Masaru Konuma

• Name — Masaru Konuma • Born — 30 December 1937 • Birthplace — Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan • Died — 22 January 2023 • Occupation — Film director • Years Active — 1971–2000 • Awards — Special Prize, Yokohama Film Festival for Nagisa (2000)

Masaru Konuma was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō, on December 30, 1937. Konuma retained no memories of his father who was a teacher. Drafted into the army after the outbreak of World War II in 1941, Konuma's father became ill with tuberculosis within a year of the start of his military service, and returned home where he died. After the war, Konuma's mother remarried, and Konuma, then 15, was sent away to live in Tokyo. Konuma recalled, "In those days, there was no TV. I had no idea about Tokyo. It was as distant to me as Africa or Alaska is to kids today. I didn't want to go. I cried." As a way of dealing with his loneliness and homesickness at this time, Konuma began going to the cinema. He majored in film studies in the Art Department of Nihon University. Soon after graduation, in 1961, Konuma went to work at Nikkatsu Studios, about the same time as producer Yuki and directors Kōyū Ohara and Noboru Tanaka. The quartet were known by their individual characters as, "Diligent Yuki, slovenly Ohara, faithful Tanaka, reckless Konuma." Konuma started as a "fifth" assistant director, which meant he was in charge of the clipboard. He endured this low position at the studio in the hope that eventually he would become a director. In his early career, he was the assistant director on such films as Nikkatsu's venture into the kaiju genre, Daikyojū Gappa (1967), which was released in the U.S. as Monster from a Prehistoric Planet. Seijun Suzuki was one of the few directors who impressed Konuma during these early years at Nikkatsu.

During the later 1960s, Nikkatsu began losing its audience to TV, and its film production dropped. At this time, assistant directors moved on to TV or non-film work. In order to find a new audience, Nikkatsu president Takashi Itamochi made the decision to put the company's high production values and professional talent entirely into the "pink-film" (softcore pornographic) industry, which had until then been made by independent and low-budget filmmakers like Kōji Wakamatsu. Many of Nikkatsu's staff either did not return to the studio or left, not wanting to make sex films. Konuma had no such reservations, however, later saying, "The pleasure of becoming a director was greater than anything else at that moment... I was just happy to be making movies." Konuma's first assignment as director was Call of the Pistil in 1971. Two of his most popular films-- Flower and Snake and Wife to Be Sacrificed—were made for Nikkatsu in 1974, both with Naomi Tani. Though it was Konuma who brought Oniroku Dan's work to the mainstream through Flower and Snake, the author was reportedly never happy with Konuma's interpretation of his work or the SM genre. The success of Flower and Snake inspired a Flower and Snake series which ran through the 1970s and returned in the mid-1980s. In Konuma's nunsploitation film Cloistered Nun: Runa's Confession (1976), half-Japanese pop singer Runa Takamura made her Roman Porno debut. For Lady Karuizawa (1982), Konuma worked with the mainstream 1960s star, Miwa Takada in her first starring role in over a decade. The film was a variation on Lady Chatterley's Lover, with some added political intrigue. Corrida of Sex and Love a.k.a. In The Realm Of Sex (1977) was Nikkatsu's attempt to capitalize on the notoriety surrounding the domestic release of Ōshima's In the Realm of the Senses (1976). Commenting on his association with the S/M subgenre of Nikkatsu's Roman Pornos, Konuma said, "In general, the roman porn audience wants to see something they can't experience in everyday life. These people get excited about seeing acts which they may - or may not want to do to their wives or mates. Things they would never be able to really do without ending up in jail or divorce. For example, I was often assigned to make movies with rape scenes. I am not a person who could possibly perform rape. I want to see a lady's happy face while having sex... Movies are fantasies. Sometimes they might be ugly, but they're still fantasies. I was the dreamweaver." In 2000, director Hideo Nakata, who had served his apprenticeship at Nikkatsu under Konuma, made a documentary on his mentor entitled Sadistic and Masochistic. In 2001 Konuma was given an award at the Yokohama Film Festival for his career and his film Nagisa.

• Title — Cast — Release date • Call of the Pistil Kashin No Izanai — Keiko Maki Hajime Mitamura — 1971-12-18 • Love Hunter: Hot Skin Koi no karyudo: atsui hada — Mari Tanaka Ken Yoshizawa — 1972-03-29 • Headlights In The Rain — Mari Tanaka Shusaku Muto — 1972-05-17 • Secret Wife Kakushizuma — Yuko Katagiri Kiyoshi Yoshida — 1972-07-19 • Three Wives: Wild Nights Tsuma San-nin: Kyoran No Yoru — Akemi Nijo Hidemi Hara Mari Tanaka — 1972-10-28 • Afternoon Affair: Kyoto Holy Tapestry Hirusagari no joji Koto-mandara — Yuri Yamashina Morio Kazama — 1973-04-04 • Erotic Journey: Love Affair In Hong Kong Shikijo Ryoko: Hong Kong Bojo — Setsuko Ogawa Yuko Katagiri Junko Miyashita — 1973-08-04 • Female Teacher: Sweet Life Onna Kyoshi: Amai Seikatsu — Ayako Ichikawa Aoi Nakajima Nozomi Yasuda — 1973-12-05 • White Whore Kashin No Takamari — Yuri Yamashina Misa Aoyama Toru Ohe — 1974-03-02 • Lost Love: Oil Hell Lost Love: Abura Jigoku — Akari Uchida Tetsuo Tomikawa Kazuko Tajima — 1974-05-04 • Flower and Snake Hana to hebi — Naomi Tani Yasuhiko Ishizu Nagatoshi Sakamoto — 1974-06-22 • Wife to Be Sacrificed Ikenie fujin — Naomi Tani Nagatoshi Sakamoto Terumi Azuma — 1974-10-26 • Lesbian World: Ecstasy Lesbian No Sekai: Koukotsu — Mihoko Arikawa Maki Kawamura Naomi Oka — 1975-02-19 • Female Teacher: Boy Hunt Onna Kyoshi: Shonen-gari — Maya Hiromi Akira Takahashi Kiyoyasu Adachi — 1975-06-04 • Great Edo: Secret Story Of A Female Doctor In Trouble Oedo: Maruhi Onna Isha Arashi — Yuko Katagiri Moeko Ezawa Junko Miyashita — 1975-10-18 • Cloistered Nun: Runa's Confession Shudojo Runa no kokuhaku — Luna Takamura Aoi Nakajima Kumi Taguchi — 1976-01-08 • Wet Vase a.k.a. Wet Tattooed Vagina Nureta tsubo — Naomi Tani Hirokazu Inoue Hiroko Fuji — 1976-03-19 • Getting Raped a.k.a. Raped Okasareru — Junko Miyashita Maki Mizuno Akira Hanagami — 1976-07-31 • Tattooed Flower Vase Kashin no irezumi: ureta tsubo — Naomi Tani — 1976-09-25 • Erotic Diary of an Office Lady aka Office Lady Lusty Journal: "Ah, There's Something Inside Me!" OL kanno nikki: Ah! Watashi no naka de — Asami Ogawa Morihira Murakuni Katsuo Yamada — 1977-02-22 • In The Realm Of Sex Seito ai no corrida — Asami Ogawa Natsuko Yashiro Naomi Tani — 1977-04-23 * Yumeno Kyusaku no shoujo jigoku a.k.a. Kasei no onna — Asami Ogawa — 1977-08-20 * Kifujin shibari tsubo — Naomi Tani — 1977-12-10 • Wandering Lovers: Dizziness Sasurai no koibito: memai — Toshiyuki Kitami Kei Ogawa Akira Takahashi — 1978-03-04 • Friday Bedroom Kinyo-bi no shinshitsu — Reiko Kayama Yuki Nohira Hiroshi Unayama — 1978-04-29 • Sometimes... Like A Prostitute Toki niha Shoufu no youni — Rei Nakanishi Eri Kanuma Erina Miyai — 1978-09-23 • College Girls On Friday Izumi Daihachi no joshidaisei no kinyobi — Minako Mizushima Yumi Fukazawa Megu Kawashima — 1979-03-31 • Mr Dilemma Man (Dilemman): Lunatic For Lust Mr- Dilemman: shikijo-garu — Akira Emoto Yukiko Tachibana Yuka Asagiri — 1979-10-06 • Image Of A Bound Girl Dan Oniroku shoujo shibari ezu — Kumiko Hayano Hide Ezumi Yuko Asuka — 1980-03-01 • Uptown Lady: Days Of Eros Yamanote fujin: seiai no hibi — Izumi Shima Ryuichi Nagashima Yoichiro Sanada — 1980-05-31 • Wife's Sexual Fantasy: Before Husband's Eyes Tsumatachi no seitaiken: otto no me no maede ima — Yuki Kazamatsuri Hiroshi Unayama Rika Takahara — 1980-10-22 • Woman Who Exposes Herself Misetagaru onna — Maiko Kazama Izumi Shima — 1981-01-09 • Woman Who Is Used Asobareru onna — Maiko Kazama Asami Ogawa — 1981-06-12 • Fallen Angel Gang Akujo gundan — Yuki Kazamatsuri Jun Izumi Eiko Yanami — 1981-10-23 • Slave Contract Dorei keiyakushu — Nami Matsukawa Asami Ogawa Jun Hongo — 1982-01-22 • Lady Karuizawa Karuizawa fujin — Miwa Takada Takayuki Godai Yumi Yoshikawa — 1982-08-06 • Rope and Breasts Nawa to chibusa — Nami Matsukawa Izumi Shima — 1983-01-07 • Kiriko Shimizu — 1983-01-07 • Female Prisoner: Cage Joshuu ori — Mina Asami Nami Matsukawa — 1983-09-16 • Madam Scandal - Final Scandal: Madam Likes It Hard Final scandal: okusama wa okatai no ga osuki — Midori Satsuki Kaori Okamoto Takashi Shikauchi Kate Asabuki — 1983-12-23 * Stewardess scandal: kemono no youni dakishimete — Tomoko Ai — 1984-03-16 • Mariko Nishina — 1984-12-08 • Woman In The Box: Virgin Sacrifice Hako no naka no onna: shojo ikenie — Reiko Aoi Saeko Kizuki Kojiro Kusanagi — 1985-09-07 * Inkou — Kaori Asou — 1986-07-26 • Bed-In — Miki Yanagi Rie Kitahara — 1986-12-20 * Rinbu — Kaori Asou — 1988-01-09 • Woman In The Box 2 a.k.a. Captured For Sex 4 Hako no naka no onna II — Ryouta Nakanishi Shihori Nagasaka Miyuki Kawamura — 1988-02-27 • 1991-04-01 • 1992-12-01 • 1992-12-19 • 1993-10-22 • 1994-02-25 • XX: Beautiful Hunter XX: Utsukushiki karyuudo — 1994-08-12 • 1994-10-21 • 1995-02-24 * Kairakusatsujin: onna sousakan — 1996-06-07 • 1996-09-06 • 1998-11-27 • 1999-08-27 • Nagisa — 2000-06-10 • 2003-03-15