Japanese films own their place in this world of movies. The stories touch our hearts and leave a realistic sensation to linger. The simplicity and the culture are never changing attributes that never fail to grab our attention. The makers of such exquisite movies also have their names etched in the record of the films. Why don’t we take a moment and appreciate the top directors of Japanese Movies and also their work?! Here we have the top 10 Japanese directors and their best movies—
1. Akira Kurosawa (1936-1993)
Akira Kurosawa is one of the most influential directors in the cinema industry. He opened the gate for other artists to showcase their work on a global level. His films Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952), Yojimbo (1961), Ran (1985), and Seven Samurai (1954) are his most known and appreciated works.
2. Yasujiro Ozu (1929-1963)
Yasujiro Ozu is also one of the most respected directors and screenwriters for his works. He directed some legendary films that are still fresh and alive as before. His movies i.e., Tokyo Story (1953), Floating Weeds (1959), and An Autumn Afternoon (1962), are well-known and most remarkable works.
3. Hayao Miyazaki (1963-Present)
Hayao Miyazaki is an animator, director, and manga artist. His animated movies are best-known works around the globe. The animated movies My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), and Spirited Away (2001) never left the top spots on the list. The movie ‘Spirited Away’ is one of his finest works that also won an Oscar breaking the record of Titanic.
4. Kenji Mizoguchi (1898 - 1956)
Kenji Mizoguchi is another legend of the directors’ world and an inspiration to many. His work is a form of purity and empathy that has diversely touched the hearts giving the comfort needed in painful times. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), The Life of Oharu (1952), Sansho the Bailiff (1954), and The Crucified Lovers (1954) are his best-known works.
5. Masaki Kobayashi (1916 - 1996)
Masaki Kobayashi started directing his films during the Second World War. Has given masterpieces to this world of cinemas through his works— The Human Condition (1959–1961), the samurai films Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967), and Kwaidan (1964).
6. Shohei Imamura (1926 – 2006)
Shohei Imamura was an assistant to Yasujiro Ozu and is perceptible in his work style. He has won Palme d’Or two times in his career span for his outstanding works The Ballad of Narayama (1983) and The Eel (1997).
7. Kon Ichikawa (1935-2006)
Kon Ichikawa also ranks among the top directors of Japan. His documentary ‘Tokyo Olympiad (1965)’ gives a sense of the reality of the 1964s Tokyo Summer Olympics.
8. Nagisa Oshima (1932 - 2013)
Nagisa Oshima is best known as an experimental director. He has experimented a lot with his work and even received tremendous criticism. His works– Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), In the Realm of the Senses (1972), and Empire of Passion (1978) are famed internationally as well.
9. Kaneto Shindo (1951-2011)
Kaneto Shindo was an assistant to Kenji Muzogochi. As a director, he left us with his incredible movies The Naked Island (1960), The Last Note (1995), and Children of Hiroshima (1952). He was the first one to show the attack of the bomb blast on Hiroshima through cinematography.
10. Takeshi Kitano (1947 - Present)
Takeshi Kitano is another director occupying the list of best directors through his crime comedy works in the industry. Initially, he was a comedian but walked a different path afterward, giving us his best works– Hana-bi (1997), Zatoichi (2003), and Outrage (2010).
