Tai Kato was born in
Kobe, Japan on August 24, 1916. His father was an
importer and his mother was the sister of film director
Sadao Yamanaka. When his father's business went bankrupt, Kato was sent to live with his grandparents in
Nagoya at the age of five. In middle school, he became interested in film, particularly period dramas by
Daisuke Itō. He dropped out of school in his second year, and worked at a trading house in
Kyoto before receiving an invitation from his uncle to move to
Tokyo. Kato joined
Toho studio and became an assistant director to
Mikio Naruse on
The Whole Family Works (1939) and other films. Kato was drafted into military service; however, this happened one week before
World War II ended. After the war, Kato returned to Japan in 1946 and joined
Daiei Film, where he got to work as an assistant director to Itō on 1948's
Ōshō and to
Akira Kurosawa on his 1950 film
Rashomon. However, as chief secretary of the company's union, Kato was labelled a communist and fired as part of the
Red Purge. Kato made his directorial debut with the two-part
Troubles with Swords and Women, a 1951 co-production between
Shin Toho and Takara Productions. He joined
Toei Company in 1956, and directed
Ronin in Love the following year. For 1958's
Wind, Women, and Hobo, Kato had the actors appear without makeup and employed live sound. His notable films of the period include;
Throne of Flame (1960), a Japanese version of
Hamlet; the musical
Brave Records of the Sanada Clan (1963); and
Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza (1966), a remake of a 1929 Kichiro Tsuji film. In 1965, Kato followed the Toei shift into
ninkyo eiga with
Blood of Revenge. The following year saw his first of three post-war gang films with
Noboru Ando, ''
By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him'' (1966). Ando would later cite the films he made with Kato as his favorites. 1969's
Red Peony Gambler 3: The Flower Cards Game is the first of three entries that Kato directed for the
Red Peony Gambler series starring
Junko Fuji. After moving to
Shochiku, he directed
Theater of Life: Youth, Lust and Spirit (1972),
Blossom and Sword (1973) and
Musashi Miyamoto: Sword of Fury (1973), all of which are remakes.
Mark Schilling cited 1981's
Flames of Blood as one of the director's late-career triumphs. Tai Kato died from liver failure on June 17, 1985, at the age of 68. His last film,
Ondekoza, a documentary on the
Ondekoza drum troupe, was made in 1981, but not released until 1994. == Style and influences ==