Kurosawa 's works became more popular among Western audiences in the 1950s .
Later generations of Japanese filmmakers who would find acclaim outside Japan—from Kon Ichikawa , Masaki Kobayashi , Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura to Juzo Itami , Takeshi Kitano and Takashi Miike—were able to pass through the door that Kurosawa was the very first to open .
Akira Kurosawa