Sadao Yamanaka

(1909-1938)

Japanese film director

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Sadao Yamanaka (山中貞雄, Yamanaka Sadao; November 7, 1909 – September 17, 1938) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed about 24 films between 1932 and 1937, all in the jidaigeki genre, of which only three survive in nearly complete form (all of them sound films). He is considered a master filmmaker in his native Japan and one of the greatest talents of his generation alongside Yasujirō Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi. He was one of the primary figures in the development of the jidaigeki (period drama), especially the samurai subgenre. His films are notable for their emphasis on character over action, and on ninjō over giri. Yamanaka died of dysentery in Manchuria after being drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army. He is the uncle of the Japanese film director Tai Kato, who wrote a book about Yamanaka, Eiga kantoku Yamanaka Sadao.