Nobuo Nakagawa

Director · 1905–1984 · Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Japan

Biography

Nobuo Nakagawa (中川信夫, Nakagawa Nobuo, April 18, 1905 – June 17, 1984) was a Japanese film director, most famous for the stylized, folk tale-influenced horror films he made in the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Kyoto, Nakagawa was early on influenced by proletarian literature and wrote amateur film reviews for the Kinema Junpō film magazine. He joined Makino Film Productions in 1929 as an assistant director and worked under Masahiro Makino. When that studio went bankrupt in 1932, he switched to Utaemon Ichikawa's production company and made his debut as a director in 1934 with Yumiya Hachiman Ken. He later moved to Toho, where he made comedies starring Enoken and even documentaries during the war. It was at Shintoho after the war that he became known for his cinematic adaptations of Japanese Kaidan, especially his masterful version of Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan in 1959. To Western audiences, his most famous film is Jigoku (1960), which he also co-wrote. The film was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2006. He also filmed many Kaidan for television. His last film was 1982's Kaidan: Ikiteiru Koheiji.

Directed 59

2010s

2019
Sunday Horror Series Best Selection
Director

1980s

1982
The Living Koheiji
Director

1970s

1979
Japanese Ghost Story Masterpiece Theater: The Sealed Room of the Inner Chamber
Director
Japanese Masterpiece Ghost Story Theatre
Director
1978
The Sea of Mystery
Director
1974
Ultraman Leo
Director
75
1971
Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 2
Director
Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 4 - The Yokai Blood-stained Comb
Director
Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 1
Director
Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 1 - Ghost Story at the Kagamigaike
Director
1970
Nihon Kaidan Gekijō: The Peony Lantern — Onibi no Maki / Hotarubi no Maki
Director