is a Japanese film director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

.

Career

Born in Tokyo, Sato graduated from the University of Tokyo

University of Tokyo

, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...

 in 1956 with a degree in French literature

French literature

French literature is, generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by citizens...

. He joined the Toei

Toei Company

is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution corporation. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan, a modest vertically-integrated studio system by the standards of the 1930s United States; operates studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a...

 studio and worked as an assistant to such directors as Tadashi Imai and Miyoji Ieki. He debuted as a director in 1963 with Rikugun zangyaku monogatari, for which he won a best newcomer's award at the Blue Ribbon Awards

Blue Ribbon Awards

The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan.The awards were established in 1950 by which is composed of film correspondents from seven Tokyo-based sports newspapers...

. While starting in mostly yakuza film

Yakuza film

is a popular film genre in Japanese cinema which focuses on the lives and dealings of yakuza, also referred to as the Japanese Mafia.-Ninkyo eiga:...

, Sato eventually became known for big budget spectaculars. The Go Masters, a China-Japan co-production he co-directed with Duan Jishun, won the grand prize at the Montreal World Film Festival

Montreal World Film Festival

The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...

 in 1983. He won the Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year

Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year

The of the Japan Academy Prize is one of the annual Awards given by the Nippon Academy-sho association .-List of winners:-External links:* - **...

 in 1989 for The Silk Road

The Silk Road

aka Dun-Huang is a 1988 Japanese film directed by Junya Sato. The movie was adapted from the 1959 novel Tun-Huang by Yasushi Inoue with the backdrop of the plotline being the Mogao Caves manuscript trove...

.

Filmography

Year	Japanese Title	English Title	Notes
1963	陸軍残虐物語 Rikugun zangyaku monogatari
	続・王将 Zoku ōsho
1964	廓育ち Kuruwa sodachi
1966	愛欲 Aiyoku
1967	続組織暴力 Zoku soshiki bōryoku
	組織暴力 Soshiki bōryoku	The Private Police
1968	荒野の渡世人 Koya no toseinin	The Drifting Avenger
1969	日本暴力団 組長と刺客 Nihon bōryoku-dan: kumicho to shikaku		also wrote screenplay
	組織暴力 兄弟盃 Soshiki boryoku: kyodai sakazuki	Organized Violence
	旅に出た極道 Tabi ni deta gokudo
1970	日本ダービー 勝負 Nippon dabi katsukyu		also wrote screenplay
	最後の特攻隊 Saigo no tokkōtai
1971	博徒斬り込み隊 Bakuto kirikomi-tai		also wrote screenplay
	暴力団再武装 Boryokudan sai buso
1972	ギャング対ギャング 赤と黒のブルース Gyangu tai gyangu: aka to kuro no burusu	Gang vs. Gang: The Red and Black Blues	also wrote screenplay
	やくざと抗争 実録安藤組 Yakuza tokōsō: Jitsuroku Andō-gumi
1973	実録 私設銀座警察 Jitsuroku: Shisetsu Ginza keisatsu	True Account of Ginza Tortures
	Golgo 13 Gorugo Sātīn
	実録安藤組 襲撃篇 Jitsuroku Andō-gumi: Shūgekihen	The Ando File
1974	ルパング島の奇跡 陸軍中野学校 Rupangu-tō no ritsugun Nakano gakkō
1975	新幹線大爆破 Shinkansen Daibakuha	The Bullet Train The Bullet Train is a 1975 Japanese disaster film directed by Junya Sato and starring Sonny Chiba and Ken Takakura.-Plot:Tetsuo Okita is a former businessman who lost his manufacturing company to bankruptcy and separated from his wife and son a year earlier...	also wrote screenplay
1976	君よ噴怒の河を渉れ Kimi yo funnu no kawa wo watare Kimi yo funnu no kawa wo watare Kimi yo fundo no kawa o watare is a Japanese film released in 1976, directed by Junya Sato.- Cast :*Ken Takakura*Yoshio Harada*Kunie Tanaka*Ryoko Nakano*Kô Nishimura*Hiroko Isayama...
1977	人間の証明 Ningen no shōmei	Proof of the Man
1978	野性の証明 Yasei no shōmei
1980	遙かなる走路 Haru Kanaru Sōro
	甦れ魔女 Yomigaere Majo
1982	未完の対局 Mikan no Taikyoku	The Go Masters
1983	人生劇場 Jinsei Gekijō	Theatre of Life	also wrote screenplay
1984	空海 Kūkai
1986	植村直己物語 Uemura Naomi Monogatari	Lost in the Wilderness	also wrote screenplay
1988	敦煌 Tonkō	The Silk Road The Silk Road aka Dun-Huang is a 1988 Japanese film directed by Junya Sato. The movie was adapted from the 1959 novel Tun-Huang by Yasushi Inoue with the backdrop of the plotline being the Mogao Caves manuscript trove...	also wrote screenplay
1992	私を抱いてそしてキスして Watashi o daite soshite kisu shite
	おろしや国酔夢譚 O-Roshiya-koku suimu-dan	Kodayu or The Dream of Russia	also wrote screenplay
1994	超能力者 未知への旅人 Chōnoryoku-sha - michi eno tabibito
1997	北京猿人 Pekin Genjin	Peking Man
2005	Otoko-tachi no Yamato	Yamato Otoko-tachi no Yamato is a 2005 Japanese war film. It was directed by Junya Sato and is based on a book by Jun Henmi. With a framing story set in the present day, by flashbacks it tells the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato, concentrating on the ship's demise during Operation...	also wrote screenplay
2010	Sakuradamon-gai no hen	The Sakuradamon Incident	also wrote screenplay

External links