Born in 1955 in Toyama prefecture, a famous director in Japan. Directed No More Comics in 1986, which was screened at New Directors/New Films in MoMA and the Cannes Film Festival to high acclaim. He gained popularity over works such as “The Yen Family” (1988), “Let’s Go to the Hospital ”(1990), “We Are Not Alone” (1992), “Daddy’s Last Run” (1999), “Secret” (1999), “The Yin-Yang Master” (2001), “Ashura” (2005), “The Battery -Future in Our Hands”(2006), and “Sanpei the Fisher Boy” (2009). His “When the Last Sword is Drawn” won 2002 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and was nominated for Director of the Year. His “Departures” (2008) won 103 awards both in Japan and overseas, starting with the Grand Prix at the World Film Festival in Montreal and including Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and Director of the Year. In 2009, he won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and held an Oscar in his hand. His latest film is “Tenchi: The Samurai Astronomer” (2012), which is a film adaptation of a novel by Tow Ubukata about Santetsu Yasui, who created the traditional Japanese calendar and starred by Junichi Okada. He has directed 45 films so far.