Yūji Sakamoto (坂元裕二, Sakamoto Yūji, born 12 May 1967) is a Japanese screenwriter, lyricist, and playwright.

Yuji Sakamoto
Born (1967-05-12) 12 May 1967 (age 57)
Osaka, Japan
OccupationWriter
Spouse
(m. 1998)

Early life

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

Career

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At the age of 19, Sakamoto won the 1st Fuji TV Young Scenario Award.[2] 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 Real Sound: Kaze no Regret 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.[2] 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

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

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Network Notes
1989 Dōkyūsei Fuji TV
1990 Nippon-ichi no Kattobi Otoko
1991 Tokyo Love Story
1992 Hatachi no Yakusoku
1996 Tsubasa o Kudasai!
2002 Remote NTV
2003 Anata no Tonari ni Dare ka Iru Fuji TV
2004 Itoshi Kimi e
Last Christmas
2006 Saiyūki
Top Caster
2007 Our Textbook
2008 Ryokiteki na Kanojo TBS
Taiyo to Umi no Kyoshitsu Fuji TV
2010 Cheisu: Kokuzei sasatsukan NHK
Mother NTV
2011 Soredemo, Ikite Yuku Fuji TV
2012 Makete, Katsu: Sengo o Tsukutta Otoko Shigeru Yoshida NHK
2013 The Best Divorce Fuji TV
Woman NTV
2014 Mosaic Japan WOWOW
Oyaji no Senaka TBS Episode: "Wedding Match"
2015 Mondai no Aru Restaurant Fuji TV
2016 Love That Makes You Cry
2017 Quartet TBS
2018 Anone NTV
2021 Omameda Towako and Her Three Ex-Husbands KTV
2022 Hatsukoi no Akuma NTV

Film

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Year Title Director Notes
1996 Yuri Yuji Sakamoto
1998 Tokyo Eyes Jean-Pierre Limosin
2004 Crying Out Love in the Center of the World Isao Yukisada
2005 Gimî hebun Toru Matsuura
2007 Saiyūki Kensaku Sawada
2021 We Made a Beautiful Bouquet Nobuhiro Doi
2023 Monster Hirokazu Kore-eda
In Love and Deep Water Yusuke Taki

References

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  1. ^ 近藤 正高 (12 May 2017). "ご存知ですか? 5月12日は脚本家・坂元裕二の誕生日です". Shūkan Bunshun (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Monster Film Committee. "Monster" (PDF). Festival de Cannes. p. 6. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Faculty". fm.geidai.ac.jp. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  4. ^ "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〜』". fyto.com. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Real Sound: Kaze no Regret (1997)". MobyGames. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  6. ^ "監督・編集:是枝裕和 / 脚本:坂元裕二". Gaga.ne.jp. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 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. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  8. ^ Coyle, Jake (27 May 2023). "'Anatomy of a Fall' wins top prize at Cannes Film Festival". Associated Press. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  9. ^ "坂元裕二教授(脚本領域)就任のお知らせ". geidai-film.jp (in Japanese). 20 April 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  10. ^ "「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". Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 28 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  11. ^ Debruge, Peter (27 May 2023). "Cannes Awards: 'Anatomy of a Fall' Takes Palme d'Or, 'The Zone of Interest' and 'The Pot au Feu' Among Winners". Variety. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  12. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (28 June 2023). "Netflix Inks 5-Year Deal With Japanese Screenwriter Yuji Sakamoto". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  13. ^ "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". www.news-postseven.com (in Japanese). 1 June 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
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