Sadao Nakajima

Sadao Nakajima (Japanese: 中島貞夫, Hepburn: Nakajima Sadao; August 8, 1934 – June 11, 2023) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter known for his work in yakuza films and jidaigeki.

Sadao Nakajima
Nakajima in 1967
Born	(1934-08-08)August 8, 1934 Tōgane, Chiba, Empire of Japan
Died	June 11, 2023(2023-06-11) (aged 88) Kyoto City, Japan
Occupation	Film director

Career

Born in Tōgane, Chiba, he attended Hibiya High School and then the University of Tokyo before joining the Toei studio in 1959.^[1] Working at Toei's Kyoto studio, he served as an assistant director under such directors as Masahiro Makino, Tadashi Imai, and Tomotaka Tasaka.^[2] He made his directorial debut in 1964 with Kunoichi Ninpō, and won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award in 1966 for Yakuza (893) Gurentai, the first gendaigeki shot at Toei's Kyoto studio.^[3][4] He directed such popular film series as Kogarashi Monjirō and Nihon no Don, and also worked in television.^[1] His 1985 film Seburi Monogatari was entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.^[5] From 1987 to 2008 he served as a professor of the Osaka University of Arts.^[4] He directed over 60 films in his career.

Nakajima died from pneumonia on June 11, 2023, at the age of 88.^[6]

Selected filmography

• Kunoichi Ninpō (くノ一忍法; 1964)
• Kunoichi Keshō (くノ一化粧; 1964)
• Yakuza (893) Gurentai (893愚連隊; 1966)
• Memoir of Japanese Assassinations (日本暗殺秘録, Nihon Ansatsu Hiroku; 1969)
• Kogarashi Monjirō (1972)
• Aesthetics of a Bullet (鉄砲玉の美学, Teppōdama no Bigaku; 1973)
• Girl Boss: Escape From Reform School (女番長 感化院脱走, Sukeban: Kankain Dassō; 1973)
• Tokyo-Seoul-Bangkok Drug Triangle (1973)
• The Rapacious Jailbreaker (脱獄広島殺人囚, Datsugoku Hiroshima Satsujin-shū; 1974)
• Bohachi Bushido Saburai (1974) - script
• Crazed Beast (狂った野獣, Kurutta Yajū; 1976)
• Yakuza Sensō: Nihon no Don (やくざ戦争 日本の首領; 1977)
• Sanada Yukimura no Bōryaku (1979)
• Conquest (1982)
• Theater of Life (人生劇場, Jinsei Gekijō; 1983) - co-directed with Kinji Fukasaku and Jun'ya Satō
• Appassionata (序の舞, Jo no Mai; 1984)
• Seburi Monogatari (1985)
• Takeda Shingen (武田信玄; 1988) - TV movie
• Shogun's Shadow (1989) (Screenplay)
• Nemuri Kyōshirō: The Man with No Tomorrow (1996) - TV movie
• Chambara: The Art of Japanese Swordplay (2015)
• Love's Twisting Path (2019)