Yasujirō Shimazu

Yasujirō Shimazu (島津 保次郎, Shimazu Yasujirō; 3 June 1897 – 18 September 1945) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, and a pioneer of the shōshimin-eiga (common people drama) genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan.^[1]

Yasujirō Shimazu
Yasujirō Shimazu in 1939
Born	(1897-06-03)June 3, 1897 Tokyo, Japan
Died	September 18, 1945(1945-09-18) (aged 48) Tokyo, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1920–1944

Biography

Shimazu was born in Tokyo,^[a] the second son of merchant Otojirō Shimazu. His father owned a long-established seaweed business named Kōshū-ya directly in front of the main Mitsukoshi department store in Nihonbashi.^[4]

Shimazu entered Shōchiku in 1920 after answering an advertisement and began training under Kaoru Osanai.^[3] He gave his debut as director in 1921 at Shōchiku's recently established Kamata studio,^[3] directing both comedy and melodrama films, often depicting the everyday life of the lower middle classes.^[1] Our Neighbor, Miss Yae (1934) and A Brother and His Younger Sister (1939) are regarded as his most exemplary and best films.^[1][5] By the end of the 1930s, he moved to Tōhō studios, where he made some films in cooperation with the Manchuria Film Association.^[6] He died of cancer just after the war ended.^[2] Many famous directors, such as Heinosuke Gosho, Shirō Toyoda, Kōzaburō Yoshimura, and Keisuke Kinoshita, started their careers as his assistant.^[1]

Selected filmography

• 1930: The Belle (麗人, Reijin)
• 1931: Lifeline ABC (生活線ABC, Seikatsusen ABC)
• 1932: First Steps Ashore (上陸第一歩, Jōriku dai ippo)
• 1934: Our Neighbor, Miss Yae (隣の八重ちゃん, Tonari no Yae-chan)
• 1935: Okoto and Sasuke (春琴抄 お琴と佐助, Shunkinsho: Okoto to Sasuke)
• 1936: Family Meeting (家族会議, Kazoku kaigi)
• 1937: Three Crows' Engagement (婚約三羽烏, Kon'yaku sanbagarasu)
• 1937: The Lights of Asakusa (浅草の灯, Asakusa no hi)
• 1939: A Brother and His Younger Sister (兄とその妹, Ani to soto imōto)
• 1940: Totsugu hi made (嫁ぐ日まで)

Notes

1. Depending on the source, either in Kanda^[2] or in Nihonbashi^[3] district.