Biography
Asakazu Nakai (29 August 1901 – 28 February 1988) was a Japanese cinematographer born in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. He is best known for his long collaboration with director Akira Kurosawa, serving as director of photography on eleven of the filmmaker's projects.
His credits with Kurosawa include Stray Dog (1949), Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Throne of Blood (1957), High and Low (1963), Red Beard (1965), Dersu Uzala (1975) and Ran (1985). He won the Mainichi Film Award for Best Cinematography for Stray Dog and received an Academy Award nomination for Ran.
