小林正树，1916年2月14日出生于日本北海道小樽市，日本电影导演、编剧、制片人，与黑泽明、木下惠介、市川昆，并称日本影坛四骑士。

小林正树被称为“日本影坛四骑士”之一，其电影中有大量关于日本传统文化的展示，最明显的是对武士制度及近代日本极权制度的反思批判，对民族元素的使用，对日本民间传说的展示。他对这些传统文化元素的展现并非浮于表面的“奇观化叙事”，而是采用仪式化构图和推镜头的运用，用电影语言来建构寓言化的叙事，他对个体命运的悲悯是建立在对更大的制度批判的基础之上的。

小林正树的电影中对日本传统文化、民族元素的银幕化展示较为明显，传统文化如能乐、武士道、日本民间传说等和电影媒介较好地结合在一起，这些民族文化元素并没有破坏电影时空的本体性，而是水乳相融。小林正树对日本文化的不断反思，个体生命被政治机器摧残的悲剧，可以说是贯穿他几部重要作品的一个母题。个体与体制的对抗一直是人们较为关注的一个人文命题，而小林正树的作品中，不论是指涉武士道的《夺命剑》《切腹》，还是矛头直指极权统治的《人间的条件》，体制对个体生命的倾轧、个体对体制的反抗都那么真实克制，残酷动人。

Masaki Kobayashi (February 14, 1916–October 4, 1996) was a Japanese director.

Among his films is Kwaidan (1965), a collection of four ghost stories drawn from the book by Lafcadio Hearn, each of which has a surprise ending.

Kobayashi also directed The Human Condition, a trilogy on the effects of World War II on a Japanese pacifist and socialist. The total length of the films is over 9 hours. Other notable films include Harakiri (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). Harakiri won him an award at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival, solidifying his place in the history of cinema.

In 1969, he was a member of the jury at the 19th Berlin International Film Festival.

He was also a candidate for directing the Japanese sequences for Tora! Tora! Tora!, once Akira Kurosawa left the film. But instead Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda were chosen.

Kobayashi, himself a pacifist, was drafted into the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, but refused to fight and refused promotion to a rank higher than private.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Masaki Kobayashi, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Masaki Kobayashi (Otaru, 14 de fevereiro de 1916 – 4 de outubro de 1996) foi um diretor e roteirista japonês , mais conhecido pela trilogia épica The Human Condition (1959–1961), os filmes de samurai Harakiri (1962) e Samurai Rebellion (1967) e a antologia de terror Kwaidan (1964). Senses of Cinema o descreveu como "um dos melhores retratadores da sociedade japonesa nas décadas de 1950 e 1960". Kobayashi se considerava um pacifista e socialista, e resistiu recusando a promoção a um posto superior ao privado . Em 1944 ele foi transferido para Miyakojima nas Ilhas Ryuku , e foi feito prisioneiro perto do fim da guerra. Então ele passou um ano em um campo de detenção em Okinawa .

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