Kei Kumai, who directed The Sea Is Watching from Kurosawa’s final script in 2002, has passed away. He was 77 years of age, and is perhaps best remembered outside of Japan for such movies as Sandakan No. 8 (1974), The Sea and Poison (1987) and The Death of a Tea Master (1989). The Sea of Watching remained his last movie.
Fuyuki Murakami, who played a newspaperman in Kurosawa’s Ikiru, has passed away at the age of 95. Although the small role he had in Ikiru was his only role under Kurosawa, Murakami’s filmography is quite large and interesting due to his role as one of Toho’s many supporting actors. There is a rather good obituary at SciFi Japan.
Japanese comedian Hitoshi Ueki passed away on Tuesday at the age of 80. The cause of his death was a heart failure. Although well known across Japan, Ueki is less More...
Miki Odagiri, who played Toyo Odagiri (the girl in Watanabe’s office) in Ikiru is reported to have passed away on the 28th of November. She was 76 years of age, More...