Biography
Keisuke Kinoshita (木下 惠介, Kinoshita Keisuke, December 5, 1912 – December 30, 1998) was a Japanese film director. Hugely popular in his home country of Japan, Keisuke Kinoshita worked tirelessly as a director for nearly half a century, making lyrical, sentimental films that often center on the inherent goodness of people, especially in times of distress. He began his directing career during a most challenging time for Japanese cinema: World War II, when the industry’s output was closely monitored by the state and often had to be purely propagandistic. He refused to be bound by genre, technique, or dogma. Kinoshita excelled in almost every genre: comedy, tragedy, social dramas, period films. He shot all films on location or in a one-house set. He pursued severe photographic realism with the long take, long-shot method, and went equally far toward stylization with fast cutting, intricate wipes, tilted cameras, and even classical scroll-painting and Kabuki stage technique. Kinoshita was highly prolific, turning out some 42 films in the first 23 years of his career. For this, Kinoshita explained that he "can’t help it. Ideas for films have always just popped into my head like scraps of paper into a wastebasket." While lesser-known internationally than contemporaries such as Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujirō Ozu, he was a household figure in his home country, beloved by both critics and audiences from the 1940s to the 1960s. Although few concrete details have emerged about Kinoshita's personal life, his homosexuality was widely known in the film world. Screenwriter and frequent collaborator Yoshio Shirasaka recalls the "brilliant scene" Kinoshita made with the handsome, well-dressed assistant directors he surrounded himself with. His 1959 film Farewell to Spring (Sekishuncho) has been called "Japan's first gay film" for the emotional intensity depicted between its male characters. Kinoshita received the Order of the Rising Sun in 1984 and was awarded the Order of Culture in 1991 by the Japanese government. He died on December 30, 1998, of a stroke. His grave is in Engaku-ji in Kamakura, very near to that of his fellow Shochiku director, Yasujirō Ozu.
Directed 56
1980s
- 1988
Father
Director
- 1986
Big Joys, Small Sorrows
Director
- 1983
Children of Nagasaki
Director
- 1980
The Young Rebels
Director
1970s
- 1979
Oh, My Son!
Director
- 1976
Love and Separation in Sri Lanka
Director
- 1974
Wagako wa Tanin
Director
- 1971
Mom’s Shoulders
Director
- 1970
1960s
- 1969
Brother
Director
- 1967
Eyes, the Sea and a Ball
Director
- 1964
- 1963
A Legend or Was It?
Director
- 1962
This Year's Love
Director
- 1961
- 1960
The River Fuefuki
Director
Spring Dreams
Director
1950s
- 1959
Thus Another Day
Director
The Snow Flurry
Director
- 1958
The Eternal Rainbow
Director
- 1957
- 1956
The Rose on His Arm
Director
Farewell to Dream
Director
- 1955
The Tattered Wings
Director
- 1954
- 1953
A Japanese Tragedy
Director
- 1952
- 1951
Fireworks Over the Sea
Director
Boyhood
Director
- 1950
Wedding Ring
Director
1940s
- 1949
Yotsuya Ghost Story Part 1
Director
- 1948
Apostasy
Director
- 1947
- 1946
- 1944
- 1943
- 1940
1930s
- 1937
The Lights of Asakusa
Assistant Director
Wrote 58
2020s
- 2024
2000s
- 2000
Dora-heita
Screenplay
1980s
- 1988
Father
Writer
- 1987
Children on the Island
Screenplay
- 1986
Big Joys, Small Sorrows
Writer
- 1983
Children of Nagasaki
Writer, Original Story
- 1980
The Young Rebels
Writer
1970s
- 1979
Oh, My Son!
Screenplay
- 1976
Love and Separation in Sri Lanka
Writer
- 1971
Taiyō no Namida
Writer
1960s
- 1968
- 1967
Green Light to Joy
Screenplay
Eyes, the Sea and a Ball
Screenplay
Kotoshi no Koi
Original Story
- 1966
She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum
Adaptation
- 1965
While Yet a Wife
Writer
- 1964
- 1963
A Legend or Was It?
Screenplay
- 1962
Kiriko no unmei
Screenplay
Dolls floating down the river
Screenplay
This Year's Love
Writer
- 1961
Don't Ever Die, Mama!
Screenplay
- 1960
The River Fuefuki
Screenplay
Spring Dreams
Screenplay
1950s
- 1959
Thus Another Day
Screenplay
The Snow Flurry
Screenplay
- 1958
The Eternal Rainbow
Writer
- 1957
- 1956
The Rose on His Arm
Screenplay
Ai to chie no wa
Screenplay
- 1955
The Tattered Wings
Screenplay
- 1954
- 1953
Love Letter
Screenplay
A Japanese Tragedy
Screenplay
Sincere Heart
Screenplay
- 1952
- 1951
Fireworks Over the Sea
Screenplay
Boyhood
Screenplay
- 1950
Wedding Ring
Screenplay
1940s
- 1949
- 1948
- 1947
- 1946
- 1943
- 1942
Otoko no iki
Writer
1930s
- 1939
Five Siblings
Idea, Writer
Produced 13
1970s
- 1972
Kōfuku Sōdan
Producer
- 1971
Mom’s Shoulders
Producer
- 1970
Story of Yakuza in Naniwa
Producer
1960s
- 1967
Eyes, the Sea and a Ball
Producer
- 1964
- 1963
A Legend or Was It?
Producer
- 1962
- 1961
- 1960
The River Fuefuki
Producer
1950s
- 1950
Wedding Ring
Producer
Created 9
1970s
- 1979
日本名作童話シリーズ 赤い鳥のこころ
Creator
- 1973
Omoi Bashi
Creator
- 1971
Taiyō no Namida
Creator
Mom’s Shoulders
Creator
- 1970
1960s
- 1969
Brother
Creator
- 1968
Family of Three
Creator
- 1967
Kotoshi no Koi
Creator
Other crew 4
1970s
- 1974
Wagako wa Tanin
Creator
- 1972
Kōfuku Sōdan
Creator
- 1971
Taiyō no Namida
Creator
1960s
- 1968
Acted in 1
1950s
- 1954
Camera 1
1930s
- 1935
Okoto and Sasuke
Assistant Camera
Appearances1
1980s
- 1983
I Lived, But...
Self