Hiroshi Teshigahara (勅使河原 å® , Teshigahara Hiroshi, January
28, 1927 â€" April 14, 2001) was a Japanese avant-garde filmmaker and
artist from the Japanese New Wave era. He is best known for the 1964
film Woman in the Dunes. He is also known for directing other titles
such as The Face of Another (1966), Natsu No Heitai (Summer Soldiers,
1972), and Pitfall (1962) which was Teshigahara's directorial debut.
He has been called "one of the most acclaimed Japanese directors of
all time". Teshigahara is the first person of Asian descent to be
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, accomplishing this
in 1964 for his work on Woman in the Dunes. Apart from being a
filmmaker, Teshigahara also practiced other arts, such as calligraphy,
pottery, painting, opera and ikebana.Teshigahara was born in Tokyo,
the son of SÅ fu Teshigahara, founder and grand master of the
SŠgetsu-ryū school of ikebana. He graduated in 1950 from the Tokyo
National University of Fine Arts and Music and began working in
documentary film. He directed his first feature film, Pitfall (1962),
in collaboration with author KÅ bÅ Abe and musician Toru Takemitsu.
The film won the NHK New Director's award, and throughout the 1960s,
he continued to collaborate on films with Abe and Takemitsu while
simultaneously pursuing his interest in ikebana and sculpture on a
professional level.In 1965, the Teshigahara/Abe film Woman in the
Dunes (1964) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign
Language Film and won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film
Festival. Although the original director's cut of Woman in the Dunes
was 147 minutes, he cut it down to 124 minutes when he was invited to
the Cannes Film Festival. In 1972, he worked with Japanese researcher
and translator John Nathan to make Summer Soldiers, a film set during
the Vietnam War about American deserters living on the fringe of
Japanese society.From the mid-1970s onwards, he worked less frequently
on feature films as he concentrated more on documentaries, exhibitions
and the Sogetsu School and became grand master of the school in 1980.
28, 1927 â€" April 14, 2001) was a Japanese avant-garde filmmaker and
artist from the Japanese New Wave era. He is best known for the 1964
film Woman in the Dunes. He is also known for directing other titles
such as The Face of Another (1966), Natsu No Heitai (Summer Soldiers,
1972), and Pitfall (1962) which was Teshigahara's directorial debut.
He has been called "one of the most acclaimed Japanese directors of
all time". Teshigahara is the first person of Asian descent to be
nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, accomplishing this
in 1964 for his work on Woman in the Dunes. Apart from being a
filmmaker, Teshigahara also practiced other arts, such as calligraphy,
pottery, painting, opera and ikebana.Teshigahara was born in Tokyo,
the son of SÅ fu Teshigahara, founder and grand master of the
SŠgetsu-ryū school of ikebana. He graduated in 1950 from the Tokyo
National University of Fine Arts and Music and began working in
documentary film. He directed his first feature film, Pitfall (1962),
in collaboration with author KÅ bÅ Abe and musician Toru Takemitsu.
The film won the NHK New Director's award, and throughout the 1960s,
he continued to collaborate on films with Abe and Takemitsu while
simultaneously pursuing his interest in ikebana and sculpture on a
professional level.In 1965, the Teshigahara/Abe film Woman in the
Dunes (1964) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign
Language Film and won the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film
Festival. Although the original director's cut of Woman in the Dunes
was 147 minutes, he cut it down to 124 minutes when he was invited to
the Cannes Film Festival. In 1972, he worked with Japanese researcher
and translator John Nathan to make Summer Soldiers, a film set during
the Vietnam War about American deserters living on the fringe of
Japanese society.From the mid-1970s onwards, he worked less frequently
on feature films as he concentrated more on documentaries, exhibitions
and the Sogetsu School and became grand master of the school in 1980.
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