Born in 1935 and a survivor of the infamous Aomori air raids, Shuji lived a life committed to incendiary art and radical creativity that tackled and questioned social issues in renaissance fashion. Photography, art, theatre, and essays were employed with fiery vigor and insight. His works are infamous for their violent and sexual nature, but because of his societal respect within these visions he is seen as a darling of Nipponese society and a national treasure to this day. However, because of his wildly experimental tendencies he is often overlooked in Cinema lore here in the west.