Kako Zanmu (賀古残夢)
Zanmu KAKO (real name; Yasugoro, January 13, 1869 – March 21, 1938) was a movie director during the Taisho period and early Showa period. He is one of the oldest Japanese movie directors.
Born in Kanazawa City. After graduating from Nicholai Seminary, he participated in the magazine "Bungakukai" (Literature World) with Toson SHIMAZAKI and made a new-style poetry. He was also a disciple of the novelist, Bizan KAWAKAMI.
He later entered the world of Shinpa-geki (New School of Play) and was an okuyaku (stage director) and also a scriptwriter. He was a scriptwriter exclusively for the theater group 'Taisho-za' at Shochiku's Kyoto Kyogoku No.2, but after a fire, the theater lost its popularity and he entered the Shochiku Kamata Studios. At the same time, Yukichi IWATA and Tsuzuya MOROGUCHI who participated from Shinpa-geki were lead actors and he worked as a director from the establishment of the studio to form the foundation of Shochiku. Later, he mover to Toa Kinema, Makino Productions and retired around 1930.
He let his disciples lodge at his home and mentored Kyohiko USHIHARA, Yasujiro SHIMAZU, Yoshinobu IKEDA and Hotei NOMURA.
In 2004, at the Russian National Movie Archives, a film "Bushido" jointly directed with the German director Heinz Carl HEILAND was discovered and attracted attention when it was aired in 2005. This movie was Japan's first joint international movie.