936. He made his directorial debut in 1943 with Sugata Sanshiro. His first few films were made under the watchful eye of the wartime Japanese government and sometimes contained nationalistic themes. For instance, The Most Beautiful is a propaganda film about Japanese women working in an armaments factory. Judo Saga 2 has been held to be explicitly anti-American in the way that it portrays Japanese judo as superior to western (American) boxing. (more…)

The Executive Producer of Plug-In, Inc., located in Tokyo, Japan. (more…)