Masaki Kobayashi (小林正樹 Kobayashi Masaki, February 14, 1916 – October 4, 1996) was a Japanese director who is probably best known for Kwaidan (怪談), a collection of four ghost stories (drawn from the book by Lafcadio Hearn), each of which has a surprise ending. February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Kwaidan (怪談, Kaidan, 1965) is a film directed by Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi and is based on one of Lafcadio Hearns collections of Japanese folk tales, Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (1903). ... Kwaidan (怪談, which in modern Japanese is now romanized and pronounced as kaidan) is a Japanese word that, in its broadest sense, refers to any ghost story. ... Lafcadio Hearn, aka Koizumi Yakumo. ...

Kobayashi also directed The Human Condition, a trilogy on the effects of World War II on a Japanese pacifist and socialist. The total length of the films is over nine hours, making it a true epic. Other notable films include Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). Harakiri won him an award at the 1963 Cannes film festival, solidifying his place in the history of cinema. He was also a candidate for directing the Japanese sequences for Tora Tora Tora (1970) but instead Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda were chosen. The Human Condition is a film trilogy by Japanese film director Masaki Kobayashi. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ... Harakiri (切腹, Seppuku) (1962) is a Japanese film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. ... Rebellion, aka Samurai Rebellion, is a 1967 film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. ... The movie Tora! Tora! Tora! (トラ・トラ・トラ！), released in 1970, is a dramatization of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the series of American blunders that aggravated its effectiveness. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... Kinji Fukasaku (深作欣二 Fukasaku Kinji) (3 July 1930 – 12 January 2003) was a Japanese film actor, writer and director. ... Toshio Masuda (born October 5, 1927) is a Japanese film director whose best known to Western audiences as the co-director of the Japanese portions of the 1970 film Tora Tora Tora. ...

Kobayashi, himself a pacifist, was drafted into the Japanese army during World War II, but refused to fight or be promoted to rank higher than private. Japans honor guard often marches to greet the arrival of foreign dignitaries. ... A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank (equivalent to Nato Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in). ...

Partial filmography

• The Thick-Walled Room (1953)
• Black River (1957)
• The Human Condition trilogy - (1959–1961)
• The Inheritance (1962)
• Harakiri (1962)
• Kwaidan (1964)
• Samurai Rebellion (1967)
• Hymn To A Tired Man (1968)
• Inn Of Evil (1971)
• The Fossil (1975)
• Tokyo Trial (1983)

The Human Condition is a film trilogy by Japanese film director Masaki Kobayashi. ... Harakiri (切腹, Seppuku) (1962) is a Japanese film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. ... Kwaidan (怪談, Kaidan, 1965) is a film directed by Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi and is based on one of Lafcadio Hearns collections of Japanese folk tales, Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (1903). ... Rebellion, aka Samurai Rebellion, is a 1967 film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. ...

External links

• Masaki Kobayashi at the Internet Movie Database