This page uses content from the Masaki Kobayashi biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Masaki Kobayashi (小林正樹 Kobayashi Masaki, February 14, 1916 – October 4, 1996) was a Japanese director who is probably best known for Kwaidan (怪談), a collection of four ghost stories (drawn from the book by Lafcadio Hearn), each of which has a surprise ending.

Kobayashi also directed The Human Condition, a trilogy on the effects of World War II on a Japanese pacifist and socialist. The total length of the films is over nine hours, making it a true epic. Other notable films include Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). Harakiri won him an award at the 1963 Cannes film festival, solidifying his place in the history of cinema. He was also a candidate for directing the Japanese sequences for Tora Tora Tora (1970) but instead Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda were chosen.

Kobayashi, himself a pacifist, was drafted into the Japanese army during World War II, but refused to fight or be promoted to rank higher than private.

Partial filmography

• The Thick-Walled Room (1953)
• Black River (1957)
• The Human Condition trilogy - (1959–1961)
• The Inheritance (1962)
• Harakiri (1962)
• Kwaidan (1964)
• Samurai Rebellion (1967)
• Hymn To A Tired Man (1968)
• Inn Of Evil (1971)
• The Fossil (1975)
• Tokyo Trial (1983)

External links

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