Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema

Japanese cinema is one of the world’s great cinemas, it was initially introduced through a handful of extraordinary works in the postwar period by visionary filmmakers like Mizoguchi Kenji and Kurosawa Akira.


Japanese Cinema has an extremely rich tradition stretching all the way back to the late 19th century, as well as a first golden age during the 1930s. The first edition of Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema, written by Japanese film specialist Jasper Sharp, covered a great deal of this extraordinary story, addressing not only masterpieces but many hidden gems in multiple genres and styles from the earliest examples of film and animation through the first decade of the 21st century, and the transition to digital filmmaking. This new, updated edition expands the first edition, adding new entries that cover Japanese cinema after the East Japan Earthquake and disasters of March 2011 (3/11/Fukushima) up through the Corona-virus pandemic and beyond. In addition to the enlarged historical frame, the second edition adds some filmmakers and other significant figures not found in the previous version. From famous directors to lesser-known gems, experimental and avant-garde works, indie and commercial animation, this work remains an exciting single-volume overview, complete with extensive filmography and expanded bibliography.