Tokyo Story: The Ozu/Noda Screenplay

Yasujiro Ozu’s 1953 Tokyo Story is regularly rated among the top films ever made and will soon be reissued on DVD. Ozu and cowriter Kogo Noda viewed the script as literature; once completed, it was little changed during filming. Here is a translation of the Japanese screenplay to Tokyo Story, with critical observations by Donald Richie on Ozu’s filmmaking, a filmography, and twenty stills. Students of screenwriting will learn much from Ozu’s lean approach, while film lovers will treasure this unique keepsake of a great cinematic achievement.

Yasujiro Ozu (1903–1963) was one of Japan’s greatest film directors.

Kogo Noda (1893–1968), an influential screenwriter, was a frequent Ozu -collaborator.

Donald Richie is the preeminent Western authority on Japanese film.