He had everything that it would take to pursue a wellbehaved career with the producers. Older than his colleagues from the new Japanese cinema, Imamura joined the Shochiku in 1951, not for the immediate purpose of becoming a director, but because it was his modest wish to be Keisure Kinoshitas assistant.However, he worked with other directors such as Masaki Kobayashi, Yuzo Kawashima, Yoshitaro Nomura and, mainly, Yasujiro Ozu, with whom he collaborated on three important films: Bakushu, 1951, Ochazuke no aji, 1952, and Tokio monogatari, 1953.His transfer from the Shochiku to the Nikkatsu in 1954 took place as a mather of course together with other companions such as Seijun Suzuki and Yuzo Kawashima who opted for the higher salaries of the company in a new phase. It was with the Nikkatsu that his bent to independence began to show itself. After four years as assistant and script writer for Kawashima comedies, he began directing and launched three films in sequence in 1958: Nusumareta yokujo, Nishiginza eki mae and Hateshinaki yokubo.

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