Director

Junya Satō

Directing

Career Snapshot

Explained

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Directed credits

Prolific

Very extensive directing filmography.

TMDB popularity

0.5

Low visibility

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Directed movies: 41Directed series: 2All crew credits: 44

TMDB ID: 85028

IMDb ID: nm0766220

Known for: Directing

Born: November 6, 1932

Died: February 9, 2019

Age: 86

Place of birth: Tokyo, Japan

Gender: Male

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1961 - 2016

Years active: 56

Average TMDB rating: 5.29

Wikidata: Q6314417

Also known as

Junya Sato • 佐藤純弥 • Jun'ya Satō

Frequent jobs

Director (41)Assistant Director (2)Screenplay (1)

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Biography

Junya Satō (佐藤純彌, Satō Jun'ya, 6 November 1932 – 9 February 2019) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His son, Tōya Satō (佐藤東弥, Satō Tōya), is also a film director. Born in Tokyo, Satō graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1956 with a degree in French literature. He joined the Toei studio and worked as an assistant to such directors as Tadashi Imai and Miyoji Ieki. He debuted as a director in 1963 with Rikugun Zangyaku Monogatari, for which he won a best newcomer's award at the Blue Ribbon Awards. While starting in mostly yakuza film, Satō eventually became known for big budget spectaculars. The Go Masters, a China-Japan co-production he co-directed with Duan Jishun, won the grand prize at the Montreal World Film Festival in 1983. He won the Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year in 1989 for The Silk Road.