Yōjirō Takita is a Japanese filmmaker. Takita received an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for his 2008 drama Departures. It marked the first time a Japanese film won the award after the category first became competitive in 1957.
Pink film refers in Japan to movies produced by independent studios that includes nudity or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. Many pink films would be analogous to erotic thrillers, e.g. Fatal Attraction, Fifty Shades of Grey, Basic Instinct, 9½ Weeks.
In Japan, Adult Videos (AV) are sex or nudity themed videos distinguishable from Toei porno feature films, Nikkatsu Roman Porno feature films, indie studio pink films, and less sex-centred 'V-cinema' or original video Original Videos (OV) on the other. Adult videos feature sex or nudity, and may not in some cases have a storyline. They are released initially on video, and pass inspection by an adult video ethics committee originally the Nihon Ethics of Video Association (NEVA), which enforced the placement of video-masking mosaics over pubic hair or genitalia. Toei Porno, Nikkatsu Roman Porno and Pink films are also often concerned with sex, but they are shown first in movie theatres, and are rated by Eirin, rather than an adult video ethics organization. The mainstream studio Nikkatsu filmed its Roman Porno line from 1971 through 1988. V-cinema or OV also tend to have a story, but sex if present is less central, and they were released directly to VHS or recently DVD, Blu-Ray or streaming without being first shown in a movie theatre. Many V-cinema works are produced by video-focused subsidiaries of the big film studios, e.g. SHV Cinema for Shochiku. OV can be rated by the Eirin or Eizourin depending on the content.
Ryūichi Hiroki is a Japanese film director. He won critical acclaim for 800 Two Lap Runners. Film critic and researcher Alexander Jacoby has described Hiroki as "one of the modern Japanese cinema's most intelligent students of character".
The Pink Grand Prix or PG Film Prize is an annual Japanese film award ceremony which recognizes excellence in the pink film genre. Referred to by Miho Toda as the "Academy Awards of the Pink Film", the ceremony attracts a diverse audience of industry personnel, film scholars and the general public.
A Lonely Cow Weeps at Dawn aka A Cow at Daybreak and Cowshed of Immorality (2003) is a Japanese pink film directed by Daisuke Gotō and starring Ryōko Asagi and Horyu Nakamura. It has been shown in film festivals, and was named the fifth best pink film released in the year 2003.
Sexy Battle Girls AKA Target Campus: Attack the Uniform is a Japanese Pink film directed by Mototsugu Watanabe and starring Kyōko Hashimoto, Hotaru Yukijiro, and Yutaka Ikejima. It was released in Japan in June 1986. The film first appeared in the United States as Sexy Battle Girls at the San Francisco Independent film festival on February 14, 2009. It was released on DVD in the United States on February 23, 2009.
Shūji Kataoka a.k.a. Yasui Shūchi is a Japanese director and screenwriter primarily known for his work in pink films but who has also worked in adult videos (AV) and in mainstream film.
Shirō Shimomoto is a Japanese pink film actor and director from Osaka, Japan. He has been called "one of the most individual actors" in the world of pink film.
Yutaka Ikejima is a Japanese film director, actor, and producer. Considered the most successful filmmaker in the pink film genre in the 2000s, his films are popular with traditional pink film audiences, fans of cinema, and with critics. Because of his prolific contributions to the pink film he has earned the nickname "Mr. Pink".
Rinako Hirasawa is a Japanese AV idol and pink film actress. She has appeared in award-winning pink films, and was given a "Best Actress" award for her work in this genre in 2007.
Minami Aoyama is a Japanese former pink film actress and AV idol. She appeared in award-winning pink films, and was herself given a Best Actress award for her work in this genre in 2006.
Kyōko Kazama is a Japanese AV idol and pink film actress. She has appeared in award-winning pink films, and was herself given a "Best Supporting Actress" award in two successive years for her work in this genre in 2006 and 2007.
Megumi Makihara is a Japanese actress known for her appearances in the pink film genre. She has appeared in award-winning pink films, and was herself given a "Best Actress" award for her work in 1997.
Million Film (ミリオンフィルム) was one of the early independent studios which produced pink films. Along with OP Eiga, Shintōhō Eiga, Kantō and Kōji Wakamatsu's production studio, Million Film was one of the most influential on the genre during its first decade. Many of the most prominent directors and performers in the pink film genre worked for Million Film.
OP Eiga (オーピー映画), also known as Ōkura Eiga (大蔵映画) or Okura Pictures, is the largest and one of the oldest independent Japanese studios which produce and distribute pink films. It was founded in 1961 by Mitsuru Ōkura, former president of film studio Shintōhō. Along with Shintōhō Eiga, Kantō, Million Film, and Kōji Wakamatsu's production studio, Ōkura was one of the most influential studios on the pink film genre. Among the many notable pink films released by the studio are Satoru Kobayashi's Flesh Market (1962), the first film in the pink film genre.
Miki Takakura is a Japanese gravure idol and pink film actress who was active in the 1980s and rose to prominence as Nikkatsu's "SM Queen" from 1983 to 1985.
Elly Akira is a Japanese AV actress and adult model. She was formerly known as Yuka Osawa and Hitomi Nishikawa. A highly prolific performer, she had appeared in more than 900 adult videos, with 800 currently listed on the site of the major Japanese video retailer DMM.
Shintōhō Eiga is a Japanese pink film production company and film distributor located in Tokyo, Japan which has been among the most influential studios in the pink film genre since its beginnings.
