was 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:...

. Born in Shiga Prefecture

Shiga Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...

, he joined the Shōchiku

Shochiku

is a Japanese movie studio and production company for kabuki. It also produces and distributes anime films. Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada...

 studio in 1929. He debuted as director in 1934, but continued working as an assistant director for such filmmakers as Yasujirō Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu

was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...

 and Yasujirō Shimazu

Yasujirō Shimazu

was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who was one of the major creators of the shōshimingeki genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan....

 after that. It was the 1939 film Danryū that established his status as a director. His 1947 work, A Ball at the Anjo House, starring Setsuko Hara

Setsuko Hara

is a Japanese actress who appeared in six of Yasujirō Ozu's films, most notably as Noriko in the 'Noriko Trilogy': Late Spring , Early Summer and Tokyo Story . Her other films for Ozu were Tokyo Twilight , Late Autumn and finally The End of Summer in 1961.She was born 会田 昌江 Masae Aida in...

, was named the best picture of the year by Kinema Junpo

Kinema Junpo

, commonly called , is a Japanese film magazine which began publication in July 1919. The magazine was founded by a group of four students, including Saburō Tanaka, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology . In that first month, it was published three times on days with a "1" in them. These first three...

. That film marked the start of a long relationship with the screenwriter and film director Kaneto Shindō

Kaneto Shindo

, Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His best known films include Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko and A Last Note.Shindō has often made films dealing with Hiroshima or the atomic bomb...

. In 1950, the two of them started the independent production company Kindai Eiga Kyōkai. Yoshimura is credited with furthering the careers of such actresses as Fujiko Yamamoto

Fujiko Yamamoto

is a Japanese film and stage actress. She appeared in over 100 films between 1953 and 1963. She is the winner of the first Grand Prix of Miss Japan in 1950.-Career:...

, Machiko Kyō

Machiko Kyo

is a Japanese actress whose film work occurred primarily during the 1950s. She rose to extraordinary domestic praise in Japan for her work in two of the greatest Japanese films of the 20th century, Akira Kurosawa's Rashōmon and Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu.Machiko trained to be a dancer before...

 and Ayako Wakao

Ayako Wakao

is a Japanese actress. Contracted to Daiei Studios in 1951 as part of the fifth "New Face" group, she often appeared in the films of director Yasuzo Masumura...

. He directed over 60 films during his career, and received a Medal of Honor

Medals of Honor (Japan)

Since the late 19th Century, the Government of Japan has issued six different types of to individuals for achievements in various fields.The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and were first awarded the following year. Several expansions and amendments have been made since then...

 (Purple Ribbon) from the Japanese government in 1976.

Selected filmography

• Danryū (暖流) (1939)
• A Ball at the Anjo House (安城家の舞踏会, Anjō-ke no butōkai) (1947)
• The Tale of Genji
  The Tale of Genji (1951 film)
  The Tale of Genji is a 1951 Japanese drama film directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura. It's based on the piece of Japanese literature of the same name...
  
  (1951)
• Before the Dawn (1953)
• An Osaka Story
  An Osaka Story
  is a 1957 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura based on a story by Kenji Mizoguchi.- Cast :* Raizo Ichikawa as Keizaburo* Kyōko Kagawa as Onatsu* Shintaro Katsu as Ichinosuke* and others...
  
  (1957)
• Onna no saka (女の坂) (1960)
• Jokyo
  Jokyo (film)
  is a 1960 Japanese drama film directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura, Kon Ichikawa and Yasuzo Masumura. It was entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...
  
  (1960)

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