Biography
Matsutarō Kawaguchi (川口松太郎, Kawaguchi Matsutarō, 1 October 1899 – 9 June 1985) was a Japanese writer of short stories, novels, dramas and screenplays. He repeatedly collaborated on films of director Kenji Mizoguchi, and his books were adapted by directors such as Mikio Naruse and Kōzaburō Yoshimura. Kawaguchi was born in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. He worked in a variety of jobs and studied under Mantarō Kubota and Kaoru Osanai. In 1935, he received the first Naoki Prize for his short stories Tsuruhachi Tsurujirō and Fūryū fukagawa uta and the novella Meiji ichidai onna. The novel Aizen katsura, a melodramatic love story between a nurse and a doctor, was serialised between 1937 and 1938 and made into highly popular film starring Kinuyo Tanaka and Ken Uehara. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Kawaguchi became a member of the Pen butai ("Pen brigade"), a government-sponsored group of writers who had access to off-limits war areas and were in return expected to write favourably of Japan's war efforts in China. In 1940, Kawaguchi joined the theatre group Shinsei Shinpa, where he wrote plays and directed.Starting in the 1930s, Kawaguchi adapted other writers' works for films of director Kenji Mizoguchi such as The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939). Mizoguchi in return adapted works by Kawaguchi, such as Ayen kyo for The Straits of Love and Hate (1937). After the war, the two collaborated on the films Ugetsu (1953), The Crucified Lovers (1954) and Princess Yang Kwei Fei (1955), and Mizoguchi again adapted a story by Kawaguchi for his 1953 film A Geisha.Kawaguchi was long associated with Daiei Film, where he served as managing director. In 1965, he became a member of the Japan Academy of the Arts. He received the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for his novel Shigurejaya Oriku about the owner of a famous Tokyo teahouse. The book was eventually translated into English by Royall Tyler.
Kawaguchi was awarded the Order of Culture by the Japanese government in 1973. His wife was actress Aiko Mimasu, and his son was actor Hiroshi Kawaguchi.
Filmography
all 79
Movies 79
Writer 62
Screenplay 2
self 1
Shingo's Ten Duels (1990)
Ten Duels of Young Shingo: Chapter 3 (1982)
Ten Duels of Young Shingo: Chapter 2 (1982)
Ten Duels of Young Shingo: Chapter 1 (1981)
Nichiren (1979)
Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975)
Onna no hanamichi (1971)
The Night of the Seagull (1968)
The Sisters and I (1967)
Snake Princess: Oshima and Sentaro (1965)
Shingo's Final Duel (1964)
20 Duels of Young Shingo - Conclusion (1963)
Zoku aizen katsura (1962)
Flower in a Storm (1962)
The Radiant Prince (1961)
Love New and Old (1961)
20 Duels of Young Shingo - Part 2 (1961)
Nocturne of a Woman (1961)
20 Duels of Young Shingo - Part 1 (1961)
Tsukinode no ketto (1960)
Deep River Melody (1960)
The Demon of Mount Oe (1960)
Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 4 (1960)
Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 3 (1960)
Beauty the Enemy (1959)
Turbulent Highways (1959)
Hebihime sama (1959)
Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 1 and 2 (1959)
Disobedience (1958)
A Mother's Journey (1958)
The Magnificent Five (1958)
Kisses (1957)
Night Butterflies (1957)
Love of the Princess (1957)
Gonpachi (1956)
滝の白糸 (1956)
The Sentimental Idiot (1956)
Migratory Birds of the Flowers (1956)
Taira Clan Saga (1955)
花眞珠 (1955)
Princess Yang Kwei Fei (1955)
Life of Geisha (1955)
Farewell Song (1955)
A Gang of Five (1955)
The Crucified Lovers (1954)
Asakusa no yoru (1954)
Aizen katsura (1954)
The Golden Demon (1954)
A Geisha (1953)
Lady Chatterley of Japan (1953)
Ugetsu (1953)
母子鶴 (1952)
Izayoi kaidō (1951)
The Motherland Far Far Away (1950)
Shin Aizen Katsura (1948)
Nocturnal Gate (1948)
Taki no shiraito (1946)
The Sword (1945)
Miyamoto Musashi (1944)
Goju no to (1944)
Sumida River (1942)
Suzhou Nights (1941)
夫婦太鼓 (1941)
晴小袖 (1940)
Zoku Hebihimesama (1940)
Flowers Blooming In the Storm (1940)
The Snake Princess (1940)
Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki (1939)
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)
Zoku aizen katsura (1939)
Tsukiyo Karasu (1939)
Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro (1938)
The Tree of Love (1938)
The Straits of Love and Hate (1937)
Oyuki the Virgin (1935)
Miss Okichi (1935)
The Mountain Pass of Love and Hate (1934)
The Feast of Gion (1933)
The Passion of a Woman Teacher (1926)
Ratings
Information
Known ForWriting
GenderMale
Birthday1899-10-01
Deathday1985-06-09 (85 years old)
Birth PlaceAsakusa, Japan
ChildrenAtsushi Kawaguchi, Hisashi Kawaguchi, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Akira Kawaguchi
CitizenshipsJapan
Also Known AsMatsutaro Kawaguchi, 川口松太郎
AwardsYoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature, Person of Cultural Merit, Kikuchi Kan Prize, Naoki Prize
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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