In 1980, Arato produced
Zigeunerweisen for director
Seijun Suzuki. He was unable to secure
exhibitors for the film and famously exhibited it himself in a specially-built, inflatable, mobile tent. The film won four
Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and was voted the best Japanese film of the 1980s by Japanese critics. He also produced
Tatsushi Ōmori's
The Whispering of the Gods in 2005. In 1995, Arato directed
The Girl of the Silence, which stars
Mami Nakamura and
Kaori Momoi. He returned with the 2003 film,
Akame 48 Waterfalls, starring
Takijirō Ōnishi,
Michiyo Okusu and
Shinobu Terajima. His 2010 film,
The Fallen Angel, starred
Toma Ikuta. He died of
ischemic heart disease on 7 November 2016 at the age of 70. ==Filmography==