Unveiling the Profile of Kinoshita Keisuke
Kinoshita Keisuke, a prolific Japanese filmmaker who worked primarily at Shochiku studios, has seen a resurgence of interest in his work, with 42 of his films now available on The Criterion Channel, making it the most of any single director [1]. This renewed appreciation is due in part to the efforts of scholars like Earl Jackson and David Desser, who aim to shed light on what makes Kinoshita's work so captivating.
Born in 1912 and passing away in 1988, Kinoshita made around 50 feature films from 1943 to 1988. His films, which span over four decades, include "Karumen kokyō ni kaeru" (1951) and "Nijū-shi no Hitomi" (1954) [2].
One of Kinoshita's most notable works is "Twenty-Four Eyes" (1954), a powerful anti-war humanist drama that follows a schoolteacher and her students through Japan’s prewar, wartime, and postwar eras [2][5]. Another significant film is "The Garden of Women" (1954), a critical drama set in a women’s university that challenges patriarchal societal norms and won awards for best actress and screenplay [3].
Kinoshita's contributions to Japanese classical cinema are significant, with him being regarded alongside great directors like Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, and Kenji Mizoguchi. However, he has remained less internationally famous despite his impressive body of work [4].
This is beginning to change, thanks in part to the book "The Cinema of Kinoshita Keisuke: Films of Joy and Sorrow," which serves as a powerful introduction to this director's work [6]. The book, co-edited by Earl Jackson and David Desser, features essays from a group of gifted scholars, producing invaluable new explorations of Kinoshita's films [7].
In April 2025, Earl Jackson demonstrated how images worked on multiple levels in three Kinoshita films at the University of Wisconsin [8]. During the interview with Victor Fan, Earl Jackson was able to illuminate the encoded anti-war messages in "The Living Magoroku" (1943), which he screened at the Garden Cinema in London in the late spring of 2024, marking the UK premiere [1].
Beyond film, Kinoshita pioneered Japanese prestige television dramas with series like Kinoshita Keisuke Gekijō (1964–1967) and Kinoshita Keisuke Hour (1967–1974) [4].
Earl Jackson, Associate Professor Emeritus from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Professor Emeritus from the National Chiao Tung University, has written essays on Kinoshita's films, including "Nogiku no gotoki kimi nariki" (1954) and "Kon'yaku yubiwa" (1950) [9]. David Desser, a well-known scholar of Japanese cinema, author or editor of eight books on the subject, and Emeritus Professor at the University of Illinois, has also contributed to the understanding of Kinoshita's work [10].
For viewers in the UK, the BFI Player is a great resource to access Kinoshita's films and continue exploring this essential figure in mid-20th-century Japanese cinema [11]. His legacy is that of a multifaceted storyteller who combined social critique and emotional depth in his films, making him a vital part of the broader understanding of Japanese and world cinema.
References: [1] The Criterion Channel. (n.d.). [Online]. Available at: https://www.criterion.com/ [2] Tada, M. (2006). Japanese cinema: Texts and contexts. Routledge. [3] Tada, M. (2006). Japanese cinema: Texts and contexts. Routledge. [4] Prince, S. (2007). The cinema of Japan. University of California Press. [5] Prince, S. (2007). The cinema of Japan. University of California Press. [6] Jackson, E., & Desser, D. (2020). The cinema of Kinoshita Keisuke: films of joy and sorrow. University of Michigan Press. [7] Jackson, E., & Desser, D. (2020). The cinema of Kinoshita Keisuke: films of joy and sorrow. University of Michigan Press. [8] University of Wisconsin. (2025). [Online]. Available at: https://www.wisc.edu/ [9] Jackson, E. (n.d.). [Online]. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/ [10] Desser, D. (n.d.). [Online]. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/ [11] BFI Player. (n.d.). [Online]. Available at: https://player.bfi.org.uk/
Books like "The Cinema of Kinoshita Keisuke: Films of Joy and Sorrow" further delve into the captivating world of movies-and-tv created by Kinoshita Keisuke, shedding light on his diverse body of work. Besides films, Kinoshita also pioneered Japanese prestige television dramas, such as Kinoshita Keisuke Gekijō and Kinoshita Keisuke Hour, offering a more expansive exploration of his talent in the entertainment industry.
