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By special request: - Juzo Itami - 伊丹 十三
Juzo Itami (伊丹 十三, Itami Juzo, May 15, 1933 – December 20, 1997)
Itami was born Yoshihiro Ikeuchi in Kyoto, Japan. The name Itami was passed on from his father, Mansaku Itami who was a renowned satirist and film director before World War II.
He moved from Kyoto to Ehime. After failing the entrance exam for Engineering at Osaka University, he worked as a commercial designer, a television reporter, and other jobs. He first acted in 1960s in Ginza no Dora-Neko and appeared in films, including the Western film Lord Jim. The most notable movie in which Itami acted could be Yoshimitsu Morita's 1983 movie Kazoku Gēmu (The Family Game).
He first directed a movie, Ososhiki (The Funeral), in 1984, at the age of 50. This film proved popular in Japan and won many awards, including Japanese Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. However, it was his second movie, his "noodle western" Tampopo, which earned him international exposure and acclaim. Itami's wife, Nobuko Miyamoto, is often the star of his movies, usually in the role of an ‘Everywoman’ figure.
In 1992, Itami was attacked and slashed by five members of the Goto-gumi, a Tokyo yakuza gang, who were angry at his portrayal of yakuza as thugs in his film Minbo no Onna. His subsequent stay in a hospital inspired his next film Daibyonin, a satire on the Japanese health system.
Main Films (see Wikipedia for a full list)
---- Tampopo (1985)
---- Marusa no Onna (A Taxing Woman) (1987)
---- Minbo no Onna (Minbo — or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion) (1992)
Tampopo (タンポポ or 蒲公英) is a 1985 Japanese comedy film by him, starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it "the first Noodle Western," a play on the term Spaghetti Western. It begins when a pair of truck drivers, an experienced one named Goro and a young one named Gun, find a decrepit roadside fast food stop selling ramen noodles. The business is not doing well, and after a fight the heroes decide to help the young owner, Tampopo ("Dandelion"), turn her establishment into one which has perfected the "art of noodle soup making".
The main narrative is interspersed with stories involving consumables in several ways. The main storyline has been compared by some to the Western movie Shane, and also to the movie Seven Samurai .
The film is often given as a good reference for learning about Japanese culture, particularly the role and importance of food in Japanese society. The film also shows the fanatic following that well-prepared ramen has in Japan.
Nobuko Miyamoto (宮本信子 Miyamoto Nobuko born March 27, 1945) is a Japanese actress from Otaru, Hokkaidō.
My thanks again to Wikipedia for most of the links in this blog. 日本の手紙
posted by Message from Japan on Sunday, April 15, 2007
