13 Facts About Nagamasa Kawakita

Nagamasa Kawakita was a Japanese entrepreneur, film producer and importer.

Nagamasa Kawakita was hired by the German movie company Universum Film AG and sent back to Japan as its representative.

Nagamasa Kawakita met his wife, Kashiko, when she came to work at the company as his secretary, and they used their honeymoon in 1932 to make the first of many trips to Europe to acquire movies for the Japanese market.

The films Nagamasa Kawakita imported were released to the market via Toho Studios.

Nagamasa Kawakita brought Japanese films to the Venice Film Festival and other overseas venues.

In 1938, Nagamasa Kawakita, who was fluent in Chinese as well as in German, turned his attention to China, working on a Sino-Japanese joint venture, The Road to Peace in the Orient, directed by Shigeyoshi Suzuki, investing much of his own capital in a project which he hoped would project Sino-Japanese harmony.

Nagamasa Kawakita initially hesitated, but realized that the project would proceed with or without him.

Nagamasa Kawakita was permitted to resume his position as president of Towa Trading in 1950, and changed the company name to Toho-Towa in 1951.

Nagamasa Kawakita continued to make efforts to promote Japanese cinema overseas, and screened Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa at the Venice Film Festival in 1951 where it won the Golden Lion award.

Nagamasa Kawakita was production supervisor for the 1953 American-Japanese joint venture Anatahan, directed by Josef von Sternberg.

In 1960, Nagamasa Kawakita established the Japan Film Library Council to promote Japanese cinema overseas and to make materials available to foreign researchers.

Nagamasa Kawakita was a founder of the Japan Art Theatre Guild, to promote international art film to Japan.

Nagamasa Kawakita was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasures, 2nd class, in 1973.