Substitute teacher In March 1922, after spending a year as a Ronin, Ozu took the entrance exam for Mie Prefectural Normal School (present-day Mie University Faculty of Education) and failed again. He was reluctantly assigned as a substitut…

I Flunked, But… In March 1921, just before Ozu graduated from junior high school, he took the entrance exams for Kobe High School of Commerce (present-day Kobe University Faculty of Economics), where his elder brother Shinichi was enrolled…

Enthusiasm for Leica According to Ozu's statement published in Camera Mainichi (June 1954 issue), he acquired a Leica Model-A around 1930 or 1931 after purchasing a Brownie. He asked Mohara Hideo, a cinematographer who was going to Germany…

Encountering with cameras I mentioned earlier that Ozu was good at sketching and drawing since he was a boy. Ozu's such talents were also fully demonstrated in later years in the film production. If you look at the screen compositions that…

Chigo incident Now, I must mention an incident that happened to Ozu while he was living his daily life as described above. There was a line written in his diary on October 17, 1918 that seemed to foretell that incident. Today I will leave …

Dormitory life When he was in elementary school, he was a well-rounded, honest son of a wealthy family with excellent grades, but what were Ozu's junior high school days like when he turned into a rough person who often received discipline…

Chapter 2 Youth Rough, but kind hearted, and innocent In April 1916, Ozu entered Mie Prefectural 4th Junior High School (which was renamed Ujiyamada Junior High School while Ozu was a student) and began living in the school boarding house …