Minoru Murata
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese film director
, screenwriter
, and actor
who was one of the major directors of the silent era in Japan.
actor on the stage. Murata's troupe appeared in the first "pure films
" directed by Norimasa Kaeriyama
at Tenkatsu
in 1918. On the recommendation of the playwright Kaoru Osanai
, he then joined Shochiku
in 1920 and participated in the actors school Osanai ran there. He ended up directing Souls on the Road (1921), a ground breaking reformist film that fortunately is one of the few films surviving from that era. Murata later moved to Nikkatsu
, where he directed such critical hits as Seisaku's Wife (1924) and The Street Juggler (1925) which were "important in establishing the form of Japanese films about contemporary life." He later worked at Shinkō Kinema
. He started up the important journal, Eiga kagaku kenkyū, in 1928 with Kiyohiko Ushihara
, and helped found the Directors Guild of Japan
in 1936, becoming its first president. Often battling illness, he died suddenly in 1937.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who was one of the major directors of the silent era in Japan.
Career
Born in Tokyo, Murata started out as a shingekiShingeki
Shingeki was the Japanese retelling of Western realist theatre during the late 19th century through to the early 20th century. Retellings included the works of Western writers such as Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, and Eugene O'Neill, and reflected the styles of Russian proscenium theatre...
actor on the stage. Murata's troupe appeared in the first "pure films
Pure Film Movement
The was a trend in film criticism and filmmaking in 1910s and early 1920s Japan that advocated what were considered more modern and cinematic modes of filmmaking. Critics in such magazines as Kinema Record and Kinema Junpo complained that existing Japanese cinema was overly theatrical...
" directed by Norimasa Kaeriyama
Norimasa Kaeriyama
was a pioneering Japanese film director and film theorist.-Biography:Beginning with articles he submitted to Yoshizawa Shōten's magazine Katsudō shashinkai while still a student, Kaeriyama developed a long series of critiques of contemporary Japanese cinema that would make him the leading spokesman...
at Tenkatsu
Tennenshoku Katsudō Shashin
was a Japanese film studio active in the 1910s. The name translates as the "Natural Color Moving Picture Company," but it was known as Tenkatsu for short...
in 1918. On the recommendation of the playwright Kaoru Osanai
Kaoru Osanai
was a Japanese theater director, playwright, and actor central in the development of modern Japanese theater.-Biography:Graduating from Tokyo University, Osanai founded the Free Theater with Ichikawa Sadanji II in 1909 and staged translations of Ibsen, Chekov, and Gorky, but there he experienced...
, he then joined Shochiku
Shochiku
is a Japanese movie studio and production company for kabuki. It also produces and distributes anime films. Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada...
in 1920 and participated in the actors school Osanai ran there. He ended up directing Souls on the Road (1921), a ground breaking reformist film that fortunately is one of the few films surviving from that era. Murata later moved to Nikkatsu
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company well known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio. The name Nikkatsu is an abbreviation of Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally "Japan Cinematograph Company".-History:...
, where he directed such critical hits as Seisaku's Wife (1924) and The Street Juggler (1925) which were "important in establishing the form of Japanese films about contemporary life." He later worked at Shinkō Kinema
Shinkō Kinema
-Background:Shinkō was established in September 1931 out of the remnants of the Teikoku Kinema studio with the help of Shōchiku capital. The historian Jun'ichirō Tanaka writes that the studio was part of Shōchiku's effort to monopolize the Japanese film industry, using Shinkō to control some of the...
. He started up the important journal, Eiga kagaku kenkyū, in 1928 with Kiyohiko Ushihara
Kiyohiko Ushihara
was a Japanese film director most famous for his gendaigeki of the silent era.-Career:Born in Kumamoto Prefecture and graduating from Tokyo University, Ushihara joined the Shochiku studio in 1920 on the invitation of Kaoru Osanai...
, and helped found the Directors Guild of Japan
Directors Guild of Japan
The is a trade union created to represent the interests of film directors in the film industry in Japan. It was founded in 1936, with Minoru Murata serving as the first president, and has continued to this day apart from a period between 1943 and 1949 when it was disbanded at first on orders from...
in 1936, becoming its first president. Often battling illness, he died suddenly in 1937.
Selected filmography
- Souls on the Road (Rojō no reikon 路上の霊魂) (1921)
- Seisaku's Wife (Seisaku no tsuma 清作の妻) (1924)
- The Street Juggler (Machi no tejinashi 街の手品師) (1925)
- Nichirin (日輪) (1926)
- Muteki (霧笛) (1934)