Ishihara Shintaro, Japanese Film Producer, ‘Sun Tribe’ Novelist and Ultra-Nationalist Politician, Dies at 89
variety.comMark Schilling Japan CorrespondentIshihara Shintaro, the former Tokyo governor who first became known as the chronicler of the “Sun Tribe,” privileged kids living lives of leisure and license amidst the poverty of postwar Japan, has died aged 89.
The cause of death was not announced.Ishihara’s 1955 award-winning novel “Season of the Sun” was the basis for the 1956 Nakahira Ko film “Crazed Fruit” that launched the “Sun Tribe” boom.
Ishihara scripted the film and both he and younger brother Ishihara Yujiro appeared in it. Yujiro became a major star, beginning with his early “Sun Tribe” films for the Nikkatsu studio, as well as a hit-spinning singer.Born in 1932 in Kobe, Ishihara Shintaro was raised in upper-middle-class wealth – his father was a prosperous shipping executive – and graduated from elite Hitosubashi University in 1955.
Propelled by his Sun Tribe success, he directed, acted in and produced films, though he became better known in Japan as a conservative politician following his election to the upper house of parliament in 1968.
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