DatabaseScriptwriters Database
Yamada Yoji
- Profile
- He was born in Osaka Prefecture in 1931. Following graduation from the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law, he joined Shochiku as an assistant director. After working as an assistant director on Yoshitarō Nomura’s films, he made his directorial debut with Nikai no Tanin (Stranger on the Second Floor) in 1961. During this same period, he began contributing scripts to television programs, such as Izoku (The Bereaved, NHK) and Naite Tamaruka (I Won’t Cry, TBS). During this time, the Fuji TV series Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It’s Tough Being a Man), which he co-created and penned, became a major hit. The series was later adapted into a film by Shochiku in 1969, evolving into the nationally beloved Tora-san series. His filmography include Kazoku (Where Spring Comes Late, 1970), Kokyō (Home from the Sea, 1972), Harakara (The Village,1975), and Shiawase no Kiiroi Hankachi (The Yellow Handkerchief, 1977), which won six categories at the inaugural Japan Academy Film Prize, including Director of the Year. Other notable works include Musuko (My Sons, 1991), Gakkō (A Class to Remember, 1993), Tasogare Seibei (The Twilight Samurai, 2002), Kābei (Kabei: Our Mother, 2008), Otōto (About Her Brother, 2010), Haha to Kuraseba (Nagasaki: Memories of My Son, 2015), and Kinema no Kamisama (It’s a Flickering Life, 2021). He was awarded the Purple Ribbon Medal in 1996 and named a Person of Cultural Merit in 2004.
- Masterpieces
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男はつらいよ
父
幼なじみ
乙姫先生