Shinobu Hashimoto (, Hashimoto Shinobu; 18 April 1918 – 19 July 2018) was a Japanese screenwriter, director and producer. A frequent collaborator of Akira Kurosawa, he wrote the scripts for critically acclaimed films such as Rashomon and Seven Samurai, as well as the Samurai films Harakiri (1962) and Hitokiri (released in the US as Tenchu!) (1969).
Early life
Shinobu Hashimoto was born in Hyōgo Prefecture on 18 April 1918. In 1938, he enlisted in the army, but became ill with tuberculosis while still training and spent four years in a veterans' sanitarium. from 1950 to 1970 writing eight screenplays Kurosawa directed. He often worked with Hideo Oguni, Ryūzō Kikushima as well as Kurosawa himself on the scripts for those projects. Hashimoto wrote more than eighty screenplays, including Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai (1950), Throne of Blood (a 1957 adaptation of Macbeth set in Japan),<!-- (Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai), a post-World War II war crimes trial drama based on the 1959 Tetsutaro Kato novel and made into a film that same year. It was remade, directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa, and starring Yukie Nakama and Masahiro Nakai. -->
Later life and death
Hashimoto turned 100 in April 2018. He died in Tokyo on 19 July 2018 at the age of 100.
Awards and honors
- 1950: Blue Ribbon Award for Best Screenplay for Rashomon
- 1956: Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay for Mahiru no ankoku
- 1956: Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Screenplay for Mahiru no ankoku
- 1958: Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Screenplay for Summer Clouds and Stakeout
- 1958: Kinema Junpo's Best Screenwriter Award for The Hidden Fortress
- 1960: Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay for Black Art Book (:ja:黒い画集)
- 1962: Blue Ribbon Award for Best Screenplay for Harakiri
- 1974: Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay for Castle of Sand
<!--*1978, Elan d'or Award Special Prize -->
- 2015: Mainichi Film Award Special Prize for screenwriting
Filmography
Hashimoto is credited in the making of at least 85 films.