Urayama Kirio (浦山桐郎)
Kirio URAYAMA (May 14, 1930 - October 20, 1985) was a film director in the Showa Period.
Career
He was born in Aioi City, Hyogo Prefecture. His mother died during childbirth, and her younger sister became his stepmother. Since his father killed himself for unknown reasons when he was in his third year of high school, he moved to Nagoya, where his mother was from. He went to the former Himeji High School and then graduated from the French Literature Department, Literature Faculty of Nagoya University.
His father was famous as a poet, and wrote the lyrics of the Aioi City Song while working for Harima Dock (current Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries). He applied for a position as assistant director of Shochiku, and he failed the physical exam, although he made high scores on the written exam. On this occasion, Nagisa OSHIMA passed and Yoji YAMADA didn't. Seijun SUZUKI, the examiner at this time, suggested that he take the Nikkatsu employment exam with Yamada, but he didn't pass and Yamada did. However, because Yamada was accepted as a backup candidate by Shochiku, he was able to be a backup for Nikkatsu as well, and he joined the company as an assistant director in 1954. He worked for directors including Yuzo KAWASHIMA and Shohei IMAMURA. In 1962, he made his debut as a director with "Kyupora no aru machi" (Foundry Town), based on Chiyo HAYAFUNE's novel, and featuring Sayuri YOSHINAGA. This film, depicting the life of poor youngsters living in a foundry town, won great popularity and gained a high reputation, receiving the New Director Award from the Directors Guild of Japan and the second prize in the top ten of Kinema Junpo (academic film magazine).
In 1963, he made "Hiko Shojo" (Bad Girl) featuring Masako IZUMI, and it received the Moscow International Film Festival Golden Prize. He left Nikkatsu after making "Watashi ga suteta onna" (The Girl I Abandoned), an attempt at experimental direction based on Shusaku ENDO's novel, and he directed "Seishun no mon" (The Gate of Youth) as Shinobu OTAKE'S debut, "Seishun no mon: Jiritsu hen" (The Gate of Youth Part 2) and TV drama "Kiga kaikyo" (Straits of Hunger). After making several films for children, a cartoon film "Tatsu no ko Taro" (Taro the Dragon Boy) and "Taiyo no ko" (Teda No Fua) based on Kenjiro HAITANI's novel, in 1983 he attracted public attention by releasing "Anshitsu" (Dark Room) featuring Rie KIMURA, an adult movie from Nikkatsu (written as にっかつ instead of 日活 at that time), where he used to belong. Though he was expected to produce further great works, he died of cardiac failure in 1985 after finishing "Yumechiyo nikki" (Diary of Yumechiyo) featuring Sayuri YOSHINAGA. He died at the age of 55.
It is said that Shohei IMAMURA, the host of the funeral, ordered Toshiro ISHIDO to 'keep a close watch because we never know what kind of women come today,' thinking of numerous love affairs Urayama had while alive.
Personal Profile
He developed Sayuri YOSHINAGA and Shinobu OTAKE, and he was called a 'Master of training actresses'. The episode in which he coached Toshie KOBAYASHI in acting for "Watashi ga suteta onna" at home is especially famous.
It is said that "Seishun no mon" dissatisfied the author Hiroyuki ITSUKI because of its directional issues. Despite a big hit, the film adaptation series was discontinued.
Five out of only nine films in his life won the top 10 of Kinema Junpo, (four out of five if limited to the early years), and he was respected as a great director representing Japanese movies, although he didn't make many.
However, the pressure which could not be separated from this drove him to indulgence in alcohol and women, and early death. His glory and misery are described in the biography 'Shosetsu Urayama Kirio Natsukusa no michi' (The novel, Kirio URAYAMA, the road of summer grass) by Rikiya TAYAMA.
He was a fan of the Hankyu Braves and extremely anti Giants. From the mid 1970s, he published a lot of essays that strongly criticized Japanese professional baseball in baseball magazines.
He described Aioi Bay in his hometown as 'looking like a mother's womb.'
His motto was to be active until death, and he always wanted to 'make a dozen films,' but he died after nine films without fulfilling his ambition.