Nobuo Nakagawa
Biography
Nobuo Nakagawa (中川 信夫, Nakagawa Nobuo, April 18, 1905 – June 17, 1984) was a Japanese film director, most famous for the stylized, folk tale-influenced horror films he made in the 1950s and 1960s.
Born in Kyoto, Nakagawa was early on influenced by proletarian literature and wrote amateur film reviews for the Kinema Junpō film magazine. He joined Makino Film Productions in 1929 as an assistant director and worked under Masahiro Makino. When that studio went bankrupt in 1932, he switched to Utaemon Ichikawa's production company and made his debut as a director in 1934 with Yumiya Hachiman Ken. He later moved to Toho, where he made comedies starring Enoken and even documentaries during the war. It was at Shintoho after the war that he became known for his cinematic adaptations of Japanese Kaidan, especially his masterful version of Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan in 1959.
To Western audiences, his most famous film is Jigoku (1960), which he also co-wrote. The film was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2006.
He also filmed many Kaidan for television. His last film was 1982's Kaidan: Ikiteiru Koheiji.
Directing (65 movies)
Quick-draw Okatsu
1969
Jigoku
1960
Okatsu the Fugitive
1969
The Ghost of Yotsuya
1959
Black Cat Mansion
1958
Snake Woman's Curse
1968
The Ghost of Kasane
1957
The Living Koheiji
1982
Itahachi shima
1938
A Wicked Woman
1958
The Lady Vampire
1959
The Ceiling at Utsunomiya
1956
Enoken's Bow-Wow General
1940
Conduct Report on Matashiro: The Devil Princess and Winter Rain
1951
Ghost in the Regiment
1958
Casebooks of Detective Umon: The Incident of the Fawn-Pattern Cloth
1952
Love's Zephir Along the Tokaido
1952
Today is Payday
1952
Sunset Over Mount Fuji
1952
An Edoite Judge
1953
Kanashimi wa itsumo haha ni
1962
Rivals
1939
Kaachan
1961
Hibarigaoka Showdown
1957
Samurai Hawk
1961
右門捕物帖 片眼狼
1951
Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 1
1971
Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 2
1971
This Is Japan
1963
Death Row Woman
1960
Chutaro of Banba
1955
The Vampire Moth
1956
Amakara chindōchū
1950
Kagebôshi: The Shadow Avenger
1959
Late Night Confession
1949
Kyōen Kobanzame
1958
The Phantom Goblin
1962
The Adventures of Tobisuke
1949
Rinchi
1949
The Man Who Challenged 8,000,000-Koku
1961
Sakura sakazuki: gikyōdai
1969
The Poppy
1941
Stray Sheep
1955
Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 1 - Ghost Story at the Kagamigaike
1971
Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 4 - The Yokai Blood-stained Comb
1971
Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter Special - Ghost Story of Tragic Love: Dance of the Folding Fan
1971
Enoken's Yaji and Kita
1939
Enoken's Mori no Ishimatsu
1939
Enoken Enters the Ring
1940
Bored Hatamoto: The Mysterious Coral Mansion
1962
Shishun no izumi
1953
Showdown at Lightning Pass
1962
The Warrior from Kishu
1962
Nihon Meisaku Kaidan Gekijō: Kaidan Ōoku (Hi) Akazu no Ma
1979
Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki
1939
Bored Hatamoto: The Demon of Chinatown
1951
Kisan Detective Story: The Mysterious Doll-Maker
1953
Farewell to the Highland Station
1951
Casebook of Dandy Sashichi: Six Famous Beauties
1956
Sea of Wonders
1978
男の嵐
1963
Storming Osaka Castle: The Sanada Ten Braves
1957
In Love with a Heavenly Fox
1956
The Three Swordsmen of Ashura
1956
Casebook of Dandy Sashichi: The Ox of Edo
1957
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Itahachi shima | 1938 | Screenplay |
| Conduct Report on Matashiro: The Devil Princess and Winter Rain | 1951 | Writer |
| Jigoku | 1960 | Screenplay |
| The Warrior from Kishu | 1962 | Screenplay |
| Showdown at Lightning Pass | 1962 | Screenplay |
| Snake Woman's Curse | 1968 | Writer |
| The Living Koheiji | 1982 | Writer |