Shohei Imamura (今æ ' 昌平, Imamura ShÅ hei, 15 September 1926 â€"
30 May 2006) was a Japanese film director. A key figure in the
Japanese New Wave, who continued working into the 21st century,
Imamura is the only director from Japan to win two Palme d'Or
awards.Imamura was born to a comfortably upper-middle-class doctor's
family in Tokyo in 1926. For a short time after 1945, when Japan was
in a devastated condition following the war, Imamura participated in
the black market selling cigarettes and liquor. Reflecting this period
of his life, Imamura's interests as a filmmaker were usually focused
on the lower strata of Japanese society. He studied Western history at
Waseda University, but spent more time participating in theatrical and
political activities. He cited a viewing of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon
in 1950 as an early inspiration, and said he saw it as an indication
of the new freedom of expression possible in Japan in the post-war
era.Upon graduation from Waseda in 1951, Imamura began his film career
working as an assistant to YasujirÅ Ozu at Shochiku Studios on the
films Early Summer (1951), The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice (1952)
and Tokyo Story (1953). Imamura, however, was uncomfortable with the
way Ozu portrayed Japanese society. While Imamura's films were to have
a quite different style from Ozu's, Imamura, like Ozu, was to focus on
what he saw as particularly Japanese elements of society in his films.
"I've always wanted to ask questions about the Japanese, because it's
the only people I'm qualified to describe," he said. He expressed
surprise that his films were appreciated overseas.
30 May 2006) was a Japanese film director. A key figure in the
Japanese New Wave, who continued working into the 21st century,
Imamura is the only director from Japan to win two Palme d'Or
awards.Imamura was born to a comfortably upper-middle-class doctor's
family in Tokyo in 1926. For a short time after 1945, when Japan was
in a devastated condition following the war, Imamura participated in
the black market selling cigarettes and liquor. Reflecting this period
of his life, Imamura's interests as a filmmaker were usually focused
on the lower strata of Japanese society. He studied Western history at
Waseda University, but spent more time participating in theatrical and
political activities. He cited a viewing of Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon
in 1950 as an early inspiration, and said he saw it as an indication
of the new freedom of expression possible in Japan in the post-war
era.Upon graduation from Waseda in 1951, Imamura began his film career
working as an assistant to YasujirÅ Ozu at Shochiku Studios on the
films Early Summer (1951), The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice (1952)
and Tokyo Story (1953). Imamura, however, was uncomfortable with the
way Ozu portrayed Japanese society. While Imamura's films were to have
a quite different style from Ozu's, Imamura, like Ozu, was to focus on
what he saw as particularly Japanese elements of society in his films.
"I've always wanted to ask questions about the Japanese, because it's
the only people I'm qualified to describe," he said. He expressed
surprise that his films were appreciated overseas.
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