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Koichi Yamada

やまだ こういち

Yamada Koichi

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1938-09-13 （Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia)）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese, French
Residence History
Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) → Tokyo, Japan → Hachimori, Akita (evacuated residence) → Paris, France

Career

Occupations
Film critic, Translator
Active Years
1963-
Affiliations
Cahiers du Cinéma (contributor), Kikan Film (editorial contributor), Kinema Junpo (contributor)
Memberships
Cahiers du Cinéma (contributor)
Influenced By
François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard

Education

Waseda University, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters / French Literature
Period: 1960（中退）
Country: Japan
Enrolled at Waseda University, Faculty of Letters (French Literature), but left before graduation.
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Department of French / Department of French
Period: 1960–1964
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: Japan
Graduated in 1964. After graduation received a French government scholarship to study in Paris and became affiliated with Cahiers du Cinéma.

Awards

Bunkamura Dûmago Literary Prize (1st)
1992
Work: Truffaut: A Cinematic Life
Category: 文学賞（書籍）
Organization: Bunkamura Dûmago Literary Prize
Result: 受賞
Agency for Cultural Affairs Film Award (5th)
2007
Category: 映画功労表彰
Organization: Agency for Cultural Affairs
Result: 受賞
Kinema Junpo Film Book Award (2015, 1st place)
2016
Work: Too Cinematic, So Cinematic: A Few Things I Learned About Japanese Cinema
Category: 映画本大賞（書籍）
Organization: Kinema Junpo
Result: 第1位（受賞）
Kawakita Award (35th)
2017
Organization: Kawakita Memorial Film Foundation
Result: 受賞
Japan Film PEN Club Award (Lifetime Achievement, 2022)
2023
Category: 功労賞
Organization: Japan Film PEN Club
Result: 受賞（授賞式欠席）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Few Things I Know About Film

1971 Film criticism

An early collection of film criticism including essays on the Nouvelle Vague and classic cinema.

Nouvelle VagueFilm criticismFilm history

Truffaut: A Cinematic Life

1991 Biography / Film criticism

A biographical and critical study of François Truffaut. Winner of the Bunkamura Dûmago Literary Prize.

François TruffautBiographyNouvelle Vague

Too Cinematic, So Cinematic: A Few Things I Learned About Japanese Cinema

2015 Film criticism / Essays

A collection of observations and critiques on Japanese cinema. Ranked No.1 in Kinema Junpo's 2015 film-book award.

Japanese cinemaFilm theoryCriticism

Hitchcock: Film Reader

2016 Film criticism

A compendium of essays examining Alfred Hitchcock's authorship and cinematic techniques.

HitchcockAuteur theoryFilmmaking techniques

Bibliography

  • A Few Things I Know About Film
  • Film: The Heart's Excitement
  • My Friends, My Cinema: My Nouvelle Vague Journal
  • Run! Film
  • Dreams of Cinema, Dream Women
  • Beauties and Crime: Too Cinematic, So Cinematic
  • Ciné Bravo: A Small Film Journal
  • Today's Cinema: 365 Cine Spots
  • My French Film Journal
  • Truffaut: A Cinematic Life
  • Videorama: Imaginary Cinema, Memory Cinema
  • Return to Edison
  • Koichi Yamada's History of Japanese Cinema
  • Koichi Yamada's History of French Cinema
  • A Cinema of Love
  • Jirocho Sangokushi: The World of Masahiro Makino
  • Tales of Japanese Yakuza: The World of Masahiro Makino
  • François Truffaut: A Reader
  • Truffaut's Film Journal
  • What Drives Film?
  • Godard: My Anna Karina Era
  • Dreams of Cinema, Cinema Stars
  • Truffaut's Letters
  • Nouvelle Vague: Koichi Yamada Photo Collection
  • Cinema: Endless Best Ten
  • Too Cinematic, So Cinematic: A Few Things I Learned About Japanese Cinema
  • Too Cinematic, So Cinematic II: Further Notes on Japanese Cinema
  • Hitchcock: Film Reader
  • Howard Hawks: Film Reader
  • Godard: Film Journal

Translations by Author

  • Dreams of Cinema: Film Criticism (translated, François Truffaut)
  • My Life, My Films (François Truffaut translation)
  • Hitchcock/Truffaut: The Art of Cinema (co-translation)
  • Truffaut-related translations and editions

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Analytical prose that emphasizes cinema itselfWriting reflecting deep knowledge of and affection for French cinema
Recurring Motifs
Nouvelle Vague analysisAuteur-focused critiqueHistory of Japanese cinema and reevaluation of popular films

Legacy

One of postwar Japan's leading film critics. Through introductions and translations of French cinema and sustained writings on Japanese film, he has had broad influence and contributed to film culture over many decades.

Quotes

  • “When a journalist began asking questions in French, Truffaut pretended not to understand and ostentatiously told me, ‘Have him say it in Japanese and you translate it properly for me.’ I was moved by that twisted kindness.”
    Source: Koichi Yamada, 'Dreams of Cinema: Film Criticism' (based on expanded edition notes) (2002)

Trivia

  • Served as an interpreter for François Truffaut while still a student.
  • In 1964 went to Paris as a French government scholarship student and became affiliated with Cahiers du Cinéma.
  • Handled promotion and distribution for a Hani Susumu film at the 1968 Cannes Film Festival.
  • Took first place in Kinema Junpo's 2015 film-book award (announced 2016).
  • Received the Japan Film PEN Club Award (Lifetime Achievement) in 2023 but was absent from the ceremony.