Masaru Konuma (å° æ²¼å‹ , Konuma Masaru) is a Japanese film director
known for his Roman Porno films for Nikkatsu during the 1970s.Masaru
Konuma was born in Otaru, HokkaidÅ , on December 30, 1937. Konuma
retains no memories of his father who was a teacher. Drafted into the
army after the outbreak of World War II in 1941, Konuma's father
became ill with tuberculosis within a year of the start his military
service, and returned home where he died.After the war, Konuma's
mother remarried, and Konuma, then 15, was sent away to live in Tokyo.
Konuma recalls, "In those days, there was no TV. I had no idea about
Tokyo. It was as distant to me as Africa or Alaska is to kids today. I
didn't want to go. I cried."As a way of dealing with his loneliness
and homesickness at this time, Konuma began going to the cinema. He
majored in film studies in the Art Department of Nihon University.
Soon after graduation, in 1961, Konuma went to work at Nikkatsu
Studios, about the same time as producer Yuki and directors KŠyū
Ohara and Noboru Tanaka. The quartet were known by their individual
characters as, "Diligent Yuki, slovenly Ohara, faithful Tanaka,
reckless Konuma." Konuma started as a "fifth" assistant director,
which meant he was in charge of the clipboard. He endured this low
position at the studio in the hope that eventually he would become a
director. In his early career, he was the assistant director on such
films as Nikkatsu's venture into the kaiju genre, Daikyojū Gappa
(1967), which was released in the U.S. as Monster from a Prehistoric
Planet. Seijun Suzuki was one of the few directors who impressed
Konuma during these early years at Nikkatsu.
known for his Roman Porno films for Nikkatsu during the 1970s.Masaru
Konuma was born in Otaru, HokkaidÅ , on December 30, 1937. Konuma
retains no memories of his father who was a teacher. Drafted into the
army after the outbreak of World War II in 1941, Konuma's father
became ill with tuberculosis within a year of the start his military
service, and returned home where he died.After the war, Konuma's
mother remarried, and Konuma, then 15, was sent away to live in Tokyo.
Konuma recalls, "In those days, there was no TV. I had no idea about
Tokyo. It was as distant to me as Africa or Alaska is to kids today. I
didn't want to go. I cried."As a way of dealing with his loneliness
and homesickness at this time, Konuma began going to the cinema. He
majored in film studies in the Art Department of Nihon University.
Soon after graduation, in 1961, Konuma went to work at Nikkatsu
Studios, about the same time as producer Yuki and directors KŠyū
Ohara and Noboru Tanaka. The quartet were known by their individual
characters as, "Diligent Yuki, slovenly Ohara, faithful Tanaka,
reckless Konuma." Konuma started as a "fifth" assistant director,
which meant he was in charge of the clipboard. He endured this low
position at the studio in the hope that eventually he would become a
director. In his early career, he was the assistant director on such
films as Nikkatsu's venture into the kaiju genre, Daikyojū Gappa
(1967), which was released in the U.S. as Monster from a Prehistoric
Planet. Seijun Suzuki was one of the few directors who impressed
Konuma during these early years at Nikkatsu.
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