TOKYO - So Kuramoto, a Japanese screenwriter best known for the drama "Kita no Kuni Kara" (From the Northern Country), died earlier this month of multiple organ failure, his foundation said Monday. He was 91.
A native of Tokyo, Kuramoto, whose real name was Kaoru Yamaya, also founded the institution Furano Juku in 1984 to train aspiring screenwriters and actor. He died on Sept. 18 at his home in Hokkaido's Furano.
After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Kuramoto joined radio station Nippon Broadcasting System Inc. and later became a freelance screenwriter.
He moved to Furano in 1977, which later became the setting for his 1981-82 drama "From the Northern Country." The series moved audiences by depicting the lives of a father and his children living amid nature and was followed by eight special continuation episodes aired between 1983 and 2002.
The film "Silence of The Sea" (Umi no Chinmoku), for which he wrote the screenplay, was shown at festivals overseas.
Kuramoto spoke actively on environmental issues and received the Medal with Purple Ribbon and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.
