Seijun Suzuki (real name Seitaro Suzuki) is a Japanese director and actor, most famous for his B-production yakuza films from the Nikkatsu period, characterized by his own style, as well as artistic films from the latter period of his career. At first he wanted to study agriculture, but did not pass the entrance exam. Instead, in 1942, he enrolled in the Hirosaki College, but got drafted only a year later. He spent WWII in the navy and later referred to his military experience as “comical”. After returning from war, he enrolled in the film department at the Kamakura Academy and in 1948 passed an exam to become an assistant director at the Shochiku film studio. He was an assistant to many directors, then in 1954 transferred to the Nikkatsu studio. After two years of working as an assistant, he made his directing debut in 1956 with the film Minato no kanpai: Shôri o waga te ni (Harbour Toast: Victory Is in Our Grasp, 1956). After that, he made three to four films a year proving to be a skillful studio screenplay director. During eleven years of work in Nikkatsu, he directed about forty films, mostly yakuza, and several pinku eiga films. Akuma no machi (Satan's Town, 1956) is the first yakuza film he directed and Ankokugai no bijo (Underworld Beauty, 1958), is the first film signed with the name Seijun Suzuki, which he was to use until the end of his career. The film Yajû no seishun (The Man from Tokyo/Youth of the Beast, 1963) represents his commercial and stylistic turning point. In it, he began to develop his recognizable style, experimented with color and gradually placed more and more focus on visual style rather than a linear story. He achieved the peak of his career with the most famous films from the Nikkatsu period: Tôkyô nagaremono (Tokyo Drifter, 1966) and Koroshi no rakuin (Branded to Kill, 1967). Due to his style, he found himself in confrontations with his bosses. After the films Akutarô (The Bastard, 1963), Nikutai no mon (Gate of Flesh, 1964), and especially Irezumi ichidai (Tatooed Life, 1965), his superiors demanded that he make more classical films. Nevertheless, he continued in his own style, and so after Kawachi Karumen (Carmen from Kawachi, 1966) his already small budget for his next film dwindled further. After that, he made Tôkyô nagaremono (Tokyo Drifter, 1966) in black and white, but remained faithful to his characteristic style of expression. Finally, after Koroshi no rakuin (Branded to Kill, 1967), which Nikkatsu marked as ambiguous, the studio’s president, Hori Kyusaku, illegally terminated his contract. Moreover, the studio withdrew all of his films from distribution and Suzuki ended up suing the company. He won the case, but still ended up on a black list at all of the larger film studios, so he went to work in television for the next ten years, making films, series and commercials. At the same time, he worked as an actor in smaller roles. He returned to feature films in 1977 with the film Hishu monogatari, produced in the Shochiku studio. This was the beginning of his second creative period, in which he made art films. After the medium-length Ana no kiba (1979) he directed the film Tsigoineruwaizen (1980), the first part of the Taishō trilogy, which also includes Kagerô-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991). These are stylistically and thematically connected surreal psychological dramas set in the historical Taishō period (1912-1926). The first film of the trilogy brought Suzuki critical acclaim and awards (Best Film and Best Director from the Japanese Academy in 1981). He also directed one anime film in collaboration with Shigetsugu Yoshida: the third part of the Lupin series Rupan sansei: Babiron no Ôgon densetsu (Lupin III: The Gold of Babylon, 1985). His latest film is the romantic musical Operetta tanuki goten (Princess Raccoon, 2005).