Yōzō Tanaka
Writing
Yōzō Tanaka is a Japanese screenwriter. He was born in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. After joining the production department of Nichigeki Music Hall, he started writing radio scripts. While he was a student at Waseda University, he met Atsushi Yamatoya and Kaname Kawachi. Before becoming a screenwriter, Tanaka worked as a reporter, conducting a series of interviews with eccentrics in the magazine Weekly Sankei. After joining Nikkatsu, he joined a screenwriting team led by director Seijun Suzuki. Individuals in this group such as Tanaka, Yamatoya, and Chūsei Sone also contributed to various projects at Wakamatsu Productions during this period of the 1960s. He is also a driving force behind the heyday of Nikkatsu Roman Porno, writing numerous screenplays. He continued to collaborate with fellow veterans of the aforementioned series such as Shinji Sōmai and Kichitaro Negishi. His disciples include Haruhiko Arai and Miho Nakazono. In 2005, he worked as an associate professor at the Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts. In 2017, a book of Yōzō Tanaka's essays and other archival materials such as interviews and screenplays was published.
Known for
Writing73
movieYasuko, Songs of Days Past
2025
Screenplay
movieThe Last Ronin
2010
Screenplay
movieVillon's Wife
2009
Screenplay
movieTranslucent Tree
2004
Screenplay
movieNew Ghost Pub
1996
Screenplay
movieGhost Pub
1994
Screenplay
movieThe Friends
1994
Screenplay
movieYumeji
1991
Screenplay
movieLuminous Woman
1987
Screenplay
movieThe Lady in a Black Dress
1987
Screenplay
movieCabaret
1986
Screenplay
movieLost Chapter of Snow: Passion
1985
Screenplay
movieMoment of Demon
1985
Screenplay
movieShanghai Rhapsody
1984
Screenplay
movieMake-Up
1984
Screenplay
movieThe Catch
1983
Screenplay
movieSailor Suit and Machine Gun
1981
Screenplay
movieKagero-za
1981
Screenplay
movieLove Letter
1981
Screenplay
movieBaian the Assassin
1981
Screenplay
movieFemale Teacher: Dirty Afternoon
1981
Screenplay
movieWoman's Trail: Wet Path
1980
Screenplay
movieZigeunerweisen
1980
Screenplay
tvDetective Story
1979
Writer
movieThe Shogun Assassins
1979
Screenplay
movieSecret of One Summer
1979
Screenplay
movieThe Rivals
1979
Screenplay
movieThe Inferno
1979
Screenplay
movieNo Grave for Us
1979
Screenplay
movieForbidden Ordeal
1979
Screenplay
movieYoung Beast: Secret Pleasures
1978
Screenplay
movieMrs. Muremure
1978
Screenplay
movieGate of Flesh
1977
Screenplay
movieHell's Angels: Crimson Roar
1977
Screenplay
movieIn the Realm of Sex
1977
Screenplay
movieCase of the Disjointed Murder
1977
Screenplay
movieAh! That Pep Squad
1976
Screenplay
movieViolent Panic: The Big Crash
1976
Screenplay
movieThe Accident
1975
Writer
movieStory of a Nymphomaniac
1975
Screenplay
movieVirgin Breaker Yuki
1975
Screenplay
movieHanjiro, A Great Philanderer
1975
Screenplay
movieHihon: Sode to sode
1974
Screenplay
movieWife to Be Sacrificed
1974
Screenplay
movieMorning Frenzy
1974
Screenplay
movieFlower & Snake
1974
Screenplay
movieZoku tameiki
1974
Screenplay
movieTrapped in Lust
1973
Screenplay
Sigh
1973
Screenplay
movieHandbook on Love
1973
Screenplay
movieThe Hell-Fated Courtesan
1973
Screenplay
movieA Mummy’s Love
1973
Screenplay
movieMaruhi: Benten gokaichō
1972
Screenplay
movieBranded to Kill
1967
Screenplay
movieSeason of Betrayal
1966
Screenplay
Directing1
movieSeason of Betrayal
1966
Assistant Director