Biography
Tadaoto Kainoshō (also credited as 甲斐荘楠音 and 甲斐荘庄音) was a Japanese costume designer and historical researcher specialising in jidaigeki period dramas. Born in Kyoto in 1894, he trained at the Kyoto City School of Arts and Crafts and the Kyoto City Specialised School of Painting before working as a Nihonga painter. From the late 1930s he moved into film, providing costume design and verification of historical customs and objects.
He collaborated frequently with director Kenji Mizoguchi and contributed to more than 200 films, primarily at Shochiku, Toei and Daiei studios. His credits include costume design on The 47 Ronin (1941), Miss Oyu (1951) and Ugetsu (1953). For the latter he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design (black-and-white) in 1956. He died in 1978.
