Satoru Kobayashi (å° æž—æ‚Ÿ, Kobayashi Satoru) (August 1, 1930 â€"
November 15, 2001) was a Japanese film director most famous for
directing the first pink film, the type of softcore pornographic films
that became the most prolific film genre in Japan during the 1960s and
1970s. Japanese sources claim that Kobayashi directed over 400 pink
films between 1960 and 1990, making him possibly the most prolific
Japanese film director.Satoru Kobayashi was born in Nagano Prefecture
on August 1, 1930. His family owned a hot-spring resort hotel. As a
teenager during World War II, Kobayashi was involved in anti-war
activities, resulting in his torture by the Japanese military police.
In an interview with the Director's Guild, Kobayashi claimed that it
was this first-hand experience with torture that gave him his interest
and adeptness with the sado-masochistic genre of pink film in which he
often worked.Kobayashi left Nagano for Tokyo, where he studied
theater. He became involved with butoh, worked as a set designer, and
wrote theatrical criticism while in university. In 1954 he joined
Shintoho studios as an assistant director. Here he worked under ero
guro masters Teruo Ishii and Hiroshi Shimizu, as well as Kinuyo
Tanaka, Japan's first female director. Kobayashi's directorial debut
was with the independently produced Crazy Desire (狂㠣㠟欲望,
Kurutta YokubÅ ) (1959). For Shintoho Kobayashi made ten more films
with such exploitable titles as Dangerous Temptation, Three Women
Burglars and Phantom Detective: Terrifying Alien (all 1960).When
Shintoho declared bankruptcy in 1961, Kobayashi was forced to seek
work elsewhere. After a year out of the director's chair, Kobayashi
wrote and directed the independent sex-film Flesh Market (1962).
Shintoho's female pearl-diver films with actress Michiko Maeda had
become notorious in the 1950s as the first Japanese films with nude
scenes. Flesh Market was the first Japanese film to show breasts on
screen. The film was released on February 27, 1962, and shut down by
the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department the next day. It became the
first post-World War II movie to be accused of obscenity. When the
film was cleared for release the next year, seven scenes had been cut.
Flesh Market was an independent and underground film, and played only
in "Adult" theaters. Nevertheless, perhaps because of the controversy
surrounding the release of the film, Flesh Market was a box-office
success. Made for only 6-8 million yen, the film brought in over 100
million yen, a huge profit for an independent release. The success of
this film started the pink film genre, which was to become one of the
most vital genres of Japanese domestic cinema for the next 40 years.
The star of the film, Tamaki Katori, would go on to appear in over 600
pink films during the 1960s, earning the nickname "The Pink Princess."
Today only 21 minutes of Flesh Market survive, preserved in the
National Film Centre.
November 15, 2001) was a Japanese film director most famous for
directing the first pink film, the type of softcore pornographic films
that became the most prolific film genre in Japan during the 1960s and
1970s. Japanese sources claim that Kobayashi directed over 400 pink
films between 1960 and 1990, making him possibly the most prolific
Japanese film director.Satoru Kobayashi was born in Nagano Prefecture
on August 1, 1930. His family owned a hot-spring resort hotel. As a
teenager during World War II, Kobayashi was involved in anti-war
activities, resulting in his torture by the Japanese military police.
In an interview with the Director's Guild, Kobayashi claimed that it
was this first-hand experience with torture that gave him his interest
and adeptness with the sado-masochistic genre of pink film in which he
often worked.Kobayashi left Nagano for Tokyo, where he studied
theater. He became involved with butoh, worked as a set designer, and
wrote theatrical criticism while in university. In 1954 he joined
Shintoho studios as an assistant director. Here he worked under ero
guro masters Teruo Ishii and Hiroshi Shimizu, as well as Kinuyo
Tanaka, Japan's first female director. Kobayashi's directorial debut
was with the independently produced Crazy Desire (狂㠣㠟欲望,
Kurutta YokubÅ ) (1959). For Shintoho Kobayashi made ten more films
with such exploitable titles as Dangerous Temptation, Three Women
Burglars and Phantom Detective: Terrifying Alien (all 1960).When
Shintoho declared bankruptcy in 1961, Kobayashi was forced to seek
work elsewhere. After a year out of the director's chair, Kobayashi
wrote and directed the independent sex-film Flesh Market (1962).
Shintoho's female pearl-diver films with actress Michiko Maeda had
become notorious in the 1950s as the first Japanese films with nude
scenes. Flesh Market was the first Japanese film to show breasts on
screen. The film was released on February 27, 1962, and shut down by
the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department the next day. It became the
first post-World War II movie to be accused of obscenity. When the
film was cleared for release the next year, seven scenes had been cut.
Flesh Market was an independent and underground film, and played only
in "Adult" theaters. Nevertheless, perhaps because of the controversy
surrounding the release of the film, Flesh Market was a box-office
success. Made for only 6-8 million yen, the film brought in over 100
million yen, a huge profit for an independent release. The success of
this film started the pink film genre, which was to become one of the
most vital genres of Japanese domestic cinema for the next 40 years.
The star of the film, Tamaki Katori, would go on to appear in over 600
pink films during the 1960s, earning the nickname "The Pink Princess."
Today only 21 minutes of Flesh Market survive, preserved in the
National Film Centre.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.