Masaki Kobayashi (February 14, 1916–October 4, 1996) was a Japanese director. Among his films is Kwaidan (1965), a collection of four ghost stories drawn from the book by Lafcadio Hearn, each of which has a surprise ending. Kobayashi also directed The Human Condition, a trilogy on the effects of World War II on a Japanese pacifist and socialist. The total length of the films is over 9 hours. Other notable films include Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). Harakiri won him an award at
Masaki Kobayashi’s career coincides with the so-called Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite the fact that some of his films such as the war trilogy Ningen no jōken ( The Human Condition , 1959-1961) and Seppuku ( Harakiri , 1962) had won international critical acclaim, 1 the centenary of his birth in February 2016 passed almost unnoticed in the Western media. 2 Kobayashi has been largely forgotten by the average Japanese filmgoer, and outside Japan interest in his work…
When I was six years old, I saw Gone With the Wind and then when I was seven, I saw Stagecoach by John Ford. These films had such an impact on me... the humanity in Hollywood films was universal. My films are made up of my memories and my work as a filmmaker is an effort to share these memories.