Matsuda Sadatsugu

[Aaron Gerow]

Matsuda Sadatsugu, one of the last great directors of the jidaigeki, died 
on the 20th at the age of 96. Matsuda came from the illustrious Makino 
film family, with his father being Makino Shozo, the "father" of Japanese 
cinema, and his half-brother being Makino Masahiro, the master who helmed 
over 250 films. After training as a cameraman, Matsuda made his 
directorial debut in 1928 at his father's company and later worked at 
Shinko, Nikkatsu and Daiei. It was his work at Toei after the war, 
however, that helped lead the postwar jidaigeki boom and propel that 
studio to the tops of the industry. He was more a craftsman than an 
auteur (thus the critical work on him is sparse compared to that on 
Makino Masahiro), but he worked with most of Toei's major stars such 
Ichikawa Utaemon and Kataoka Chiezo and on many of their popular series. 
His non jidaigeki work includes Chiezo's detective series, Tarao Hannai. 
The Japanese Movie Database lists him directing over 160 films, with the 
last one being in 1969.

Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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