Screenwriter So Kuramoto of the Japanese drama ‘From the Northern Country’ died at home on September 18.
The foundation where he served as chairman announced news of his death on September 28.
Tributes from his longtime collaborators once again show why the works he left behind have been remembered for so long.
3-Line Summary
1. Screenwriter So Kuramoto died at 91
2. The cause of death was announced as multiple organ failure
3. He is remembered through the record of his works and collaborations
Died at Home on September 18
So Kuramoto was active as a screenwriter, playwright, and director. According to reports published by Oricon News and Yahoo! News, he died of multiple organ failure at home on the evening of September 18. He was 91 years old.
The foundation where he served as chairman announced his death on September 28. NHK also published a report titled that So Kuramoto, the screenwriter of ‘From the Northern Country,’ had died at 91.
What is clear in this news is that the date of death and the date of the announcement are different. He died on September 18, and the foundation’s announcement was made on September 28. The course of events can be understood accurately only by distinguishing between the two dates.
A Collaboration Continued Through ‘From the Northern Country’
‘From the Northern Country,’ cited as one of So Kuramoto’s representative works, is a Japanese drama. Singer-songwriter Masashi Sada, looking back on his connection to the work’s music, remembered So Kuramoto as a “great benefactor.”
Sada said that the Furano Theater Factory stage on August 9 was the last time the two met. Sada reported that, in a production that seemed to account for everything from the lighting to the exit, So Kuramoto read Goro’s “last words” from the work. This is Sada’s recollection, but it leaves the impression that the creator handled even the details of the stage himself.
Sada also mentioned asking Kuramoto to write ‘From the Northern Country’ through 500 episodes, as well as asking him to stay on an island and write ‘From the Western Country.’ Whether either was realized was not reported, but it can be read as showing that the connection between the work and its creator was deep enough to inspire hopes for a follow-up story.
A Writer Who “Looked at People,” in the Words of Actors
Actor Koji Ishizaka paid tribute to So Kuramoto through his agency. He said that they had worked together for many years, since his youth, and that while Kuramoto watched the changes of the times, he continued to portray people living in those times.
Koji Ishizaka starred in the TV dramas ‘Yasuragi no Sato’ and ‘Yasuragi no Toki~Michi.’ He also appeared in the 2024 film ‘The Silence of the Sea,’ which was introduced as the work for which So Kuramoto wrote a film screenplay for the first time in 35 years.
The tributes do not stop at simply recalling the titles of famous works. To the musician, he remained a senior colleague who entrusted him with creative work; to the actor, he remained a writer who looked at human beings rather than conforming to trends. Alongside the record of his works, the attitudes remembered by his collaborators also became important clues to understanding So Kuramoto.
References
Tags #SoKuramoto #倉本聰 #FromTheNorthernCountry #JapaneseDrama #JapaneseScreenwriter #MasashiSada #KojiIshizaka #YasuragiNoSato #TheSilenceOfTheSea #Furano #JapaneseCulture #Tribute