55 Days at Peking
1963
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Itami died on December 20, 1997 in Tokyo after falling from the roof of the building where his office was located. On his desk was found a suicide note written on a word processor [16] stating that he had been falsely accused of an affair and was taking his life to clear his name.
The curious death of Juzo Itami: the Japanese director infuriated the yakuza by parodying them; they reacted by cutting his face. He worked on a new expose of the gangsters and the politicians they owned, when he died. He jumped off the roof, supposedly out of shame - but did he choose to do so?
On this day 25 years ago, Japan lost one of its most renowned and fearless movie directors. Juzo Itami was just 64 when he passed away on December 20, 1997. Officially his death was ruled a suicide, though many believe something more sinister was at play.
Later Itami was found dead, an apparent suicide by jumping off his apartment balcony. Almost everyone who knew Itami could not accept it as a suicide, believing the yakuza were responsible. The mafia were still furious over his depiction of the yakuza in Minbo no onna.
- Robert Nishimura
Dec 22, 1997 · Juzo Itami, a film director whose satirical portraits of Japanese society brought him worldwide acclaim, leaped to his death from a rooftop late Saturday, police officials said today. He was 64...
May 26, 1992 · TOKYO — In a defiant letter written Monday from the hospital bed where he is recovering from a Mafia-style stabbing, film director Juzo Itami called on the Japanese public not to back down in...
Aug 30, 1992 · Shocking Badge of Honor. If such signs of influence have made some think twice about challenging the gangs, Mr. Itami is not among them. He boasts of his scars and brandishes a shocking...
