Noguchi Hisamitsu was a Japanese film, jazz, and musical critic born in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture. He was also a painter and graphic designer. He is said to have painted over 1000 movie posters in his lifetime. In 1933, he graduated from the Design Department of the Crafts Department of Tokyo Fine Arts School.

In November 1933, he joined the Film Department and Design Department of Towa Shoji Joint Stock Company, an import and distribution company for European films. He brought in a demo poster, not a demo tape, and joined the company without taking the exam

In 1942, due to the Pacific War, Towa Shoji was dissolved, so he moved to China Film and moved to Shanghai. In Shanghai, besides designing movie posters, he also worked on music criticism.

In 1946, he withdrew from Shanghai, worked at Toho Photo Studio, and became a film producer at Shintoho. He has released six films such as "Daigaku no Mon", "Enoken no Tobisuke Boken Ryoko" and "Tokyo no Heroine".

In 1951, he joined the newly established Toho Film Co., Ltd. Advertising Department. He drew many masterpiece movie posters of postwar European films. In particular, director Francois Truffaut praised the poster for "The Adults Don't Understand" drawn when it was released in Japan in 1960. Truffaut, who loved this poster throughout his life, framed and cherished the original in his production office until his death in 1984.

In 1978, he was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon for his many years of cultural activities. In 1983, he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays. He was also elected Honorary Citizen of New Orleans and Crawley, Louisiana, for his contributions as a bridge between Japanese and American jazz and musicals.

He died on June 13, 1994, at the age of 84. Edit Biography