Having once aspired to be a painter, the young Kurosawa ended up joining P.C.L. (the precursor to Toho) as an assistant director in 1936. There he honed his skills under the likes of YAMAMOTO Kajiro before finally making his directorial debut in 1943 with Sanshiro Sugata (Sugata Sanshiro). Distinguishing himself with works like Drunken Angel (Yoidore tenshi, 1948) and Stray Dogs (Nora inu, 1949), which focused on the harsh realities of postwar life, he later shot to worldwide stardom when Rashomon (1950) was awarded the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice International Film Festival, thus introducing the world at large to the high level of cinematic art in Japan. He followed this up with a string of robust masterworks spanning a multitude of genres – Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai, 1954), The Throne of Blood (Kumonosu-jo, 1957), Yojimbo (1961), and High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku, 1963) – further bolstering his renown both at home and abroad. In later years, he also directed large-scale productions funded by foreign capital, including Dersu Uzala (1975) and Ran (1985). Each of the thirty films he directed over his lifetime holds a special place in cinematic history, with his work continuing to inspire new generations of filmmakers to this day.

(Written by FUJIWARA Masao / Reference: National Film Archive of Japan screening program / Translated by Adam Sutherland)