Kazuo Hara
Biography
Kazuo Hara (原一男 Hara Kazuo, born 8 June 1945) is a Japanese documentary film director. After dropping out of university to work at a special education school, he made his 1972 debut work Goodbye CP about a group of individuals with cerebral palsy. He won the award for Best Director at the 12th Hochi Film Award and at the 9th Yokohama Film Festival for The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On. That film also earned him the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award. In 2017 he released the documentary Sennan Asbestos Disaster which received the 2017 Audience Award at the Tokyo Filmex International Film Festival and the 2017 BIFF Mecenat Award at the Busan International Film Festival. His documentary works often depict people who push against the boundaries of propriety and obedience in Japanese society.
Known For
Prominent works featuring Kazuo Hara
Shin Godzilla
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
Death of a Tea Master
The Sea and Poison
The Stars and the Moon are Holes in the Sky
Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974
National Kid
Poruno repōto: Sex shikakenin
Goodbye CP
Pig-Chicken Suicide
Filmography & Credits
Complete career catalog (40 titles)
| Poster | Title | Character / Role | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Stars and the Moon are Holes in the Sky | man in bar | Movie | 2025 |
| Hokusai Up Close: Paintings from the Freer Gallery of Art | Director | Movie | 2023 | |
 | Minamata Mandala | Producer | Movie | 2021 |
| Minamata Mandala | Director | Movie | 2021 |
 | Reiwa Uprising | Director of Photography | Movie | 2019 |
| Reiwa Uprising | Director | Movie | 2019 |
| Reiwa Uprising | Producer | Movie | 2019 |
| Reiwa Uprising | Cinematography | Movie | 2019 |
 | Shin Godzilla | Biology Professor | Movie | 2016 |
 | Sennan Asbestos Disaster | Director | Movie | 2016 |
| Sennan Asbestos Disaster | Director of Photography | Movie | 2016 |
 | How Much Is a Life Worth? | Director | Movie | 2013 |
 | The Duckling | Executive Producer | Movie | 2010 |
 | The Many Faces of Chika | Director | Movie | 2005 |
 | A Painful Pair | Self / Appearance | Movie | 2002 |
 | Devotion: A Film About Ogawa Productions | himself | Movie | 2002 |
 | My Mishima | Director | Movie | 1999 |
 | Tokiwa: The Manga Apartment | Kato | Movie | 1996 |
 | Deep River | First Assistant Director | Movie | 1995 |
 | A Dedicated Life | Director | Movie | 1994 |
| A Dedicated Life | Director of Photography | Movie | 1994 |
 | Shikibu monogatari | Assistant Director | Movie | 1990 |
 | Death of a Tea Master | Assistant Director | Movie | 1989 |
 | The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On | Director | Movie | 1987 |
| The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On | Director of Photography | Movie | 1987 |
 | The Sea and Poison | Assistant Director | Movie | 1986 |
| Mattemashita tenkousei! | Assistant Director | Movie | 1985 | |
 | Pig-Chicken Suicide | Director of Photography | Movie | 1981 |
 | Child of the Sun | Assistant Director | Movie | 1980 |
| Groper Night Train | Assistant Director | Movie | 1977 | |
 | Poruno repōto: Sex shikakenin | Director of Photography | Movie | 1975 |
| Sex Document: Serial Rapists | Director of Photography | Movie | 1975 | |
| Wet and Sweet Pussies | Director of Photography | Movie | 1974 | |
 | Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 | Himself | Movie | 1974 |
| Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 | Writer | Movie | 1974 |
| Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 | Director | Movie | 1974 |
| Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 | Director of Photography | Movie | 1974 |
 | Goodbye CP | Director | Movie | 1972 |
| Goodbye CP | Director of Photography | Movie | 1972 |
 | National Kid | Tomohiro | TV Series | 1960 |