Masahiro Shinoda

20 films · 1960 to 1997
Born 9 March 1931, Gifu · Died 25 March 2025

Masahiro Shinoda was a Japanese film director, whose career spanned over four decades and covered a wide range of genres and styles. He was one of the central figures of the Japanese New Wave during the 1960s and 1970s. He directed films for Shochiku Studio from 1960 to 1965, before turning to independent cinema from 1966 onward. His film style was characterized by socially marginalized characters, many of whom turn to crime or suicide, and meticulous attention to pictorial beauty. He drew on traditional Japanese fiction and theater and some of his films bear the influence of Kenji Mizoguchi, whom he admired.

Biography adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.

Masahiro Shinoda

Photo: キネマ旬報社, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

Defining films

Films by decade

More from Japan