In an epilogue provided for his incomparable study of Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), Donald Richie reflects on Kurosawa's life work of thirty feature films and describes his last, unfinished project, a film set in the Edo period to be called The Ocean Was Watching. Kurosawa remains unchallenged as one of the century's greatest film directors. Through his long and distinguished career he managed, like very few others in the teeth of a huge and relentless industry, to elevate each of his films to a distinctive level of art. His Rashomon--one of the best-remembered and most talked-of films in any language--was a revelation when it appeared in 1950 and did much to bring Japanese cinema to the world's attention. Kurosawa's films display an extraordinary breadth and an astonishing strength, from the philosophic and sexual complexity of Rashomon to the moral dedication of Ikiru, from the naked violence of Seven Samurai to the savage comedy of Yojimbo, from the terror-filled feudalism of Throne of Blood to the piercing wit of Sanjuro.

唐纳德·里奇（Donald Richie），1924年出生于美国，日本电影、文化专家。

1947年，唐纳德·里奇随军来到日本东京。很快，他就对日本文化、特别是日本电影产生了浓厚的兴趣，并开始尝试写作影评。1948年，他相识了被誉为“日本电影教母”的川喜多夫人，两人在向西方世界介绍和推广日本电影的过程中，结下了长期而深厚的友情。也正是通过她的介绍，里奇结识了当时名满日本影坛的电影大师小津安二郎。

自1953年起，唐纳德·里奇定期为《日本时报》撰写影评。1959年，他出版了《日本电影：艺术与工业》，这也是第一部用英语介绍日本电影的专著。之后，里奇发表了大量介绍、论述日本电影及社会的专著与文章，开始了其长达半个多世纪的日本文化“情缘”。