小津安二郎のカラー映画と染織家・浦野理一Pinnacle of Japanese Color Film Aesthetics

Today I would like to share the pivotal moment that led the film director Yasujiro Ozu (1903–1963), whom I deeply admire, to shift decisively to color filmmaking. It is widely known that Ozu was exceptionally cautious when adopting new film technologies. He repeatedly conducted meticulous tests and experiments, ensuring that his aesthetic sensibilities could be fully realized before integrating any new technology into his work. Even when the Japanese film industry had already fully embraced color cinema, Ozu maintained his careful stance and continued rigorous testing and research day and night until he reached his own exacting standards.

Within this cautious shift to color, Ozu placed paramount importance on kimono costumes. For some time, he struggled to find an exceptional textile artist who could meet his demanding standards. Eventually, he encountered an outstanding individual who enabled him to finally venture into the production of color films. This historic first color film for Ozu was Equinox Flower (彼岸花), produced in 1958. The individual who played a crucial role in supporting this much-anticipated transition was the textile researcher and artist Riichi Urano (1901–1991).

Riichi Urano was a pioneering researcher and artist who independently pursued the study of traditional Japanese weaving and dyeing techniques from a young age, significantly contributing to bringing their beauty into the modern era. In his twenties, while working at the kimono department of Shirakiya, a prestigious department store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Urano poured most of his salary into collecting antique fabric remnants called “kire” (裂), traditional kimono patterns, and rare books on colors and textile designs, meticulously studying them on his own. Through this intensive self-education, he developed a distinctive sense for reviving classical motifs in contemporary contexts, eventually devising his own unique kimono designs characterized by innovative patterns and dyeing methods. The kimono created by Urano possessed a distinctively warm and appealing texture that harmonized traditional beauty with modern sensibilities, quickly captivating the hearts of women at a time when Western-style clothing had already become widespread. His work, which boldly combined classic textile aesthetics with vibrant colors and innovative patterns, soon became an object of admiration among kimono enthusiasts.

Eventually, Riichi Urano resolved to fully dedicate himself to the art of dyeing and weaving, establishing his own creative atelier. He founded a hand-weaving workshop in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture, collaborating closely with local craftsmen from the Okaya area to develop new fabric prototypes and experiment extensively with plant-based dyes. Drawing on the extensive knowledge of traditional textiles he gathered from various regions, and combined with his personal ingenuity, Urano created fabrics with distinctive textures, such as the famous “tatefushi tsumugi” (縦節紬), a special type of silk weave distinguished by subtle vertical slubs. These fabrics later gained significant acclaim as “Urano Kimono,” celebrated for their combination of folk-craft simplicity (mingei) and refined elegance, enchanting many admirers. In 1958, his fabric was notably chosen for the covers of the collected works of the renowned author Aya Koda, and the distinctive checkered pattern used was named “Koda Koshi” (幸田格子), further solidifying Urano’s reputation as a master craftsman.

However, the most significant turning point in Urano’s career was his encounter with Yasujiro Ozu. By the post-war period, Ozu had become a leading figure in the Japanese film industry, renowned for his meticulous attention to art direction and costume design. Possessing exceptional aesthetic judgment, Ozu was famously committed to using genuinely authentic crafts in his films. Urano first met Ozu around the time his own textile workshop was beginning to flourish, and their mutual appreciation led to a deeper professional relationship. It was precisely this collaboration with Urano that laid the foundation for the later acknowledgment that “the late Ozu films are distinguished by a carefully selected aesthetic sensibility that permeates everything from the kimono to interior furnishings.” Indeed, Urano came to support Ozu’s films significantly by supplying indispensable kimono costumes.

Although Ozu officially debuted in color filmmaking with Equinox Flower in 1958, his passion for color cinematography had been long-standing. In fact, it was precisely because of his extraordinary attention to color that he waited until this particular era to transition fully into color films. After the success of Equinox Flower, which brought together several acclaimed actresses, Urano began regularly contributing kimono costumes for Ozu’s productions. Eventually, when legendary actress Setsuko Hara, who had frequently starred in Ozu’s earlier films, returned to acting after a three-year hiatus, Ozu personally took her to Urano’s atelier in Kita-Kamakura. He insisted on selecting kimono costumes first, using this as a benchmark to determine whether a film could genuinely succeed aesthetically.

Starting with Equinox Flower (1958), Riichi Urano became deeply involved in creating costumes for Ozu’s films. The exquisite kimono worn by actresses prominently featured by Ozu, such as Setsuko Hara and Haruko Sugimura, were all created by Urano. Consequently, his kimono were also employed in Ozu’s later color films such as Late Autumn (秋日和, 1960), The End of Summer (小早川家の秋, 1961), and An Autumn Afternoon (秋刀魚の味, 1962). Urano’s kimono, characterized by elegant patterns rooted in tradition yet subtly stylish, had an immense impact on Ozu’s contemporary narratives by imparting a refined elegance and evoking the seasonal moods unique to Japan. For example, in Late Autumn, the character Akiko portrayed by Setsuko Hara appears in softly colored, refined tsumugi (紬, a type of silk weave) kimono, subtly expressing both the composure and inner warmth of a widow. Similarly, in An Autumn Afternoon, the character Noriko Hirayama portrayed by Shima Iwashita wears a bridal costume known as shiromuku (白無垢), created by Urano, beautifully adorning the film’s quiet, poignant conclusion. These costumes subtly conveyed characters’ emotions and generational nuances, becoming an essential element harmonizing perfectly with Ozu’s meticulous screen compositions.

Ozu paid meticulous attention to color design, especially in his color films, carefully considering the balance of every color appearing on screen. Ozu came to prefer AgfaColor film stock, which excelled in rendering red tones while remaining more subdued in blues, using this unique characteristic to compose his films with subdued yet richly harmonious color tones—an approach developed in collaboration with his long-time cinematographer, Yuharu Atsuta (厚田 雄春). In Ozu’s films, it was common practice to deliberately unify the tones of characters’ clothing and background colors to a muted palette, strategically placing single vibrant objects as points of accentuation. Observing these films closely, viewers can recognize how strictly this visual rule was adhered to in every single shot. Through such sophisticated color schemes, Ozu achieved deeply impactful visual beauty without relying on gaudy elements, masterfully expressing an intangible, poetic elegance honed through decades since before the war.

The kimono Urano provided resonated perfectly with this distinctive Ozu aesthetic of color. His tsumugi kimono possessed subdued textures and understated yet rich tones, full of a refined beauty—traditional but never old-fashioned. Consequently, the kimono worn by actresses in Ozu’s indoor scenes flawlessly harmonized with the colors of furniture and wallpaper, lending unity and elegance to the overall screen. Such accomplished color filmmaking remains unparalleled elsewhere. Urano’s kimono effectively served as the foundation supporting the subtle interplay of calm and dynamic contrasts within these films, successfully marrying the reserved beauty of traditional Japanese colors with cinema’s inherent visual pleasure.

Moreover, Urano’s profound commitment to dyeing and weaving significantly contributed to conveying textural details onscreen. In black-and-white films, textures and materials had to be skillfully conveyed using only light and shadow, prompting Ozu to carefully depict tatami mats, shoji screens, and kimono patterns. However, the advent of color filmmaking added color information to these textural portrayals, significantly raising the demands for research and aesthetic sense in film production. Urano’s tsumugi fabrics, with their distinctively coarse weave, enabled subtle variations in patterns such as kasuri (絣) or checkered designs to become visually distinguishable onscreen, thereby conveying a warm sense of everyday life among characters. In An Autumn Afternoon, during a quiet scene where the protagonist, played by Chishu Ryu, contemplates his daughter’s impending marriage, the daughter wears a modest, everyday kimono featuring subtle woven patterns; this understated fabric symbolizes the casual warmth of ordinary family life. Urano’s kimono, though never flashy, held a definite presence, embodying traditional Japanese aesthetics and quietly supporting the emotional nuances and thematic depth within the films. As someone who has extensively viewed Japanese cinema, I find such superb expression to be truly unparalleled.

The collaboration between Yasujiro Ozu and Riichi Urano stands as one of the pinnacles of costume artistry in Japanese cinema. During the transition from monochrome to color in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the family dramas and humane narratives portrayed in Ozu’s films gained further depth and dignity through the kimono crafted by Urano. Indeed, the “Japanese elegance” Ozu demanded from his visuals cannot be discussed without acknowledging Urano’s meticulous textile artistry. Though Urano’s contributions rarely came into the public eye, they undeniably elevated the dignity and allure of Ozu’s films.

In fact, Urano himself adhered to the conviction that “kimono creators should remain behind the scenes,” always choosing to work quietly backstage. He took pride in supporting glamorous actresses from behind the scenes and had no desire to step into the spotlight himself. Thus, during his lifetime, despite the extensive support from many admirers, very little about Urano’s personal life was widely known. He remained somewhat of an enigmatic figure—a “legendary textile artist.”

Great films reveal new discoveries with each viewing. As someone who has lost count of how many times I have watched all of Ozu’s films, I highly recommend that you experience his color works, distinct from his monochrome films, at least once.