隠し砦の三悪人
was a Japanese writer and film producer who is best known for co-writing the screenplays for several Akira Kurosawa films, including "Throne of Blood", "The Hidden Fortress", "Yojimbo" and "High and Low". He also produced several of Kurosawa's early 1960s films. In addition to his work with Kurosawa, screenplays he wrote or co-wrote include "Tora! Tora! Tora!", Hiroshi Inagaki's "Arashi" and "The Birth of Japan", and Mikio Naruse's "When a Woman Ascends the Stairs", on which he also served as producer.