Akira Kurosawa

Akira Kurosawa, a Japanese filmmaker, carved out a monumental five-decade career, directing 30 films that have come to define the cinema. His iconic works, such as samurai classics Yojimbo and Seven Samurai, are foundational to action cinema, while the post-modern historical drama Rashomon revolutionized perceptions of visual truth in storytelling. Kurosawa’s unparalleled skill in framing a shot earned him the title of “The Master” from cinema giants like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola.

Born into a prosperous family in Tokyo, Japan, on March 23, 1910, Kurosawa’s lineage dates back to the 11th century, instilling in him from an early age the pride of his samurai heritage. Initially pursuing art, Kurosawa attended the Doshisha School of Western Painting. However, his career path shifted when his essay application caught the attention of Kajirō Yamamoto, one of Japan’s leading directors at the time, who saw Kurosawa’s potential and insisted on bringing him into the film industry. As an assistant director, Kurosawa spent seven years working on approximately 24 films under Yamamoto and other directors, gaining invaluable experience and knowledge in filmmaking.

Kurosawa remained in Tokyo to continue his work when Japan entered World War II, as he had been deemed unfit for military service due to failing a physical examination. During these challenging times, he was promoted to director and debuted with Sanshiro Sugata, a film about Japanese judo masters in the 1880s that achieved success despite the economic hardships caused by the war.

His second film, Ichiban Utsukushiku (“The Most Beautiful”), a story about female workers in an arsenal, came a year later. Shortly after its release, he married Yaguchi Yoko, the lead actress from the film, and they had two children together.

The end of the war saw a temporary halt in Kurosawa’s rising career due to the U.S. occupation. However, he made a strong comeback with Waga Seishun ni Kuinashi (“No Regrets for Our Youth”), the story of a person executed for suspected espionage. This film stood out as the most successful postwar critique of Japanese militarism, both artistically and commercially.

Kurosawa’s breakthrough came with Yoidore Tenshi (“Drunken Angel”), which depicted the lives of a consumptive gangster and a drunken doctor in post-war Tokyo’s ruins, blending despair and hope, violence, and melancholy. Toshirō Mifune, who played the gangster, rose to stardom through this role and became a frequent figure in Kurosawa’s later works.

Following his initial domestic success, Kurosawa directed Rashomon, which not only became his first international sensation but also introduced a novel narrative technique. This samurai murder story is narrated from the perspectives of four different characters, each providing a conflicting interpretation of the events. This approach challenged the notion of objective truth and delved into themes of perception, memory, and human fallibility, giving rise to the “Rashomon Effect,” a term now closely associated with Kurosawa’s storytelling style.

Rashomon won the Grand Prix at the Venice Film Festival and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, marking the first time a Japanese film received such honors. This victory brought Japanese cinema to the forefront of the global stage. Martin Ritt later remade Rashomon as a western The Outrage, making it one of the first among many adaptations of Kurosawa’s works.

Over the next decade, Kurosawa cemented his status as a pivotal figure in cinema, creating some of his most influential and captivating works. Ikiru (“To Live”) stands out as a masterpiece in cinematic history, telling the story of a minor government official facing terminal cancer. His quest for meaning leads him from seeking comfort in his family, to pursuing pleasure, and finally finding redemption by serving the poor, reflecting the spiritual and societal awakening of post-war Japan.

Following Ikiru, Kurosawa unveiled Seven Samurai, his most commercially successful and arguably most entertaining film. It tells the story of a group of ronin defending a village from bandits, inspired by Hollywood westerns yet distinctly Japanese in execution. Ironically, Seven Samurai later inspired one of the greatest American westerns, John Sturges’s The Magnificent Seven, showcasing Kurosawa’s profound impact on cinema across cultures.

Additionally, George Lucas, the American filmmaker, credited Kakushi-toride No San-akunin (“Hidden Fortress”)—a tale of a princess, her general, and their two humorous peasant companions on a quest to reach safety—as a major inspiration for Star Wars. 

Kurosawa was also renowned for adapting European literary classics to Japanese settings. Hakuchi (“The Idiot”) is based on Dostoyevsky’s novel, Donzoko (“The Lower Depths”) adapts Maxim Gorky’s drama, and Kumonosu-jo (“Throne of Blood”) reimagines Shakespeare’s Macbeth, earning widespread acclaim as one of the best adaptations of Shakespeare’s work.

Seeking greater artistic freedom, Kurosawa established his own production company at the age of 50. Despite his ongoing success, the rise of television and an economic downturn in Japan prompted him to look for opportunities in Hollywood, where, unfortunately, his projects never materialized. Disheartened, financially strained, and exhausted, Kurosawa attempted suicide in 1971. Though he survived, he believed his directing days were over.

In his late 60s, a turn of fortune came when George Lucas, riding the wave of his Star Wars success, teamed up with Francis Ford Coppola and Twentieth Century Fox to produce Kagemusha (“The Shadow Warrior”), a grand medieval samurai epic. The film won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. This success revitalized Kurosawa, leading him to direct Ran (“Chaos”), a samurai interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, celebrated for its stunning visuals, intellectual depth, and powerful drama.

In 1995, while working on a new project, Kurosawa sustained a back injury from a fall, confining him to a wheelchair and precipitating a swift decline in his health. He passed away from a stroke on September 6, 1998, in Tokyo, at the age of 88. Kurosawa’s legacy endures, influencing new generations of filmmakers and leaving an indelible mark on the world of cinema.