DatabaseScriptwriters Database
Ichikawa ShinIchi
- Profile
- He was born in Nagasaki Prefecture in 1941. He graduated from Nihon University’s College of Art, Department of Cinema in 1965. He studied under the comedy writer Mitsuo Hakama. In 1966, he made his debut as a scriptwriter with the special effects series Kaijū Booska, produced by Tsuburaya Productions. He joined the writing teams for Ultraseven (1967–1968), Kaettekita Ultraman (Return of Ultraman, 1971–1972), and Taiyō Hoero! (Roar at the Sun!, which started in 1972). He rose to prominence as the lead writer for the 1974 series Kizu Darake no Tenshi (Wounded Angels). In 1974, he wrote all 20 episodes for the NHK Ginga drama series Kiiroi Namida (Yellow Tears). He later wrote the scripts for regional productions for Toshiba Nichiyō Gekijō (Toshiba Sunday Theater), as well as CBC stand-alone dramas, including Fuyu no Jikokuhyō (Winter Timetable, 1975), Tsuyudama no Kubikazari (The Necklace of Dewdrops, 1979), Tsuzumi no Onna (The Woman with the Tsuzumi Drum, 1981), and Yume no Tori (The Bird of Dreams, 1983). He left a lasting impression with his signature literary style, depicting the intensity of love with a fantastical touch in works for HBC, such as Haru no Sasayaki (Whispers of Spring, 1980) and Sakhalin no Bara (Roses in Sakhalin, 1991). Furthermore, through series like the TBS Friday dramas Minatomachi Junjō Cinema (Pure-Hearted Port Town Cinema, 1981) and Samishii no wa Omae Dake Janai (You’re Not the Only One Who’s Lonely, 1983), as well as Yūkon (Ghost Marriage, 1998), he crafted profound human dramas that wander the borderline between dreams and reality. He also drew significant attention for his boundary-pushing scripts that featured protagonists such as the Sengoku-period merchant in the Taiga drama Ōgon no Hibi (Golden Days, 1978), a second-generation Japanese-American in Sanga Moyu (Burning Mountains and Rivers, 1984), and a sex worker in the Momoko series, which began with Juninenkan no Uso (Twelve Years of Lies, 1982). As a native of Nagasaki Prefecture, he felt a profound connection to the scars left by the war. This led him to write Akai Yūhi no Daichi de (In the Land of the Red Sunset, 1987), depicting the anguish of Japanese orphans left in China and their birth mothers, as well as Ashita: 1945.8.8 Nagasaki (Tomorrow—August 8, 1945, Nagasaki, 1988), which reflects on all the precious and irreplaceable things that were destroyed by the atomic bomb. As the chairperson and president of the Television and Radio Writers’ Association of Japan, he was instrumental in the launch of the Japan Screenplay Archives, laying the groundwork for the collection, preservation, and public access of television scripts as cultural assets. He died in 2011 at the age of 70.
- Masterpieces
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冬の時刻表
夢のながれ
牛を売りに来た女
東芝日曜劇場「露玉の首飾り」
春のささやき
港町純情シネマ 第１回 失われた航海
東芝日曜劇場「鼓の女」
淋しいのはお前だけじゃない
十二年間の嘘～乳と蜜の流れる地よ～
夢の鳥
聖母モモ子の受難 シリーズⅡ
大河ドラマ「山河燃ゆ」
グッドバイ・ソープガール
赤い夕日の大地でー家路ー
明日 １９４５年８月８日・長崎