
Akio Jissoji
Biography
Akio Jissoji was a Japanese television and film director best known outside Japan for the 1960s TV series Ultraman and Ultra Seven, as well as for his auteur erotic ATG-produced Buddhist trilogy Mujō (無常), Mandala (曼陀羅), and Uta (哥). He was also known for his film adaptations of Japanese horror author Rampo Edogawa. Jissoji possessed a very distinctive visual style that was notable even in Japanese cinema which is known internationally for its visual style. Every project he directed, from children's action shows to the most disturbing adult films had an uncompromising approach to cinematic story telling. His episodes of the Ultraman TV shows are unique and quite unusual for children's television. His career is also unusual in that he went back and forth from children's television to film projects that were sexually provocative in some way or another. It is perhaps this aspect of his work that has prevented wider distribution of his films. Sadomasochistic and non-consensual sexual practices are featured in many of his film works with women receiving the brunt of the abuse. Another recurring theme was to pull the camera back and reveal the set his actors were working on.
Acting (3 movies)
Directing (34 movies)

Rampo Noir
2005

Utamaro's World
1977

Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis
1988

Marquis de Sade’s Prosperities of Vice
1988

This Transient Life
1970

Mandala
1971

Poem
1972

Ten Nights of Dreams
2007

Murder on D Street
1998

It Was a Faint Dream
1974

When Twilight Draws Near
1969

Arietta
1989

Summer of Ubume
2005

Akio Jissoji's Wonder Museum 1
1992

Akio Jissoji's Ultraman
1979

Ultra Q The Movie: Legend of the Stars
1990

La Valse
1990

A Watcher in the Attic
1994

Silver Mask
2006

Blue Lake Girl
1986

Lanterns on Blue Waters
1983

Akio Jissoji's Museum of Wonders - Volume of the Unknown
1992

Akio Jissoji's Museum of Wonders - Volume of Discourse
1992

Dialogue
1992

Twenty-Four Eyes
1980

The Birth of Ultraman
1966

The Father of Ultra Q
1966

Arthouse Ultraman
2005

Longing for Spring
1984

Tokyo Illusion
1986

I Want to Buy Kyoto
1969

The Accursed Urns
1969

Lullaby of Death
1968

Horror Telephone
1968
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Illusion | 1986 | Screenplay |
| Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis | 1988 | Producer |
| Arietta | 1989 | Screenplay |
| La Valse | 1990 | Writer |
| Akio Jissoji's Wonder Museum 1 | 1992 | Screenplay |
| Dialogue | 1992 | Screenplay |
| Tokyo Decameron | 1996 | Writer |
| Akio Jissoji's Mystery File 1 | 1997 | Producer |
| Akio Jissoji's Mystery File 2 | 1997 | Producer |
| Akio Jissoji's Mystery File 3 | 1997 | Producer |
| Silver Mask | 2006 | Executive Producer |


