Masato Harada

was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, critic and occasional actor. He was nominated five times for the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Director, among other accolades.

Early life and education Harada was born in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture and graduated from Higashi High School. In 1972, he went to London to learn English. He then attended Tokyo Visual Arts College and Pepperdine University.

During the latter part of the decade, he lived in Los Angeles, where he was a US correspondent for Kinema Junpo and Takarajima magazines, writing criticism and news about the American film industry. He cited American filmmakers Howard Hawks, Sam Peckinpah, and Don Siegel as influences, and befriended Hawks after meeting him at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.

Harada also taught international relations at Nihon University.

Personal life He married journalist Mizuho Fukuda in 1976. They had a son, actor Eugene Harada.

Filmography

Director Farewell, Movie Friend: Indian Summer (1979) Uindii (1984) Paris/Dakar 1500 (1986) The Heartbreak Yakuza (1987) Gunhed (1989) Tuff 5 (1992) Painted Desert (1993) Kamikaze Taxi (1995) Rowing Through (1996) Bounce Ko Gals (1997) Spellbound (1999) Inugami (2001) The Choice of Hercules (2002) Bluestockings (2005) Densen Uta (2007) The Shadow Spirit (2008) Climber's High (2008) Chronicle of My Mother (2011) Return (2013) Kakekomi (2015) The Emperor in August (2015) Sekigahara (2017) Killing for the Prosecution (2018) Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai (2021) Hell Dogs (2022) Bad Lands (2023)

Actor The Last Samurai (2003) – Mr. Omura Fearless (2006) – Mr. Mita