The filmmaker had a boasting career with nearly 3,000 TV commercials under his belt.
His first feature debut was a horror-fantasy 'House' in 1977 that received much appreciation in Japan as well as abroad.
The late filmmaker is widely popular for his trilogy of films he shot in Onomichi: 'Exchange Students' in 1982, 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' in 1983 and 'Lonely Heart' in 1985.
According to Variety, Obayashi who was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in August 2016 and given three months to live, went on to make two more films with antiwar themes, the 2017 'Hanagatami' and this year's 'Labyrinth of Cinema', whose March opening was postponed because of coronavirus.
( With inputs from ANI )