Masaki Kobayashi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Masaki Kobayashi
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| Born | February 14, 1916 Otaru, Japan
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| Died | October 4, 1996 (aged 80) Tokyo, Japan
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| Occupation | Film director, producer, writer |
Masaki Kobayashi (小林 正樹, Kobayashi Masaki, February 14, 1916 – October 4, 1996) was a famous Japanese film director. He made many important movies. Some of his most well-known works include the long film series The Human Condition. He also directed exciting samurai movies like Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion. Another famous film he made was Kwaidan, which was a collection of ghost stories.
Contents
Life and Career of Masaki Kobayashi
Early Life and Studies
Masaki Kobayashi was born in a small port city called Otaru. This city is on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. In 1933, he went to Waseda University in Tokyo. There, he studied East Asian art and different types of philosophy.
In 1941, he started working in the film industry. He became an assistant director at Shochiku Studios.
Time in the Army
In January 1942, Masaki Kobayashi was called to join the Imperial Japanese Army. He was sent to a place called Manchuria. Kobayashi believed in peace and fairness for everyone. He showed this by not accepting any promotions in the army. He stayed a private soldier.
Later, in 1944, he was moved to Miyakojima. This island is part of the Ryuku Islands. Near the end of World War II, he was captured. He spent about a year in a detention camp in Okinawa. After he was released in 1946, he went back to Shochiku Studios. He worked as an assistant to another director, Keisuke Kinoshita.
Directing His First Films
Masaki Kobayashi directed his first movie in 1952. It was called Musuko no Seishun, which means My Son's Youth. This was the start of his long and successful career.
Famous Film Projects
From 1959 to 1961, Kobayashi directed a huge film series. It was called The Human Condition. This series was about how World War II affected a Japanese man. This man believed in peace and fairness. The entire series is almost ten hours long. It is one of the longest movies ever made for cinemas.
In 1962, he directed the samurai film Harakiri. This movie won a special award at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival.
In 1964, Kobayashi made Kwaidan. This was his first movie made in color. It was a collection of four spooky ghost stories. These stories came from books by Lafcadio Hearn. Kwaidan also won a special award at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. It was even nominated for an Academy Award!
Working with Other Directors
In 1968, Masaki Kobayashi joined three other famous directors. They were Akira Kurosawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, and Kon Ichikawa. They formed a group called Shiki no kai, or The Four Horsemen Club. Their goal was to make movies for younger people.
In 1969, Kobayashi was part of the jury at the 19th Berlin International Film Festival. This meant he helped decide which films won awards.
He was also considered to direct parts of the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!. This film was about the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, other directors were chosen instead.
Masaki Kobayashi had a big dream project. He wanted to make a film based on a novel about Buddhist China called Tun Huang. But this movie was never made.
Filmography
