Nobuo Nakagawa

Biography

Nobuo Nakagawa (中川信夫, Nakagawa Nobuo, April 18, 1905 – June 17, 1984) was a Japanese film director, most famous for the stylized, folk tale-influenced horror films he made in the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Kyoto, Nakagawa was early on influenced by proletarian literature and wrote amateur film reviews for the Kinema Junpō film magazine. He joined Makino Film Productions in 1929 as an assistant director and worked under Masahiro Makino. When that studio went bankrupt in 1932, he switched to Utaemon Ichikawa's production company and made his debut as a director in 1934 with Yumiya Hachiman Ken. He later moved to Toho, where he made comedies starring Enoken and even documentaries during the war. It was at Shintoho after the war that he became known for his cinematic adaptations of Japanese Kaidan, especially his masterful version of Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan in 1959. To Western audiences, his most famous film is Jigoku (1960), which he also co-wrote. The film was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2006. He also filmed many Kaidan for television. His last film was 1982's Kaidan: Ikiteiru Koheiji.

Known for

Credits

Year	Movie / TV show / Other	Role
1982	The Living Koheiji	Director
1982	The Living Koheiji	Writer
1979	Japanese Masterpiece Ghost Story Theatre	Director
—	Nihon meisaku kaidan gekijō: kaidan ōoku (hi) fu Hiraki no ma	Director
1974	Ultraman Leo	Director
1971	Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 1	Director
1971	Mysterious Thirteen Nights Volume 2	Director
1971	Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 4 - The Yokai Blood-stained Comb	Director
1971	Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter 1 - Ghost Story at the Kagamigaike	Director
1971	Mysterious Thirteen Nights: Chapter Special - Ghost Story of Tragic Love: Dance of the Folding Fan	Director
1969	Quick-draw Okatsu	Director
1969	Okatsu the Fugitive	Director
1969	さくら盃　義兄弟	Director
1969	Playgirl	Director
1968	Snake Woman's Curse	Director
1968	Snake Woman's Curse	Writer
1963	This Is Japan	Director
1962	Kanashimi wa itsumo haha ni	Director
1962	The Phantom Goblin	Director
1962	Hatamoto taikutsu otoko: nazo no sango yashiki	Director
1962	Showdown at Lightning Pass	Screenplay
1962	The Warrior from Kishu	Screenplay
1962	Showdown at Lightning Pass	Director
1962	The Warrior from Kishu	Director
1961	Samurai Hawk	Director
1961	Kaachan	Director
1961	The Man Who Challenged 8,000,000-Koku	Director
1960	Jigoku	Director
1960	Jigoku	Screenplay
1960	Death Row Woman	Director
1959	The Ghost of Yotsuya	Director
1959	The Lady Vampire	Director
1959	The Shadow Avenger	Director
1958	Black Cat Mansion	Director
1958	A Wicked Woman	Director
1958	Ghost in the Regiment	Director
1958	Kyōen Kobanzame	Director
1957	The Ghost of Kasane	Director
1957	Hibari ga oka no taiketsu	Director
1956	The Ceiling at Utsunomiya	Director
1956	The Vampire Moth	Director
1956	Casebooks of Dandy Sashichi: 6 Famous Beauties	Director
1955	Chutaro of Banba	Director
1955	Stray Sheep	Director
1953	An Edoite Judge	Director
1953	Shishun no izumi	Director
1953	Kisan Detective Story: The Mysterious Doll-Maker	Director
1952	Casebooks of Detective Umon: The Incident of the Fawn-Pattern Cloth	Director
1952	Love's Zephir Along the Tokaido	Director
1952	Today is Payday	Director
1952	Sunset Over Mount Fuji	Director
1951	Conduct Report on Matashiro: The Devil Princess and Winter Rain	Director
1951	Conduct Report on Matashiro: The Devil Princess and Winter Rain	Writer
1951	右門捕物帖　片眼狼	Director
1951	旗本退屈男唐人街の鬼	Director
1951	Farewell to the Highland Station	Director
1950	Amakara chindōchū	Director
1949	Late Night Confession	Director
1949	The Adventures of Tobisuke	Director
1949	Rinchi	Director
1941	The Poppy	Director
1940	Enoken's Bow-Wow General	Director
1940	Enoken Enters the Ring	Director
1939	Rivals	Director
1939	Enoken's Yaji and Kita	Director
1939	Enoken's Mori no Ishimatsu	Director
1939	Shinpen Tange Sazen: Sekigan no maki	Director
1938	Itahachi shima	Director
1938	Itahachi shima	Screenplay