Despite his left-wing political views, Imai became a staunch supporter of Japanese imperial power during World War II. His films released during that period were little more than wartime propaganda in support of Emperor Hirohito's regime. After the war, however, Imai gradually returned to making topical films that displayed a more and more overt Marxist bent. His immediate post-war films, few of which garnered any substantial international audience, included political thrillers such as 1946's Minshu no Teki ("Enemy of the People"), the intriguing 1947 film 24 Hours of a Secret Life, starring Setsuko Hara, and Aoi Sanmyaku ("The Green Mountains"), released in 1949.
While most Japanese directors were making safe, non-controversial historical dramas or contemporary light comedies and romances, Imai continually ventured into socially volatile territory during Japan's long years of recovery from losing the war. While his Mata Au Hi Made ("Until We Meet Again"), released in 1950, enjoyed limited exposure abroad, films such as Dokkoi Ikiteru (1950), Himeyuri No To (1953), and Susureba Koso (1954) did not receive much attention outside Japan.
This is a free page. This page contains 167 words. This
biography contains 1,655 words (approx. 6 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Biography with our Tadashi Imai Access Pass.
