Tokuzō Tanaka

Tokuzō Tanaka (田中徳三 , Tanaka Tokuzō , September 15, 1920 – December 20, 2007) was a Japanese film director. He is well known for directing the Zatoichi and Nemuri Kyōshirō film series.

Tanaka graduated from Kwansei Gakuin University. In 1948, he joined the Daiei studio and started working as an assistant director under Kon Ichikawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Kazuo Mori etc. In 1958, Tanaka was promoted to director and debuted with Bakeneko Goyōda. Tanaka received the Japan Directors Guild Special award for his Akumyō series films. In 1971, he was released from his contract with Daiei and become a freelance director when the studio shut down film production. As a freelance director he directed a lot of jidaigeki television dramas such as Hissatsu series.

His final work was in the 2007 short film Shonen Kawachiondotori Monogatari. In December 2007, he died of Intracranial hemorrhage.