JUZO ITAMI
Name: Yoshihiro Ikeuchi
Born: 15 May 1933 Kyoto, Japan
Died: 20 December 1997 Tokyo, Japan
Juzo Itami (May 15, 1933 – December 20, 1997) was an actor
and (later) a popular modern Japanese film director. Many critics came to regard
him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His 10 movies, all of
which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture.
Itami was born Yoshihiro Ikeuchi in Kyoto, Japan. The name Itami was passed on
from his father, Mansaku Itami – who had himself been a renowned satirist and
film director before World War II.
At the end of the war, when he was in Kyoto, Itami was chosen as an infant
prodigy and educated at Tokubetsu Kagaku Gakkyu ("the special scientific
education class") as a future scientist who was expected to defeat the allied
powers. Among his fellow students, were the sons of Hideki Yukawa and Shinichiro
Tomonaga. This class was abolished in March 1947.
He moved from Kyoto to Ehime when he was a high school student. After
transferring to the prestigious East Matsuyama High School, where he was known
to be intelligent enough to read Rimbaud in French. But due to his poor academic
record, he had to remain in the same class for two years. It was here that he
became acquainted with Kenzaburo Oe, who was going to marry his sister. When it
turned out that he could not graduate from East Matsuyama Highschool, he
transferred to South Matsuyama Highschool, where he graduated.
After failing the entrance exam for the College of Engineering at Osaka
University, Itami worked at various times as a commercial designer, a television
reporter, a magazine editor, and an essayist. He first acted in 1960s Ginza no
Dora-Neko and appeared in various films and television series, including the big-budget
Western film Lord Jim in the 1960s. The most notable movie in which Itami acted
may be Yoshimitsu Morita's 1983 movie Kazoku Gēmu (The Family Game).
Itami first directed the movie Ososhiki (The Funeral) in 1984, at the age of 50.
This film proved popular in Japan and won many awards, including Japanese
Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. However, it
was his second movie, his "noodle western" Tampopo, that earned him
international exposure and acclaim. All of his films were profitable; most were
also critical successes.
Itami's wife, Nobuko Miyamoto, is often the star of his movies. Her role tends
to be that of an Everywoman figure.
In 1992, Itami was attacked, beaten, and slashed by five members of the Goto-gumi,
a Tokyo yakuza gang, who were angry at his portrayal of yakuza as bullies and
thugs in his film Minbo no Onna. This attack led to a government crackdown on
the yakuza. His subsequent stay in a hospital inspired his next film Daibyonin,
a grim satire on the Japanese health system.
He purportedly committed suicide on December 20, 1997 in Tokyo, by leaping from
the roof of the building where his office was located, after a sex scandal he
was allegedly involved in was picked up by the press. The suicide letter he
reportedly left behind denied any involvement in such an affair. Many consider
his death suspicious; some believe it had something to do with a cult religion
he was dealing with, or, as another possible revenge attack by the Yakuza. At
the time, the police treated it as a possible homicide. His surviving family has
remained silent on the circumstances surrounding his death.
Name: Yoshihiro Ikeuchi
Born: 15 May 1933 Kyoto, Japan
Died: 20 December 1997 Tokyo, Japan
Juzo Itami (May 15, 1933 – December 20, 1997) was an actor
and (later) a popular modern Japanese film director. Many critics came to regard
him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His 10 movies, all of
which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture.
Itami was born Yoshihiro Ikeuchi in Kyoto, Japan. The name Itami was passed on
from his father, Mansaku Itami – who had himself been a renowned satirist and
film director before World War II.
At the end of the war, when he was in Kyoto, Itami was chosen as an infant
prodigy and educated at Tokubetsu Kagaku Gakkyu ("the special scientific
education class") as a future scientist who was expected to defeat the allied
powers. Among his fellow students, were the sons of Hideki Yukawa and Shinichiro
Tomonaga. This class was abolished in March 1947.
He moved from Kyoto to Ehime when he was a high school student. After
transferring to the prestigious East Matsuyama High School, where he was known
to be intelligent enough to read Rimbaud in French. But due to his poor academic
record, he had to remain in the same class for two years. It was here that he
became acquainted with Kenzaburo Oe, who was going to marry his sister. When it
turned out that he could not graduate from East Matsuyama Highschool, he
transferred to South Matsuyama Highschool, where he graduated.
After failing the entrance exam for the College of Engineering at Osaka
University, Itami worked at various times as a commercial designer, a television
reporter, a magazine editor, and an essayist. He first acted in 1960s Ginza no
Dora-Neko and appeared in various films and television series, including the big-budget
Western film Lord Jim in the 1960s. The most notable movie in which Itami acted
may be Yoshimitsu Morita's 1983 movie Kazoku Gēmu (The Family Game).
Itami first directed the movie Ososhiki (The Funeral) in 1984, at the age of 50.
This film proved popular in Japan and won many awards, including Japanese
Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. However, it
was his second movie, his "noodle western" Tampopo, that earned him
international exposure and acclaim. All of his films were profitable; most were
also critical successes.
Itami's wife, Nobuko Miyamoto, is often the star of his movies. Her role tends
to be that of an Everywoman figure.
In 1992, Itami was attacked, beaten, and slashed by five members of the Goto-gumi,
a Tokyo yakuza gang, who were angry at his portrayal of yakuza as bullies and
thugs in his film Minbo no Onna. This attack led to a government crackdown on
the yakuza. His subsequent stay in a hospital inspired his next film Daibyonin,
a grim satire on the Japanese health system.
He purportedly committed suicide on December 20, 1997 in Tokyo, by leaping from
the roof of the building where his office was located, after a sex scandal he
was allegedly involved in was picked up by the press. The suicide letter he
reportedly left behind denied any involvement in such an affair. Many consider
his death suspicious; some believe it had something to do with a cult religion
he was dealing with, or, as another possible revenge attack by the Yakuza. At
the time, the police treated it as a possible homicide. His surviving family has
remained silent on the circumstances surrounding his death.