FILM DIRECTOR

Kenji Mizoguchi

1898 - 1956

Photo of Kenji Mizoguchi

Icon of person Kenji Mizoguchi

Kenji Mizoguchi (溝口 健二, Mizoguchi Kenji, 16 May 1898 – 24 August 1956) was a Japanese filmmaker who directed roughly one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), The Life of Oharu (1952), Ugetsu (1953), and Sansho the Bailiff (1954), with the latter three all being awarded at the Venice International Film Festival. A recurring theme of his films was the oppression of women in historical and contemporary Japan. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Kenji Mizoguchi has received more than 666,868 page views. His biography is available in 46 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 44 in 2019). Kenji Mizoguchi is the 112th most popular film director (down from 94th in 2019), the 109th most popular biography from Japan (down from 78th in 2019) and the 6th most popular Japanese Film Director.

Kenji Mizoguchi is most famous for his films, which are known for their long takes and poetic imagery.

Memorability Metrics

  • 670k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 64.30

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 46

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.29

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.21

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Kenji Mizoguchi ranks 112 out of 2,041. Before him are Joris Ivens, John Carpenter, Robert Altman, David Fincher, John Huston, and Terrence Malick. After him are Otar Iosseliani, Manoel de Oliveira, Jules Dassin, Peter Jackson, Jerzy Grotowski, and David Lean.

Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1898, Kenji Mizoguchi ranks 40. Before him are Trofim Lysenko, Karl Hermann Frank, Peng Dehuai, Alexander Calder, Joris Ivens, and Aloysius Stepinac. After him are Georges Dumézil, Therese Neumann, Latife Uşşaki, Konrad Henlein, Vicente Aleixandre, and Héctor Scarone. Among people deceased in 1956, Kenji Mizoguchi ranks 23. Before him are Konstantin Päts, Alexander Rodchenko, Bela Lugosi, Reinhold Glière, H. L. Mencken, and Josef Hoffmann. After him are Bolesław Bierut, Anastasio Somoza García, Wilhelm Miklas, Joseph Wirth, Alexander Dovzhenko, and Émile Borel.

Others Born in 1898

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1956

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Kenji Mizoguchi ranks 109 out of 6,245. Before him are Joan Fontaine (1917), Kunishige Kamamoto (1944), Hiroto Muraoka (1931), Sei Shōnagon (966), Okita Sōji (1842), and Emperor Go-Momozono (1758). After him are Emperor Kōshō (-505), Fumimaro Konoe (1891), Abe no Seimei (921), Tarō Asō (1940), Emperor Nakamikado (1702), and Emperor Nintoku (290).

Others born in Japan

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among FILM DIRECTORS In Japan

Among film directors born in Japan, Kenji Mizoguchi ranks 6. Before him are Hayao Miyazaki (1941), Akira Kurosawa (1910), Yasujirō Ozu (1903), Isao Takahata (1935), and Takeshi Kitano (1947). After him are Shohei Imamura (1926), Masaki Kobayashi (1916), Nagisa Oshima (1932), Hirokazu Kore-eda (1962), Hideaki Anno (1960), and Franklin J. Schaffner (1920).

Japanese born Film Directors

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Filmography

Ugetsu
Director
In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.
Mar 26o 19538 / 10
Sansho the Bailiff
Director
In medieval Japan, a woman and his children journey to find the family's patriarch, who was exiled years before.
Mar 31o 19548.097 / 10
The Life of Oharu
Director
In Edo Period Japan, a noblewoman's banishment for her love affair with a lowly page signals the beginning of her inexorable fall.
Apr 17o 19527.8 / 10