Giichi Nishihara (西原 儀一, Nishihara Giichi, 1929 â€" 16 August
2009) a.k.a. ShirŠSekiya (関谷四郎, Sekiya ShirŠ) was a
Japanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor best known
for his low-budget and sensationalistic pink films made for his Aoi
Eiga studios in the 1960s and 1970s. He has been called both "Japan's
sleaziest movie-maker," and "a cult favorite among devotees of extreme
cinema."Born in 1929, Nishihara worked as a professional boxer during
the early post-World War II years. His success in this capacity led to
his entry to the film industry as an actor, playing the role of a
fighter in director KÅ zÅ Saeki's 1947 Daiei film, Town Of The Iron
Fist or Street of Iron Fists (Tekken No Machi). Nishihara served as
Saeki's Assistant Director in the 1949 film, Morning Star Song
(æŒã ®æ˜Žæ˜Ÿ). In the early years of his career he worked as an actor
and freelance filmmaker for several studios besides Daiei, including
Shochiku, Mainichi Television and NHK.The first Japanese film to
contain nudity, director Satoru Kobayashi's controversial Flesh
Market, was released in 1962. It was shut down by the police and
censored before it could be re-released, but the film became a huge
box-office success. Even with the limited distribution it received as
an independent production, Flesh Market, which was made for 6-8
million yen, took in over 100 million yen. With the success of this
movie, the pink film genreâ€"known as eroductions at the timeâ€"had
been born. In the pink-boom atmosphere of the mid-1960s, many small
studios were set up to produce these cheap and profitable softcore
pornographic theatrical films. One such studio was Aoi Eiga, founded
by Nishihara to produce his own films. Some have claimed the company
was a "front" for the Osaka yakuza.Nishihara made his directorial
debut with Highway of Passion (1965). In 1966, Tamaki Katori, star of
Flesh Market, joined Aoi Eiga and quickly appeared in many films
scripted and directed by Nishihara. To Aim at... (January, 1967) was a
crime drama, in which Katori is the only survivor after she battles
with the three men with whom she has committed a major robbery.
Weeping Affair (March, 1967) was a melodrama about Katori's
relationship with a middle-aged man and his daughter.
2009) a.k.a. ShirŠSekiya (関谷四郎, Sekiya ShirŠ) was a
Japanese film director, screenwriter, producer and actor best known
for his low-budget and sensationalistic pink films made for his Aoi
Eiga studios in the 1960s and 1970s. He has been called both "Japan's
sleaziest movie-maker," and "a cult favorite among devotees of extreme
cinema."Born in 1929, Nishihara worked as a professional boxer during
the early post-World War II years. His success in this capacity led to
his entry to the film industry as an actor, playing the role of a
fighter in director KÅ zÅ Saeki's 1947 Daiei film, Town Of The Iron
Fist or Street of Iron Fists (Tekken No Machi). Nishihara served as
Saeki's Assistant Director in the 1949 film, Morning Star Song
(æŒã ®æ˜Žæ˜Ÿ). In the early years of his career he worked as an actor
and freelance filmmaker for several studios besides Daiei, including
Shochiku, Mainichi Television and NHK.The first Japanese film to
contain nudity, director Satoru Kobayashi's controversial Flesh
Market, was released in 1962. It was shut down by the police and
censored before it could be re-released, but the film became a huge
box-office success. Even with the limited distribution it received as
an independent production, Flesh Market, which was made for 6-8
million yen, took in over 100 million yen. With the success of this
movie, the pink film genreâ€"known as eroductions at the timeâ€"had
been born. In the pink-boom atmosphere of the mid-1960s, many small
studios were set up to produce these cheap and profitable softcore
pornographic theatrical films. One such studio was Aoi Eiga, founded
by Nishihara to produce his own films. Some have claimed the company
was a "front" for the Osaka yakuza.Nishihara made his directorial
debut with Highway of Passion (1965). In 1966, Tamaki Katori, star of
Flesh Market, joined Aoi Eiga and quickly appeared in many films
scripted and directed by Nishihara. To Aim at... (January, 1967) was a
crime drama, in which Katori is the only survivor after she battles
with the three men with whom she has committed a major robbery.
Weeping Affair (March, 1967) was a melodrama about Katori's
relationship with a middle-aged man and his daughter.
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