Togawa Naoki

[Aaron Gerow]

The Asahi reports this morning that the film critic Togawa Naoki  
passed away on Feb. 5th from a burst aneurism. He was 92 years old.  
Togawa was one of the few critics active from the 1930s who was still  
alive. He began writing in Eiga hyoron when he was still a student at  
Tokyo University. He was particularly active on the international  
level, serving on juries at film festivals such as Cannes and Berlin  
and writing the Japan entry in the International Film Guide for many  
years. He also was head of the selection committee for the Mainichi  
Concours for a long time. He began teaching at the Faculty of Arts at  
Nihon University in the 1950s, eventually rising to becoming dean. He  
also taught at other universities such as Waseda, served on many  
government panels, and received the Kawakita Award in 1995. He  
received an Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1988.

I met him many times, especially since we were both on the board of  
directors at the Japan Society of Image Arts and Sciences, and he was  
always the gentleman. Gomeifuku o oinori shimasu.


Aaron Gerow
Associate Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University
53 Wall Street, Room 316
PO Box 208363
New Haven, CT 06520-8363
USA
Phone: 1-203-432-7082
Fax: 1-203-432-6764
e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu
site: www.aarongerow.com