Kaneto Shindo, one of Japan's oldest film directors -- if not the oldest -- died early Tuesday at his Tokyo home, producer Tetsuo Satonaka said. He was 100.
A celebrated screenwriter and author as well, Shindo wrote the 1981 anime feature film Rennyo To Sono Haha(Rennyo and His Mother), based on a Buddhist legend.
Shindo's works often centered on human nature and the effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
He celebrated his 100th birthday last month. He directed almost 50 films.
His final work, A Postcard, won the special jury prize at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival.
The Hiroshima-born director studied screenwriting while working as an art assistant for famed director Kenji Mizoguchi. He made his debut as a director in 1951.
Shindo became world-famous when his 1952 film Children of Hiroshima premiered at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival. It depicted a young female teacher who returned to Hiroshima after the 1945 atomic bombing, hoping to find survivors among her students.
In 1961, he won the Grand Prix at the 1961 Moscow international film festival with The Naked Island. The film, which had no dialogue, showed the difficulties that a couple and their children faced while living alone on a small island.
Between 1972 and 1981, Shindo headed the Japan Writers' Guild.
