DatabaseScriptwriters Database
Matsuyama Zenzo
- Profile
- He was born in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, in 1925 but was raised in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He dropped out of Iwate Medical College. In 1948, he joined the Assistant Director Department at Shochiku Ofuna Studio. He studied under Keisuke Kinoshita and took dictation for Kinoshita’s scripts. In 1954, he made his debut as a screenwriter with the film Kōjō no Tsuki (The Moon over the Ruined Castle). He went on to write numerous screenplays. In 1961, he made his directorial debut with the film Namonaku Mazushiku, Utsukushiku (Nameless, Poor and Beautiful). He wrote scripts for major and popular films, including Ningen no Jōken (The Human Condition), Ningen no Shōmei (Proof of the Man), and Kōkotsu no Hito (The Twilight Years). He also wrote over 1,000 scripts in his lifetime. His works were characterized by a consistently lyrical humanism. He married actress Hideko Takamine in 1955; the two were celebrated as a famously devoted couple. His many television scripts include Inochi Aru Kagiri (As Long as Life Remains, 1957, NHK), Saboten (The Cactus,1964–1965, TBS), Sanada Yukimura (original story and script, 1966–1967, TBS), and Hana no Hito (Person of Flowers, 1993, TBS). He made a great contribution to television drama through not only his original scripts but also through his adaptations and direction. He died in 2016 at the age of 91.
- Masterpieces
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君はいまなにを見つめている
オロロンの島
東京見物
砂あらし
百日紅の花
碑（いしぶみ）