Mikio Naruse

Considered a major figure of Japan's 'golden age of cinema', 'Mikio Naruse' (qv) was a filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed 89 films in the period 1930 to 1967. Although Naruse's work is lesser known in the twenty-first century than those of his contemporaries 'Akira Kurosawa' (qv), 'Kenji Mizoguchi' (qv), and 'Yasujirô Ozu' (qv), his films remain unique in the way they give a central place to female characters. While neither Naruse or his audiences would have identified themselves as 'feminist', these films tend to challenge the rigid gender norms of Japanese society. Among 'Mikio Naruse' (qv)'s most noted films, of which many can be described as bleak social drama (or shomin-geki = ordinary people drama), are _Sound of the Mountain (1954)_ (qv), _Bangiku (1954)_ (qv), _Floating Clouds (1955)_ (qv).::Nigi