Takuro Ishizaka (Rental Family) Rental Family
Takuro Ishizaka shot Rental Family on the ARRI Alexa LF with Leitz Hugo lenses, switching to RED V Raptor for the commercial sequences within the film. His cinematography navigates between Western audience expectations and the flatter, brighter natural lighting of Japanese interiors -- a visual negotiation that mirrors the film's cross-cultural story. (immersivemedia)
He grew up in a filmmaking family and trained at Chapman
Born in Kawasaki City, Japan, Ishizaka was raised in a household of directors and writers. He studied cinematography at Chapman University in California and has since worked between Los Angeles and Tokyo. His credits include the Rurouni Kenshin live-action film series (widely regarded as one of the most successful manga-to-film adaptations), Snake Eyes (2021), and Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers (2023). He is a member of the Japanese Society of Cinematographers (JSC). (takuroishizaka.com, filmlightcolourawards)
He found a middle ground between Japanese naturalism and Western contrast
Ishizaka described the core visual challenge as bridging two lighting traditions:
"I wanted to find a middle ground of that Western audience likes, but truly the Japanese lighting in the natural environment is so bright, and then little flatter, but I don't want to be too flat, so I was trying to find the right amount of a contrast to feel that it's still west Japanese and then feels inside of a Western view." -- Takuro Ishizaka, Immersive Media (2025)
The result is a look that Jennie Kermode at Eye for Film called "unshowy yet luminous." Tokyo's cramped apartments and crowded streets are lit with soft natural light that avoids the neon-drenched exoticism common in Western films set in Japan. (eyeforfilm)
The road trip sequence shifts the visual register from compression to openness
When Phillip and Kikuo leave Tokyo for Amakusa, Ishizaka lets the frames breathe -- wider shots, more sky, a green palette replacing the grays and neons of the city. For the cabin interior, he used color gels on the windows to create warmth:
"We tried imitate the morning for as much as we could...We find out there's a long magic hour at that location. Then, in the interior, we heavily tinted the windows with color gels to create the mood." -- Takuro Ishizaka, Immersive Media (2025)
He let blown highlights stay in the school interview scene
In Mia's school admissions interview -- one of the film's most emotionally charged sequences -- Ishizaka made a deliberate choice to let the highlights clip rather than correcting them:
"I just felt we were gonna cut it off and make it smoother, but I decided to leave it to create more drama in the scene. I want it to look beautiful, but the highlights create an emotional separation there." -- Takuro Ishizaka, Immersive Media (2025)
He discovered Hikari's directorial method centers on actors, not camera
Ishizaka described a working relationship where the camera served the performances rather than driving them:
"I discovered that she really needs the time to work with the actors and to see how the shots line up with that work. I think for some important shots, she really took her time." -- Takuro Ishizaka, Immersive Media (2025)
"I'm so happy...I always wanted to do something like this. After I saw the edit, I was alone in the editing room. It was very emotional." -- Takuro Ishizaka, Immersive Media (2025)