Mitsugu Ōkura

Mitsugu Ōkura or Mitsugi Ōkura (大蔵貢, Ōkura Mitsugu, November 22, 1899 - September 15, 1978)^[1] was a Japanese producer, director and screenwriter.

Life and career[]

Mitsugu Ōkura got his start in film as a benshi (a narrator for silent films). He became president of Shintōhō in 1956. Under his supervision, the studio achieved the only blockbuster success of its existence, 1957's The Meiji Emperor and the Russo-Japanese War. While continuing to produce films which exploited nationalistic feelings, Ōkura also moved Shintōhō into horror film. Two of Shintōhō's films under Ōkura-- The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) and Jigoku (1960), both directed by Nobuo Nakagawa-- are today regarded as classics of the genre. With the motto "fast, cheap and exciting," Ōkura also lead the studio to produce erotic thrillers such as the female pearl diver films starring Michiko Maeda and Yōko Mihara.^[2]

When Shintōhō went bankrupt in May 1961, Ōkura founded Ōkura Eiga. At first the new studio concentrated on Shintōhō-like horror film releases such as Okinawa Hanging Phantom Ghost Story (1962). After the immense success of Flesh Market (1962)-- the first Pink film, directed by Satoru Kobayashi for Ōkura Eiga-- Ōkura Eiga became a purely Pink film studio. Renamed OP Eiga after Ōkura's death, the studio is still a leading producer of Pink film today.^[3]

Partial filmography[]

At Shintōhō[]

[1957-07-10] The Depths
[1957-08-06] Kenpei to barabara shibijin
[1957-10-22] Yōjasō no maō
[1958-07-13] Black Cat Mansion
[1958-11-29] Yogoreta nikutai seijo
[1958-04-27] Cannibal Ama
[1958-08-10] Ghost in the Regiment
[1959-03-07] The Woman Vampire
[1959-07-01] The Ghost of Yotsuya
[1959-07-01] Ghost Story: Depth of Kagami
[1959-07-04] Girl Diver of Spook Mansion
[1959-09-12] The Bloody Sword of the 99th Virgin
[1960-07-01] The Ghost Cat of Otama Pond
[1960-07-30] Jigoku
[1960-08-27] Vampire Bride
[1961-01-09] Sexy Line
[1961-01-15] Queen Bee Goes to the Spa

At Ōkura Eiga[]

[1962-06-13] Okinawa Hanging Phantom Ghost Story
[1963-06-02] Ghost from the Continent
[1964-05-17] Ghost Story: Cruel Phantom
[1967-05-31] Love Foolery Case of a Fresh Severed Head
[1968-05-28] The Dismembered Ghost
[1976-05-29] New Ghost Story Heretical Lust: O-Iwa's Vengeful Ghost

Bibliography[]

Macias, Patrick (2001). "Mitsugu Okura: Mogul" in TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion. San Francisco: Cadence Books. pp. 84-86. ISBN 1-56931-681-3.
Mitsugu Ōkura at the Internet Movie Database
大蔵貢 at the Japanese Movie Database
大蔵貢 at Kinema Jumpo
「大蔵貢と怪談映画～新東宝・大蔵映画の怪談映画史～」 article on Ōkura and horror film

Notes[]

↑ "大蔵貢おおくら-みつぎ" (in Japanese). kotobank.jp. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
↑ Macias, pp. 84-86.
↑ Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. pp. 46-47, etc. ISBN 978-1-903254-54-7.

[1] "大蔵貢おおくら-みつぎ" (in Japanese). kotobank.jp. Retrieved 2010-10-10.

[2] Macias, pp. 84-86.

[3] Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. pp. 46-47, etc. ISBN 978-1-903254-54-7.

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