Masahiro Shinoda

Masahiro Shinoda
"Kinema Junpo", 1962
Born (1931-03-09) March 9, 1931 (age 93)
Gifu, Gifu, Japan
NationalityJapanese
Alma materWaseda University
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1960-2003
Notable workPale Flower, Assassination, Double Suicide, Silence, Ballad of Orin, Childhood Days
SpouseShima Iwashita (m. 1967)

Masahiro Shinoda (篠田 正浩, Shinoda Masahiro, born March 9, 1931) is a Japanese retired film director who had a filmmaking career that spanned over four decades and covered a wide range of genres and styles. He was one of the central figures of the Japanese New Wave during the 1960s and 1970s. He directed films for Shochiku Studio from 1960 to 1965, before turning to independent cinema from 1966 onward. His film style was characterized by socially marginalized characters, many of whom turn to crime or suicide, and meticulous attention to pictorial beauty. He drew on traditional Japanese fiction and theater and some of his films bear the influence of Kenji Mizoguchi, whom he admired.