Background
He was born in Kobe and grew up in Yokohama.
松山 善三
He was born in Kobe and grew up in Yokohama.
After leaving school, he began training to become a doctor but dropped out of medical school to take up a career in films. In 1948 he became an assistant director at Shochiku studios. With the support of Keisuke Kinoshita, he also began writing film scripts.
His first filmed script was Kojo no tsuki, based on the song Kōjō no Tsuki, filmed in 1954.
He made his debut as a director with a film called Na mo naku mazushiku utsukushiku in 1961. He continued to work as a scriptwriter for films like Proof of the Manitoba as well as a director
He also wrote the lyrics for a song Ippon no enpitsu for Hibari Misora.