Editing Kon Ichikawa

{{Short description|Japanese film director and screenwriter (1915–2008)}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = Kon Ichikawa.jpg
| caption            = Ichikawa in the 1950s
| native_name        = 市川 崑
| native_name_lang   = ja
| birth_name         = Giichi Ichikawa
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1915|11|20|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Ise, Mie]], [[Empire of Japan]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2008|02|13|1915|11|20|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Tokyo]], Japan
| occupation         = Film director, screenwriter
| years_active       = 1936–2008
| notable_works      = {{plainlist|
* ''[[The Burmese Harp (1956 film)|The Burmese Harp]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Odd Obsession]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Fires on the Plain (1959 film)|Fires on the Plain]]'' (1959)
* ''[[An Actor's Revenge]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Tokyo Olympiad]]'' (1965)
}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Natto Wada]]|1948|1983|reason=died}}
}}

{{nihongo|'''Kon Ichikawa'''|市川 崑|Ichikawa Kon|20 November 1915 – 13 February 2008}} was a Japanese [[film director]] and [[screenwriter]]. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films ''[[The Burmese Harp (1956 film)|The Burmese Harp]]'' (1956) and ''[[Fires on the Plain (1959 film)|Fires on the Plain]]'' (1959), to the documentary ''[[Tokyo Olympiad]]'' (1965), which won two [[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA Film Awards]],<ref name="BAFTAs">{{cite web |title=Film in 1966 {{!}} BAFTA Awards |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1966/film |website=awards.bafta.org |access-date=24 March 2020}}</ref> and the 19th-century revenge drama ''[[An Actor's Revenge]]'' (1963). His film ''[[Odd Obsession]]'' (1959) won the Jury Prize at the 1960 [[Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="Cannes">{{cite web |title=KAGI |url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/films/kagi |website=Festival de Cannes |access-date=24 March 2020 |language=en}}</ref> 

At his death in 2008, ''The New York Times'' recalled that "''The Globe and Mail'', the Canadian newspaper, called him in 2001 “the last living link between the golden age of Japanese cinema, the spunky [[Japanese New Wave|New Wave]] that followed and contemporary Japanese film.”"<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-02-14 |title=Kon Ichikawa, Japanese Film Director, Dies at 92 (Published 2008) |language=en |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/movies/14ichikawa.html |access-date=2024-07-15 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517101043/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/movies/14ichikawa.html |archivedate=2012-05-17 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Biography==
===Early life===
Ichikawa was born in [[Ise, Mie]] Prefecture as Giichi Ichikawa (市川儀一).<ref name=filmbook>{{cite video|title=Ichikawa Kon Film Book| date=March 2012 |language=ja|publisher=Nihon Eiga Senmon Channeru}}</ref> His father died when he was four years old, and the family kimono shop went bankrupt, so he went to live with his sister.<ref name=filmbook/> He was given the name Kon by an uncle who thought the characters in the kanji 崑 signified good luck,  because the two halves of the Chinese character look the same when it is split in half vertically.<ref name=filmbook/> 

As a child, Ichikawa loved drawing and his ambition was to become an artist.<ref name="filmbook" /> He also loved films and was a fan of "[[chambara]]" or samurai films.<ref name="filmbook" /> In his teens he was fascinated by [[Walt Disney]]'s "[[Silly Symphonies]]" and decided to become an animator.<ref name="filmbook" /> He attended a technical school in [[Osaka]]. Upon graduation, in 1933, he found a job with a local rental film studio, [[J.O Studio]], in their animation department. Decades later, he told the American writer on Japanese film [[Donald Richie]], "I'm still a cartoonist and I think that the greatest influence on my films (besides [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplin]], particularly ''[[The Gold Rush]]'') is probably [[Walt Disney|Disney]]."<ref>[[Donald Richie|Richie, Donald]]. "The Several Sides of Kon Ichikawa". in {{harvp|Quandt|2001|p=53}}.</ref>

===Film career===
He moved to the feature film department as an assistant director when the company closed its animation department,<ref name=filmbook/> working under directors including [[Yutaka Abe]] and [[Nobuo Aoyagi]].

In the early 1940s J.O Studio merged with P.C.L. and Toho Film Distribution to form the [[Toho|Toho Film Company]]. Ichikawa moved to Tokyo. His first film was the puppet play  ''A Girl at Dojo Temple'' (''Musume Dojoji'' 1946),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038759/|title = Musume Dôjôji|website = [[IMDb]]}}</ref> which was confiscated by the interim U.S. [[Occupied Japan|Occupation authorities]] under the pretext that it was too "feudal", but some sources suggest the script had not been approved by the occupying authorities. Thought lost for many years, it is now archived at the [[Cinémathèque Française]].

It was at Toho that he met [[Natto Wada]]. Wada was a translator for Toho. They agreed to marry sometime after Ichikawa completed his first film as director. Natto Wada's original name was Yumiko Mogi (born 13 September 1920 in [[Himeji, Hyōgo|Himeji]], [[Hyōgo Prefecture]], Japan); the couple both had failed marriages behind them. She graduated with a degree in English literature from [[Tokyo Woman's Christian University]]. She married Kon Ichikawa on 10 April 1948, and died on 18 February 1983 of [[breast cancer]].{{sfnp|Quandt|2001|p=35}}

Ichikawa was among the first group of Toho staff that broke from the [[labor union]] during the [[Toho strikes]], which became part of [[Shintoho]]. Due to a shortage of directorial talent at the new company, he made his debut as director with ''[[A Thousand and One Nights with Toho]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Joseph L. |last2=Richie |first2=Donald |title=The Japanese Film: Art and Industry |date=1960 |publisher=Grove Press |location=New York |pages=168, 183}}</ref>

It was after Ichikawa's marriage to Wada that the two began collaborating, first on ''Design of a Human Being'' (''Ningen moyo'') and ''Endless Passion'' (''Hateshinaki jonetsu'') in 1949. The period 1950–1965 is often referred to as Ichikawa's Natto Wada period. It's the period that contains the majority of Ichikawa's most highly respected works, such as ''[[Tokyo Olympiad]]'' (''Tōkyō Orinpikku''), for which he was awarded the [[Olympic Diploma of Merit]],<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement|page=172|last1=Findling|first1=John E.|last2=Pelle|first2=Kimberly D.|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport|date=2004}}</ref> as well as the BAFTA United Nations Award and the Robert Flaherty Award (now known as the [[BAFTA Award for Best Documentary]]).<ref name="BAFTAs" /> It is also during this period that Wada wrote 34 screenplays, most of which were adaptations.

He gained Western recognition during the 1950s and 1960s with two anti-war films, ''[[The Burmese Harp (1956 film)|The Burmese Harp]]'' and ''[[Fires on the Plain (1959 film)|Fires on the Plain]]'', and the technically formidable period-piece ''[[An Actor's Revenge]]'' (''Yukinojo henge'') about a [[kabuki]] actor.

Among his many literary adaptations were [[Jun'ichirō Tanizaki]]'s ''The Key'' (''Kagi''), [[Natsume Sōseki]]'s ''The Heart'' (Kokoro) and ''I Am a Cat'' (''Wagahai wa neko de aru''), in which a teacher's cat critiques the foibles of the humans surrounding him, and [[Yukio Mishima]]'s ''Conflagration'' (''Enjo''), in which a priest burns down his temple to save it from spiritual pollution. ''The Key'', released in the United States as ''[[Odd Obsession]]'', was entered in the 1960 Cannes Film Festival, and won the Jury Prize with [[Michelangelo Antonioni|Antonioni]]'s ''[[L'Avventura]]''.<ref name="Cannes" />

After ''[[Tokyo Olympiad]]'' Wada retired from screenwriting, and it marked a significant change in Ichikawa's films from that point onward. Concerning her retirement, he said "She doesn't like the new film grammar, the method of presentation of the material; she says there's no heart in it anymore, that people no longer take human love seriously."{{sfnp|Quandt|2001|p=40}}

His final film, 2006's ''[[The Inugamis (2006 film)|Inugamis]]'', a remake of Ichikawa's own 1976 film ''[[The Inugami Family (1976 film)|The Inugami Family]]'', was entered into the [[29th Moscow International Film Festival]].<ref name="Moscow2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=2007 |title=29th Moscow International Film Festival (2007) |access-date=2013-05-31 |work=MIFF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421051129/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=2007 |archive-date=21 April 2013 }}</ref>

Also in 2006, Ichikawa was the subject of a feature-length documentary, ''[[The Kon Ichikawa Story]]'', directed by [[Shunji Iwai]].

Ichikawa died of [[pneumonia]] on 13 February 2008 in a Tokyo hospital. He was 92 years old.<ref name = "Obit">{{cite news |author=Compiled from [[Kyodo News|Kyodo]] [[Associated Press]] |title=Director Ichikawa, 92, dies |newspaper=[[The Japan Times]] |date=2008-02-14 |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080214a2.html |access-date=2024-07-15 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215054721/https://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080214a2.html |archivedate=2008-02-15 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

''[[The Magic Hour (2008 film)|The Magic Hour]]'' marked Ichikawa's last appearance and was dedicated to his memory. (This message can be seen in the end of this film.) In this film, a movie director played by Ichikawa is shooting ''Kuroi Hyaku-ichi-nin no Onna'' ('A hundred and one dark women'), a parody of ''[[Ten Dark Women]]''.

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | English title
! scope="col" | Japanese title
! scope="col" | Romanized title
! scope="col" | Notes
! scope="col" | Ref
<!-- ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Ref. -->
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1935
| ''Cowardly Samurai Squad''
| 
| ''Yowamushi Chinsengumi''
| Animated short film
| <ref name="ANN1">{{cite web |last1=Loo |first1=Egan |title=Oldest Surviving Anime Short by Phoenix Film's Kon Ichikawa Found |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-04-23/oldest-surviving-anime-short-by-phoenix-film-kon-ichikawa-found |website=[[Anime News Network]] |publisher=[[Kadokawa Corporation]] |access-date=19 July 2024 |date=23 April 2014}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1945
| ''A Girl at Dojo Temple''
| 
| ''Musume Dōjōji''
| [[Puppet film]]
| <ref name="ANN2">{{cite web |last1=Loo |first1=Egan |title=Phoenix, Galaxy Express Films' Kon Ichikawa Passes Away (Updated) |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-02-13/phoenix-galaxy-express-films-kon-ichikawa-passes-away |website=[[Anime News Network]] |publisher=[[Kadokawa Corporation]] |access-date=19 July 2024 |date=13 February 2008}}</ref><ref name="CinemathequeOntario">{{cite book |last1=Quandt |first1=James |title=Kon Ichikawa |date=2001 |publisher=[[Cinematheque Ontario]] |isbn=0-9682969-3-9 |page=429-437}}</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite web |title=Ichikawa Kon |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ichikawa-Kon |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=2 August 2024}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1947
| ''[[A Thousand and One Nights with Toho]]''
| {{nihongo2|東宝千一夜}}
| ''Tōhō sen'ichiya''
| 
| <ref name="JapaneseCinema">{{cite book |last1=Phillips |first1=Alastair |last2=Stringer |first2=Julian |title=Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts |date=2007 |pages=149–151 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781134334223}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1948
| ''A Flower Blooms''
| 
| ''Hana hiraku''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''365 Nights''
| 
| ''Sanbyaku-rokujūgoya''
| 
| <ref>Joseph L. Anderson and Donald Richie. ''The Japanese Film: Art and Industry''. New York: [[Grove Press]], 1960, 168.</ref><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/><ref name="TohoStudiosStory">{{cite book |last1=Galbraith |first1=Stuart |title=The Toho Studios Story - A History and Complete Filmography |date=2008 |publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=9781461673743}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1949
| ''Human Patterns''
| 
| ''Ningen moyō''
| Also known as ''Design of a Human Being''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Passion Without End''
| 
| ''Hateshinaki jōnetsu''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="3" | 1950
| ''Sanshiro of Ginza''
| 
| ''Ginza Sanshirō''
| Also known as ''A Ginza Veteran''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Heat and Mud''
| 
| ''Netsudeichi''
| Also known as ''The Hot Marshland'' or ''Money and Three Bad Men''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Pursuit at Dawn''
| 
| ''Akatsuki no tsuiseki''
| Also known as ''Police and Small Gangsters''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="6" | 1951
| ''Nightshade Flower''
| 
| ''Ieraishan''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''The Sweetheart''
| 
| ''Koibito''
| Also known as ''The Lover''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''The Man Without a Nationality''
| 
| ''Mukokuseki-sha''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Stolen Love''
| 
| ''Nusumareta koi''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Bengawan Solo''
| 
| ''Bengawan Solo''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Wedding March''
| 
| ''Kekkon kōshinkyoku''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="4" | 1952
| ''Mr. Lucky''
| 
| ''Rakkī-san''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Young People''
| 
| ''Wakai hito''
| Also known as ''The Young Generation''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''The Woman Who Touched Legs''
| 
| ''Ashi ni sawatta onna''
| Remake of [[Yutaka Abe]]'s 1926 film of the same name<ref name="allmovie">{{cite web |last1=Crow |first1=Jonathan |title=Kon Ichikawa [biography] |url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/kon-ichikawa-p95358 |website=[[AllMovie]] |publisher=[[Rovi Corporation]] |access-date=2 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725202234/https://www.allmovie.com/artist/kon-ichikawa-p95358 |archivedate=25 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Children of the Sun (Taiyo no Ko) |url=https://bampfa.org/event/children-sun-taiyo-no-ko |website=[[Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive]] |date=22 December 2014 |access-date=2 August 2024}}</ref>
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''This Way, That Way''
| 
| ''Ano te kono te''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="4" | 1953
| ''Mr. Pū''
| 
| ''Pū-san''
| Based on a comic book<ref name="allmovie"/>
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/><ref name="britannica"/>
|-
| ''The Blue Revolution''
| 
| ''Aoiro kakumei''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''The Youth of Heiji Zenigata''
| 
| ''Seishun Zenigata Heiji''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''The Lover''
| 
| ''Aijin''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="3" | 1954
| ''All of Myself''
| 
| ''Watashi no subete o''
| Also known as ''All About Me''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''A Billionaire''
| 
| ''Okuman chōja''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Twelve Chapters About Women''
| 
| ''Josei ni kansuru jūnishō''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1955
| ''Ghost Story of Youth''
| 
| ''Seishun kaidan''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[The Heart (1955 film)|The Heart]]''
| こころ
| ''Kokoro''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1956
| ''[[The Burmese Harp (1956 film)|The Burmese Harp]]''
| ビルマの竪琴
| ''Biruma no tategoto''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Punishment Room''
| 
| ''Shokei no heya''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="4" | 1957
| ''Bridge of Japan''
| 
| ''Nihonbashi''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''The Crowded Street Car''
| 
| ''Man'in densha''
| Also known as ''A Full-Up Train'' or ''The Crowded Train''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''The Men of Tohoku''
| 
| ''Tōhoku no zunmutachi''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[The Hole (1957 film)|The Hole]]''
| 穴
| ''Ana''
| Also known ''The Pit'' or ''Hole in One''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1958
| ''[[Conflagration (film)|Conflagration]]''
| 炎上
| ''Enjō''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="3" | 1959
| ''Goodbye, Hello''
| 
| ''Sayonara, konnichiwa''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Odd Obsession]]''
| 鍵
| ''Kagi''
| Also known as ''The Key''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Fires on the Plain (1959 film)|Fires on the Plain]]''
| 野火
| ''Nobi''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="3" | 1960
| ''[[A Woman's Testament]]''
| 女経
| ''Jokyō''
| Directed the second segment
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''Bonchi''
| 
| ''Bonchi''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Her Brother]]''
| おとうと
| ''Otōto''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1961
| ''[[Ten Dark Women]]''
| 黒い十人の女
| ''Kuroi jûnin no onna''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1962
| ''The Broken Commandment''
| 
| ''Hakai''
| Also known as ''The Outcast'' or ''The Sin''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Being Two Isn't Easy]]''
| 私は二歳
| ''Watashi wa nisai''
| Also known as ''I Am Two''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1963
| ''[[An Actor's Revenge]]''
| 雪之丞変化
| ''Yukinojō henge''
| Also known as ''Revenge of a Kabuki Actor''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Alone Across the Pacific]]''
| 太平洋ひとりぼっち
| ''Taiheiyō Hitori-botchi''
| Also known as ''My Enemy the Sea''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1964
| ''Money Talks''
| 
| ''Dokonjo monogatari: Zeni no odori''
| Also known as ''The Money Dance''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1965
| ''[[Tokyo Olympiad]]''
| 東京オリンピック
| ''Tōkyō Orinpikku''
| Documentary
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1967
| ''[[Topo Gigio and the Missile War]]''
| トッポ・ジージョのボタン戦争
| ''Toppo Jîjo no botan sensō''
| Puppet film
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1968
| ''Youth: The 50th National High School Baseball Tournament''
| 
| ''Seishun''
| Documentary
| <ref>{{cite web |title=Youth: The 50th National High School Baseball Tournament |url=https://japansociety.org/events/youth-the-50th-national-high-school-baseball-tournament/ |website=[[Japan Society (Manhattan)]] |access-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202140630/https://japansociety.org/events/youth-the-50th-national-high-school-baseball-tournament/ |archive-date=2 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DVD">{{cite web |title=DVD |url=https://www.konichikawa.com/dvdlist3.html |website=Kon Ichikawa Website |access-date=3 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106131912/https://www.konichikawa.com/dvdlist3.html |archive-date=6 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/>
|-
| ''Kyoto: Heart of Japan''
| 京
| ''Kyōto''
| Short documentary
| <ref name="DVD"/><ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1970
| ''Japan and the Japanese''
| 
| ''Nihon to Nihonjin''
| Short documentary, also known as ''Mt. Fuji''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1971
| ''[[To Love Again (film)|To Love Again]]''
| 愛ふたたび
| ''Ai futatabi''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1972–1973
| ''[[Kogarashi Monjirō]]''
| 木枯し紋次郎
| ''Kogarashi Monjirō''
| Television series
| <ref name="DoramaEncyclopedia">{{cite book |author1=Jonathan Clements |author2=Motoko Tamamuro |title=The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953 |date=2003 |publisher=[[Stone Bridge Press]] |isbn=9781880656815 |page=198 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzeSd4SvU7cC&dq=Kogarashi+Monjir%C5%8D+ichikawa+1972&pg=PA198}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1973
| ''[[The Wanderers (1973 film)|The Wanderers]]''
| 股旅
| ''Matatabi''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Visions of Eight]]''
| 
| 
| Documentary, segment: "The Fastest"
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1975
| ''[[I Am a Cat#Adaptations|I Am a Cat]]''
| 
| ''Wagahai wa neko de aru''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="HistoricalDictionary">{{cite book |author1=Jasper Sharp |title=Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema |date=October 13, 2011 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=9780810875418 |page=92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAYsyZRRqzcC&dq=Wagahai+wa+neko+de+aru+ichikawa&pg=PA92}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1976
| ''Between Women and Wives''
| 
| ''Tsuma to onna no aida''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[The Inugami Family]]''
| 股旅
| ''Inugami-ke no ichizoku''
| Also known as ''The Inugamis''; first film starring [[Kōji Ishizaka]] as [[Kosuke Kindaichi]]
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1977
| ''[[Kosuke Kindaichi#Film|The Devil's Bouncing Ball Song]]''
| 
| ''Akuma no temari-uta''
| Also known as ''Rhyme of Vengeance''; second film starring [[Kōji Ishizaka]] as [[Kosuke Kindaichi]]
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Kosuke Kindaichi#Film|Island of Horrors]]''
| 
| ''Gokumontō''
| Also known as ''Hell's Gate Island'' or ''The Devil's Island''; third film starring [[Kōji Ishizaka]] as [[Kosuke Kindaichi]]
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1978
| ''[[Queen Bee (1978 film)|Queen Bee]]''
| 女王蜂
| ''Joōbachi''
| fourth film starring [[Kōji Ishizaka]] as [[Kosuke Kindaichi]]
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Phoenix (1978 film)|Phoenix]]''
| 火の鳥
| ''Hi no Tori''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1979
| ''[[The House of Hanging]]''
| 病院坂の首縊りの家
| ''Byōinzaka no kubi kukuri no ie''
| Fifth film starring [[Kōji Ishizaka]] as [[Kosuke Kindaichi]]
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1980
| ''[[Ancient City (film)|Ancient City]]''
| 古都
| ''Koto''
| Also known as ''The Old Capital''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1981
| ''[[Lonely Heart (1981 film)|Lonely Heart]]''
| 幸福
| ''Kōfuku''
| Also known as ''Happiness''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1983
| ''[[The Makioka Sisters (film)|The Makioka Sisters]]''
| 細雪
| ''Sasame-yuki''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1984
| ''[[Ohan (film)|Ohan]]''
| おはん
| ''Ohan''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1985
| ''[[The Burmese Harp (1985 film)|The Burmese Harp]]''
| ビルマの竪琴
| ''Biruma no tategoto''
| Remake of ''[[The Burmese Harp (1956 film)|The Burmese Harp]]''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1986
| ''[[The Adventures of Milo and Otis]]''
| 子猫物語
| ''Koneko Monogatari''
| Associate director
| <ref name="TohoStudiosStory2">{{cite book |last1=Galbraith |first1=Stuart |title=The Toho Studios Story - A History and Complete Filmography |date=2008 |publisher=[[The Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=9781461673743 |quote=[...] ''Adventure of a Kitty'' (1986), later Americanized as ''The Adventures of Milo and Otis''. [...] (He also earned an associate director credit on Adventures of a Kitty [...]}}</ref>
|-
| ''The Hall of the Crying Deer''
| 
| ''Rokumeikan''
| Also known as ''High Society of Meiji''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 1987
| ''Actress''
| 
| ''Eiga joyū''
| Also known as ''Film Actress''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Princess from the Moon]]''
| 竹取物語
| ''Taketori Monogatari''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1988
| ''Crane''
| 
| ''Tsuru''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1991
| ''{{ill|Noh Mask Murders|jp|天河伝説殺人事件 (映画)}}''
| 
| ''Tenkawa densetsu satsujin jiken''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1993
| ''[[The Return of Monjirō Kogarashi]]''
| 帰って来た木枯し紋次郎
| ''Kaettekita Kogarashi Monjirō''
| Based on the 1972 television series
| <ref name="TohoStudiosStory3">{{cite book |last1=Galbraith |first1=Stuart |title=The Toho Studios Story - A History and Complete Filmography |date=May 16, 2008 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=9781461673743 |page=384 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7o8pq6G_dYC&dq=%22Kogarashi+Monjiro%22+ichikawa&pg=PA384 |quote=The Return of Kogarashi Monjiro}}</ref><ref name="CriticalHandbook">{{cite book |last1=Jacoby |first1=Alexander |title=A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day |date=February 10, 2013 |publisher=[[Stone Bridge Press]] |isbn=9781611725315 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RhWNAgAAQBAJ&dq=Monjiro+Kogarashi+Returns&pg=PT23 |quote=1993 Kaette kita Kogarashi Monjirō / Fusa / The Return of Monjiro Kogarashi (lit.)}}</ref><ref name="FilmDirectors">{{cite book |author1=Michael Singer |title=Film Directors |date=2002 |publisher=Lone Eagle Pub. |pages=124, 561 |isbn=978-1-58065-043-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=COVkAAAAMAAJ&q=%22the+return+of+monjiro+kogarashi%22 |quote=The Return of Monjiro Kogarashi Fuji TV, C.A.L. 1993}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1994
| ''[[47 Ronin (1994 film)|47 Ronin]]''
| 四十七人の刺客
| ''Shijūshichinin no shikaku''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 1996
| ''{{ill|The 8-Tomb Village|jp|八つ墓村 (1996年の映画)}}''
| 
| ''Yatsuhaka-mura''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 2000
| ''{{ill|Shinsengumi (2000 film)|lt=Shinsengumi|jp|新選組 (2000年の映画)}}''
| 
| ''Shinsengumi''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
| ''[[Dora-heita]]''
| 
| ''Dora-heita''
| Also known as ''Alley Cat''
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" | 2001
| ''{{ill|Kah-chan|jp|かあちゃん}}''
| かあちゃん
| ''Kah-chan''
| 
| <ref name="CinemathequeOntario"/><ref name="JapaneseCinema"/>
|-
! scope="row" align="center" rowspan="2" | 2006
| ''[[Ten Nights of Dreams#Film adaptation|Ten Nights of Dreams]]''
| 
| ''Yume jûya''
| Segment: "The Second Dream"
| <ref>{{cite book |author1=Jasper Sharp |title=Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema |date=October 13, 2011 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=9780810875418 |page=385 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAYsyZRRqzcC&dq=%22Nights+of+Dreams%22+ichikawa&pg=PA385}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Mark Betz |title=Beyond the Subtitle: Remapping European Art Cinema |date=2009 |publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press]] |isbn=9780816640355 |page=284 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jC2bowwzBjEC&dq=%22Nights+of+Dreams%22+ichikawa&pg=PA284}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[The Inugamis (2006 film)|The Inugamis]]''
| 犬神家の一族
| ''Inugami-ke no ichizoku''
| Sixth film starring [[Kōji Ishizaka]] as [[Kosuke Kindaichi]]; remake of ''[[The Inugami Family]]''
| <ref name="Moscow2007"/>
|}
{{notelist|group=director}}

==Style and themes==
Ichikawa's films are marked with a certain darkness and bleakness, punctuated with sparks of humanity.

It can be said that his main trait is technical expertise, irony, detachment and a drive for realism married with a complete spectrum of genres. Some critics class him with [[Akira Kurosawa]], [[Kenji Mizoguchi]] and [[Yasujirō Ozu]] as one of the masters of Japanese cinema.<ref name="Alastair Phillips">{{cite book |last1=Phillips |first1=Alastair and Julian Stringer |title=Japanese Cinema: Texts and Contexts |date=2007 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location=London |isbn=9781134334223 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=53xRa5dwUOUC |access-date=27 November 2020}}</ref>

==Legacy==
The Kon Ichikawa Memorial Room, a small museum dedicated to him and his wife Natto Wada displaying materials from his personal collection, was opened in [[Shibuya]] in 2015, on the site of his former home.<ref>{{cite web |title=大監督による代表的７作品の貴重な資料を展示「市川崑記念室」 |url=https://www.zakzak.co.jp/economy/ecn-news/news/20160816/ecn1608160830003-n1.htm |website=ZAKZAK |access-date=27 July 2019 |language=ja-JP}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Gerow |first1=Aaron |title=Ichikawa Kon Memorial Room |url=http://www.aarongerow.com/news/ichikawa-kon-memorial-room.html |website=Tangemania |access-date=27 July 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
<!--
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100524154711/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article3524281.ece Obituary in ''The Times'', 11 March 2008]
-->

*{{official site|http://www.konichikawa.com/index.html|Kon Ichikawa Website}} (official site, in Japanese)
*{{IMDb name|0406728|Kon Ichikawa}}
*[http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2004/great-directors/ichikawa/ Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060321175425/http://www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/ichikawa.html Strictly Film School: Kon Ichikawa]
*{{jmdb|0154990}}

{{Kon Ichikawa}}
{{Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ichikawa, Kon}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Ise, Mie]]
[[Category:Akira Kurosawa Award winners]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese film directors]]
[[Category:Japanese animated film directors]]
[[Category:Anime directors]]
[[Category:Samurai film directors]]
[[Category:Japanese animators]]
[[Category:Persons of Cultural Merit]]