Yasujiro Ozu (小津 安二郎 Ozu Yasujirō) (December 12, 1903 - December 12, 1963) was an influential Japanese film director. December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1903 has the latest occurring solstices and equinoxes for 400 years, because the Gregorian calendar hasnt had a leap year for seven years or a century leap year since 1600. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ...

Career

He was born in Fukagawa, Tokyo, and educated at a boarding school in Matsuzaka. He worked briefly as a teacher before returning to Tokyo in 1923 to join the Shochiku Film Company. Initially a cameraman, he became an assistant director within three years and directed his first film, The Sword of Penitence (Zange no Yaiba), in 1927. He went on to make a further 53 films – 26 in his first five years as a director, and all but 3 for Shochiku. Even though marriage was a favorite theme of his, Ozu remained single all his life. The modern skyline of Tokyo is highly decentralized. ... Matsusaka (松阪市; -shi; also Matsuzaka) is a city located in Mie, Japan. ... Shochiku Co. ...

In July 1937, at a time when Shochiku was unhappy about Ozu's lack of box-office success, despite the praise (and awards) he had received from critics, the 34-year-old director was called up, and he served for two years in China as an infantry corporal. The first film Ozu made on his return was the critically and commercially successful Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (Toda-ke no Kyodai, 1941). In 1943 Ozu was again drafted into the army to make a propaganda film in Burma. However, he was sent to Singapore instead, where he spent much of his time watching American films that the Japanese army had confiscated. According to Donald Richie, Ozu's favorite was Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Donald Richie(born 1924-) is an American-born author who has written a number of books about the Japanese people and arts. ... Orson Welles, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) is generally considered one of Hollywoods greatest directors, as well as a fine actor, broadcaster and screenwriter. ... Citizen Kane is the first feature film directed by Orson Welles (he had directed two short films previously), and is loosely based on the lives of the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, the reclusive aerospace and movie mogul Howard Hughes, and the Chicago utilities magnate Samuel Insull. ...

Ozu had started out making distinctive comedies before moving onto more socially aware works in the 1930s, concentrating on family dramas. He often worked with screenwriter Kogo Noda; other regular collaborators included cameraman Yuharu Atsuta and the actors Chishu Ryu and Setsuko Hara. His films were most favourably received from the late 1940s with works such as Late Spring (Banshun, 1949), Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari, 1953), considered to be his masterpiece, The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (Ochazuke no Aji, 1952), Early Spring (Soshun, 1956), Floating Weeds (Ukigusa, 1959) and Late Autumn (Akibiyori, 1960). His last film was An Autumn Afternoon (Sanma no aji, 1962). He died of cancer on his 60th birthday and is buried in the grounds of Engaku-ji temple, Kamakura. Kogo Noda (1893–1968) was a Japanese screenwriter who collaborated with Yasujiro Ozu on many of the directors films, including his first (The Sword of Penitence, 1927) and finest (Tokyo Story, 1953). ... Chishu Ryu (笠智衆, Ryuu Chishuu; born 12 May 1904 in Kumamoto, Japan, died 16 March 1993 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan) was the great actor of the films of Yasujiro Ozu. ... Hara Setsuko (jp: 原節子; born Aida Masae on June 17, 1920 in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture) is a famous Japanese actress who appeared in many of Ozu Yasujiros films. ... Late Spring (晩春 Banshun) is a 1949 Japanese film by Yasujiro Ozu, and many consider it his finest achievement. ... Tokyo Story (東京物語 Tokyo Monogatari) is a 1953 Japanese movie by Yasujiro Ozu, in which elderly parents from the seaside town of Onomichi visit their busy children in Tokyo — a journey which, before the introduction of the bullet train, took almost a day — only to be neglected by them. ... Yasujiro Ozus 1956 film about a married office worker who has a fling with a typist, a fellow commuter. ... A 1959 film directed by Yasujiro Ozu and shot (in colour) by Kazuo Miyagawa, one of Japans greatest cinematographers. ... An Autumn Afternoon, 1962 was the final film directed by Yasujiro Ozu. ... Crowds of visitors in Kamakura (Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine) Kamakura (Japanese: 鎌倉市; -shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. ...

As a director he was eccentric and a notorious perfectionist. He was seen as one of the 'most Japanese' film-makers, and as such his work was only rarely shown overseas before the 1960s. He took a long time to turn to sound – his first talkie was The Only Son (1936) – and did not film in colour until Equinox Flower (Higanbana) in 1958. His trademark shot was one taken from a low height, with the cameraman either sitting or prone. He was also strongly in favour of a static camera and meticulously-arranged compositions where no single actor would dominate a scene. A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ... Equinox Flower (1958) was Yasujiro Ozus first film in color. ...

Select filmography

• I Was Born, but... (1932)
• The Only Son (1936)
• What Did the Lady Forget? (1937)
• Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (1941)
• There Was a Father (1942)
• Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947)
• A Hen in the Wind (1948)
• Late Spring (1949)
• The Munekata Sisters (1950)
• Early Summer (1951)
• Tea Over Rice (1952)
• Tokyo Story (1953)
• Early Spring (1956)
• Tokyo Twilight (1957)
• Equinox Flower (1958)
• Good Morning (1959)
• Floating Weeds (1959)
• Late Autumn (1960)
• The End of Summer (1961)
• An Autumn Afternoon (1962)

1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (Toda-ke no kyodai) is a 1941 Japanese film by Yasujiro Ozu. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Late Spring (晩春 Banshun) is a 1949 Japanese film by Yasujiro Ozu, and many consider it his finest achievement. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... A 1951 film by Yasujiro Ozu. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Tea Over Rice (or The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice) is a 1952 Japanese film by Yasujiro Ozu, about a wealthy middle-aged couple (played by Shin Saburi and Michiyo Kogure) who have marital difficulties. ... 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tokyo Story (東京物語 Tokyo Monogatari) is a 1953 Japanese movie by Yasujiro Ozu, in which elderly parents from the seaside town of Onomichi visit their busy children in Tokyo — a journey which, before the introduction of the bullet train, took almost a day — only to be neglected by them. ... 1953 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Yasujiro Ozus 1956 film about a married office worker who has a fling with a typist, a fellow commuter. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Equinox Flower (1958) was Yasujiro Ozus first film in color. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Good Morning is a 1959 comedy film from director Yasujiro Ozu, one of only six films that he made in colour, in which two boys go on a silence strike in an attempt to pressure their parents into buying a television set. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A 1959 film directed by Yasujiro Ozu and shot (in colour) by Kazuo Miyagawa, one of Japans greatest cinematographers. ... 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... An Autumn Afternoon, 1962 was the final film directed by Yasujiro Ozu. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Tributes

In 2003, the centenary of Yasujiro Ozu's birth was commemorated at various film festivals around the world. Shochiku produced the film Café Lumière (珈琲時光), directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien as homage to Ozu, with direct reference to the late master's Tokyo Story (1953), to premiere on Ozu's birthday. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Shochiku Co. ... Venice Film Festival poster for Café Lumière Café Lumière (珈琲時光) is a 2003 Japanese film directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien for Shochiku as homage to Yasujiro Ozu, with direct reference to the late masters Tokyo Story (1953). ... Taiwan is mostly mountainous in the east but gradually transitions to gently sloping plains in the west. ... Hou Hsiao-Hsien (Chinese: 侯孝賢; Pinyin: ) (born April 8, 1947) is an award-winning film director and a leading figure of Taiwans New Wave cinema movement. ...

John Walker, editor of the Halliwell's Film Guides, placed Tokyo Story top in a list of the best 1000 films yet made.

Further reading

• Ozu by Donald Richie. University of California Press; (July 1977), ISBN 0520032772
• Ozu and the Poetics of Cinema by David Bordwell. Princeton University Press; (1988), ISBN 0691008221
• Ozu's Anti-Cinema by Kiju Yoshida. Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan; (1998), ISBN 1929280270
• Ozu yasujiro zenshū (Ozu Yasujiro's Complete Works -- two volume set of Ozu's scripts). Shinshokan; (March 2003), ISBN 4403150012 (in Japanese)
• Ozu yasujiro no nazo (The Riddle of Ozu Yasujiro -- manga biography of Ozu). Shōgakukan; (March 2001), ISBN 4091793215 (in Japanese)
• Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer by Paul Schrader (1972) ISBN 0306803356

Donald Richie(born 1924-) is an American-born author who has written a number of books about the Japanese people and arts. ... The University of California (UC) is a public university system within the State of California. ... University of Michigan, Ann Arbor The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public coeducational university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ... Shogakukan (小学館 Shōgakukan) is a major publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, nonfiction, childrens DVDs, and other media in Japan. ... Paul Schrader (born 22 July 1946 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a screenwriter and film director, renowned for his characters that fall into desperation while their world crumbles around them. ...

External links

• Ozu Yasujiro at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile at Japan Zone
• Ozu Yasujiro's JMDb Listing (in Japanese)
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• Directions for finding Ozu Yasujiro's grave at Engaku-ji
• Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, June 10, 2005, "The quiet master"