Teinosuke Kinugasa

Directing

Teinosuke Kinugasa

Born January 1, 1896 · Kameyama, Mie, Japan

Died February 26, 1982 · aged 86

Teinosuke Kinugasa (衣笠 貞之助 Kinugasa Teinosuke) (1 January 1896 – 26 February 1982) was a Japanese actor and film director. He was born in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture and died in Kyoto. Kinugasa won the 1954 Palme d'or at Cannes for Jigokumon (The Gate of Hell). Kinugasa was among the pioneers of Japanese film, but began his career as an actor specializing in female roles (onnagata) at the Nikkatsu s…

Known For

Symphony of LoveSymphony of Love · 1958
Symphony of Love
1958
MovieDramaRomance
A romance between a young koto prodigy and the head of a koto school’s daughter.
The Song LanternThe Song Lantern · 1960
The Song Lantern
★ 9.01960
MovieDrama
The title of the film reflects the custom of writing poems and lyrics on paper lanterns. The film tells about the difficult relationship between the actors of the Japanese classical theater No, friendship, hatred and love…
SparkSpark · 1956
Spark
1956
MovieDrama
A heartbroken beauty has slipped into the ranks of the "Golden Horse" circus troupe. The circus's two star performers, vying for her affection, face off on a perilous trapeze, staking their love and friendship on the outcome.
The Barbarian and the GeishaThe Barbarian and the Geisha · 1958
The Barbarian and the Geisha
★ 6.11958
MovieDramaRomance
Townsend Harris is sent by President Pierce to Japan to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General to that country. Harris discovers enormous hostility to foreigners, as well as the love of a young geisha.
Gate of HellGate of Hell · 1953
Gate of Hell
★ 7.11953
MovieDramaHistory
Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.
Ôsaka no onnaÔsaka no onna · 1958
Ôsaka no onna
1958
Movie
In the ruins of postwar Osaka, performers and drifters gather in a rundown tenement known as "Geinin Mura." Osen, a kind-hearted seamstress, supports her eccentric former-comedian father while carrying the memory of a lost love, Sо̂ji. After a misunderstanding separates them, she marries the cheerful performer Yonetaro, only for tragedy to strike soon after.
A Page of MadnessA Page of Madness · 1926
A Page of Madness
★ 7.31926
MovieHorrorDrama
An elderly man visits his mentally ill wife in a psychiatric hospital. Years earlier, she had tried to drown their child and then take her own life. Crushed by guilt and powerless to change what has happened, he stays on at the clinic as a janitor. Soon, their daughter comes to tell him she is getting married, and with her arrival come painful memories and tormenting visions.
ActressActress · 1947
Actress
★ 7.01947
MovieDrama
During the late Meiji period, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Sumako, a country girl, becomes a great actress with the help of Hogetsu, a scholar who brought European realism to the Japanese stage. The relationship leads to the end of his marriage and the breakup of his Arts Society.

Filmography

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The Romance of YushimaThe Romance of Yushima · 1955
The Romance of Yushima
★ 8.01955
MovieDrama
Hayase, a schoolteacher, assists Sakai in editing a German-Japanese dictionary. Hayase owes much to Sakai, as Sakai raised him for 13 years after Hayase lost his parents in a war. Hayase has been secretly married to Otsuta, a former geisha, and has been unable to tell Sakai of the marriage, aware as he is that Sakai wants him to marry his daughter, Taeko. Otsuta wants Hayase to tell Sakai about her, but understands the difficulty of his position. At a festival, Otsuta is mistaken for a pickpocket and taken to the police. Because of her background as a geisha, newspaper reporters eagerly delve into her past and report that she has been married to Hayase. Unaware of what has been printed in the papers, Hayase decides to tell Sakai about his marriage. Sakai shows the newspaper to him and orders Hayase to part with Otsuta. Given no chance to explain, Hayase accepts Sakai's order.

Screenplay

The Loyal 47 RoninThe Loyal 47 Ronin · 1932
The Loyal 47 Ronin
1932
MovieDrama
This 1932 adaptation is the earliest sound version of the ever-popular and much-filmed Chushingura story of the loyal 47 retainers who avenged their feudal lord after he was obliged to commit hara-kiri due to the machinations of a villainous courtier. As the first sound version of the classic narrative, the film was something of an event, and employed a stellar cast, who give a roster of memorable performances. Director Teinosuke Kinugasa was primarily a specialist in jidai-geki (period films), such as the internationally celebrated Gate of Hell (Jigokumon, 1953), and although he is now most famous as the maker of the avant-garde silent films A Page of Madness (Kurutta ichipeji, 1926) and Crossroads (Jujiro, 1928), Chushingura is in fact more typical of his output than those experimental works. The film ranked third in that year’s Kinema Junpo critics’ poll, and Joseph Anderson and Donald Richie noted that 'not only the sound but the quick cutting was admired by many critics.

Director