In 1980, inspired by the memoir of one of his heroes, Jean Renoir, Kurosawa began to publish in serial form his autobiography, entitled Gama no Abura ("Toad Oil"; a traditional Japanese ointment for medical purposes).

Kurosawa compared himself to the toad, nervous about having to contemplate, through the process of writing his life story, his own multiple "reflections."

At the age of 25, shortly after his older brother Heigo committed suicide, Kurosawa responded to an advertisement for recruiting new assistant directors at the film studio Photo Chemical Laboratories, known as P.C.L.

[1] Kurosawa's responsibilities increased, and he worked at tasks ranging from stage construction and film development to location scouting, script polishing, rehearsals, lighting, dubbing, editing and second-unit directing.

[3] In the later part of the book, Kurosawa recounts the production of his early films as director, including Sanshiro Sugata, The Most Beautiful, Drunken Angel, Stray Dog, and Rashomon.