He was a central member of what came to be called the "Shōchiku Nouvelle Vague" along with Nagisa Oshima and Masahiro Shinoda, and his works have been studied under the larger rubric of the Japanese New Wave.
Ia adalah seorang anggota dari apa yang kemudian disebut "Shōchiku Nouvelle Vague" bersama dengan Nagisa Oshima dan Masahiro Shinoda, dan karya-karyanya dibepalajari dibawah rubrik besar Arus Baru Jepang.