Shirō Toyoda

Shirō Toyoda (豊田 四郎, Toyoda Shirō, 3 January 1906 – 13 November 1977)[1][2] was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed over 60 films during his career which spanned 50 years.[3] He was denoted for his high-quality adaptations of works of many important twentieth-century Japanese writers.[1][2][4]

Shirō Toyoda
Shirō Toyoda in 1938
Born(1906-01-03)3 January 1906
Kyoto, Japan
Died13 November 1977(1977-11-13) (aged 71)
Tokyo, Japan
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1925–1976

Career

Born in Kyoto, Toyoda moved to Tokyo after finishing high school. Intent on becoming a theatre playwright at first,[5] he studied scriptwriting under the pioneering film director Eizō Tanaka.[2][5] He joined the Kamata section of the Shōchiku film studios in 1925 and worked as an assistant director under Yasujirō Shimazu, before giving his directorial debut in 1929.[2][5] Forced to continue to work as an assistant director,[2] and dissatisfied with the material he was given at Shochiku,[5] he moved to the independent Tokyo Hassei Eiga Shisaku studio (later Toho).[5] There he directed the successful Young People (1937) and gained a reputation for directing literary adaptations with a humanistic touch, in particular Uguisu (1938) and Spring on Leper's Island (1940).[1][5]

After World War II, Toyoda adapted the works of writers like Yasunari Kawabata, Kafū Nagai, Naoya Shiga, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Masuji Ibuse for his films.[2][4] Distinguished by their visual imagination and superb acting,[4] they established Toyoda's reputation as an actor's director.[5] Noted works of this era include The Wild Geese (1953), Marital Relations (1955), A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women (1956), Snow Country (1957) and The Twilight Story (1960).[1][2][4] Working as closely with his cameramen and scenarists as with his actors, he relied on a steady group of collaborators, including cinematographers Kinya Kokura and Mitsuo Miura and scriptwriter Toshio Yasumi.[5]

Toyoda died in Tokyo in 1977.[2]

Filmography

Director
  • 1929: Irodorareru kuchibiru (彩られる唇)
  • 1929: Tokai o oyogu onna (都会を泳ぐ女)
  • 1930: Yūai kekkon (友愛結婚)
  • 1930: Kokoro ogoreru onna (心驕れる女)
  • 1935: Sannin no josei (三人の女性)
  • 1936: Tōkyō-Ōsaka tokudane ōrai (東京−大阪特ダネ往来)
  • 1936: Ōbantō kobantō (大番頭小番頭)
  • 1936: Kamata Ōfuna sutajio no haru (蒲田　大船スタジオの春)
  • 1937: Minato wa uwakikaze (港は浮気風)
  • 1937: Oyake Akahachi (オヤケアカハチ)
  • 1937: Young People (Wakai hito)
  • 1937: Jūji hōka (十字砲火)
  • 1938: Nakimushi kozo (泣蟲小僧)
  • 1938: Fuyu no yado (冬の宿)
  • 1938: Uguisu (鶯)
  • 1940: Okumura Ioko (奥村五百子)
  • 1940: Spring on Leper's Island (Kojima no haru)
  • 1940: Ōhinata-mura (大日向村)
  • 1941: Waga ai no ki (わが愛の記)
  • 1943: Wakaki sugata (若き姿)
  • 1946: Hinoki butai (檜舞台)
  • 1947: Four Love Stories (四つの恋の物語　第一話　初恋, Yottsu no koi no monogatari)
  • 1948: Waga ai wa yama no kanata ni (わが愛は山の彼方に)
  • 1949: Hakucho wa kanashikarazuya (白鳥は悲しからずや)
  • 1950: Onna no shiki (女の四季)
  • 1951: Eriko to tomo-ni dai-ichi bu (えりことともに　第一部)
  • 1951: Eriko to tomo-ni dai-ni bu (えりことともに　第二部)
  • 1951: Sekirei no kyoku (せきれいの曲)
  • 1952: Kaze futabi (風ふたゝび)
  • 1952: Haru no sasayaki (春の囁き)
  • 1953: The Wild Geese (Gan)
  • 1954: Aru onna (或る女)
  • 1955: The Grass Whistle a.k.a. Love Never Fails (麦笛, Mugibue)
  • 1955: Marital Relations (Meoto zenzai)
  • 1956: The Legend of the White Serpent (白夫人の妖恋, Byaku fujin no yoren)
  • 1956: A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women (Neko to Shozo to futari no onna)
  • 1957: Snow Country (Yukiguni)
  • 1957: Evening Calm (夕凪, Yūnagi)
  • 1958: Makeraremasen katsumadewa (負ケラレセン勝マデハ)
  • 1958: The Hotelman's Holiday (喜劇　駅前旅館, Kigeki ekimae ryokan)
  • 1959: A Flower Never Fades (花のれん, Hana noren)
  • 1959: Dansei shiiku hō (男性飼育法)
  • 1959: Pilgrimage at Night (暗夜行路, An'ya kōro)
  • 1960: Chinpindō shujin (珍品堂主人)
  • 1960: The Twilight Story (Bokuto kidan)
  • 1961: The Diplomat's Mansion (東京夜話, Tokyo yawa)
  • 1962: Till Tomorrow Comes (明日ある限り, Ashita aru kagiri)
  • 1962: Ika naru hoshi no moto ni (如何なる星の下に)
  • 1963: Madame Aki (憂愁平野, Yushu heiya)
  • 1963: The Maid Story (台所太平記, Daidokoro taiheiki)
  • 1963: Shin meoto zenzai (新・夫婦善哉)
  • 1964: Kigeki yōki-na mibōjin (喜劇 陽気な未亡人)
  • 1964: Sweet Sweat (Amai ase)
  • 1965: Nami kage (波影)
  • 1965: Illusion of Blood (Yotsuya kaidan)
  • 1965: Tale of a Carpenter (大工太平記, Daiku taiheki)
  • 1967: River of Forever (千曲川絶唱, Chikumagawa zesshō)
  • 1967: Kigeki ekimae hyakku-nen (喜劇　駅前百年)
  • 1968: Kigeki ekimae kaiun (喜劇　駅前開運)
  • 1969: Portrait of Hell (Jigoku-hen)
  • 1973: The Twilight Years (Kōkotsu no hito)
  • 1976: Tsuma to onna no aida (妻と女の間)

Screenwriter

Scripts not realised by Toyoda himself:

  • 1925: Yū no kane (夕の鐘)
  • 1925: Aisai no himitsu (愛妻の秘密)
  • 1926: Fukumen no kage (覆面の影)
  • 1926: Mankō (万公)
  • 1927: Koi o hirotta otoko (恋を拾った男)
  • 1928: Yowaki hitobito (弱き人々) co-writer
  • 1928: Shin'ya no okyaku (深夜のお客) co-writer
  • 1936: Ipponto dohyo-iri (一本刀土俵入)

Actor
  • 1952: Kin no tamago: Golden girl (金の卵　Ｇｏｌｄｅｎ　Ｇｉｒｌ)

Awards

Legacy

Toyoda's films have repeatedly been shown at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive as part of retrospectives,[6][7][8] and three of his works added to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in 1987.[9]

References
  1. "豊田四郎 (Toyoda Shirō)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. "豊田四郎 (Toyoda Shirō)". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. "豊田四郎 (Toyoda Shirō)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  4. Jacoby, Alexander (2008). Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. pp. 313–316. ISBN 978-1-933330-53-2.
  5. Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald (1959). The Japanese Film – Art & Industry. Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company.
  6. "Shiro Toyoda: Telling the Story". BAMPFA. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  7. "A Cat, Two Women and One Man (Neko to Shozo to Futari no Onna)". BAMPFA. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  8. "The Mistress (Wild Geese/Gan)". BAMPFA. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  9. "MoMA announces major gift of Japanese films from Toho" (PDF). MoMA. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
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