Biografie

15. Mai 1933 · Kyōto, Japan

20. Dezember 1997 · Tokio, Japan (Selbstmord)

Yoshihiro Ikeuchi

In 1992, the director Jûzô Itami ran afoul of the Yakuza (the Japanese equivalent of the Mafia) after the release of his controversial film Die Kunst der Erpressung (1992) (''Minbo, or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion'') (1992). Angered by their depiction in the film, five members of the Yakuza brutally attacked Itami, slashing his handsome face and neck, scars he would later wear as a badge of honor. In 1997, Itami was said to have committed suicide at the age of 64, two days before a tabloid was to publish a story alleging that he had had an extra-marital affair. This remained the official story until 2009, when journalist Jake Adelstein wrote in his exposé of the Yazuka, Tokyo Vice, that he had been told by an informant that the Yakuza had murdered Itami. "A gang of five of his people grabbed Itami and made him jump off a rooftop at gunpoint." That's how he committed suicide." The Itami family did not have a funeral for the director, preferring to watch all of his films en lieu of a memorial service. The series Tokyo Vice (2022) was based on his memoir: "Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan.".

Had a famous brother-in-law, Nobel Laureate Kenzaburô Ôe, who was married to Itami's sister Yukari. Mr Oe mentions his brother-in-law affectionately in his essay collection titled A Healing Family (Kaifuku suru kazoku; 1995). In one section, there is even a discussion between the two on what Itami called the "grammar" of American films.

Flash, a Japanese tabloid, alleged that Itami was having an affair. Itami left a note denying the affair and jumped from the roof of the eight-story building where he had his office.