Shōichirō Sasaki

was a Japanese filmmaker.

Biography Sasaki was born on January 25, 1936, in Tokyo, Japan. During World War II, Sasaki was frequently evacuated to the countryside. His father, Shūichirō, was a freelance journalist who had been fired in 1930 after criticizing the Japanese military. After working in Manchukuo under surveillance by the Special Higher Police, Shūichirō returned to Tokyo in July 1943. According to Shōichirō, his father began to bleed from the mouth and collapsed after eating a peach from a vendor while they were travelling to his father's native Miyagi Prefecture. His father was then hauled away by secret police agents disguised as sailors, and died in custody.

Sasaki graduated from Rikkyo University and was hired by NHK in 1960, and began directing radio dramas. Sasaki directed several films for NHK, beginning with the 1969 film Mother. His films won multiple awards and enjoyed support primarily from young viewers, influencing future directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Naomi Kawase and Shinya Tsukamoto. After retiring from NHK in 1995, Sasaki worked as a professor at Bunkyo University until 2005.

Selected filmography Mother マザー 1970 Wanderer さすらい 1971 Dream Island Girl 夢の島少女 1974 Red Flowers 紅い花 1976 Four Seasons: Utopiano 四季・ユートピアノ 1980 The Flow of a River, The Sound of a Violin 川の流れはバイオリンの音 1981 Rainbow of Andalusia アンダルシアの虹 1981 Spring: The Light of Sound 春・音の光 1984 Tokyo on the City 東京 オン・ザ・シティー 1986 Summer Album 夏のアルバム 1986 Under the Shade of a Coolabah Tree クーリバの木の下で 1987 The Sound of the Bell–from Prague to Hiroshima 鐘のひびき 〜プラハからヒロシマへ 1988 Nanairo Village 七色村 1989 Jan Letzel Apocalypse – The Man Who Built the Hiroshima Dome (aka The Paradise Garden) ヤン・レツル物語 〜広島ドームを建てた男 1991 Paradise of Paradise: The Sound of Mother パラダイス オブ パラダイス 〜母の声〜 1993 The Screams of August 八月の叫び 1995 Harmonics Minyoung ミンヨン 倍音の法則 2014