Yuji Sakamoto Explained

Yuji Sakamoto
Birth Date:1967 5, df=y
Birth Place:Osaka, Japan
Occupation:Writer

is a Japanese screenwriter, lyricist, and playwright.

Early life

Yūji Sakamoto was born on 12 May 1967 in Osaka.[1] [2]

Career

At the age of 19, Sakamoto won the 1st Fuji TV Young Scenario Award. At the age of 23, he wrote the screenplay for Tokyo Love Story.[3] In 1996 he wrote the script for the Dreamcast audio drama game with Kenji Eno. This game was specially developed for blind and visually impaired players.[4] [5] He has written the scripts for many popular Japanese television dramas, including Our Textbook, Still, Life Goes On, Matrimonial Chaos, Mother, Woman, The Best Divorce, and Quartet. Many of his works have been remade in international productions. His recent works include Anone, My Dear Exes, and Love with a Case. His filmography includes We Made a Beautiful Bouquet (2021), starring Masaki Suda and Kasumi Arimura. Sakamoto wrote the screenplay for Hirokazu Kore-eda's film Monster (2023). It was the first time since his feature film debut Maborosi (1995) that Kore-eda was not responsible for the screenplay. The two had expressed a mutual respect for each other's work and had attended the same school when they were younger.[6] Monster premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival,[7] where Sakamoto won the Best Screenplay award.[8]

In April 2016, he was appointed as a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts's Graduate School of Film and New Media.[9]

In April 2023, Sakamoto was awarded a Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon[10] and in May 2023, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay for Monster.[11]

Sakomoto wrote and produced In Love and Deep Water for Netflix, and the film premiered in 2023. He and Netflix signed a five-year collaboration agreement in June 2023.[12]

Personal life

In 1998, he married actress Yoko Moriguchi.[13]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleNetworkNotes
1989DōkyūseiFuji TV
1990Nippon-ichi no Kattobi Otoko
1991Tokyo Love Story
1992Hatachi no Yakusoku
1996Tsubasa o Kudasai!
2002RemoteNTV
2003Anata no Tonari ni Dare ka IruFuji TV
2004Itoshi Kimi e
Last Christmas
2006Saiyūki
Top Caster
2007Our Textbook
2008Ryokiteki na KanojoTBS
Taiyo to Umi no KyoshitsuFuji TV
2010Cheisu: Kokuzei sasatsukanNHK
MotherNTV
2011Soredemo, Ikite YukuFuji TV
2012Makete, Katsu: Sengo o Tsukutta Otoko Shigeru YoshidaNHK
2013The Best DivorceFuji TV
WomanNTV
2014Mosaic JapanWOWOW
Oyaji no SenakaTBSEpisode: "Wedding Match"
2015Mondai no Aru RestaurantFuji TV
2016Love That Makes You Cry
2017QuartetTBS
2018AnoneNTV
2021Omameda Towako and Her Three Ex-HusbandsKTV
2022Hatsukoi no AkumaNTV

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1996YuriYuji Sakamoto
1998Tokyo EyesJean-Pierre Limosin
2004Crying Out Love in the Center of the WorldIsao Yukisada
2005Gimî hebunToru Matsuura
2007SaiyūkiKensaku Sawada
2021We Made a Beautiful BouquetNobuhiro Doi
2023MonsterHirokazu Kore-eda
In Love and Deep WaterYusuke Taki

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ご存知ですか? 5月12日は脚本家・坂元裕二の誕生日です. 近藤 正高. 12 May 2017. Shūkan Bunshun. ja. 27 May 2023.
  2. Web site: Monster. Monster Film Committee. Festival de Cannes. 6. 27 May 2023.
  3. Web site: Faculty. fm.geidai.ac.jp. 27 May 2023.
  4. Web site: eno blog: そろそろゲームのことを語ろうか。第2回『リアルサウンド 〜風のリグレット〜』 . 15 February 2024 . fyto.com.
  5. Web site: Real Sound: Kaze no Regret (1997) . 15 February 2024 . MobyGames . en.
  6. Web site: 監督・編集:是枝裕和 / 脚本:坂元裕二. 18 November 2022. Gaga.ne.jp. 19 April 2023.
  7. Rooney. David. 17 May 2023. 'Monster' Review: Hirokazu Kore-eda Measures the Weight of Bullying on Childhood Friendship in Tender But Diffuse Drama. The Hollywood Reporter. 21 May 2023.
  8. News: Coyle. Jake. 27 May 2023. 'Anatomy of a Fall' wins top prize at Cannes Film Festival. Associated Press. 27 May 2023.
  9. Web site: 坂元裕二教授(脚本領域)就任のお知らせ. 20 April 2016. geidai-film.jp. ja. 27 May 2023.
  10. News: 「カルテット」「東京ラブストーリー」脚本家、坂元裕二さんらに春の褒章. 28 April 2023. Yomiuri Shimbun. ja. 28 April 2023.
  11. Web site: Cannes Awards: 'Anatomy of a Fall' Takes Palme d'Or, 'The Zone of Interest' and 'The Pot au Feu' Among Winners. Variety. Peter. Debruge. 27 May 2023. 27 May 2023.
  12. Web site: Netflix Inks 5-Year Deal With Japanese Screenwriter Yuji Sakamoto. The Hollywood Reporter. Patrick. Brzeski. 28 June 2023. 29 June 2023.
  13. Web site: 森口瑤子の長女が宝塚音楽学校に在学中 来春初舞台でタカラジェンヌに. 1 June 2022. www.news-postseven.com. ja. 27 May 2023.