Akira Kurosawa's fascination with Russian literature is well known. "Since I was little," says the director, "I've liked Russian literature, and have read the greater part of it" (Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa 81). Kurosawa's early exposure to Russian writers has left an indelible mark on his artistic achievements as a filmmaker, as is attested to by his cinematic adaptations of Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot and Maxim Gorky's play The Lower Depths.

Ikiru was released in 1952, one year after Kurosawa's version of The Idiot. According to the director, Ikiru arose from the ...

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