Nobuhiko Obayashi

I'll be honest, the first time I saw House (Hausu) I genuinely thought my brain had short-circuited, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Obayashi was a wizard who refused to play by anyone's rules, splicing collage-cut chaos and homemade special effects into something that feels like a fever dream a kid would dream up. But what gets me is the other side of him, that tender Onomichi trilogy stuff like Transfer Student and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, where he handles teenage longing so gently it aches. That town of hills and sea he grew up in basically lives inside his frames. He kept that boyish, experimental spark right to the end in 2020, and honestly, I think nobody else in Japanese cinema ever quite matched that mix of mad scientist and softie.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Nobuhiko Obayashi (January 9, 1938 – April 10, 2020) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and composer born in Onomichi, Hiroshima. He is best known for his debut feature House (Hausu, 1977) and the acclaimed Onomichi trilogy comprising Transfer Student (Tenkousei), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo), and Lonely Heart (Sabishinbo). Over his career he received numerous honors including the Japan Academy Prize for Best Director (1992), the Medal with Purple Ribbon (2004), and recognition at the Berlin International Film Festival (1998).

Name (English)

Nobuhiko Obayashi

Name (Japanese)

大林宣彦

Reading

おおばやし のぶひこ

Born

January 9, 1938 – April 10, 2020

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Capricorn / Tiger

Origin

Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan

Blood type

B

Occupation

Film Director / Screenwriter / Film Producer / Film Editor / Composer

High school

Hiroshima Prefectural Onomichi Kita High School

University

Seijo University

Awards & achievements

• Blue Ribbon Award for Best New Director (1978)
• Japan Academy Prize for Best Director (1992)
• Japan Academy Prize for Best Editing (1993)
• Berlin International Film Festival recognition (1998)
• Medal with Purple Ribbon (2004)
• Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays (2009)
• Mainichi Art Award (2018)
• Takasaki Film Festival (2019)

Spouse

大林恭子

Works summary

Appearances

173 (1952–2020)

By year

1952: 1, 1957: 3, 1958: 1, 1960: 1, 1961: 1, 1962: 2, 1963: 2, 1964: 1, 1966: 1, 1967: 1, 1968: 1, 1969: 1, 1970: 1, 1971: 2, 1972: 2, 1975: 2, 1976: 1, 1977: 4, 1978: 4, 1979: 3, 1980: 4, 1981: 4, 1982: 3, 1983: 5, 1984: 4, 1985: 4, 1986: 3, 1987: 9, 1988: 7, 1989: 1, 1990: 5, 1991: 3, 1992: 2, 1993: 3, 1994: 2, 1995: 1, 1996: 2, 1997: 1, 1998: 3, 1999: 2, 2000: 5, 2001: 3, 2002: 1, 2003: 1, 2004: 4, 2005: 1, 2006: 1, 2007: 2, 2008: 1, 2009: 3, 2010: 1, 2011: 1, 2012: 3, 2013: 4, 2014: 7, 2015: 2, 2017: 9, 2018: 4, 2019: 3, 2020: 7

Debut work

キングコング

Filmography / notable works

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E6%9E%97%E5%AE%A3%E5%BD%A6
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3342565

Tags

• From Hiroshima
• Film Director
• Screenwriter
• Film Producer

Last updated

2026-08-26

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Works and profile fields sourced from Wikipedia reflect content as of 2026-08-26. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.