---
name: "Jūzō Itami"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/juzo-itami"
fi1m_id: "juzo-itami"
imdb_id: "nm0411631"
tmdb_id: 69167
wikidata_id: "Q1325171"
roles: ["Producer","Director"]
born: "15 May 1933"
died: "20 December 1997"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 0
updated: "2026-09-26T01:30:56.722613+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jūzō Itami

## Identity

Jūzō Itami

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/juzo-itami
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** juzo-itami
- **IMDb ID:** nm0411631
- **TMDB ID:** 69167
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1325171
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juzo_Itami, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1325171, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411631/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/69167

Producer and director. Born 15 May 1933 in Kyoto, Japan. Died 20 December 1997.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer, Director
- **Born:** 15 May 1933, Kyoto, Japan
- **Died:** 20 December 1997
- **Also known as:** Ichizô Itami, Jûzô Itami, Itami Juzo, Itami Jūzō, Yoshihiro Ikeuchi, Ikeuchi Yoshihiro, 池内義弘, Itami Juuzou, Juuzou Itami, Juzo Itami, 伊丹一三
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juzo_Itami, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1325171, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0411631/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/69167

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Tampopo*](https://film.one/film/tampopo.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Jūzō Itami was a Japanese actor, screenwriter and film director. Born Yoshihiro Ikeuchi in Kyoto on 15 May 1933, he took his professional name from his father, the pre-war director Mansaku Itami. He worked as an actor for two decades before directing his first feature, *The Funeral* (1984), at the age of 51.

Itami wrote and directed all his films, which were comic satires on Japanese customs and institutions. His second film, *Tampopo* (1985), which he also produced, brought him international recognition. Subsequent works included *A Taxing Woman* (1987) and *A Taxing Woman's Return* (1988). He was married to actress Nobuko Miyamoto, who starred in many of his films.

Itami died in Tokyo on 20 December 1997 after falling from the roof of his office building. The death was officially ruled a suicide.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Tampopo* (1985), Fi1m 84, Producer, Director, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/tampopo.md)

## Complete filmography (58)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *北の国から 記憶 前編* (2003), Actor
- *Woman in Witness Protection* (1997), Director, Screenplay
- *Supermarket Woman* (1996), Director, Screenplay
- *A Quiet Life* (1995), Director, Screenplay
- *The Last Dance* (1993), Director, Screenplay
- *Minbo, or The Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion* (1992), Writer, Director
- *Convenience Jack* (1992), Actor
- *Shirayuri Girls' Academy Western Archery Club: A Silver Target* (1991), Actor
- *Tales of a Golden Geisha* (1990), Director, Writer, Producer
- *Sweet Home* (1989), as Kenichi Yamamura · Executive Producer
- *A Taxing Woman's Return* (1988), Director, Screenplay
- *A Taxing Woman* (1987), Writer, Director
- *Tampopo* (1985), Producer, Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/tampopo.md)
- *Bumpkin Soup* (1985), as Professor Hirayama
- *The Funeral* (1984), Director, Screenplay
- *MacArthur's Children* (1984), as Hatano
- *Make-Up* (1984), as Kumakura
- *Choji Snack Bar* (1983), as Kawara
- *The Politicians* (1983), as Itakura
- *The Makioka Sisters* (1983), as Tatsuo
- *The Family Game* (1983), as Kosuke Numata
- *Kidnapping Blues* (1982), as Walking Man
- *Onna no naka no akuma* (1982), Actor
- *Toge no Gunzo* (1982), series, Actor
- *Island of the Evil Spirits* (1981), as Ryuhei Ochi
- *Baian the Assassin* (1981), as Sahei Oumiya
- *Play it, Boogie-Woogie* (1981), as Lawyer
- *Until Evening* (1980), as Sasa
- *No More Easy Life* (1979), as Takamizawa
- *Grass Labyrinth* (1979), as Principal / Priest / Old man
- *The Biggest Post-war Kidnapping: The Yoshinobu case* (1979), as Narration
- *Private Collections* (1979), as (segment "Kusa-Meikyu")
- *I Am a Cat* (1975), as Meitei
- *My Way* (1974), as Dr. Takagi
- *Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance* (1974), as Ransui Tokunaga
- *Sweet Secret* (1971), Actor
- *The Gentle Japanese* (1971), Actor
- *A Young Man's Stronghold* (1970), Actor
- *Heat Wave Island* (1969), as Iino
- *Team of Ruffians* (1969), Actor
- *Safari 5000* (1969), Actor
- *Even If Life Withers* (1968), as Shinji Sakaguchi
- *Tokyo 196X* (1968), as Kenkichi Godai
- *The Notorious Concubines* (1968), as Ximen Qing
- *The Young Eagles of the Kamikaze* (1968), Actor
- *Human Torpedoes* (1968), Actor
- *Parole* (1967), as Kenji Kijima
- *Sing a Song of Sex* (1967), as Ôtake
- *By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him* (1966), as Shunji Amemiya
- *Lord Jim* (1965), as Waris
- *The Flame of Devotion* (1964), as Takuji Yoshii
- *55 Days at Peking* (1963), as Col. Shiba
- *Rubber Band Pistol* (1962), Director, Screenplay
- *Ten Women in Black* (1961), as Hanamaki
- *The Big Wave* (1961), as Toru
- *Her Brother* (1960), as Son of Factory Owner
- *The False Student* (1960), as Sozo
- *Kirai Kirai Kirai* (1960), Actor

## Gallery

- ![Jūzō Itami](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-3c348d44dd68.jpg) Jūzō Itami — Gorup de Besanez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/1992_Juzo_Itami.jpg/1280px-1992_Juzo_Itami.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Juzo Itami and Nobuko Miyamoto (1992)](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-55eeac081f6d.jpg) Juzo Itami and Nobuko Miyamoto (1992) — Gorup de Besanez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/1992_Juzo_Itami_Nobuko_Miyamoto.jpg/1280px-1992_Juzo_Itami_Nobuko_Miyamoto.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jūzō Itami (1966)](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-b9bf00384143.jpg) Jūzō Itami (1966) — 婦人生活社　撮影者不明, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Itami_Juzo.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Lord Jim (1965)](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-067a7b1947f7.jpg) Lord Jim (1965) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Juzo-Itami-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Jūzō Itami](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-21cc983a11a8.jpg) Jūzō Itami — Image via TMDB
- ![Jūzō Itami](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-291fbc5d5dc2.jpg) Jūzō Itami — Image via TMDB
- ![Jūzō Itami](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-aa225180afbf.jpg) Jūzō Itami — Image via TMDB
- ![Jūzō Itami](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-4870872e227d.jpg) Jūzō Itami — Image via TMDB
- ![Jūzō Itami](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-8a90b4c8aabc.jpg) Jūzō Itami — Image via TMDB
- ![Jūzō Itami](https://film.one/media/person/3925258/gallery-2b949e5da3fc.jpg) Jūzō Itami — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won

- Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay 1988: Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay (won), for *A Taxing Woman*
- Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Director 1985: Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Director (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/juzo-itami