Kaneto Shindo

Kaneto Shindo was a Japanese filmmaker, production designer, screenwriter and director, who were born in Hiroshima at 28th of April 1912. He started his early career in the film business as an art director during the late 30s and during the 40s he started to learn scenario writing under the training of the notorious ‘perfectionist’ director Kenji Mizoguchi in the movie Loyal 47 Ronin (1941). Kenji Mizoguchi’s style has influenced Shindo and through the movies written and directed by Shindo, people can see the influence easily, for example significantly we can see that woman has taken the main role in the movies of both directors and the role that woman play as a savior of the man.

The movie script that brought the fame to Shindo’s career was for the Kosaburo Yoshimura’s movie, Shochiku. Another famous director that has been a mentor for Shindo was Kon Ichikawa. Both mentors has influenced Shindo to finally begin his debut in directorial by directing the movie The Story of A Beloved Wife in 1951. Together with Yoshimura in 1950, Shindo established the production company Society of Modern Film or Kindai Eiga Kyokai.

Several movie works by SHindo were heavily influenced by the atomic bomb dropped in Japan after the WWII. Through the movie Children of the Atomic Bomb, Shindo as a native Hiroshima citizen, tried to bring up the impacts and aftermath of the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima seen through the eyes of the Hiroshima children. Through another movie titled Dai Go Fukuryumaru, Shindo also tried to criticize the nuclear bomb and the impact that it brings to the human race. It criticizes the testing of the nuclear weapon at the Nam Island on bikini atoll which has an aftermath beyond expectation of USA. He uses these movies to emphasize on how no good nuclear weapon can bring to human race.

Shindo has won various prestigious awards such as Japan Academy Prize Director of the year through the movie A Last Note in 1996, Grand Prix Moscow Festival in 1960 for The Naked Island movie, Asahi prize, Japan fro activities in independent film production (1975) and the most recent, Special Jury Prize award for the movie Ichimai No Hagaki at 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival (November 2010) which he received in the age of 98.

Besides the movie The Naked Island that made Shindo well-known to the western film community, a film written by Shindo that was remade into an American movie called Hachi: A dog’s tale has also made him famous in the west.