Tadashi Imai

After the war, Imai joined the Communist Party and returned to leftist themes, criticizing the corruption of the wartime leaders. In "The People's Enemy" (1946) Imai proselytized on behalf of postwar democracy. During this period he directed his greatest commercial success, "Green Mountains Part I and II" (1949), which depicted a small town high school's struggle against established institutions and values. Imai was blacklisted at times for his political views and was fired by Toho studios for leading a strike. His subsequent freelance work continued to focus on the plight of the downtrodden proletariat.