Nobuo Nakagawa
Born: 1905-04-18 in Kyōto, Kyōto Prefecture, Japan
Died: 1984-06-17
Known For: Directing
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.
Filmography
1982
- The Living Koheiji ... (Director)
1979
- Nihon Meisaku Kaidan Gekijō: Kaidan Ōoku (Hi) Akazu no Ma ... (Director)
- Japanese Masterpiece Ghost Story Theatre ... (Director)
1978
- Sea of Wonders ... (Director)
1974
- Ultraman Leo ... (Director)
1971
- 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)
- Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 2 ... (Director)
- Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter Special - Ghost Story of Tragic Love: Dance of the Folding Fan ... (Director)
1969
- Okatsu the Fugitive ... (Director)
- Quick-draw Okatsu ... (Director)
- Sakura sakazuki: gikyōdai ... (Director)
- Playgirl ... (Director)
1968
- Snake Woman's Curse ... (Director)
1963
- 男の嵐 ... (Director)
- This Is Japan ... (Director)
1962
- Showdown at Lightning Pass ... (Screenplay)
- Kanashimi wa itsumo haha ni ... (Director)
- The Phantom Goblin ... (Director)
- The Warrior from Kishu ... (Screenplay)
- Bored Hatamoto: The Mysterious Coral Mansion ... (Director)
1961
- The Man Who Challenged 8,000,000-Koku ... (Director)
- Kaachan ... (Director)
- Samurai Hawk ... (Director)
1960
- Jigoku ... (Director)
- Death Row Woman ... (Director)
1959
- The Ghost of Yotsuya ... (Director)
- The Lady Vampire ... (Director)
- Kagebôshi: The Shadow Avenger ... (Director)
1958
- Ghost in the Regiment ... (Director)
- Black Cat Mansion ... (Director)
- A Wicked Woman ... (Director)
- Kyōen Kobanzame ... (Director)
1957
- The Ghost of Kasane ... (Director)
- Hibarigaoka Showdown ... (Director)
- Storming Osaka Castle: The Sanada Ten Braves ... (Director)
- Casebook of Dandy Sashichi: The Ox of Edo ... (Director)
1956
- The Vampire Moth ... (Director)
- The Ceiling at Utsunomiya ... (Director)
- Casebook of Dandy Sashichi: Six Famous Beauties ... (Director)
- In Love with a Heavenly Fox ... (Director)
- The Three Swordsmen of Ashura ... (Director)
1955
- Stray Sheep ... (Director)
- Chutaro of Banba ... (Director)
1953
- Shishun no izumi ... (Director)
- An Edoite Judge ... (Director)
- Kisan Detective Story: The Mysterious Doll-Maker ... (Director)
1952
- Casebooks of Detective Umon: The Incident of the Fawn-Pattern Cloth ... (Director)
- Sunset Over Mount Fuji ... (Director)
- Today is Payday ... (Director)
- Love's Zephir Along the Tokaido ... (Director)
1951
- Farewell to the Highland Station ... (Director)
- Umon's Detective Stories: The One-Eyed Wolf ... (Director)
- Conduct Report on Matashiro: The Devil Princess and Winter Rain ... (Director)
- Bored Hatamoto: The Demon of Chinatown ... (Director)
1950
- Amakara chindōchū ... (Director)
1949
- Late Night Confession ... (Director)
- Rinchi ... (Director)
- The Adventures of Tobisuke ... (Director)
1941
- The Poppy ... (Director)
1940
- Enoken's Bow-Wow General ... (Director)
- Enoken Enters the Ring ... (Director)
1939
- Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki ... (Director)
- Enoken's Yaji and Kita ... (Director)
- Enoken's Mori no Ishimatsu ... (Director)
- Rivals ... (Director)
1938
- Itahachi shima ... (Director)