Rokuhei Susukita

Writing

Born January 1, 1899 · Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan

In 1923 he joined Makino Production in Kyoto to write scripts for their major star, Tsumasaburo Bando. Until 1930 he wrote almost 90 scripts for this company and gained an enormous reputation, but that year he decided to write and direct his own films without Bando. He debuted as a director for the Emperor Kine Company (later Shinko Cinema) in 1930 with "The Strange Story of Mito Komon". But none of the 40 films he directed till 1954 were worthwhile. The next year he stopped writing films. Susukita, who during his career used four different pen names, was also creator of the character of Murasaki Zukin, also known as "The Black Hood" or "The Purple Hood" (lit.); which has been converted into film half a dozen of times. The first film Susukita wrote was "Murasaki Zukin: Ukiyo Eshi" ("The Woodcut Artist"), and was directed by Shozo Makino and Bansho Kanamori in 1923. Susukita himself directed one remake in 1931. Chiezo Kataoka played Murasaki in 1958. But the most famous version was made after the death of its author: Ryutaro Otomo played the Black Hood in 1963, directed by Ei'ichi Kudo and adapted by Tai Kato.