Hikaru Hoshi

情熱の詩人啄木

1962 Japanese movie

The Song Lantern

The title of the film reflects the custom of writing poems and lyrics on paper lanterns. The film tells about the difficult relationship between the actors of the Japanese classical theater No, friendship, hatred and love…

Tokyo Rhapsody

Film adaptation of the hit song

Satsuma Courier Part 2: The Passionate Sword

A story about Kinsaburo Kamiya, who infiltrated the Satsuma clan at the end of the Edo period. Based on the novel "Satsuma Hikyaku" by Jiro Daibutsu, and a sequel to Satsuma Hikyaku Tokai Hen (Satsuma Courier: Eastern Sea Story) directed by Daisuke Ito in 1932

Her Brother

Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother.

The Village Bride

Japanese silent film from 1928. Kinema Junpo ranked it among the ten best Japanese movies of the year.

Seisaku's Wife

On the eve of the Russo-Japanese war at the beginning of the 20th century, small-town girl Okane has married an old wealthy man to escape a life of poverty.

Kiri no yoru no kyōfu

A dead lover returns as a ghost

The Midday Trap

A businessman who dreams of a successful career ends up embroiled in a murder case after a love affair.

The Money Dance

Machida (Shintaro Katsu) is in constant trouble because of his instincts to do right every time, even when it endangers his life. A gang hires him for his "forceful personality," and assigns him to kill evil people, a president of a loan company and a drug baron.

Sentimental Mobsters

A young man who followed his father's wishes and became a travel actor causes a big commotion with his fellow members of the Gurentai group during their travel destination! Innocent to cute girls and reckless to bad guys! Exciting entertainment!

Order of Yakuza

Order of Yakuza

Odd Obsession

A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.

Kakkoii wakamono tachi

1962 Japanese movie

The Man From Chungking

Mysterious incident at a secret factory! Important documents lost! What is the true identity of the enemy's invisible spy?

Kodokan Under a Morning Moon

The picture tells of a tremendous conflict between ju-jitsu, an aggressive art practiced by vicious hoodlums led by Takamatsu, and judo, which is used only for self-defense and championed by Sugawara. All of which, comes to a mighty match between Sugawara and Takamatsu. It's loaded with dynamite, so to speak, and lasts five minutes on the screen, Sugawara, wins. Takamatsu, a poor loser, and his four ju-jitsu hoodlum companions later ambush Sugawara in the woods. This turns out to be a mortal combat. You'd like to learn the outcome, wouldn't you?

Ah Special Attack Corps

Depicts four cheerful, young former college students with promising futures who die tragic deaths as pilots in the Kamikaze Special Attack Corps.

A Rainbow at Every Turn

Momoko and Asako are half sisters, daughters of the famous architect Tsuneo Mizuhara, who also have another half sister in Kyôto, Wakako, whom they have not had. While Asako is a sweet young lady, Momoko, the eldest, goes out with whomever she wants, thus hiding the trauma caused by seduction and abandonment during the war by young Keita Aoki. One day Keita re-enters her life.

The Cast-Off

The inventor of a ground-breaking glue, Sanada, becomes rich thanks to his discovery a high executive in his company. Because of this promotion, his world is changing completely : his wife behaves like never before, considering she's now rich and has the right to do whatever she wants, even having an affair. (Also occasionally known in English as “Overflow”)

The Red Water

Comedy drama film

The Eyes of Two People

Futari no hitomi (二人の瞳, Futari no hitomi, The Eyes of Two People) a.k.a. Girls Hand in Hand (USA title) is a 1952 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Shigeo Nakaki.

Asakusa at Night

A young scriptwriter with a yakuza upbringing, an iron-fire dancer, a young painter, and a pure-hearted downtown girl fall in love in Asakusa in this entertaining tale of love and action.

Life of Matsu the Untamed

A poor rickshaw driver finds himself helping a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly.

Where Chimneys Are Seen

Where Chimneys Are Seen focuses primarily on the interconnected lives of two couples in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Senju, a poor industrial section of Tokyo.

Undercurrent

In Kyoto a young kimono maker with traditional ideas gets involved with a married professor.

Kokoro tsuki nogotoku

1947 Japanese movie

Beauty the Enemy

In a rural district of Tokyo, the owner of a farm is abandoned by his two daughters who are attracted to the life of the big city.

Typhoon Reporter

Set around Ginza’s neon billboard boom, the movie is a drama of romance, corporate intrigue and tragic crime. A reporter (Ken Utsui) investigates a homicide in Tokyo’s bustling construction scene, meanwhile a super typhoon is brewing in the Pacific, and Ginza is square in its sights!

Dare yori mo kimi o aisu

Japanese "kayo" film centered around the song "Dare yori mo kimi wo aisu" by Kazuko Matsuo.

Fires on the Plain

In the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier afflicted with tuberculosis is abandoned by his company and left to wander the Philippine island of Leyte.

The Elephant Who Waited

The story of Kanesuke and Entaro who are master elephant trainers in charge of two elephants, Taro and Hanako at the Metropolitan Zoo.

The Life of a Horse Trader

The tale of Katakana Yonetaro aka "The Shark," a rough-and-tumble horse trader in Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, despite being a father and a husband he is frequently drawn to taverns.

Five Scouts

An early example of the Japanese war film, closer to documentary realism than the kind of propaganda produced at the height of the Pacific War. "A company commander calls on five men. They are to reconnoiter, but on their way they are attacked. Only four of them return. While his companions mourn the fifth straggles back. Soon after comes the order to move out for a general attack. The men know that this time there will be no returning." (Donald Richie)

Warm Current

The story revolves around a young man appointed to rescue a troubled hospital who must choose between two women, a dedicated nurse or a spoiled rich girl.

The Woman Champion

Fifth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Jirokichi the Rat-Kid: Edo Reel Part 2

A lost film that tells a story of Jirokichi, a notorious thief

Jirokichi the Rat-Kid: Edo Reel

Jirokichi the Rat is a notorious thief. While on the run from the law, he discovers an unexpectedly honorable side of himself, and maybe some form of redemption. Considered a lost film.

Jirokichi the Rat-Kid: The Journey

A lost film telling a story of Jirokichi the Rat, a notorious thief

Two Enemy Women Gamblers

Twelfth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Refresher Course for Wives

One night, three wives, Matsuyo, Keiko and Mari, receive a mysterious telephone call. The voice tells them that she has their husbands with her and invites them to " P " Hotel to see for themselves. They have been married for many years and are bored with their husbands, and are about to secretly carry on affairs with the other's mates.

The Revengeful Spirit of Eros

A young couple jump into the sea as part of a suicide pact. The man is rescued and subsequently discovers that his lover is also alive and working in a dance hall. Considered to be a lost film.

Throwing the Soul Away

The film centres around junior high school students. They are members of the school's baseball team. They are very good. Izawa's father asks him to stop playing prior to an important game. Hayasaki health deteriorates at this time and he becomes absent. The team decides to speak to Izawa's father to plead their case and ask for the return of their team member.

Maria of the Ant Village

Alongside Tokyo's Sumida River is a ragpickers' settlement known as Ant Village. One night, a young Catholic girl, Satoko Kitahara, who has been baptized under the name of Maria, comes to offer her services. However, Ant Village is not just an ordinary vagrants' community but a fine autonomous organization, and as the municipal authorities have long been demanding that the people of Ant Village leave the site, Satoko is utilized to publicize the Village and win public sympathy. While being utilized in this manner, Satoko is nevertheless glad to be able to help the people of Ant Village, especially the children, and when the summer vacation comes she decides to take the children on an excursion to Hakone. To raise funds for this purpose she becomes a rag-picker herself.

Ghost Story: Passion in Fukagawa

A ghost story about a woman who dies a violent death and appears to the man she loves as a vengeful spirit. This film marked the turning point in Daiei's shift in emphasis from thrillers to ghost stories.

A Woman's Testament

The first story concerns an attractive young woman who works in a Tokyo nightclub. Her plan for a solid financial future has a double whammy. In the second story, a beautiful young woman is employed by an unscrupulous real estate agent to convince male clients to invest in worthless property. The last story is about a widowed geisha who has no real financial worries and who falls in love with a forger.

Giants and Toys

Nishi is an advertising executive for a caramel company that is planning to launch a new product, in fierce competition with two other companies.

Twice on a Certain Night

Poor social conditions badly affect the relationship between a married couple, when the husband, who is desperately searching for work, fails to notice the terrible sacrifices made by his wife when she accepts a job at a local inn.

Floating Weeds

When a theater troupe's master visits his old flame, he unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

Gamera vs. Barugon

Gamera escapes from his rocket enclosure and makes his way back to Earth as a giant opal from New Guinea is brought back to Japan. The opal is discovered to have been an egg that births a new monster called Barugon. The creature attacks the city of Osaka by emitting a destructive rainbow ray from his back, along with a freezing spray capable of incapacitating Gamera.

On This Earth

Ichiro’s family used to be a large landowner, but now he is living in poverty with his mother. His mother works hard to get her son through school. Under such circumstances, Ichiro meets Wakako, the daughter of a wealthy man, and they fall in love with each other, but they are opposed by those around them because of their different social status.

Wide and Fertile Land

In a village in Manchuria, a group of Japanese settlers struggle against the elements to create wet rice paddies.

The Lowest Man

A young offender who is already guilty of many crimes is sentenced again for rape. Upon his release from prison, a year later, the victim waits to kill him.

The Phantom Horse

Following the tragic death of his father, a young boy's family trains his horse to compete in the local derby.

Machi no uwasa mo sanjûgo nichi

A bride suddenly disappears from the wedding venue, and her boyfriend begins searching for her. Things get hectic around the two of them.

Ōkuma Shigenobu the great

The biopic of Shigenobu Ōkuma, one of the main Japanese leaders at the turn of the 20th century, a supporter of rapprochement with the United Kingdom, and who brought his country into the Triple Entente against the German Empire.

Yaji Kita Cat Ghost Road

Film about Ghost-cat.

The Frolic of the Beasts

The wife Yuko Kusumon operating a pottery store was a chastal wife without complaints even though her husband is cheated with her heart. Koji Umeya, who was working part-time at a shop, was able to see the unparallel rag, and brought her to the cheerful site. Furthermore, Kenji will cause serious injury to the spot. Koji who came to the end of her uniform and started her bizarre living in Izu villa home.

Shin Jinsei Gekijo

1961 Theater of Life adaptation.

Tokyo Eyes

A beautiful older sister and her younger brother, both designers who paint the dreams of young hope, are paired with an innocent young artist and the daughter of a company president, creating a miniature picture of the youth of Tokyo that revolves around these four characters.

Gomen asobase Hanamuko sensei

1958 Japanese movie

Ambassador Ramen

Frankie Sakai plays a Chino-Japanese man who after trudging along in odd jobs discovers his true talent in making excellent, tasty and somewhat spicy ramen. As well as friendship and love, too...

Asu wa Nichiyōbi

A comedy movie for salaryman.

Their Legacy

Heitaro, who had served his firm loyally for 30 years, reaches the retirement age. He has four unmarried daughters and decides to split his retirement allowance he has received from his firm into 500,000 yen for each daughter as a wedding dowry. He considers them all old enough to handle the money, and gives them a free hand to use it as they wish.

The Invisible Man Appears

A scientist successfully creates an invisibility serum, only to be kidnapped by a gang of thugs who wish to use the formula to rob a priceless jewel.

Goodbye, Hello

Kazuko and Umeko have been friends since college. They are modern businesswomen who have many obligations in life and are not ready for marriage. Their families think differently and strive to arrange their personal happiness.

Her

1926 silent film directed by Heinosuke Gosho.

Bury Me Deep

A suspense directed by Umetsugu Inoue, starring Ayako Wakao, depicting the intense lust created by the passion of a writhing woman.

Youth, Why Do You Cry?

A modern girl suddenly intrudes into a widower's family home.