---
name: "Nagisa Ōshima"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/nagisa-oshima"
fi1m_id: "nagisa-oshima"
imdb_id: "nm0651915"
tmdb_id: 46230
wikidata_id: "Q55403"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "31 March 1932"
died: "15 January 2013"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "director"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-26T00:07:41.646642+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."
---

# Nagisa Ōshima

## Identity

Nagisa Ōshima

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/nagisa-oshima
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** nagisa-oshima
- **IMDb ID:** nm0651915
- **TMDB ID:** 46230
- **Wikidata ID:** Q55403
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagisa_%C5%8Cshima, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55403, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0651915/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/46230

Director. Born 31 March 1932 in Okayama, Japan. Died 15 January 2013.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 31 March 1932, Okayama, Japan
- **Died:** 15 January 2013
- **Also known as:** 大島 渚, Nagisa Ooshima, Нагиса Осима, Nagisa Ôshima
- **Cannes Film Festival:** 1 Cannes prize (1 won)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagisa_%C5%8Cshima, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55403, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0651915/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/46230

## Biography

Nagisa Ōshima (大島 渚) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He was born on 31 March 1932 and died on 15 January 2013. After studying law and politics at Kyoto University, he began working as an assistant director at Shochiku studios and made his feature debut with *A Town of Love and Hope* in 1959.

Ōshima directed and wrote *In the Realm of the Senses* (1976), an explicit drama based on a real 1930s case. His other notable films include *Empire of Passion* (1978), *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence* (1983) and *Taboo* (1999). He was associated with the Japanese New Wave and often explored themes of rebellion, authority and sexuality.

He was married to actress Akiko Koyama, who appeared in several of his films. Ōshima remained active until the late 1990s despite health issues later in life.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, bbc.com, nytimes.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *In the Realm of the Senses* (1976), Fi1m 74, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/in-the-realm-of-the-senses.md)

## Complete filmography (50)

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

- *Short Cuts : In the Realm of the Senses* (2016), Original Film Writer
- *The Oshima Gang* (2010), Actor
- *What's a Director?* (2006), Actor
- *Taboo* (1999), Director, Screenplay
- *100 Years of Japanese Cinema* (1995), Director, Writer
- *Kyoto, My Mother's Place* (1991), Director, Writer
- *ΦIDEA* (1988), Actor
- *Max My Love* (1986), Director, Writer
- *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence* (1983), Screenplay, Director
- *The Man Who Left His Soul on Film* (1983), Actor
- *Cinématon* (1978), as N°806
- *Empire of Passion* (1978), Writer, Director
- *Yokoi and His Twenty-Eight Years of Secret Life on Guam* (1977), Director
- *Yakuza Graveyard* (1976), as Chief Omura
- *In the Realm of the Senses* (1976), Director, Writer — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/in-the-realm-of-the-senses.md)
- *A Life of Mao* (1976), Director, Writer
- *Rahman: Father of Bengal* (1973), as Interviewer · Director
- *The Journey of the Blind Musicians* (1972), Director
- *Dear Summer Sister* (1972), Writer, Director
- *ジョイ！バングラ* (1972), Director
- *The Giants* (1972), Director
- *The Ceremony* (1971), Director, Screenplay
- *The Man Who Left His Will on Film* (1970), Director, Story
- *Boy* (1969), Director
- *Mao Tse-Tung and the Cultural Revolution* (1969), Director, Writer
- *Diary of a Shinjuku Thief* (1969), Editor, Director, Writer
- *When Twilight Draws Near* (1969), Writer
- *Band of Ninja Pilot* (1969), Director
- *The Greater  East Asian War* (1968), Director, Writer
- *Three Resurrected Drunkards* (1968), Writer, Director
- *Death by Hanging* (1968), as Narrator (voice) · Director, Screenplay, Producer
- *Japanese Summer: Double Suicide* (1967), Writer, Director
- *Sing a Song of Sex* (1967), Director, Writer
- *Band of Ninja* (1967), Screenplay, Director, Producer
- *Violence at Noon* (1966), Director
- *Diary of Yunbogi* (1965), Director, Producer, Writer
- *Pleasures of the Flesh* (1965), Director, Screenplay
- *The Dawn of Asia* (1964), series, Director
- *A Rebel's Fortress* (1964), Director, Screenplay
- *Watashi-wa beretto* (1964), Director, Screenplay
- *The Forgotten Imperial Army* (1963), Director, Screenplay
- *Chiisana bōken ryokō* (1963), Director
- *The Christian Revolt* (1962), Writer, Director
- *The Catch* (1961), Director
- *Night and Fog in Japan* (1960), Writer, Director
- *The Sun's Burial* (1960), Director, Screenplay
- *Cruel Story of Youth* (1960), Director, Screenplay
- *Street of Love and Hope* (1959), Writer, Director
- *Donto ikōze* (1959), Screenplay
- *Tomorrow's Sun* (1959), Director, Writer

## Gallery

- ![Nagisa Ōshima](https://film.one/media/person/3920430/gallery-dcdc998b122d.jpg) Nagisa Ōshima — 映画評論社, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Eiga-Hyoron-1962-February-1-revised.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Nagisa Ōshima](https://film.one/media/person/3920430/gallery-e58c46dc2fff.jpg) Nagisa Ōshima — Rita Molnár, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Nagisa_Oshima_at_Cannes_in_2000.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![小山明子、大島渚 (1960)](https://film.one/media/person/3920430/gallery-d4feea8921f0.jpg) 小山明子、大島渚 (1960) — キネマ旬報社, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Kinema-Junpo-1960-December-early-1.jpg/1280px-Kinema-Junpo-1960-December-early-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![​大島渚、小山明子 (1961)](https://film.one/media/person/3920430/gallery-c580938f1ba7.jpg) ​大島渚、小山明子 (1961) — 中日新聞社, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Chunichi1961-01-01-1.jpg/1280px-Chunichi1961-01-01-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Nagisa Ōshima](https://film.one/media/person/3920430/gallery-ddd6e707991d.jpg) Nagisa Ōshima — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Cannes Film Festival — 1 won

- 1978: Cannes Best Director Award (won), for *Empire of Passion*

### Other awards — 8 won, 7 nominated

- Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Director 2000: Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Director (won), for *Taboo*
- Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year 2000: Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year (nominated), for *Taboo*
- Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year 2000: Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year (nominated), for *Taboo*
- Japan Academy Prize for Screenplay of the Year 2000: Japan Academy Prize for Screenplay of the Year (nominated), for *Taboo*
- Medal with Purple Ribbon 2000: Medal with Purple Ribbon (won)
- Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year 1984: Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year (nominated), for *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence*
- Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year 1984: Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year (nominated), for *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence*
- Mainichi Film Award for Best Director 1984: Mainichi Film Award for Best Director (won), for *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence*
- Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay 1984: Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay (won), for *Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence*
- Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year 1979: Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year (nominated), for *Empire of Passion*
- Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year 1979: Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year (nominated), for *Empire of Passion*
- Sutherland Trophy 1976: Sutherland Trophy (won), for *In the Realm of the Senses*
- Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay 1972: Mainichi Film Award for Best Screenplay (won), for *The Ceremony*
- Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Newcomer 1961: Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Newcomer (won), for *Cruel Story of Youth*
- Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award 1961: Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award (won), for *Cruel Story of Youth*

*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/nagisa-oshima