He was born in the city of Kuching, then part of the kingdom of Sarawak (now a state of Malaysia) on Borneo. He was the nephew of literary critic Korehito Kurahara, and older brother of film director Koretsugu Kurahara. His son Jun Iwasaki, a former producer for Ishihara International Productions Inc., is currently secretary to politician Nobuteru Ishihara.

While a film student at Nihon University College of Art, he became a live-in student of Kajiro Yamamoto at the introduction of Ishirō Honda. Upon graduation in 1952 he joined Shochiku's Kyoto studio and worked as an assistant director. He switched to Nikkatsu in 1954, working mainly as chief assistant director to Eisuke Takizawa.

He made his directorial debut in 1957 with I Am Waiting, starring Yujiro Ishihara, and gained recognition for his bold camera work and angles. He subsequently directed numerous films starring Ishihara and Ruriko Asaoka.

In 1960 he made the first Japanese film noir Intimidation and in 1964 he made the film Black Sun the story of a Black GI on the run who meets a Japanese jazz fan with a soundtrack from Max Roach's band featuring Clifford Jordan and Abbey Lincoln. The soundtrack was issued on CD in Japan only in 2007.

Eight Below is dedicated to him.

After going freelance in 1967, he helmed a succession of blockbusters and popular works including Eiko e no 5,000 Kiro, Kitakitsune Monogatari, The Gate of Youth and Umi e, See You. His 1983 film Nankyoku Monogatari was a 5.9 billion yen hit and held the Japanese box office record for a domestic film until it was surpassed by Miyazaki Hayao's Princess Mononoke in 1997. (Source: Wikipedia) Edit Biography