Hiroshi Teshigahara | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1927-01-28)January 28, 1927 |
| Died | April 14, 2001(2001-04-14) (aged 74) Tokyo, Japan |
| Alma mater | Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Notable work |
|
| Movement | Japanese New Wave |
| Spouse | Toshiko Kobayashi |
| Relatives | Sofu Teshigahara (father) |
Hiroshi Teshigahara (勅使河原 宏,Teshigahara Hiroshi; January 28, 1927 – April 14, 2001) was aJapaneseavant-garde filmmaker and artist from theJapanese New Wave era. He is best known for the 1964 filmWoman in the Dunes. He is also known for directing other titles such asThe Face of Another (1966),Natsu no Heitai (Summer Soldiers, 1972), andPitfall (1962), which was Teshigahara's directorial debut. He has been called "one of the most acclaimed Japanese directors of all time".[1] Teshigahara is the first person of Asian descent to be nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Director, accomplishing this in 1964 for his work onWoman in the Dunes. Apart from being a filmmaker, Teshigahara also practiced other arts, such ascalligraphy,pottery,painting,opera andikebana.[2][3]
Teshigahara was born inTokyo, the son ofSōfu Teshigahara, founder and grand master of theSōgetsu-ryū school ofikebana. He graduated in 1950 from theTokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and began working in documentary film. He directed his first feature film,Pitfall (1962), in collaboration with authorKōbō Abe and musicianToru Takemitsu. The film won theNHK New Director's award, and throughout the 1960s, he continued to collaborate on films with Abe and Takemitsu while simultaneously pursuing his interest inikebana and sculpture on a professional level.
From 1958 to 1971, he served as the director of theSogetsu Art Center, a pioneering venue for avant-garde art. Many of his friends (Yuji Takahashi,Toru Takemitsu, Fusako Shuzui,Genpei Akasegawa,Kiyoshi Awazu) and collaborators from SAC later joined forces to work on his feature films.[4][5]
In 1965, the Teshigahara/Abe filmWoman in the Dunes (1964) was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film[6] and won theSpecial Jury Prize at theCannes Film Festival.[7] Although the original director's cut ofWoman in the Dunes was 147 minutes, he cut it down to 124 minutes when he was invited to the Cannes Film Festival.[8] In 1972, he worked with Japanese researcher and translatorJohn Nathan to makeSummer Soldiers, a film set during theVietnam War about American deserters living on the fringe of Japanese society.
From the mid-1970s onwards, he worked less frequently on feature films as he concentrated more on documentaries, exhibitions and the Sogetsu School and became grand master of the school in 1980.
In 1980, after the death of his father, Teshigahara became the third generationIemoto of Sogetsu School, using bamboo at his large-scale solo exhibitions at several well known museums, including the National Museum of Contemporary Art inSeoul,Korea (1989),Palazzo Reale inMilan,Italy (1995), and theKennedy Center inWashington, D.C. (1996), among other venues.[9] In Japan, Teshigahara displayed his art installations nationwide, including Gen-Ichiro Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art inMarugame andHiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art. In the 1990s, he pushed the art form of renka, which is a series of impromptu Ikebana arranged by multiple artists. Teshigahara was also involved in ceramics calligraphy andinstallation art.[9]
Throughout his career, Teshigahara also involved himself in stage and art direction, both domestically and internationally. He has directed performances such as the operaTurandot (Lyon,France, 1992;Geneva,Switzerland, 1996), and original Noh play Susanoh (the Avignon Theatre Festival, 1994), Sloka by Chandralekha Dance Company (1999), and original outdoor dance play Susano Iden (1991).[10]
In 1983, Teshigahara created a permanent installation at the Ken Domon Museum, Sakata, Japan.[9]
Teshigahara died at the age of 74 on April 14, 2001, in his hometown, Tokyo, Japan.[11]
On the first anniversary of his death, April 14, 2002, aDVD box set containing his best known work was released in Japan in commemoration.
On June 7, 2025, his eldest daughter, Kiri Teshigahara, launched a two-year centennial commemoration, which will conclude on his centennial birth year in 2027.[12]
Teshigahara's filmography includes:[13][14][15]
| Year | Title | Position | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Hokusai | Director | Short documentary |
| 1955 | 12 Photographers | Director | Short documentary |
| 1957 | Ikebana | Director and writer of screenplay | Short documentary |
| 1958 | Yuurakucho District 0 | Writer of screenplay | Lost |
| 1958 | Tokyo 1958 | ||
| 1958 | The Sea is Alive | Director of art | |
| 1959 | José Torres | Director of shooting | Short documentary |
| 1962 | Pitfall | Director | |
| 1962 | Sculptures of Sofu-Vita | Director | Short documentary |
| 1964 | Woman in the Dunes | Director | |
| 1965 | White Morning | Director | Short film |
| 1965 | José Torres Part II | Director | Short documentary |
| 1966 | The Face of Another | Director | |
| 1966 | Bakusō | ||
| 1967 | インディレース 爆走 | Producer | |
| 1968 | The Man Without a Map | Director | |
| 1970 | 240 Hours in One Day | Director | Short film made for theOsaka Expo |
| 1972 | Summer Soldiers | Director, cinematographer, planner, and producer | |
| 1977 | Our Leading Role | Director | TV film |
| 1978 | Shin Zatōichi | Director | Two film-length TV episodes |
| 1981 | Sculpture Mouvante – Jean Tinguely | Director | Short documentary |
| 1984 | Antoni Gaudi | Director, producer, co-planner, and editor | Documentary |
| 1989 | Rikyu | Director, producer, and co-writer of screenplay | |
| 1992 | Princess Goh | Director, producer, and co-writer of screenplay |
