Keisuke Kinoshita

Overview

Keisuke Kinoshita (木下惠介, Kinoshita Keisuke, December 5, 1912 – December 30, 1998) was a Japanese film director.

Hugely popular in his home country of Japan, Keisuke Kinoshita worked tirelessly as a director for nearly half a century, making lyrical, sentimental films that often center on the inherent goodness of people, especially in times of distress. He began his directing career during a most challenging time for Japanese cinema: World War II, when the industry’s output was closely monitored by the state and often had to be purely propagandistic. He refused to be bound by genre, technique, or dogma. Kinoshita excelled in almost every genre: comedy, tragedy, social dramas, period films. He shot all films on location or in a one-house set. He pursued severe photographic realism with the long take, long-shot method, and went equally far toward stylization with fast cutting, intricate wipes, tilted cameras, and even classical scroll-painting and Kabuki stage technique.

Kinoshita was highly prolific, turning out some 42 films in the first 23 years of his career. For this, Kinoshita explained that he "can’t help it. Ideas for films have always just popped into my head like scraps of paper into a wastebasket." While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujirō Ozu, he was a household figure in his home country, beloved by both critics and audiences from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Although few concrete details have emerged about Kinoshita's personal life, his homosexuality was widely known in the film world. Screenwriter and frequent collaborator Yoshio Shirasaka recalls the "brilliant scene" Kinoshita made with the handsome, well-dressed assistant directors he surrounded himself with. His 1959 film Farewell to Spring (Sekishuncho) has been called "Japan's first gay film" for the emotional intensity depicted between its male characters.

Kinoshita received the Order of the Rising Sun in 1984 and was awarded the Order of Culture in 1991 by the Japanese government. He died on December 30, 1998, of a stroke. His grave is in Engaku-ji in Kamakura, very near to that of his fellow Shochiku director, Yasujirō Ozu.

Known for

Acting
1983	I Lived, But...	Actor	Self	59 Average
1954	Twenty-Four Eyes	Actor	(uncredited)	61 Fair
Directing
1988	Father	Directing	Director	59 Average
1986	Big Joys, Small Sorrows	Directing	Director	59 Average
1983	Children of Nagasaki	Directing	Director	59 Average
1980	The Young Rebels	Directing	Director	59 Average
1979	Oh, My Son!	Directing	Director	58 Average
1976	Love and Separation in Sri Lanka	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1974	Wagako wa Tanin	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1971	Mom’s Shoulders	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1970	World of Two	Directing	Director	70 Good
1970	Ashita Kara no Koi	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1969	Brother	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1967	Eyes, the Sea and a Ball	Directing	Director	59 Average
1964	The Scent of Incense	Directing	Director	59 Average
1963	A Legend, or Was It?	Directing	Director	59 Average
1963	Sing, Young People	Directing	Director	59 Average
1962	Ballad of a Workman	Directing	Director	58 Average
1962	This Year's Love	Directing	Director	59 Average
1961	Immortal Love	Directing	Director	59 Average
1960	The River Fuefuki	Directing	Director	59 Average
1960	Spring Dreams	Directing	Director	59 Average
1959	Thus Another Day	Directing	Director	58 Average
1959	Farewell to Spring	Directing	Director	59 Average
1959	The Snow Flurry	Directing	Director	59 Average
1958	The Eternal Rainbow	Directing	Director	59 Average
1958	The Ballad of Narayama	Directing	Director	60 Fair
1957	Danger Stalks Near	Directing	Director	58 Average
1957	Times of Joy and Sorrow	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1956	The Rose on His Arm	Directing	Director	58 Average
1956	Farewell to Dream	Directing	Director	59 Average
1955	She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum	Directing	Director	59 Average
1955	The Tattered Wings	Directing	Director	59 Average
1954	Twenty-Four Eyes	Directing	Director	61 Fair
1954	The Garden of Women	Directing	Director	59 Average
1953	A Japanese Tragedy	Directing	Director	59 Average
1952	Carmen's Innocent Love	Directing	Director	59 Average
1951	Fireworks Over the Sea	Directing	Director	58 Average
1951	Boyhood	Directing	Director	59 Average
1951	Carmen Comes Home	Directing	Director	59 Average
1951	The Good Fairy	Directing	Director	59 Average
1950	Wedding Ring	Directing	Director	59 Average
1949	Broken Drum	Directing	Director	59 Average
1949	Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 2	Directing	Director	59 Average
1949	Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 1	Directing	Director	59 Average
1949	Here's to the Young Lady	Directing	Director	59 Average
1948	Apostasy	Directing	Director	59 Average
1948	The Portrait	Directing	Director	59 Average
1948	Woman	Directing	Director	59 Average
1947	Phoenix	Directing	Director	59 Average
1947	Marriage	Directing	Director	59 Average
1946	The Girl I Loved	Directing	Director	59 Average
1946	Morning for the Osone Family	Directing	Director	59 Average
1944	Army	Directing	Director	59 Average
1944	Jubilation Street	Directing	Director	59 Average
1943	The Living Magoroku	Directing	Director	59 Average
1943	Port of Flowers	Directing	Director	59 Average
1937	The Lights of Asakusa	Directing	Assistant Director	59 Average
Writing
2000	Dora-heita	Writing	Screenplay	58 Average
1988	Father	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1987	Children on the Island	Writing	Screenplay	N/A N/A
1986	Big Joys, Small Sorrows	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1983	Children of Nagasaki	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1983	Children of Nagasaki	Writing	Original Story	59 Average
1980	The Young Rebels	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1979	Oh, My Son!	Writing	Screenplay	58 Average
1976	Love and Separation in Sri Lanka	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1971	Taiyō no Namida	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1968	Oyaji Daiko	Writing	Writer	69 Fair
1967	Green Light to Joy	Writing	Screenplay	N/A N/A
1967	Eyes, the Sea and a Ball	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1966	Once a Rainy Day	Writing	Original Story	N/A N/A
1965	While Yet a Wife	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1964	The Scent of Incense	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1963	A Legend, or Was It?	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1962	Children of Izu	Writing	Screenplay	N/A N/A
1962	Ballad of a Workman	Writing	Screenplay	58 Average
1962	Kiriko no unmei	Writing	Screenplay	N/A N/A
1962	Dolls floating down the river	Writing	Screenplay	N/A N/A
1962	This Year's Love	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1961	Immortal Love	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1961	かあちゃんしぐのいやだ	Writing	Screenplay	N/A N/A
1960	The River Fuefuki	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1960	Spring Dreams	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1959	Thus Another Day	Writing	Screenplay	58 Average
1959	Farewell to Spring	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1959	The Snow Flurry	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1958	The Eternal Rainbow	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1958	The Ballad of Narayama	Writing	Writer	60 Fair
1957	Danger Stalks Near	Writing	Screenplay	58 Average
1957	Times of Joy and Sorrow	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1956	The Rose on His Arm	Writing	Screenplay	58 Average
1956	Ai to chie no wa	Writing	Screenplay	N/A N/A
1955	She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1955	The Tattered Wings	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1954	Twenty-Four Eyes	Writing	Screenplay	61 Fair
1954	The Garden of Women	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1953	Love Letter	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1953	A Japanese Tragedy	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1953	Sincere Heart	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1952	Carmen's Innocent Love	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1951	Fireworks Over the Sea	Writing	Screenplay	58 Average
1951	Boyhood	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1951	Carmen Comes Home	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1951	The Good Fairy	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1950	Wedding Ring	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1949	Broken Drum	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1949	Broken Drum	Writing	Story	59 Average
1948	Woman	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1947	Phoenix	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1947	Marriage	Writing	Story	59 Average
1946	The Girl I Loved	Writing	Story	59 Average
1946	The Girl I Loved	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1943	The Living Magoroku	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1942	Otoko no iki	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1942	The Spy Has Not Died Yet	Writing	Screenplay	N/A N/A
1939	Five Siblings	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1939	Five Siblings	Writing	Idea	N/A N/A
Production
1972	Kōfuku Sōdan	Production	Producer	N/A N/A
1971	Mom’s Shoulders	Production	Producer	N/A N/A
1970	World of Two	Production	Producer	70 Good
1970	Dodes'ka-den	Production	Executive Producer	61 Fair
1967	Eyes, the Sea and a Ball	Production	Producer	59 Average
1964	The Scent of Incense	Production	Producer	59 Average
1963	A Legend, or Was It?	Production	Producer	59 Average
1963	Sing, Young People	Production	Executive Producer	59 Average
1962	Ballad of a Workman	Production	Producer	58 Average
1961	Immortal Love	Production	Producer	59 Average
1960	The River Fuefuki	Production	Producer	59 Average
1950	Wedding Ring	Production	Producer	59 Average
Camera
1935	Okoto and Sasuke	Camera	Assistant Camera	59 Average
Crew
1974	Wagako wa Tanin	Crew	Creator	N/A N/A
1972	Kōfuku Sōdan	Crew	Creator	N/A N/A
1971	Taiyō no Namida	Crew	Creator	N/A N/A
1968	Oyaji Daiko	Crew	Creator	69 Fair

About

Keisuke Kinoshita

Overview

Known for

Acting

Directing

Writing

Production

Camera

Crew