
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 |