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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the American censor response to No Regrets for Our Youth?

2. What was Fushimizu Shu's film specialty?

3. At the end of A Salmon's Old Stories, what does Kurosawa accuse Japanese directors of emulating?

4. On what does Kurosawa blame the loss of so many good Japanese directors?

5. Where did Kurosawa choose to shoot the fight scene from Sugata Sanshiro?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Kurosawa think Sugata Sanshiro, Part II, was a failure?

2. How did Akira find his brother in An Alleyway in the Floating World?

3. What character flaw does Akira Kurosawa admit to at the end of Something Like an Autobiography?

4. How did Akira discover the similarity he had to his brother?

5. Who were Akira's major influences in becoming the man he became?

6. How did an army major and Akira Kurosawa come to an agreement regarding cutting a scene from one of his films?

7. What was the break from the Toho, and how did it affect Kurosawa?

8. How did One Wonderful Sunday reunite Akira and Mr. Tachikawa?

9. How did Rashomon catapult Kurosawa to a new level of international recognition?

10. How did Yanamoto help Akira grow as a director?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Taken together, the events of SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY create the arc of one boys maturing into adulthood. Throughout, Kurosawa state his personal opinion of how a child should be raised. Write an essay delineating his philosophy. Which adults form his childhood define good education for him? Which ones represent the bad educators? What is the difference between good and bad adults to him? What does this mean regarding Kurosawa's philosophy of child rearing?

Essay Topic 2

Akira Kurosawa's SOMETHING LIKE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY deals with the author's transition from insecure child to confident - even egotistical - adult. Write an essay about three defining and transforming moments in this transition:

Part 1) Akira is a crybaby and a weakling when he enters Mr. Tachikawa's class. What talents and opportunities does Mr. Tachikawa's instruction open up to him? How does Mr. Tachikawa empower both Akira and Uekusa? How does the teacher remain a fixture in the author's life for decades following?

Part 2) What are Akira's faults and weaknesses when Mr. Iwamatsu becomes his teacher? How does Mr. Iwamatsu foster his desire to learn in the midst of a rebellious phase? How does the author's skills improve over the course of his time with this teacher?

Part 3) How does Kajiro Yamamoto prove pivotal to the author's development as an artist? What role does Akira play on Kajiro Yamamoto's sets? Discuss the film skills that Akira develops under this director and how Yamamoto continues to play a role in his life.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout much of the book, young Akira has difficulty choosing to take a stand, leading to his being called a crybaby, a coward, and a weakling. Write an essay about inaction in Something Like and Autobiography. How does Akira fail to stand up to a tyrannical teacher in his school when given the chance? Discuss how the War affords him many opportunities not to act. How, as a result of his brother's suicide, does Kurosawa nearly choose not to get into film.

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