Kiyohiko Ushihara
2 March 1897 – 20 May 1985 was a Japanese film director most famous for his gendaigeki of the silent era.
Kiyohiko Ushihara

新日本出版社 撮影者不明 · 新日本出版社『文化評論』第14巻1月号(1963)より · Public domain
- Name
- Kiyohiko Ushihara
- Born
- 2 March 1897
- Died
- 20 May 1985
- Occupation
- Film director
- Nationality
- Japan · Empire of Japan
- Education
- University of Tokyo
- Honours
- Medal with Purple Ribbon
- Languages
- Japanese
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2 March 1897 – 20 May 1985 was a Japanese film director most famous for his gendaigeki of the silent era.
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wikidata · Q6418999 · wikipedia · Kiyohiko Ushihara
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kiyohiko Ushihara • Born — 2 March 1897 • Died — 20 May 1985 • Occupation — Film director
Career
Career
Born in Kumamoto Prefecture and graduating from Tokyo University, Ushihara joined the Shochiku studio in 1920 on the invitation of Kaoru Osanai. Starting out by helping on the script to Minoru Murata's Gorky-influenced Souls on the Road, he made his directorial debut in 1921 and later directed adaptations of such works as Victor Hugo's Les Misérables under the title Aa mujō. In the mid-1920s he went to America to study Hollywood filmmaking, working under Charlie Chaplin. He returned to film romantic comedies and action films starring Denmei Suzuki and Kinuyo Tanaka such as Shingun. Between 1928 and 1932 he co-edited the journal Eiga kagaku kenkyū (Scientific Studies of Cinema) with Murata. He left Shōchiku in the early 1930s and worked at studios such as Nikkatsu, Shinkō Kinema and Daiei. Quitting directing following the Second World War, he starting to teach filmmaking at institutions such as Nihon University. In 1959, he was a member of the jury at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival. Four years later, he was a member of the jury at the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival. In 1965 he was a member of the jury at the 4th Moscow International Film Festival. His son, Yōichi Ushihara, is also a film director.
Selected filmography
Selected filmography
• Yama kururu (山暮るる The Mountains Grow Dark) (1921) • Aa mujō (噫無情 Ah, Heartless) (1923) • Daichi wa hohoemu (大地は微笑む The Smiling Earth) (1925) • Kare to Tokyo (彼と東京 He and Tokyo) (1928) • Riku no ōja (陸の王者 A King on Land) (1928) • Shingun (進軍 Advance) (1930) • Wakamono yo naze naku ka (若者よなぜ泣くか Why Do You Cry, Youngsters?) (1930) • The Ghost Cat and the Mysterious Shamisen (妖絃怪猫伝) (1938) • The Rainbow Man (虹男, 1949)
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The canonical record carries the following identifying particulars.
Works and production
Works and production
The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Recorded with the occupation film director. Recorded with the occupation screenwriter. It is also recorded that kiyohiko Ushihara is recorded as a citizen of Japan. Recorded with the gender male. The record continues: kiyohiko Ushihara was born on 2 March 1897. It is also recorded that kiyohiko Ushihara died on 20 May 1985.
Reception and standing
The scholarly and documentary record stands as follows. The record continues: kiyohiko Ushihara is recorded as having received Medal with Purple Ribbon.

Kiyohiko Ushihara(left) and Yoichi Ushihara(right).
キネマ旬報社 撮影者不明 · キネマ旬報社『キネマ旬報』第336号(1963)より
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Kiyohiko Ushihara”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6418999: Kiyohiko Ushihara
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ushihara Kiyohiko. Kōdansha.
- 2.Kiyohiko Ushihara's Shingun (Marching On). Gilda's Attic. 2003.
- 3.Le Cinéma japonais (tome I). Éditions du Centre Pompidou. 1997. 2-85850-919-0.
- 4.The 29th edition of the Giornate del Cinema Muto. Offscreen.com. 14. 10. 31 octobre 2010.
- 5.Shingun. Festival du film muet de Pordenone. 2010.
- 6.1st Moscow International Film Festival (1959).
- 7.3rd Moscow International Film Festival (1963).
- 8.4th Moscow International Film Festival (1965).
- 9.Filmographie. JMDB.
- 10.Ah! Ah! Mujo (Ah! Misérables). kinematoscope.org.
- 11.Note : film en deux parties d'après Les Misérables de Victor Hugo, la seconde partie est réalisée par Yoshinobu Ikeda.
- 12.Note : film en quatre parties, la première partie est réalisée par Yoshinobu Ikeda, la deuxième par Hōtei Nomura, la troisième par Kiyohiko Ushihara et la quatrième par Yasujirō Shimazu.
- 13.懐かしの蒲田. kinenote.com.
- 14.Jmdb title 1925 id=ba003070 title=Zōge no tō .
- 15.受難華. kinenote.com.
- 16.Note : Daitokai: Rōdō-hen est l'un des trois films japonais muets utilisés par Carl Koch pour réaliser son film omnibus Nippon.
- 17.Le Mystère du shamisen hanté : titre français du film lors de la rétrospective « Le Cinéma japonais au surnaturel : les spectres de la Japan Horror » du 6 mai au 1 juin 2011 à la MCJP
- 18.Mainichi Film Awards - 39th (1984年). mainichi.jp.
References
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References
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Further particulars
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This entry is compiled from 4 catalogued sources across 3 independent registers. The registers consulted are Internet Archive, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Every statement above is held against the register that stated it; where the registers are silent, the entry is silent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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