Names appear in the Japanese order, last names first. “Kurosawa” standing alone always presumes Akira (I use the first names of his brother, sisters, mother, and father for clarity, and eschew macrons). Kurosawa’s memoir has been well rendered in English, as has Akutagawa’s fiction. In other cases, unless otherwise indicated, translations from the Japanese are my own.
At the end of the book, there is a simple timeline, should the reader wish a reminder about where Japanese era names fit, or where certain events mentioned in the text stand in relation to one another. This chronology, like the book, is weighted toward the modern period. It is especially detailed from the time of Kurosawa’s birth through to the making of Rashomon. Separately, there is a filmography, a roster of the thirty films Kurosawa directed between 1943 and 1993, although my story here focuses on the earlier, black-and-white productions. Under Further Reading, I note certain books that helped guide my thinking about Kurosawa or provoked me to look deeper into his life and work. They may prove to be of further interest to the reader.