The following table is a selected list of awards and honors given to the Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa.
The following table is a selected list of awards and honors given to the Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa.
The list represents three categories of film awards or honors:
For reasons of space, two categories of awards have been excluded from the table below:
The information in the table is derived from the IMDb Akira Kurosawa awards page [1] and the IMDb awards pages for the individual films, supplemented by the filmography by Kurosawa’s biographer, Stuart Galbraith IV, [2] unless otherwise noted.
Key: (NK) = Not known; (P) = Posthumous award
| Year of Award or Honor (if known) | Name of Award or Honor | Awarding Organization (if known) | Country of Origin | Given for... | Film Title (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (NK) | Sadao Yamanaka Prize | (NK) | Japan | Film | Sanshiro Sugata (1943) |
| (NK) | The National Incentive Film Prize [Shared with Torii Kyouemon] | (NK) | Japan | Film | Sanshiro Sugata |
| 1948 | Mainichi Film Concours | Mainichi Shimbun (newspaper) | Japan | Directing | One Wonderful Sunday (1947) |
| 1949 | Kinema Jumpo Award (Critics' Award) | Kinema Jumpo magazine | Japan | Film | Drunken Angel (1948) |
| 1949 | Mainichi Film Concours | Mainichi Shimbun | Japan | Film | Drunken Angel |
| (NK) | Geijutsusai (Arts Festival) Grand Prize | Ministry of Education | Japan | Film | Stray Dog (1949) |
| 1951 | Blue Ribbon Award | The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists | Japan | Screenplay (with Shinobu Hashimoto) | Rashomon (1950) |
| 1951 | Golden Lion (First prize) [note 1] | Venice Film Festival | Italy | Film | Rashomon |
| 1951 | NBR Award | National Board of Review | USA | Film, Directing | Rashomon |
| 1952 | Honorary Award - Outstanding Foreign Language Film [note 2] | AMPAS (Academy Award) | USA | Film | Rashomon |
| 1953 | Kinema Jumpo Award | Kinema Jumpo magazine | Japan | Film | Ikiru (1952) |
| 1953 | Mainichi Film Concours | Mainichi Shimbun | Japan | Film, Screenplay (with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni) | Ikiru |
| (NK) | Arts Festival | Ministry of Education | Japan | Film | Ikiru |
| 1954 | Special Prize of the Senate of Berlin | Berlin Film Festival | West Germany | Film | Ikiru |
| 1954 | Silver Lion of St. Mark (Second Prize) | Venice Film Festival | Italy | Film | Seven Samurai (1954) |
| 1959 | Diploma of Merit | Jussi Award | Finland | Directing | Seven Samurai |
| 1959 | Blue Ribbon Award | The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists | Japan | Film | The Hidden Fortress (1958) |
| 1959 | Silver Berlin Bear | Berlin Film Festival | West Germany | Directing | The Hidden Fortress |
| 1959 | FIPRESCI Prize | The International Federation of Film Critics (Berlin Film Festival) | West Germany | Film | The Hidden Fortress |
| 1961 | Golden Laurel Award [3] | David O. Selznick | USA | Film | Ikiru |
| 1964 | Mainichi Film Concours | Mainichi Shimbun | Japan | Film, Screenplay (with Ryuzo Kikushima, Eijiro Hisaita and Hideo Oguni) | High and Low (1963) |
| 1964 | Golden Laurel Award | David O. Selznick | USA | Film | High and Low |
| 1965 | Asahi Culture Prize | Asahi Shimbun | Japan | Film | Red Beard (1965) |
| 1965 | Foreign Honorary Member [4] | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | USA | Career | |
| 1965 | Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts | Ramon Magsaysay Award | Philippines | Career | |
| 1965 | OCIC Award | OCIC (later Signis) (Venice Film Festival) | Italy | Directing | Red Beard |
| (NK) | Soviet Filmmakers' Association Prize [5] | Moscow Film Festival | USSR | Film | Red Beard |
| (NK) | Million Pearl Award | Tokyo Roei | Japan | Film | Red Beard |
| (NK) | NHK Award | NHK (broadcaster) | Japan | Film | Red Beard |
| 1966 | Blue Ribbon Award | The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists | Japan | Film | Red Beard |
| 1966 | Mainichi Film Concours | Mainichi Shimbun | Japan | Film | Red Beard |
| 1966 | Kinema Jumpo Award | Kinema Jumpo magazine | Japan | Film Directing | Red Beard |
| (NK) | Geijutsusai (Arts Festival) Prize for Excellence [5] | Ministry of Education | Japan | Film | Dodesukaden (aka, Dodeskaden) (1970) |
| 1975 | Golden Prize [6] | 9th Moscow International Film Festival | USSR | Film | Dersu Uzala (1975) |
| 1975 | FIPRESCI Prize | The International Federation of Film Critics (Moscow Film Festival) | USSR | Film | Dersu Uzala |
| 1976 | Best Foreign Language Film | AMPAS (Academy Awards) | USA | Film | Dersu Uzala |
| 1977 | David | David di Donatello Awards | Italy | Directing | Dersu Uzala |
| 1977 | Silver Ribbon | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Italy | Film | Dersu Uzala |
| 1978 | Prix Léon Moussinac | Syndicate of French Film Critics | France | Film | Dersu Uzala |
| 1978 | Golden Halo | Southern California Motion Picture Council | USA | Film | Dersu Uzala |
| 1979 | Honorary Prize | 11th Moscow International Film Festival | USSR | Career [7] | - |
| 1980 | Palme d'Or (First Prize) | Cannes Film Festival | France | Film | Kagemusha (1980) |
| 1980 | Hochi Film Award | Hochi Shimbun (newspaper) | Japan | Film | Kagemusha |
| 1981 | Blue Ribbon Award | The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists | Japan | Film | Kagemusha |
| 1981 | Mainichi Film Concours | Mainichi Shimbun | Japan | Film, Directing | Kagemusha |
| 1981 | Reader's Choice Award | Mainichi Shimbun | Japan | Film | Kagemusha |
| 1981 | César | César Awards | France | Film | Kagemusha |
| 1981 | David | David di Donatello Awards | Italy | Directing | Kagemusha |
| 1981 | BAFTA Film Award | BAFTA | UK | Directing | Kagemusha |
| 1981 | Silver Ribbon | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Italy | Directing | Kagemusha |
| 1982 | Career Golden Lion | Venice Film Festival | Italy | Career | - |
| 1985 | LAFCA Award | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | USA | Film, Career | Ran (1985) |
| 1985 | NBR Award | National Board of Review | USA | Film, Directing | Ran |
| 1985 | OCIC Award | OCIC (later Signis) (San Sebastián Film Festival) | Spain | Film | Ran |
| 1985 | BSFC Award | Boston Society of Film Critics | USA | Film | Ran |
| 1985 | NFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle | USA | Film | Ran |
| 1986 | NSFC Award | National Society of Film Critics | USA | Film | Ran |
| 1986 | Amanda Award | Norwegian International Film Festival | Norway | Film | Ran |
| 1986 | Blue Ribbon Award | The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists | Japan | Film | Ran |
| 1986 | Bodil | Bodil Awards | Denmark | Film | Ran |
| 1986 | David | David di Donatello Awards | Italy | directing | Ran |
| 1986 | Mainichi Film Concours | Mainichi Shimbun | Japan | Film, Directing | Ran |
| 1986 | Golden Jubilee Award | Directors Guild of America | USA | Career | - |
| 1986 | Akira Kurosawa Award [note 3] | San Francisco International Film Festival | USA | Career | - |
| 1987 | BAFTA Film Award | BAFTA | UK | Film | Ran |
| 1987 | ALFS Award | London Film Critics' Circle | UK | Film, Directing | Ran |
| 1989 | Lifetime Achievement Award [8] | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy Awards | USA | Career | |
| 1990 | Special Prize | Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize | Japan | Career | |
| 1992 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Directors Guild of America | USA | Career | |
| 1994 | Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy | Inamori Foundation | Japan | Career | |
| 1998 | Special Award (for his work) (P) | Nikkan Sports Film Award | Japan | Career | - |
| 1999 | Lifetime Achievement Award (P) | Awards of the Japanese Academy | Japan | Career | - |
| 1999 | Blue Ribbon Award Special Award (for his work) (P) | The Association of Tokyo Film Journalists | Japan | Career | - |
| 1999 | Mainichi Film Concours Special Award (for his work) (P) | Mainichi Shimbun | Japan | Career | - |
| 1999 | Asian of the Century Award (Arts, Literature and Culture) (P) | CNN AsianWeek (US) | USA | Career | - |
| Year of Award | Name of Award | Native Name | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Person of Cultural Merit | 文化功労者 |  Japan | [9] |
| 1981 | Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic | Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana |  Italy | [10] |
| 1984 | Officer of the Legion of Honour | Officier du Légion d'honneur |  France | [11] |
| 1985 | Order of Culture | 文化勲章 | Japan | [12] |
| Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters | Commandeur du Ordre des Arts et des Lettres | France | [13] | |
| 1986 | Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic | Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana | Italy | [14] |
| 1992 | Praemium Imperiale | 高松宮殿下記念世界文化賞 | Japan | [9] |
| 1998 | People's Honour Award | 国民栄誉賞 | Japan | (P) [15] |
| Junior Third Rank | 従三位 | Japan | (P) [15] |
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who directed 30 films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dynamic style, strongly influenced by Western cinema yet distinct from it; he was involved with all aspects of film production.
Ran is a 1985 epic historical action drama film directed, co-written, and edited by Akira Kurosawa. The plot derives from William Shakespeare's King Lear and includes segments based on legends of the daimyō Mōri Motonari. The film stars Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora Ichimonji, an aging Sengoku-period warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons.
Throne of Blood is a 1957 Japanese jidaigeki film co-written, produced, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya. The film transposes the plot of English dramatist William Shakespeare's play Macbeth (1606) from Medieval Scotland to feudal Japan, with stylistic elements drawn from Noh drama. The film stars Toshiro Mifune and Isuzu Yamada in the lead roles, modelled on the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. A leading figure in the Japanese film industry, he often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commanding screen presence.
Rashomon is a 1950 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay he co-wrote with Shinobu Hashimoto. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura, it follows various people who describe how a samurai was murdered in a forest. The plot and characters are based upon Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's short story "In a Grove", with the title and framing story taken from Akutagawa's "Rashōmon". Every element is largely identical, from the murdered samurai speaking through a Shinto psychic to the bandit in the forest, the monk, the assault of the wife, and the dishonest retelling of the events in which everyone shows their ideal self by lying.
Red Beard is a 1965 Japanese jidaigeki film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa, in his last collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune. Based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's 1959 short story collection, Akahige Shinryōtan, the film takes place in Koishikawa, a district of Edo, towards the end of the Tokugawa period, and is about the relationship between a town doctor and his new trainee. Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel Humiliated and Insulted provided the source for a subplot about a young girl, Otoyo, who is rescued from a brothel.
Yojimbo is a 1961 Japanese samurai film directed by Akira Kurosawa, who also co-wrote the screenplay and was one of the producers. The film stars Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Takashi Shimura, Kamatari Fujiwara, and Atsushi Watanabe. In the film, a rōnin arrives in a small town where competing crime lords fight for supremacy. The two bosses each try to hire the newcomer as a bodyguard.
Shunya Itō is a Japanese film director known for starting the Sasori / Female Prisoner Scorpion series of 1970s exploitation films starring Meiko Kaji. Itō worked for Toei Company for most of his career. In 1972, he won a Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Citation for his first film, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion.
Stray Dog is a 1949 Japanese crime drama noir film directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. It was Kurosawa's second film of 1949 produced by the Film Art Association and released by Shintoho. It is also considered a detective movie that explores the mood of Japan during its painful postwar recovery. The film is also considered a precursor to the contemporary police procedural and buddy cop film genres, based on its premise of pairing two cops with different personalities and motivations together on a difficult case.
High and Low is a 1963 Japanese police procedural crime film directed and edited by Akira Kurosawa and written by Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Eijiro Hisaita, and Ryûzô Kikushima. The film is loosely based on the 1959 novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain. It follows the story of a board member for a Japanese company who is forced to make a decision between using a vast amount of wealth to gain executive control and helping his employee by lending him the money to free his child from kidnappers.
The Bad Sleep Well is a 1960 Japanese neo-noir crime mystery film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was the first film to be produced under Kurosawa's own independent production company. It was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.
Dersu Uzala is a 1975 Soviet-Japanese biographical adventure drama film directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa, his only non-Japanese-language film and his only 70mm film.
After the Rain is a 1999 Japanese and French film. The story is based on the last script written by Akira Kurosawa and is directed by his former assistant director of 28 years, Takashi Koizumi. It was awarded a Japanese Academy Award in 1999. It was chosen as Best Film at the Japan Academy Prize ceremony. It was Japan's official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 73rd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Fumio Hayasaka was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores.
Kei Kumai was a Japanese film director from Azumino, Nagano prefecture. After his studies in literature at Shinshu University, he began work as a director's assistant.
Stuart Eugene Galbraith IV is an American film historian, film critic, essayist, and audio commentator.
A number of Akira Kurosawa's films have been remade.
Iwao Ōtani was a Japanese recording engineer who worked with influential film directors Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi.
Mifune: The Last Samurai, also known as Mifune, is a 2015 biographical documentary directed and co-written by Steven Okazaki. It chronicles the life of Toshiro Mifune, a Japanese actor and international star most noted for playing samurai characters in films by Akira Kurosawa.