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Kenji Mizoguchi
Directing Ugetsu and Sansho the Bailiff, celebrated for flowing camera movement and stories of suffering and compassion.
Sisters of the Gion · Ugetsu
- Born
- 16 May 1898
- Birthplace
- Tokyo, Japan
- Died
- 24 August 1956
More people
Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi built a major career from silent cinema into the 1950s, repeatedly examining the restrictions placed on women.
Early life
Family hardship
Grew up in Tokyo amid financial instability; his older sister supported the family.
Artistic training
Studied painting and worked in design before entering cinema.
Career
- 1920
Studio entry
Joined Nikkatsu and trained in filmmaking.
- 1923
First feature
Made his directing debut with The Resurrection of Love.
- 1930s
Mature style
Developed socially critical dramas with writer Yoshikata Yoda.
- 1950s
International acclaim
Venice recognition brought his late films to a wider audience.
Selected work
Sisters of the Gion
Two geisha take different approaches to dependence on men.
Ugetsu
Wartime ambition crosses into a ghostly world.
Sansho the Bailiff
A separated family suffers under a merciless slave system.
Beyond work
Formative arts
Studied traditional theatre, dance and painting alongside cinema.
A troubled contradiction
Despite films about women's oppression, he opposed actor Kinuyo Tanaka's move into directing.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗British Film Institute: film and context ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
