Hôtei Nomura
Directing
Biography
Hôtei Nomura (November 13, 1880 – August 23, 1934) was a film director, screenwriter and producer who lived during the Taisho period and early Showa period. He is one of the individuals responsible for laying the groundwork of the Japanese film industry. Nomura's father was in the business of making scenery and signs for theaters in Kyoto. The nature of his father's business meant that he had a connection to Kyoto's theatre industry from a young age, and he was close friends with Shochiku founders Matsujiro Shirai and Takejiro Otani. In 1897, he served as the projectionist's assistant for the French engineer François-Constant Girel, in Japan's first-ever show of the Lumiere brothers' cinematograph. When Shochiku formally began producing films in 1920, Nomura was appointed to its board of directors. His use of contemporary drama actors in classical productions and realism in 'classical drama moving pictures' became the model for subsequent period dramas, and his apprentices included future director Heinosuke Gosho. He is also known to have given their first role to two great Japanese actresses: Kinuyo Tanaka (in Genroku Onna, at the age of fourteen) and Hideko Takamine (in Mother, at the age of five). In all, he directed more than one hundred films between 1921 and his death in 1934. Although the vast majority are lost, he achieved critical and commercial success and played a substantial role in the development of the Japanese film industry.
Known For
A hard-working new employee at a trading company is promoted through the company president's business. However, he quarrels with his wife over something trivial, and her wife runs away from home, causing a fuss, but she returns to normal. Selected by Kinema Junpo as the 5th-best Japanese movie of 1926.
Useless Button
A melodrama by noted auteur and father of director Yoshitaro Nomura, Hotei Nomura. This is apparently the first adaptation of Izumi Kyoka's The Romance of Yushima.
The Genealogy of Women
No description available.
Shin Yotsuya Ghost Story
Japanese movie from 1934. The final film of director Hôtei Nomura, who died from a stroke suffered at a screening of this film.
Storm in the City
The 1929 Japanese film "Mother" which helped child actress Hideko Takamine become a star.
Mother
No description available.
The Woman and the Pirate
No description available.
Umi no yôbigôe
Japanese silent film.
Island Girl
Japanese film from 1934, based on a novel by Itsuma Maki (real name Kaitarō Hasegawa).
Constellations on Earth, Part One: Earth Chapter
Japanese film from 1934, based on a novel by Itsuma Maki (real name Kaitarō Hasegawa).
Constellations on Earth, Part 2: Constellations
Japanese film from 1924.
Village Pasture
Japanese silent film from 1928.
Symphony of Youth
No description available.
天龍下れば
Kan’ichi Hazama and Omiya Shigisawa are engaged to be married, but Omiya breaks the engagement to marry a wealthy banker’s son. Heartbroken, Kan’ichi becomes a moneylender, and years later their paths cross again under changed circumstances. Adapted from a popular serialized novel of the same name.
The Golden Demon
Japanese film from 1933, adapted from Masao Kume's serialized newspaper novel.
Daphne
Japanese film from 1924.
A Woman from the Genroku Era
Japanese film from 1933, adapted from a story serialized in the entertainment magazine "Fuji."
Clear and Cloudy
Japanese silent film from 1929.
The Village Where the Skylark Sings
No description available.
Kanji no yoi eiga shû 'Neko'
A film by Hôtei Nomura.