Shiro Toyoda

Shirō Toyoda (豊田 四郎, Toyoda Shirō, January 3, 1906 – November 13, 1977) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter & occasional actor.
After bypassing university studies to join Shochiku in 1924, Shiro Toyoda began directing at a relatively young age, starting out with silent films in his native Kyoto in 1929. In 1937, Toyoda moved to Tokyo, where he scored his first major success with Wakai hito (Young Person). After joining Toho, he accepted a number of different kinds of assignments, but remained best known for stately literary adaptations such as Yukiguni (1957). Like many Toho directors, he also turned his hand to special effects extravaganza (Byaku fugin no yoren, 1956) and the occasional ghost story (Yotsuya Kaidan, 1968).
== Career ==
Born in Kyoto, Toyoda moved to Tokyo in his teens and began studying under the pioneering film director Eizō Tanaka. He joined Shōchiku's Kamata studio in 1924 and worked as an assistant director under Yasujirō Shimazu. He debuted as a director in 1929 and moved to the independent Tokyo Hassei studio in 1935, where he scored a hit with Young People and gained a reputation for directing literary adaptations with a humanistic touch. After a slump during World War II, he became one of the top directors at Toho (into which Tokyo Hassei had merged during the war), famed for his adaptations of literary works by such giants as Yasunari Kawabata, Kafū Nagai, Naoya Shiga, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Masuji Ibuse, and Ango Sakaguchi. He was particularly known for portraying weak men and strong women with a humorous touch, such as in films like Meoto zenzai (1955). His career continued until the 1970s.
== Filmography: ==
* All films on IMDB