DatabaseScriptwriters Database
Hashimoto Shinobu
- Profile
- He was born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1918. Shortly after joining the military, he contracted tuberculosis. It was while recovering at a sanatorium that he happened to encounter a book titled Japanese Films, which inspired him to become a screenwriter. He moved to Tokyo in 1951 to pursue this dream. His journey to becoming a professional screenwriter was marked by a fateful series of events: the untimely death of his mentor, Mansaku Itami; a script for Yabu no Naka (In a Grove) that was passed from the director Kiyoshi Saeki to the director Akira Kurosawa, leading to an inquiry about a film adaptation; the subsequent merging of his work with Rashōmon into a feature-length film; and finally the 1950 release of the film Rashōmon and its triumph as the Grand Prix winner at the Venice Film Festival. After serving as a key member of Akira Kurosawa’s screenwriting team, he worked on a succession of major Japanese films, firmly establishing his position as a screenwriter. In 1958, he wrote the script for the television drama Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai (I Want to be a Shellfish) broadcast by Radio Tokyo (now TBS). This drama dominated the public’s conversation at the time. In 1966, he participated in the launch of the production company CAL. For the company’s productions of Tsurugi (Sword) (1967–1968, NTV) and Oniwaban (1968, NTV), he was credited not only as a scriptwriter but also as a project developer. He died of pneumonia at his home in July 2018 at the age of 100.
- Masterpieces
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私は貝になりたい
いろはにほへと
正塚の婆さん