Award-winning Japanese film director and scriptwriter Izuru Narushima passed away from lung cancer on August 24 at the age of 65, as reported by news agency Kyodo.
Born in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1961, Narushima began his career as a screenwriter in 1994 before making his directorial debut in 2004. He gained widespread acclaim for his 2011 feature film Rebirth (Yōkame no Semi), which swept the 35th Japan Academy Film Prizes with 10 awards, including Picture of the Year and Director of the Year. Throughout his career, he frequently bridged literary storytelling and cinema, directing notable works such as Cape Nostalgia, Isoroku, Solomon's Perjury, and the 2023 feature Father of the Galactic Railroad, which chronicled the life of celebrated author Kenji Miyazawa.
In the anime domain, Narushima penned the screenplay for the 2000 animated feature film The Boy Who Saw the Wind (Kaze wo Mita Shounen), adapted from C.W. Nicol's fantasy novel. Following news of his passing, the Japan Academy Film Prize Association released an official statement expressing deep condolences for his significant contributions to Japanese cinema.
