Biography
Shinobu Hashimoto (18 April 1918 – 19 July 2018) was a Japanese screenwriter, film director and producer. Born in Tsurui, Ichikawa, Hyōgo Prefecture, he enlisted in the army in 1938 but contracted tuberculosis and spent four years in a veterans' sanitarium. While recovering, a film magazine sparked his interest in screenwriting; he completed a screenplay based on his experiences and sent it to Mansaku Itami, who became his mentor.
Hashimoto collaborated frequently with Akira Kurosawa, contributing to eight screenplays between 1950 and 1970. His credits include Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Throne of Blood (1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958), The Bad Sleep Well (1960) and Dodes'ka-den (1970). He also wrote screenplays for other directors, including Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967), and directed three films of his own, among them I Want to Be a Shellfish (1959).
