Kiyohiko Ushihara

was a Japanese film director most famous for his gendaigeki of the silent era.

Career Born in Kumamoto Prefecture and graduating from Tokyo University, Ushihara joined the Shochiku studio in 1920 on the invitation of Kaoru Osanai. Starting out by helping on the script to Minoru Murata's Gorky-influenced Souls on the Road, he made his directorial debut in 1921 and later directed adaptations of such works as Victor Hugo's Les Misérables under the title Aa mujō. In the mid-1920s he went to America to study Hollywood filmmaking, working under Charlie Chaplin. Between 1928 and 1932 he co-edited the journal Eiga kagaku kenkyū (Scientific Studies of Cinema) with Murata. Four years later, he was a member of the jury at the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. In 1965 he was a member of the jury at the 4th Moscow International Film Festival.

His son, Yōichi Ushihara, is also a film director.

Selected filmography Yama kururu (山暮るる The Mountains Grow Dark) (1921) Aa mujō (噫無情 Ah, Heartless) (1923) Daichi wa hohoemu (大地は微笑む The Smiling Earth) (1925) Kare to Tokyo (彼と東京 He and Tokyo) (1928) Riku no ōja (陸の王者 A King on Land) (1928) Shingun (進軍 Advance) (1930) Wakamono yo naze naku ka (若者よなぜ泣くか Why Do You Cry, Youngsters?) (1930) The Ghost Cat and the Mysterious Shamisen (妖絃怪猫伝) (1938) The Rainbow Man (虹男, 1949)