Over its 100-year-plus history, the cinema of Japan, with all its distinctive themes, aesthetic approaches, and eccentricities, has proven to be one of the most influential in the canon of world cinema. From the classical era to the Japanese New Wave, the nation’s cinema has established countless genres, character archetypes, and visual motifs that have become thoroughly ingrained in the global cinematic language.
The Japanese film industry has a long and rich history that has birthed many of the most visionary filmmakers the world has ever known. In the following list, we’ve narrowed it down to 25 of its greatest and most influential directors, whose enormous contributions to the art form cannot be overstated.
25Satoshi Kon
Satoshi Konwas a revolutionary filmmaker and artistknown for his offbeat anime filmsand a distinct predilection for surreal, dream-like narratives. Among his most famous films are the psychological thrillerPerfect Blue, the Christmas classicTokyo Godfathers, and the thought-provoking sci-fi filmPaprika. Unfortunately, Kon died of pancreatic cancer at the young age of 46, but his legacy as one of the most hugely influential animated film directors lives on.
As Collider explains, “Though his filmmaking career was unfortunately short, Satoshi Kon’s four-movie run is essentially unmatched when it comes to consistency and quality in the world of animation.”
24Kinji Fukasaku
Kinji Fukasakuwas a director and screenwriter who found great acclaim in the 1970s for his series of gritty, documentary-style yakuza movies entitledBattles Without Honor and Humanity. These sweeping gangster epics set an innovative and nihilistic new standard for Japanese crime thrillers, and have been compared favorably to Francis Ford Coppola’s seminalGodfatherfilms.
In addition to theBattlesfilms, Fukasaku directed the highly influential thrillerBattle Royale, which has a dedicated cult following and went on to influence a number of other popular properties, such asThe Hunger Gamesseries.
23Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Ryusuke Hamaguchiis the acclaimed director of numerous award-winning films, who, since his first film released in 2008, has established himself asone of the top directors of the 21st century. Known for such modern classics asDrive My Carand the brilliantAsako I and II, Hamaguchi is a maverick filmmaker whose classical Hollywood-influenced films are now going on to influence a new generation of filmmakers.
22Hideaki Anno
Hideaki Annois an animator and director known for revolutionizing the anime industry with his seriesNeon Genesis Evangelionand its related feature films. TheEvangelionseries not only revitalized and set a new standard for anime, but it also inspired such legendary filmmakers as Guillermo del Toro and Jordan Peele.
Additionally, his brilliant 2016 reboot of theGodzillafranchise,Shin Godzilla, ushered in a new era of kaiju films that continues to this day. A true auteur filmmaker, Anno’s influence on anime, popular culture, and global cinema is immeasurable.
21Mika Ninagawa
Mika Ninagawais a pioneering photographer, producer, and director that, with her unconventional and visionary style, has made a name for herself in the male-dominated Japanese film industry. Her 2012 live-action adaptation of the popular mangaHelter Skelterwon widespread critical acclaim for its lush visuals and stylish direction. Similar praise has been showered on her most recent feature filmDiner, as well as her vibrant, industry-rejuvenating music video for idol group AKB48’s international smash hit “Heavy Rotation.”
20Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano, also known as Beat Takeshi, is an actor, comedian, television host, and film director known worldwide for his idiosyncratic filmography of comedies, dramas, surrealist autobiographical films, and violent crime thrillers. His filmHana-biand theOutragetrilogy earned him widespread recognition and numerous awards, and his extremely well-received 2003 filmZatōichimarked a revival of global interest in samurai cinema.
19Kōji Wakamatsu
Kōji Wakamatsuwas a director and provocateur known for grisly and politically-charged exploitation films. An ex-yakuza member and a pioneering figure in the “pink film” (pinku eiga) genre, Wakamatsu’s cheap, sensationalist pictures were loaded with violence, sex, and not-so-subtle social commentary, but they were also characterized by gorgeous cinematography and innovative filming techniques.
An important figure in the Japanese New Wave movement, Wakamatsu was an eccentric artist who helped to reshape Japanese cinema into what it is today.
18Makoto Shinkai
Makoto Shinkaiis an animator, artist, and filmmaker whose long career has proffered up some of the mostemotionally engaging and visually stunning animated filmsof the 21st century. His last three films – 2016’sYour Name, 2019’sWeathering with You, and 2022’sSuzume– were all colossal hits both in his native Japan and abroad, and cemented his status as a highly influential filmmaker with global appeal.
17Takashi Miike
Maker of many of the strangest andmost extreme Japanese horror and action movies ever made, the daring and prolificTakashi Miikeboasts a vast filmography that has influenced and inspired many filmmakers who have followed in his wake. Celebrated the world over for his controversial horror epicsIchi the KillerandAudition, as well as samurai masterpieces13 AssassinsandBlade of the Immortal, Miike is both a visionary and an unrelenting work-horse.
His influence continues to grow every day, as those modern classics are just the tip of the iceberg; Miike has over 100 films to his name, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
16Kon Ichikawa
Kon Ichikawawas an award-winning director famed for his grim anti-war films and his impressionistic, genre-redefining documentaryTokyo Olympiad. Although he’s not generally recognized as an auteur filmmaker, he’s an important modernist artist that helped to connect the classical era of Japanese cinema to the innovative and socially-conscious Japanese New Wave of the ‘60s.
His keen eye for abstract compositions and predilection for stories about outcasts and rebels would prove highly influential on later filmmakers who followed in his footsteps.
