Shigeru Wakatsuki
Shigeru Wakatsuki | |
|---|---|
若槻 繁 | |
Wakatsuki in 1963 | |
| Born | Shigeru Yoneyama (米山 繁, Yoneyama Shigeru) 1914 or 1915 |
| Died | December 10, 1987 (aged 72–73) |
| Other names | Shun Morishita |
| Alma mater | Chuo University |
| Occupations | Film producer, journalist, reporter |
| Years active | 1954–1978 (film) |
| Title | Representative director and president of Ninjin Club |
| Relatives | Keiko Kishi (cousin-in-law) |
Shigeru Wakatsuki (若槻 繁, Wakatsuki Shigeru; 1914 or 1915 – December 10, 1987) was a Japanese film producer and journalist who served as the representative director and president of Ninjin Club. His film credits included the epic war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961), The Inheritance, Love Under the Crucifix (both 1962), Pale Flower, Kwaidan (both 1964), and Empire of Passion (1978). Wakatsuki also worked for several publications prior to his film career, and was arrested and tortured in 1944 as a suspected communist in connection with the Yokohama incident.
Biography
Wakatsuki was born Shigeru Yoneyama (米山 繁, Yoneyama Shigeru)[1] between 1914[2] and 1915[1] in Niigata Prefecture.[1][2] As a student, he was involved in student activism[3] and became interested in making a film adaptation after reading Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things.[4] After graduating from Chuo University, he worked as the editor-in-chief of several publications, including Kamakura Bunko and Chuokoron-Shinsha.[2][5] During World War II, he was a reporter and journalist for Kaizō.[1] He also wrote under the pen name Shun Morishita (森下 俊, Morishita Shun).[2] On January 29, 1944, Wakatsuki and three of his colleagues at Kaizōsha were arrested by the Special Higher Police for printing communist essays. They suffered government oppression regarding free speech in what became known as the Yokohama incident.[6] As a suspected communist, he was subsequently tortured by the Special Higher Police.[5]
After the war, he worked as a journalist before transitoning to film in 1954,[1] as the representative director and president of Ninjin Club, a company co-founded by his cousin-in-law, actress Keiko Kishi; Wakatsuki became a film producer in 1955.[7] He attempted to fulfill his longtime dream of making Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things into a film, eventually succeeding in 1964 after a decade of development hell, with Kwaidan.[4] His other producing credits included the epic war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961), The Inheritance, Love Under the Crucifix (both 1962), and Pale Flower (1964); his final credit was for Empire of Passion (1978).[8]
Wakatsuki died on December 10, 1987, at the age of 72 or 73.[1]
Filmography
Producer
- So Deep in My Heart (1955) [with Reiji Miwa] - debut[8][9]
- Mune yori mune ni (1955)[8]
- Rikidozan otoko no tamashi (1956)[8][10]
- The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)[8][10]
- Road to Eternity (1959)[8][10]
- Shiroi gake (1960)[8]
- A Soldier's Prayer (1961)[8]
- The Shrikes (1961)[11]
- Hadakakko (1961)[8]
- A Full Life (1962)[8]
- The Inheritance (1962) [with Masaki Kobayashi][12]
- Love Under the Crucifix (1962)[8]
- Tears on the Lion's Mane (1962)[8]
- Pale Flower (1964) [with Masao Shirai][13]
- Kwaidan (1964)[14]
- Waga toso (1968)[8]
- Empire of Passion (1978)[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Sato, Tadao (2007). 日本の映画人: 日本映画の創造者たち [Japanese Film Professionals] (in Japanese). Nichigai Associates. p. 685. ISBN 978-4816920356 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d "若槻繁 - 近代文献人名辞典(β)". lit.kosho.or.jp. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ "横浜事件（抄）". 日本ペンクラブ電子文藝館 (in Japanese). 2007-03-16. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ a b Motoyama, Sho; Matsunomoto, Kazuhiro; Asai, Kazuyasu; Suzuki, Nobutaka; Kato, Masashi (September 28, 2012). 東宝特撮映画大全集 [Toho Special Effects Movie Complete Works] (in Japanese). villagebooks. p. 93. ISBN 978-4864910132.
- ^ a b Inomata, Katsuhito [in Japanese] (1974). 日本映画名作全史: 戦後篇 [Complete History of Japanese Film Masterpieces: Postwar Edition]. p. 160. ISBN 9784390112758 – via Google Books.
- ^ "横浜事件". 日本ペンクラブ電子文藝館 (in Japanese). 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ Fujii, Hideo (2010). 「にんじんくらぶ」 三大女優の軌跡 [Ninjin Club: The Path of Three Great Actresses]. Ecole Sesame. p. 21. ISBN 9784902431070 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n allcinema. "若槻繁". allcinema (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ "忘れじの人 : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ a b c "若槻繁 : 関連作品（映画） (2)". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ "もず(1961)：映画作品情報・あらすじ・評価｜MOVIE WALKER PRESS 映画". MOVIE WALKER PRESS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ "からみ合い : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ "Pale Flower". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
- ^ Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. p. 217. ISBN 9781461673743.