Directing
Kazuo Ikehiro
JA cinema · 56 credits
Born
25 October 1929
Died
15 October 2025 (aged 95)
Birthplace
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Kazuo Ikehiro got his start as an assistant working for directors like Kenji Mizoguchi and Kon Ichikawa. He always had a strong preference for working in jidai-geki and says that he only did a number of modern-day yakuza films because of studio demands. Ikehiro developed a gritty, unconventional style that made him an excellent match for Zatoichi and the antihero screen personae of Raizo Ichikawa. Possibly his greatest achievement came with Raizo, when he played an instrumental part in the Nemuri Kyoshiro series. The first three movies had been fairly straightforward chambara adventures, but with 1964's Sword of Seduction, Ikehiro steered the series into the surreal and stylistically outrageous extremes that made the Son of the Black Mass so legendary.
Known for
Filmography
Tulips in October
Director
Koya no Shomei
Director
Castle of Sand
Director
Make-Up
Director
Lowly Ronin
Director
Slaughter in the Snow
Director, Writer
The Trail of Blood
Director
The Fearless Avenger
Director, Screenplay
Naked Ambition
Director
Broken Swords
Director
Prison Break
Director
The Daring Nun
Director
Lone Wolf Isazo
Director
Escape Man
Director
Wild Geese
Director
Young Boss
Director
Cut the Shadow
Director
Rabble Tactics
Director
The Gambler's Code
Director
Flowers of Chivalry
Director
The Phantom Samurai
Director
Tenka ayatsuri-gumi
Director
Bonchi
Assistant Director
Bara daimyo
Director
Bakeneko Goyōda
Assistant Director