I forgot to mention, but, aside from being a film director, Jissoji was also a director of television dramas and commercials. He was also a writer, a calligraphy artist, theatre, television, and opera stage director, and a professor in the music department at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Moreover, Jissoji was also known for his bizarre overwhelming infatuation with trains of all kinds and said to have a huge collection of train models.
So a Renaissance man, basically.

Haha amazing. We16d0ll if we're going to talk about Japanese directors then all bets are off
But more importantly what makes you think Ultraman and Japanese sado-porn can't be arthouse?

The strangest directorial career I can think of is that of Akio Jissoji, who went back and forth between directing philosophical arthouse Neo-Buddhist films, sci-fi action/superhero films for little kids, and sadomasochistic soft porn disguised into other genres, such as crime or historical biography.

There is Robert Rodriguez whose career ranges from Sin City to The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D
Did IQ's just drop sharply while i was away?

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I think he didn't enjoy much about the hollywood system, after having hard time making Witches. Years later he was booted from directing Contact and Mad Max plans were put to halt after 9/11.
The following years he researched the technology to make penguins tap dance.
But i think that now he should start direct again big time!