Photo: Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Masayuki Suo was born on October 29, 1956 in Tokyo, Japan. Masayuki Suo is credited as a film director, screenwriter and film producer. The age as of 2026 is 69. Schooling on record includes Rikkyo University. Recorded honors include Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year (1993, 1997), Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year (1993, 1997), Japan Academy Prize for Screenplay of the Year (1993, 1997) and 2 more.
My Take
Masayuki Suo built a career out of subjects that sound like nothing. A university sumo club. A middle-aged salaryman taking ballroom dance lessons. Pitch either one cold and most people would pass. What he does with them is find the comedy and dignity in someone being earnest at something slightly ridiculous, and he never sneers at the person while doing it. The awards back this up rather than explain it. In 1993 he took the Japan Academy Prize for Picture, Director and Screenplay in the same year, and in 1997 he did it again, adding the National Board of Review and Broadcast Film Critics awards for Best Foreign Language Film. That second cluster is the interesting one, because it means the same jokes worked in Tokyo and outside Japan, which comedy almost never manages. Born in Tokyo in 1956 and educated at Rikkyo University, he has worked in a mode that is unfashionable: patient, warm, unhurried, aimed at ordinary awkward people. That kind of gentleness is much harder to fake than spectacle.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Masayuki Suo
- Name (Japanese)
- 周防正行
- Reading
- すお まさゆき
- Born
- October 29, 1956 (age 69)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Monkey
- Origin
- Tokyo, Japan
- Occupation
- film director / screenwriter / film producer / director
2. Background
- University
- Rikkyo University
Awards & achievements
- 1993 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year
- 1993 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year
- 1993 Japan Academy Prize for Screenplay of the Year
- 1997 National Board of Review Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- 1997 Japan Academy Prize for Director of the Year
- 1997 Japan Academy Prize for Screenplay of the Year
- 1997 Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year
- 1997 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film
3. Links
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masayuki%20Suo
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%91%A8%E9%98%B2%E6%AD%A3%E8%A1%8C
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1073993
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-08-07
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Masayuki Suo born?
Born October 29, 1956 (age 69).
Where is Masayuki Suo from?
Masayuki Suo is from Tokyo, Japan.
What does Masayuki Suo do?
Masayuki Suo works as film director, screenwriter, film producer, director.
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