Tamizō Ishida

Tamizō Ishida
Tamizō Ishida
Born	7 June 1901; Masuda, Hiraka District, Akita Prefecture, Japan
Died	1 October 1972 (aged 71)
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation(s)	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1926–1947

Tamizō Ishida (石田民三, Ishida Tamizō, 7 June 1901 – 1 October 1972) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter.^[1]^[2]^[3] He is most noted for his 1938 historical drama film Fallen Blossoms, which is now regarded as one of the outstanding works of 1930s Japanese cinema.^[1]^[4]

Biography

Ishida was born in Masuda (now Yokote), Akita Prefecture, Japan.^[3]^[4] He gave his directing debut at Toa Kinema in 1926, specialising in chanbara (sword fight) films,^[1]^[4] the majority of which are regarded as lost.^[1] In the mid-1930s, Ishida made himself a name with literary adaptations, often in collaboration with the Bungakuza theatre troupe,^[1] and films with female casts.^[4] Nowadays, his films set in entertainment districts are regarded as his standout works,^[4] most notably the 1938 Fallen Blossoms, a formally innovative film about the inhabitants of a Kyoto geisha house in the late Edo period.^[1]^[4] Other notable films of the era include Yoru no hato (1937), Mukashi no uta and Hanatsumi nikki (both 1939), Keshōyuki (1940, based on a story by Mikio Naruse) and Asagiri gunka (1943).^[1]^[4] After the end of World War II, Ishida directed only one more film before his early retirement from film business, instead running a teahouse with his wife in Kamishichiken, Kyoto.^[4]

Selected filmography

1927: Keyamura Rokusuke (毛谷村六助)
1927: Date hiroku: Matsumae Tetsunosuke (伊達秘録松前鉄之助) partially extant film
1934: Osen (おせん) partially extant film
1937: Hanabi no machi (花火の街)
1937: Yoru no hato (夜の鳩)
1938: Fallen Blossoms (Hana chirinu)
1939: Mukashi no uta (むかしの歌)
1939: Hanatsumi nikki (花つみ日記)
1940: Keshōyuki (化粧雪)
1943: Asagiri gunka (あさぎり軍歌)
1947: En wa ina mono (縁は異なもの)

Legacy

In 2022, the National Film Archive of Japan presented a small retrospective in commemoration of Ishida with seven of his films.^[4] Fallen Blossoms was screened at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival in 2017^[5] and included in the British Film Institute's The best Japanese film of every year – from 1925 to now list.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
^ "石田民三". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b "石田民三". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "東宝の90年モダンと革新の映画史（1）". National Film Archive of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2023.
^ "Hana chirinu". Il Cinema Ritrovato. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
^ "The best Japanese film of every year – from 1925 to now". British Film Institute. Retrieved 17 January 2023.

External links

Tamizō Ishida at IMDb
Burch, Noël (1979). "Ishida Tamizo". To the Distant Observer: Form and Meaning in the Japanese Cinema. University of California Press. Retrieved 21 August 2023 – via Center of Japanese Studies Publications.

[Jacoby-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.

[jmdb-2] "石田民三". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2023.

[Kinenote-3] "石田民三". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2023.

[nfaj-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "東宝の90年モダンと革新の映画史（1）". National Film Archive of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 August 2023.

[Ritrovato-5] "Hana chirinu". Il Cinema Ritrovato. Retrieved 21 August 2023.

[bfi-6] "The best Japanese film of every year – from 1925 to now". British Film Institute. Retrieved 17 January 2023.

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