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Kogo Noda

Kōgo Noda
Kōgo Noda in 1941
Born(1893-11-19)November 19, 1893
DiedSeptember 23, 1968(1968-09-23) (aged 74)
Resting placeTama Cemetery[1]
NationalityJapanese
OccupationScreenwriter
Known forTokyo Story

Kogo Noda (野田 高梧, Noda Kōgo, November 19, 1893 – September 23, 1968) was a Japanese screenwriter most famous for collaborating with Yasujirō Ozu on many of the director's films.

Born in Hakodate, Noda was the son of the head of the local tax bureau and younger brother to Kyūho, a Nihonga painter.[2] He moved to Nagoya after completing elementary school and later went to Waseda University.[2][3] After graduating, he worked for the city of Tokyo while also serving as a reporter for Katsudō kurabu, one of the major film magazines, using the pen name Harunosuke Midorikawa.[2] On the recommendation of a scriptwriter friend from junior high, Takashi Oda, he joined the script department at Shōchiku after the Great Kantō earthquake.[2][3] He soon became one of the studio's central screenwriters, penning for instance Aizen katsura (1938), one of its biggest pre-war hits.[2]

He is most known for his collaborations with Ozu, which began with Noda supplying the script for the director's first feature Sword of Penitence (1927), and led to such postwar works as Tokyo Story (1953), regarded by many critics as one of the greatest films of all time. He co-wrote thirteen of Ozu's fifteen post-war films.

When the Writers Association of Japan was formed in 1950, Noda served as its first chair.[4]

Selected filmography

Year Title Director
Japanese Title Rōmaji English Title
1927 懺悔の刃 Zange no yaiba Sword of Penitence Yasujirō Ozu
1929 和製喧嘩友達 Wasei kenka tomodachi Fighting Friends Japanese Style Yasujirō Ozu
会社員生活 Kaishain seikatsu The Life of an Office Worker Yasujirō Ozu
1930 結婚学入門 Kekkongaku nyumon An Introduction to Marriage Yasujirō Ozu
進軍 Shingun Marching On Kiyohiko Ushihara
その夜の妻 Sono yo no tsuma That Night's Wife Yasujirō Ozu
エロ神の怨霊 Erogami no onryo The Revengeful Spirit of Eros Yasujirō Ozu
足に触った幸運 Ashi ni sawatta koun The Luck Which Touched the Leg Yasujirō Ozu
1931 東京の合唱 Tokyo no gassho Tokyo Chorus Yasujirō Ozu
1932 靑春の夢いまいづこ Seishun no yume imaizuko Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth? Yasujirō Ozu
また逢ふ日まで Mata au hi made Until the Day We Meet Again Yasujirō Ozu
1933 東京の女 Tokyo no onna Woman of Tokyo Yasujirō Ozu
1935 箱入娘 Hakoiri musume An Innocent Maid Yasujirō Ozu
1938 愛染かつら Aizen katsura The Tree of Love Hiromasa Nomura
1939 続 愛染かつら Zoku aizen katsura The Tree of Love, Part II Hiromasa Nomura
愛染かつら 完結篇 Aizen katsura kanketsuhen The Tree of Love: The Conclusion Hiromasa Nomura
1940 The Legend of Tank Commander Nishizumi[5] Kōzaburō Yoshimura
1949 晩春 Banshun Late Spring Yasujirō Ozu
1950 宗方姉妹 Munekata shimai The Munekata Sisters Yasujirō Ozu
1951 麥秋 Bakushu Early Summer Yasujirō Ozu
1952 お茶漬けの味 Ochazuke no aji The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice Yasujirō Ozu
1953 東京物語 Tokyo monogatari Tokyo Story Yasujirō Ozu
1956 早春 Soshun Early Spring Yasujirō Ozu
1957 東京暮色 Tōkyō boshoku Tokyo Twilight Yasujirō Ozu
1958 彼岸花 Higanbana Equinox Flower Yasujirō Ozu
1959 お早よう Ohayo Good Morning Yasujirō Ozu
浮草 Ukigusa Floating Weeds Yasujirō Ozu
1960 秋日和 Akibiyori Late Autumn Yasujirō Ozu
1961 小早川家の秋 Kohayagawa-ke no aki The End of Summer Yasujirō Ozu
1962 秋刀魚の味 Sanma no aji An Autumn Afternoon Yasujirō Ozu

References

  1. ^ Omura, Daiju. "野田高梧". 歴史が眠る多磨霊園 (Tama Cemetery, where history rests) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Noda Kōgo". Hakodate jinbutsushi (in Japanese). City of Hakodate. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Noda Kōgo". Nihon jinmei daijiten (in Japanese). Kōdansha. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Enkaku" (in Japanese). Kyōdō kumiai Nihon shinario sakka kyōkai. Archived from the original on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
  5. ^ High, Peter B. (2003). The Imperial Screen. Wisconsin Studies in Film. The University of Wisconsin Press. p. 212. ISBN 0-299-18134-0.