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Yoshio Miyajima

Yoshio Miyajima

Cinematographer · Died February 21, 1998, aged 89

Yoshio Miyajima (宮島義勇, Miyajima Yoshio; February 3, 1909 – February 21, 1998) was a Japanese cinematographer during the 20th century. The Man Called "Emperor" A self-proclaimed and widely acknowledged "activist" who sought to drive social change more than photography. Notable works include Harakiri, The Human Condition trilogy, and Kwaidan.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
February 3, 1909
Died
February 21, 1998 (aged 89)
Works as
Cinematographer
Titles
7 on MovieCove · 52 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Down 23% in 30 days

What are Yoshio Miyajima's films like?

Across their 7 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
45%
Power
23%
Survival
11%
Self
10%
Bonds
8%
Ideas
3%
Oppression4 titles, browse their movies with this themeGuilt2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 7 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 5

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 2

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 6

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Full focus: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their full focus movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 0 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 6

Heavy: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their heavy movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 6

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
6
Melancholic
5
Dread
3
Contemplative
3
Elegiac
3
Other
2

How their films linger

Haunting5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteDevastating3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet2
  • Tragic5

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Yoshio Miyajima's films?

As of October 24, 2026, all 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Yoshio Miyajima's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

52 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page.

  • Oretachi wa tetsuro ni ikiru (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • Baian the Assassin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Cinematographer

  • The Night of Martial Law (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)

    Cinematographer

  • The Fall of Ako Castle(1978)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Empire of Passion(1978)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • The Tattered Banner (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)

    Cinematographer

  • Banner of the Young (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Cinematographer

  • Ikari o utae! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)

    Director

  • Forward, Young People! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)

    Cinematographer

  • Young People (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)

    Cinematographer

  • Kwaidan(1964)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Cheollima (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)

    Director

  • Harakiri(1962)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Love Under the Crucifix (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)

    Cinematographer

  • The Weavers of Nishijin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)

    Cinematographer

  • The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer(1961)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • A Woman’s Uphill Slope (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)

    Cinematographer

  • The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity(1959)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Night of the Suspicions (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Cinematographer

  • Diary of Forsaken Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)

    Cinematographer

  • The Human Condition I: No Greater Love(1959)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • The Naked Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Cinematographer

  • Beyond the Seasonal Wind (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Cinematographer

  • Firefly Light (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)

    Cinematographer

  • Harbor Rats (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Cinematographer

  • Stepbrothers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Cinematographer

  • Yellow Crow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)

    Cinematographer

  • Actress (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Cinematographer

  • Twice on a Certain Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Cinematographer

  • Wedding Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)

    Cinematographer

  • The Beauty and the Dragon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Cinematographer

  • If Indeed One Loves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Cinematographer

  • Women of Ginza (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)

    Cinematographer

  • Wakai hito-tachi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Cinematographer

  • Cape Ashizuri (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)

    Cinematographer

  • Before the Dawn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Cinematographer

  • The Cannery Boat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Cinematographer

  • Murahachibu (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)

    Cinematographer

  • Violence (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)

    Cinematographer

  • Still I Live On (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Cinematographer

  • A Woman's Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)

    Cinematographer

  • War and Peace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)

    Cinematographer

  • The Dawn of Freedom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)

    Cinematographer

  • Story of Leadership (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1941)

    Cinematographer

  • The Burning Sky (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1940)

    Cinematographer

  • Madam with a Ribbon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Cinematographer

  • The Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Cinematographer

  • Beautiful Departure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)

    Cinematographer

  • Family Diary Part II (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Cinematographer

  • Family Diary Part I (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Cinematographer

  • Pastoral Symphony (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1938)

    Cinematographer

  • Japanese Women's Textbook (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)

    Cinematographer

Career shape

A full career of 52 titles from 1937 to 1986.

Biggest box office

Harakiri (1962)

$15K worldwide

Highest rated

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Harakiri (1962)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing3 of 52: 2 only directing, 1 with another roleCinematography50 of 52: 49 only cinematography, 1 with another role · typical Midcredits score99th

By decade

1930s7 · crew1940s5 · crew1950s23 · crew1960s9 · crew1970s5 · crew1980s3 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Yoshio Miyajima's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 99th percentile, the median of all 7; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 99th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

99thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Approval · how many liked their films

98thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Reach · how many have seen their films

89thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 7

Midcredits score across 7 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7

Shape of the crowd

None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 5 are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Crowd Pleaser2

Most loved · cinematographer

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 88/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 89, detractors 71. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Yoshio Miyajima's work okay for kids?

Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore6 titles57–82 · median 70 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity6 titles18–54 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 18 · mildMedian of all films: 36
Frightening / Intense5 titles65–87 · median 77 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Yoshio Miyajima work with?

People who share at least 2 of Yoshio Miyajima's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Masaki Kobayashi shares the most, 5.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers