Kinji Fukasaku facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kinji Fukasaku 深作 欣二
Born	(1930-07-03)3 July 1930 Mito, Ibaraki, Japan
Died	12 January 2003(2003-01-12) (aged 72) Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Film director Screenwriter
Years active	1961–2003
Title	President of the Directors Guild of Japan
Term	1996–2003
Predecessor	Nagisa Ōshima
Successor	Yoji Yamada
Spouse(s)	Sanae Nakahara
Children	Kenta Fukasaku
Awards	Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year 1982 Dotonbori River & Fall Guy 1987 House on Fire 1995 Crest of Betrayal

Kinji Fukasaku (深作 欣二, Fukasaku Kinji, 3 July 1930 – 12 January 2003) was a famous Japanese film director and screenwriter. He made many different kinds of movies. He was especially known for his exciting films about Japanese gangsters, called yakuza films. His most famous series was Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973–1976).

Fukasaku wrote and directed over 60 films between 1961 and 2003. His movies were very popular. He directed parts of the Hollywood war film Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). He also made historical dramas like Shogun's Samurai (1978). Other films include the space adventure Message from Space (1978) and the science fiction movie Virus (1980). One of his most well-known films is the action-packed Battle Royale (2000).

Fukasaku won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Director of the Year three times. This is a very important award in Japanese cinema. He was also the President of the Directors Guild of Japan from 1996 until he passed away in 2003. In 1997, the Japanese government gave him the Purple Medal of Honor. This award recognized his great work in film. Many famous directors, like Quentin Tarantino, have been inspired by his movies.

Early Life and Beginnings

Kinji Fukasaku was born in 1930 in Mito, Japan. He was the youngest of five children. When he was 15, during World War II, his class had to work in a factory making weapons. In July 1945, their factory was bombed. The children had to hide to survive. After the war, he spent a lot of time watching movies from other countries. This made him want to make films himself.

Filmmaking Career

Fukasaku studied film at Nihon University. He later switched to writing scripts. After finishing school in 1953, he became an assistant director. He worked at a big film studio called Toei.

He directed his first short films in 1961. These were Drifting Detective: Tragedy in the Red Valley and Drifting Detective: Black Wind in the Harbor. His first full-length movie was High Noon for Gangsters that same year. He became very successful in 1964 with the film Jakoman and Tetsu. From 1966 to 1971, he made many modern gangster films for Toei.

Fukasaku also directed films for other studios. He made Black Lizard and Black Rose Mansion for Shochiku. In 1968, he directed The Green Slime, a science fiction movie made with the United States.

In 1970, Fukasaku helped direct the Japanese parts of the Hollywood film Tora! Tora! Tora!. With the money he earned, he bought the rights to make Under the Flag of the Rising Sun. This movie was highly praised. It was even chosen to represent Japan at the Academy Awards in 1972.

A very important moment in his career came in 1973. He directed Battles Without Honor and Humanity. Before this, most Japanese gangster films were about honorable heroes. But Fukasaku's film was very realistic and fast-paced. It showed the chaotic time after World War II. The movie was a huge hit. It led to seven more films directed by Fukasaku in the same series. After making several more gangster films, he decided to try other types of movies.

He then focused on historical movies like Shogun's Samurai (1978) and Samurai Reincarnation (1981). He also made science fiction films such as Message from Space (1978) and Virus (1980). Virus was very expensive to make and did not earn much money. However, two years later, he directed the comedy Fall Guy. This film won many awards, including the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year.

In 2000, Fukasaku released Battle Royale. This movie was a big success and earned a lot of money. It became a cultural phenomenon. It even helped create a new type of story called the "battle royale genre." In these stories, a group of people must fight until only one person is left. Near the end of his life, Fukasaku also worked on a video game. He was the director for the survival horror game Clock Tower 3 (2002).

Fukasaku became ill with prostate cancer in 2002. In late 2002, he started filming Battle Royale II: Requiem. But his health got worse, and he had to go to the hospital. Kinji Fukasaku passed away on January 12, 2003, at the age of 72. He had only directed one scene of the new film. His son, Kenta, took over and finished directing the movie.

Filmography

Television Series Episodes

• Key Hunter (1968) - Episodes 1 and 2
• Hissatsu Shikakenin (1972) - Episodes 1, 2, and 24
• G-Men '75 (1975-1979) - Episodes 16, 20, 85, and 354
• The Yagyu Conspiracy (1978) - Episode 1
• Shadow Warriors (1981) - Season 2, Episode 1

Video Game Work

• Clock Tower 3 (2002) - Director

Awards and Recognition

Kinji Fukasaku received many awards for his work in film:

• 1974 Kinema Junpo Reader's Choice Award for Best Film - Battles Without Honor and Humanity
• 1976 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director - Graveyard of Honor, Cops vs. Thugs
• 1982 Hochi Film Award for Best Film - Fall Guy
• 1983 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year - Fall Guy, Dotonbori River
• 1983 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year - Fall Guy
• 1983 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Film - Fall Guy
• 1983 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director - Fall Guy
• 1983 Mainichi Film Award for Best film - Fall Guy
• 1983 Mainichi Film Award for Best Director - Fall Guy
• 1983 Mainichi Film Award Reader's Choice Award - Fall Guy
• 1983 Kinema Junpo Reader's Choice Award for Best Film - Fall Guy
• 1983 Kinema Junpo Reader's Choice Award for Best Director - Fall Guy
• 1983 Kinema Junpo Reader's Choice Award for Best Film - Fall Guy
• 1985 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year - Legend of the Eight Samurai, Shanghai Rhapsody
• 1987 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year - House on Fire
• 1987 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year - House on Fire
• 1987 Kinema Junpo Reader's Choice Award for Best Film - House on Fire
• 1993 Yokohama Film Festival Special Prize - career
• 1994 Nikkan Sports Film Award for Best Director - Crest of Betrayal
• 1995 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year - Crest of Betrayal
• 1995 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year - Crest of Betrayal
• 1999 Nikkan Sports Film Award for Best Director - The Geisha House
• 2001 Japan Academy Prize Popularity Award - Battle Royale
• 2001 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year (Nomination) - Battle Royale
• 2001 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year (Nomination) - Battle Royale
• 2001 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Film - Battle Royale
• 2001 Sitges Film Festival for Best Film (Nomination) - Battle Royale
• 2001 San Sebastián Horror & Fantasy Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature Film - Battle Royale
• 2003 Japan Academy Prize Special Award - career
• 2003 Blue Ribbon Award Special Award - career
• 2004 Mainichi Film Award Special Award - career

See also

In Spanish: Kinji Fukasaku para niños