Born in 1956. Professor of Studies in Theatre
and Films Arts, Waseda University. His
specialism is the history of film. His books
include Cinema of the Origins (Seidosha, 1991)
and Bergman (Shimizu Shoin, 2000). He
was also co-translator of Georges Sadoul,
Histoire generale du cinema (12 volumes;
Kokushokankokai, 1992-2000) and Editor-in-
Chief of The Nordic Cinema Guide: Unraveling
Glamourous Stories of Post-1990 Works (Shinjuku
Shobo, 2005), among others.