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The films of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa have had a far-reaching impact on cinema and how it is produced, both within Japan and internationally. As a result of his influence, Kurosawa's work, as well as his personal character, have been subject to a number of negative criticisms. These criticisms are points of heated debate among those who study Kurosawa's work, and scores of pieces have been written both advocating for these criticisms and defending against them.
The majority of these criticisms fall into one or more of the following categories: a] accusations, by European commentators, of insufficient "Japaneseness," particularly compared to the work of the older director, Kenji Mizoguchi; b] accusations of sentimentality or didacticism; c] criticisms of the political stances taken by Kurosawa in his films; d] objections to his films' treatment of women; e] accusations of elitism; f] accusations of pandering directly to the tastes of Western audiences; g] criticisms of his alleged lack of contact with contemporary realities; and h] claims of personal arrogance and mistreatment of colleagues.