Kazuo Miyagawa

Premier Japanese cinematographer who was once known as "the comic cameraman" for his work on early slapstick features. Miyagawa first distinguished himself with his work for director Hiroshi Inagaki, for whom he developed sophisticated tracking and crane techniques that were influenced by traditional Japanese painting. He is best known in the West for his work on Kurosawa's "Rashomon" (1950) and has also photographed films for Ozu ("Floating Weeds" 1959), Mizoguchi ("Ugetsu" 1953) and Ichikawa ("Conflagration" 1958). Awarded the Imperial Order of Culture in 1978.