Background

Shiro Toyoda was born on January 3, 1906 in Kyoto, Japan.

Education

He graduated from the 1st Middle School. Toyoda moved to Tokyo in his teens and began studying under the pioneering film director Eizō Tanaka.

Career

Shiro Toyoda joined Shōchiku's Kamata studio in 1924 and worked as an assistant director under Yasujirō Shimazu. He debuted as a director in 1929 and moved to the independent Tokyo Hassei studio in 1935, where he scored a hit with Young People and gained a reputation for directing literary adaptations with a humanistic touch.

After a slump during World War II, he became one of the top directors at Toho (into which Tokyo Hassei had merged during the war), famed for his adaptations of literary works by such giants as Yasunari Kawabata, Kafū Nagai, Naoya Shiga, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Masuji Ibuse, and Ango Sakaguchi. He was particularly known for portraying weak men and strong women with a humorous touch, such as in films like Meoto zenzai (1955). His career continued until the 1970s.

Works

More photos

• Filmography

  • The Wild Geese

    (Otama (Hideko Takamine) is a young woman who has previous...)

    1953

  • New Faces of 1937

    (A crooked theatrical producer deliberately sets about cre...)

    1937

  • Irodorareru kuchibiru

    1929

  • Tokai o oyogu onna

    1929

  • Yūai kekkon

    1930

  • Kokoro ogoreru onna

    1931

  • Meoto zenzai

    1955

  • Snow Country

    1958

  • Sweet Sweat

    1964

  • Illusion of Blood

    1965