Nakahira Ko was born in Tokyo in 1926 and died in 1978. His father, Takahashi Toranosuke, was a noted Western-style painter and his mother a violin teacher, and he was educated at a Catholic school run by foreigners. In 1948 he entered Tokyo University to study fine art, but left midway after joining Shochiku's Ofuna studio as an assistant director, working under directors including Kinoshita Keisuke, Kurosawa Akira and Shibuya Minoru. When Nikkatsu resumed production and recruited talent in 1954 he moved there with his mentor Kawashima Yuzo, alongside fellow assistant Imamura Shohei. In 1956 he directed his first film, A Man Who Was Being Watched, as an assistant; the 'Sun Tribe' picture Crazed Fruit (1956), completed afterwards, was released first. Adapted from Shintaro Ishihara's novel and shot in only seventeen working days, it earned him the label of 'genius director', though its frank depiction of violence and sex drew criticism from conservatives. With his sharp instincts and fresh technique he was paired with the Italian-trained Masumura Yasuzo as Nikkatsu's 'two avant-garde masters', winning favour with a new generation of film youth. His Nikkatsu period also produced such titles as A Woman's Testament (1959), The Enemy and I (1961), Passion in the Mud (1963), Monday's Yuka (1964), Hunter's Diary (1964), The Flora on the Sand (1964) and The Black Gambler (1965). From the mid-1960s his standing at Nikkatsu wavered, and through the introduction of Chua Lam, Shaw Brothers' representative in Japan, he came to Hong Kong and directed four films under the Chinese pen-name Yeung Shu-hei: Interpol 009 (1967), The Flying Dagger Girl (1967), Mad Love (1968) and The Hunter (1969). All but The Flying Dagger Girl were adapted from his earlier works The Ruffian Without Borders (1965), Crazed Fruit and Hunter's Diary respectively. His Japanese films released in Hong Kong, among them Crazed Fruit, Monday's Yuka, Hunter's Diary and The Flora on the Sand, won consistent praise from the territory's younger critics, and among the Japanese directors who joined Shaw Brothers he was regarded as the most sharply individual in style. After his Shaw contract ended he returned to Japan to keep making films, his last being Variations (1976).
Pairing with Masumura Yasuzo as Nikkatsu's 'two avant-garde masters', Nakahira Ko shot Crazed Fruit in only seventeen working days; its bold treatment of violence and sex made it a landmark of 'Sun Tribe' cinema. In the late 1960s he directed in Hong Kong for Shaw Brothers, bringing a Japanese new-wave sensibility to the territory's screens.
Achievements
- 1956 · Completed his first film, A Man Who Was Being Watched, then saw Crazed Fruit released; adapted from Shintaro Ishihara's novel, it made his name.
- 1959 · Directed Nikkatsu films such as A Woman's Testament, establishing his avant-garde style.
- 1967 · Came to Hong Kong through Chua Lam and directed four films for Shaw Brothers under the name Yeung Shu-hei, beginning with Interpol 009.