Born in Osaka, Japan in 1931. He studied law in Tokyo before joining Shochiku. He is famous for working on all 48 films of the "Tora-San" series, one of the longest-running movie series in cinematographic history. His film "Twilight Samurai" (2002), nominated for the best foreign film Oscar, was followed by two other samurai films: "The Hidden Blade" (2004) and "Love and Honor" (2006). Mostra presented his films "About her Brother" (2010), "Kyoto Story" (2010) and "Tokyo Family" (2013), a reinterpretation of Yasujiro Ozu’s cult movie "Tokyo Story" (1953), as well as "The Little House" (2014).