The writer and film director Juzō Itami (1933-1997) contributed to a complete reconfiguration of the Japanese film industry as a pioneering independent filmmaker while making ten features between 1984 and 1997. Yet, most audiences only know of his internationally acclaimed work (Tampopo, Taxing Woman) before his sensational attack by a yakuza gang member in 1992, though the latter half of his career is arguably even more relevant today. Recuperating his feature films in the broader contexts of Japanese cinema and global cinematic practice, Bernardi provides an opportunity to reconsider Itami's legacy as a key figure emerging from Japan's " Lost Decades."