List of works by Akira Kurosawa

The following is a list of works, both in film and other media, for which the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa made some documented creative contribution. This includes a complete list of films with which he was involved (including the films on which he worked as assistant director before becoming a full director), as well as his little-known contributions to theater, television and literature.

Filmography

As director

All the following are Japanese productions unless otherwise specified.

Year	English title	Japanese title	Romanized title
1943	Sanshiro Sugata	姿三四郎	Sugata Sanshirō
1944	The Most Beautiful	一番美しく	Ichiban utsukushiku
1945	Sanshiro Sugata Part II	續姿三四郎	Zoku Sugata Sanshirō
	The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail	虎の尾を踏む男達	Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi
1946	Those Who Make Tomorrow	明日を創る人々	Asu o tsukuru hitobito
	No Regrets for Our Youth	わが青春に悔なし	Waga seishun ni kuinashi
1947	One Wonderful Sunday	素晴らしき日曜日	Subarashiki nichiyōbi
1948	Drunken Angel	酔いどれ天使	Yoidore tenshi
1949	The Quiet Duel	静かなる決闘	Shizukanaru kettō
	Stray Dog	野良犬	Nora inu
1950	Scandal	醜聞	Sukyandaru (Shūbun)
	Rashomon	羅生門	Rashōmon
1951	The Idiot	白痴	Hakuchi
1952	Ikiru	生きる	Ikiru
1954	Seven Samurai	七人の侍	Shichinin no samurai
1955	I Live in Fear	生きものの記録	Ikimono no kiroku
1957	Throne of Blood	蜘蛛巣城	Kumonosu-jō
	The Lower Depths	どん底	Donzoko
1958	The Hidden Fortress	隠し砦の三悪人	Kakushi toride no san akunin
1960	The Bad Sleep Well	悪い奴ほどよく眠る	Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru
1961	Yojimbo	用心棒	Yōjinbō
1962	Sanjurō	椿三十郎	Tsubaki Sanjūrō
1963	High and Low	天国と地獄	Tengoku to jigoku
1965	Red Beard	赤ひげ	Akahige
1970	Dodes'ka-den	どですかでん	Dodesukaden
1975	Dersu Uzala	デルス・ウザーラ	Derusu Uzāra
1980	Kagemusha	影武者	Kagemusha
1985	Ran	乱	Ran
1990	Dreams	夢	Yume
1991	Rhapsody in August	八月の狂詩曲	Hachigatsu no rapusodī (Hachigatsu no kyōshikyoku)
1993	Madadayo	まあだだよ	Mādadayo

As producer

Note: Data for the remainder of this filmography is derived primarily from the complete filmography created by Kurosawa's biographer, Stuart Galbraith IV, supplemented by IMDb's Kurosawa page.

For the following films that Kurosawa directed, he also received a production credit:

• Stray Dog (associate producer)
• Throne of Blood (co-producer)
• The Lower Depths (producer)
• The Hidden Fortress (co-producer)
• The Bad Sleep Well (co-producer)
• Yojimbo (associate producer)
• Sanjuro (associate producer)
• High and Low (associate producer)
• Red Beard (associate producer)
• Dodesukaden (executive producer and producer)
• Kagemusha (producer).

In addition, Kurosawa received a production credit on one film that he himself did not direct: Haru no tawamure (1949) (Spring Flirtation), written and directed by Kajiro Yamamoto, on which he served as an associate producer.

As screenwriter

Kurosawa wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for all the films he himself directed. However, to supplement his income, he also wrote scripts for other Japanese directors throughout the 1940s, and even through the 1950s and part of the 1960s, long after he had become world-famous. He also worked on the scripts for two Hollywood productions he was slated to direct, but which, for complex reasons, were completed by and credited to other directors (although he did shoot some scenes for Tora tora tora!, the footage from which has apparently not survived). Finally, near the end of his life, he completed scripts he intended to direct but did not live to make, which were then filmed by others. A table of all these screenplays is given below; all titles are Japanese productions unless otherwise noted.

  Indicates principal works directed by Kurosawa.

Year	English title	Japanese title	Romanized title	Director	Notes	Ref.
1941	Horse	馬	Uma	Kajirō Yamamoto	Uncredited, but written alongside his mentor Kajirō Yamamoto.
1942	Wind Currents of Youth	青春の気流	Seishun no kiryu	Shu Fushimizu	Based on "Construction of Love" and "The Life Plan" by Jun Minamikawa.
	The Triumphant Song of the Wings	翼の凱歌	Tsubasa no gaika	Satsuo Yamamoto	Credited alongside Bonhei Sotoyama.
1943	Sanshiro Sugata	姿三四郎	Sugata Sanshirō	Akira Kurosawa	Based on the novel Sugata Sanshirō by judoka Tsuneo Tomita.
1944	Wrestling-ring Festival	土俵祭	Dohyōmatsuri	Santaro Marune	—
	The Most Beautiful	一番美しく	Ichiban utsukushiku	Akira Kurosawa	—
1945	Bravo! Tasuke Isshin	天晴れ一心太助	Appare Isshin Tasuke	Kiyoshi Saeki	—
	Sanshiro Sugata Part II	續姿三四郎	Zoku Sugata Sanshirō	Akira Kurosawa	Based on the novel Sugata Sanshirō by judoka Tsuneo Tomita.
	The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail	虎の尾を踏む男達	Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi	Akira Kurosawa	Based on the kabuki play Kanjinchō.
1946	No Regrets for Our Youth	わが青春に悔なし	Waga seishun ni kuinashi	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Eijiro Hisaita. Keiji Matsuzaki has an uncredited writer role.
1947	Four Love Stories "First Love"	四つの恋の物語 第一話　初恋	Yotsu no koi no monogatari (Dai ichi: Hatsukoi)	Shiro Toyoda	Omnibus film. Credited for first of four sections.
	One Wonderful Sunday	素晴らしき日曜日	Subarashiki nichiyōbi	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Keinosuke Uegusa.
	Snow Trail	銀嶺の果て	Ginrei no hate	Senkichi Taniguchi	Received main credit. Senkichi Taniguchi has an uncredited writer role.
1948	The Portrait	肖像	Shōzō	Keisuke Kinoshita	—
	Drunken Angel	酔いどれ天使	Yoidore tenshi	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Keinosuke Uegusa.
1949	Lady from Hell	地獄の貴婦人	Jigoku no kifujin	Motoyoshi Oda	Credited alongside Motosada Nishikame.
	The Quiet Duel	静かなる決闘	Shizukanaru kettō	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi. Based on a play by Kazuo Kikuta.
	Jakoman and Tetsu	ジャコ萬と鉄	Jakoman to Tetsu	Senkichi Taniguchi	Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi. Based on "Herring Fishery" by Keizo Kajino.
	Stray Dog	野良犬	Nora inu	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima.
1950	Escape at Dawn	暁の脱走	Akatsuki no dassō	Senkichi Taniguchi	Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi. Based on a story by Yasujiro Tamura.
	Scandal	醜聞	Sukyandaru (Shūbun)	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima.
	Tetsu of Jilba	ジルバの鉄	Jiruba no Tetsu	Isamu Kosugi	—
	Rashomon	羅生門	Rashomon	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto. Based on the short stories "In a Grove" and "Rashōmon" by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.
	Fencing Master	殺陣師段平	Tateshi danpei	Masahiro Makino	—
1951	Beyond Love and Hate	愛と憎しみの彼方へ	Ai to nikushimi no kanata e	Senkichi Taniguchi	Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi.
	The Idiot	白痴	Hakuchi	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Eijiro Hisaita. Based on The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
	The Den of Beasts	獣の宿	Kedamono no yado	Tatsuo Osone	—
1952	Vendetta for a Samurai	荒木又右衛門　決闘鍵屋の辻	Araki Mataemon: Kettô kagiya no tsuji	Kazuo Mori	—
	Sword for Hire	戦国無頼	Sengoku burai	Hiroshi Inagaki	Credited alongside Hiroshi Inagaki. Based on a novel by Yasushi Inoue, serialized in Sunday Mainichi.
	Ikiru	生きる	Ikiru	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Ogumi.
1953	Blow! Spring Wind	吹けよ春風	Fukeyo harukaze	Senkichi Taniguchi	Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi.
1954	Seven Samurai	七人の侍	Shichinin no samurai	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Ogumi.
1955	Vanished Enlisted Man	消えた中隊	Kieta chūtai	Akira Minura	Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima.
	I Live in Fear	生きものの記録	Ikimono no kiroku	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Ogumi.
	Hiba Arborvitae Story	あすなろ物語	Asunaro monogatari	Hiromichi Horikawa	—
	Sanshiro Sugata	姿三四郎	Sugata Sanshirō	Shigeo Tanaka	First remake of Sanshiro Sugata (1943) based on Kurosawa's script.
1957	Throne of Blood	蜘蛛巣城	Kumonosu-jō	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto, Ryūzō Kikushima and Hideo Ogumi. Loosely based on Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
	The Lower Depths	どん底	Donzoko	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Hideo Oguni. Based on The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky.
	Three Hundred Miles through Enemy Lines	敵中横断三百里	Tekichū ōdan sanbyaku ri	Issei Mori	Credited alongside Hideo Oguni.
1958	The Hidden Fortress	隠し砦の三悪人	Kakushi toride no san akunin	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, and Shinobu Hashimoto.
1959	Saga of the Vagabonds	戦国群盗伝	Sengoku guntōden	Toshio Sugie	Credited alongside Sadao Yamanaka. Based on a story by Juro Miyoshi.
1960	The Bad Sleep Well	悪い奴ほどよく眠る	Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Hideo Oguni, Eijiro Hisata, Ryūzō Kikushima, and Shinobu Hashimoto.
1961	Yojimbo	用心棒	Yōjinbō	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Hideo Oguni and Ryūzō Kikushima.
1962	Sanjurō	椿三十郎	Tsubaki Sanjurō	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Hideo Oguni and Ryūzō Kikushima. Based on a novel by Shūgorō Yamamoto.
	Fencing Master	殺陣師段平	Tateshi danpei	Harumi Mizuho	A remake of Fencing Master (1950), which was written by Kurosawa.
1963	High and Low	天国と地獄	Tengoku to jigoku	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Hideo Oguni and Ryūzō Kikushima. Based on the novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain.
1964	Jakoman and Tetsu	ジャコ萬と鉄	Jakoman to Tetsu	Kinji Fukasaku	A remake of Jakoman and Tetsu (1949), which was written by Kurosawa and Senkichi Taniguchi. Originally based on "Herring Fishery" by Keizo Kajino.
1965	Red Beard	赤ひげ	Akahige	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, and Masato Ide. Based on the novel Akahige Shinryōtan by Shūgorō Yamamoto.
	Sanshiro Sugata	姿三四郎	Sugata Sanshirō	Seiichirō Uchikawa	Second remake of Sanshiro Sugata (1943) based on Kurosawa's script. Kurosawa served as editor.
1970	Tora! Tora! Tora!	トラ・トラ・トラ！	Tora! Tora! Tora!	Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda, Kinji Fukasaku, Akira Kurosawa (portions removed)	Credit received by Larry Forrester, Hideo Oguni, Ryūzō Kikushima; Kurosawa's credit for directing and writing was removed after his firing in December 1969. Based on the books Tora! Tora! Tora by Gordon W. Prange and The Broken Seal by Ladislas Farago.
	Dodes'ka-den	どですかでん	Dodesukaden	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Hideo Ogumi and Shinobu Hashimoto. Based on the novel The Town Without Seasons by Shūgorō Yamamoto.
1975	Dersu Uzala	デルス·ウザーラ	Derusu Uzāra	Akira Kurosawa	Japanese-Soviet co-production. Credited alongside Yuri Nagibin. Based on the novel Dersu Uzala by Vladimir Arsenyev.
1980	Kagemusha	影武者	Kagemusha	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Masato Ide.
1985	Ran	乱	Ran	Akira Kurosawa	French-Japanese co-production. Credited alongside Hideo Oguni and Masato Ide. Loosely based on the play King Lear by William Shakespeare.
	Runaway Train	—	—	Andrei Konchalovsky	American production. Originally set to be directed by Kurosawa. Contributions by Ryūzō Kikushima and Hideo Oguni are uncredited.
1990	Dreams	夢	Yume	Akira Kurosawa	Sole writer.
1991	Rhapsody in August	八月の狂詩曲	Hachigatsu no rapusodī	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Ishirō Honda. Based on the novel Nabe no naka by Kiyoko Murata.
1993	Madadayo	まあだだよ	Mādadayo	Akira Kurosawa	Credited alongside Ishirō Honda. Based on works by Hyakken Uchida.
2000	After the Rain	雨あがる	Ame agaru	Takashi Koizumi	Posthumous script and final screenplay by Kurosawa. Based on a short story by Shūgorō Yamamoto.
	Dora-heita	どら平太	Doraheita	Kon Ichikawa	Credited alongside Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, and Masaki Kobayashi. Based on the novel Diary of a Town Magistrate by Shuguro Yamamoto.
2002	The Sea Is Watching	海は見ていた	Umi wa miteta	Kei Kumai	Sole writer. Posthumous credit.

In addition, Kurosawa wrote the following unproduced scripts, composed during the pre-war period in the 1930s and also the wartime period in the 1940s, either when he was still an assistant director or had just graduated to full director. Some of these won prizes in screenwriting contests, establishing his reputation as a promising talent even though they were never filmed.

• Deruma-dera no doitsujin – A German at Daruma Temple
• Shizukanari – All Is Quiet
• Yuki – Snow
• Mori no senichia – A Thousand and One Nights in the Forest
• Jajauma monogatari – The Story of a Bad Horse
• Dokkoi kono yari – The Lifted Spear
• San Paguita no hana – The San Pajuito Flower
• Utsukishiki koyomi – Beautiful Calendar
• Daisan hatoba – The Third Harbor

As assistant director

Year	Romanization of Japanese Title	English Title	Director	Kurosawa's Credit
1936
	Shojo Hanazono	Paradise of the Virgin Flowers	Shigeo Yagura	Third Assistant Director
	Enoken no senman chōja	Enoken's Ten Million (The Millionaire or Enoken the Millionaire)	Kajirō Yamamoto	Third Assistant Director
	Zoku Enoken no senman chōja	Enoken's Ten Million Sequel	Kajirō Yamamoto	Third Assistant Director
	Tōkyō rapusodi	Tokyo Rhapsody	Shū Fushimizu	Third Assistant Director
1937
	Sengoku guntō-den – Dai ichibu Tora-ōkami (Sengoku guntō-den – Zenpen Tora-ōkami)	Saga of the Vagabonds – Part One: Tiger-wolf	Eisuke Takizawa	Third Assistant Director
	Sengoku guntō-den – Dai nibu Akatsuki no zenhin (Sengoku guntō-den – Kōhen Akatsuki no zenhin)	Saga of the Vagabonds – Part Two: Forward at Dawn	Eisuke Takizawa	Third Assistant Director
	Otto no teisō – Haru kureba (Otto no teisō – Zenpen Haru kureba)	A Husband's Chastity – If Spring Comes	Kajirō Yamamoto	Third Assistant Director
	Otto no teisō – Aki futatabi (Otto no teisō – Kōhen Aki futatabi)	A Husband's Chastity – Fall Again	Kajirō Yamamoto	Third Assistant Director
	Nihon josei dokuhon	Japanese Women's Textbook	Kajirō Yamamoto (Volume I only)	Third Assistant Director (Volume I only)
	Nadare	Avalanche	Mikio Naruse	Assistant Director
	Enoken no chakkiri Kinta – Zenpen Mamayo sandogasa: Ikiha yoiyoi	Enoken's Chikiri Kinta Part 1 – Momma, the Hat: The Nice Way	Kajirō Yamamoto	Third Assistant Director
	Enoken no chakkiri Kinta – Kōhen kaeri wa Kowai mateba hiyori	Enoken's Chikiri Kinta Part 2 – Returning Is Scary, but the Weather Will Clear If You Wait	Kajirō Yamamoto	Third Assistant Director
	Utsukushiki taka	The Beautiful Hawk	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
1938
	Chinetsu	Subterranean Heat	Eisuke Takizawa	Chief Assistant Director
	Tōjūrō no koi	Tojuro's Love	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
	Tsuzurikata kyōshitsu	Composition Class	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
	Enoken no bikkuri jinsei	Enoken's Surprising Life	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
1939
	Enoken no gatchiri jidai	Enoken's Shrewd Period	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
	Chūshingura – Kōhen	Chushingura Part 2	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
	Nonki Yokochō	Easy Alley	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
1940
	Roppa no shinkon ryokō	Roppa's Honeymoon	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
	Enoken no zangiri Kinta	Enoken's Cropped Kinta	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
	Songokū – Zenpen	Songoku Part 1	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
	Songokū – Kōhen	Songoku Part 2	Kajirō Yamamoto	Chief Assistant Director
1941
	Uma	Horse	Kajirō Yamamoto	Second Unit Director (Also, editor, co-screenwriter and co-director (uncredited))

As editor

Kurosawa edited all his own films, though he only occasionally took screen credit for it. There are, however, a few instances in which he edited the work of others, as listed below.

• Horse (1941) (Uma), directed by Kajiro Yamamoto (also second unit director, co-writer (uncredited), co-director (uncredited))
• Snow Trail (1947) (Ginrei no hate), directed and co-edited by Senkichi Taniguchi (also co-writer)
• Hiba Arborvitae Story (1955) (Asunaro monogatari) (also co-writer), directed by Hiromichi Horikawa

Theater work

During the mid-to-late 1940s, for the first and apparently the only time in his career, Akira Kurosawa involved himself in a number of theater-related projects.

• Shaberu (Talking) – In 1945, immediately after the war, Kurosawa wrote a one-act play entitled Talking, for, in his words, "Kawaguchi's troupe" (presumably meaning playwright Matsutarō Kawaguchi, who was prominent at this time and who also worked in the film industry). The central character of the drama is a fish merchant who, during the war, greatly admires Prime Minister Tōjō. In emulation of his patriarchal hero, the merchant plays the tyrant at home, but when the war ends, his angry family members air their long pent-up grievances against him. Kurosawa called it "a comic treatment of... Japanese who all begin talking at once", because "we who had been able to express nothing of what we were thinking up to that time [the end of the war] all began talking at once."
• Yoidore Tenshi (Drunken Angel) – During the Toho strike of 1948, when Kurosawa could not work, he wrote and directed a stage adaptation of his acclaimed 1948 film (see above), with Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune playing the same roles they played in the movie. The production ran for brief periods in a number of Japanese cities, apparently with great success.
• Predlozhenia (A Marriage Proposal) by Anton Chekhov – Also during the Toho strike, Kurosawa directed a production of this popular early Chekhov farce. Neither the actors who appeared in the production nor its reception by the public is known.

Television work

A documentary about horses called Song of the Horse (or Uma no Uta), directed by Kurosawa, was broadcast in Japan, supposedly on August 31, 1970 (Kurosawa otherwise totally avoided working in television). Very little is known about the film, and its release date is even in question. For instance, though the film is often said to have aired in August 1970, it is thought that the film features footage of events that did not take place until the summer of 1971. It was considered a lost film for decades and was not available on home video in any form. At some point in the 2010s, the film was rediscovered. It was remastered and released on DVD by the American independent company SamuraiDVD in 2017, complete with English subtitles.

Books

Prior to writing the screenplay to his film, Stray Dog (Nora Inu, 1949), Kurosawa created, in about six weeks, a novel based on the same story (presumably also called Stray Dog), which he never published. It was written in the style of one of his favorite writers, the French crime author Georges Simenon. Writing it was supposed to help him compose the script as quickly as possible, but he found that writing the screenplay took even longer than usual because of the complex differences between literature and film.

In 1980, inspired by the memoir of one of his heroes, Jean Renoir, he began to publish in serial form his autobiography, entitled Gama no abura (An Oily Toad). The book deals with the period from the director's birth to his winning the Golden Lion for Rashomon from the Venice Film Festival in 1951; the period from 1951 through 1980 is not covered. The title of the book is a reference to a legend according to which, if one places a deformed toad in a box full of mirrors, it will become so afraid of its own reflection that it will begin to sweat, and this sweat allegedly had medicinal properties. Kurosawa compared himself to the toad, nervous about having to contemplate, through the process of writing his life story, his own multiple "reflections." It was published as a book in Japan in 1981, and in English translation the following year under the title Something Like an Autobiography. The book's appearance coincided with the revival of interest in Kurosawa's work following the international release of Kagemusha. (ISBN 0394509382)

In 1999, his book, Yume wa tensai de aru (A Dream Is a Genius) was published posthumously. It has not been translated into English, except for Chapter 3. This chapter consists of a selection of 100 of the director's favorite films, listed in chronological order, with detailed commentaries on each film, all given at the request of Kurosawa's daughter, Kazuko. (Since he deliberately limits himself to one film per director, however, the list emerges as more of a "favorite directors" list than a "greatest films" list.) This chapter, but not the remainder of the book, can be found in English on the Internet. (ISBN 4163555706)

Complete Drawings (with text in Japanese) was published by Shogakukan in 1999. (ISBN 4096996114)

The screenplays of many of Kurosawa's films have been published in English. For further information, consult the Wikipedia articles relating to the individual films.

References

Notes

References

Sources

• Richie, Donald (1999). The films of Akira Kurosawa (3 ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22037-4. OCLC 41038353.
• Drunken Angel (DVD). Criterion.
• Galbraith IV, Stuart (2002). The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. New York-London: Faber and Faber, Inc. ISBN 0-571-19982-8.
• Kurosawa, Akira (1982). Something Like an Autobiography. Translated by Bock, Audie. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-50938-2.
• Kurosawa, Akira (1999). Yume wa tensai de aru (A Dream Is a Genius). Tokyo: Bungei Shunjū. ISBN 4-16-355570-6.
• Nogami, Teruyo (2006). Waiting on the Weather. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-09-9.
• Seven Samurai: 3-disc Remastered Edition (Criterion Collection Spine #2) (DVD). Criterion.