Hokkaido at the end of the Taisho era is Kitami. On the day his wife died of a dystocia, Bakuro Yonetaro fell asleep after being kicked by a sick woman Yuki at a vague shop after violence.
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.
Five years have passed since the three comrades who saved their lives on the Burma Campaign-Kenichiro Kishi, Eiji Shiga, and Daizo Kobayashi promised to meet again five years later at the platform of Shinagawa Station, which was crowded with repatriates. , The day of reunion is approaching.
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
Kaji is sent to the Japanese army labeled Red and is mistreated by the vets. Along his assignment, Kaji witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against the recruit Obara. He also sees his friend Shinjô Ittôhei defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his dear wife and his old life, Kaji faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his fellow men sneak behind enemy lines.
The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.
After the boxing champion retires, the head of a powerful gym, Minegishi (So Yamamura), recommends Yamanaka (Hiroshi Kawaguchi), who is no longer in top form and is ranked number one, for a title fight, but his comrade Hata (Kojiro Hongo) is not happy with this choice, and so he moves to the gym run by the criminal businessman Goda (Toru Abe) and burning desire to beat Yamanaka.
Set in the postwar turmoil, Akasaka no shimai paints a vivit portrait of the life of three sisters who struggle to live in Tokyo.
1962 Japanese movie
Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.
A salaryman's drunken ravings in public attract the attention of journalists who coerce him into telling them his life's story.
Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.
Learning of his family's collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.
In the dying months of the Meiji era, a sympathetic student befriends a married couple, but soon realizes they share a curiously strained relationship stemming from an unknown incident in their past.
Tashiro coincidentally meets his best friend Sugimoto in a bar very close to the apartment in which Sugimoto’s wayward wife is found dead. Although Tashiro is not a suspect in the police investigation, he is racked with guilt and confesses to his wife, Masako. In an effort to further relieve his tortured sense of guilt, he then confesses to Sugimoto. Neither his wife nor his friend can believe that he could have been involved.
An abandoned temple in the mountains outside of the old capital city of Kyoto is the scene of a fated meeting between a traveling priest, two women, and a vicious killer. Bloody violence erupts whenever strangers approach the temple. Can the traveling priest bring his belief in the Buddha and rid the three temple residents of the devils that hold their souls?
1962 Japanese movie
In this movie, Sashichi tries to catch a serial killer who kills his victims with shurikens.
Zensaku, middle-aged and deaf in one ear, learns that his son's fallen for the daughter of a war officer responsible for the maiming.
1962 Japanese movie
Traveling salesman Kuruma Torajirō falls in love with an inn manager as New Year's approaches.
Part one of The Masterless 47.
A film about the construction of the Kasumigaseki Building, the first high-rise building in Japan.
One of Japan's most popular stories is the tale of Kutsukake Tokijiro, a traveling gambler who finds that he must take care of the wife and child of a yakuza he had been forced by the code of the gamblers to fight man to man. In a brilliant performance from super-star Ichikawa Raizo, with strong support from two of the greats from Toho, Shimura Takashi (7 Samurai) and Aratama Michiyo (Sword of Doom) the heartfelt story reaches new heights. Tokijiro, having learned the true nature of the boss to whom he was obligated for having spent a night and eaten at the gang's headquarters takes up arms against them in a running battle fought across the back roads of the entire nation. Another powerful rendition of this superb story, it is not to be missed!
A Golden Age drama depicting the exploits of passionate patriot Uotaro Toge in the midst of a mysterious standoff over the Secret Book of Aoi, which will determine the rise or fall of the 350,000-koku Mito clan, and showcasing swashbuckling swordsmanship.
Ten years into a marriage, the wife is disappointed by the husband's lack of financial success, meaning she has to work and can't treat herself and the husband finds the wife slovenly and mean-spirited: she neither cooks not cleans particularly well and is generally disagreeable. In turn, he alternately ignores her and treats her as a servant. Neither is particularly happy, not helped by their unsatisfactory lodgers. The husband is easily seduced by an ex-colleague, a widow with a small child who needs some security, and considers leaving his wife.
Shûe Matsubayashi movie
Housewives from four neighboring households casually gather at an old well at Kaneko's house in a residential area on the outskirts of Tokyo. If two people come together, they will talk about selling kimonos, if three people come together, they will discuss food shopping, and when four people come together, there will be laughter. Focusing on four housewives who gather at the edge of the well, it depicts the daily life of each household.
When her only relative, her elder brother is accused of robbing and murdering an old woman loan-shark, pretty, young Kiriko travels from her home in Kyushu to Tokyo to get Japan's top lawyer to defend her brother. Unfortunately her naive idealism is shattered when the lawyer refuses to take the case based on her insufficient funds. What follows is a long determined revenge plot that sees the heroine become a Tokyo bar hostess and worse to punish the lawyer. The plot thickens with another murder mystery and a sleuthing reporter.
A war widow with a young boy manages a farm with her bossy mother-in-law. When a reporter comes to interview her, the two begin an affair. He turns out to be married and won't leave his wife. Her older brother tries to marry off his children and hang on to/ extend his farm through an advantageous marriage in the face of threatened land confiscation and the desire of his children to get comfortable urban jobs instead of the backbreaking work in the paddy fields under parental control.
Haruki Murakami is a successful family man and the head of a camera company. Unbeknownst to Murakami, his arrogant son oscillates between a mistress and a new lover who sings at a nightclub. When Murakami’s daughter befriends the mistress, the affair throws the family into turmoil.
A jobless young couple, Yoshigi and Tsutue, wind up at the outskirts of the Suzaki red-light district in Tokyo. Tsutue talks her way into a job pouring sake for male customers at a small bar run by a sympathetic older woman, while Yoshigi is shunted off into a nearby noodle shop, where he gets a job delivering noodles. Tsutue charms and runs off with one of her clients. Yoshigi, ignoring the attentions of a sweet co-worker, pursues Tsutue.
Three stories revolve around independence, a man searching for his wife, and a poor craftsman trying to make money.
Japanese drama film, originally released in two parts.
Chief editor Shirou Kanzaka (Hisaya Morishige) of Sankei Publishing Inc. is being tried for embezzlement and the staging of Chiyo Umehara's suicide. The victim is a woman who's said to have had sexual relations with the defendant. Four intertwined witnesses; a critic, Shirou's employee, a singer, and his wife, are all called to the stand. His destiny now lies in their hands.
In this Japanese drama, a village girl goes to Tokyo and becomes a sex worker to support her ailing mother. While there she meets an unmarried teacher (at least he says he's unmarried) and falls in love.
Chuji Kunisada returns to his home village to find that Jubei Matsui, the corrupt magistrate, has been responsible for virtually destroying Kunisada's family. A final tragedy leads Kunisada to join with a band of rogues living in the forest in robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, always with an eye toward avenging himself on Magistrate Matsui.
Chuji Kunisada returns to his home village to find that Jubei Matsui, the corrupt magistrate, has been responsible for virtually destroying Kunisada's family. A final tragedy leads Kunisada to join with a band of rogues living in the forest in robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, always with an eye toward avenging himself on Magistrate Matsui.
Former playmates (Naito and Tamura), both long ago abandoned by their parents, recall their youth and fall in love.
A Jonan Station detective, Kikuchi, is framed for smuggling drugs and sent to prison. When he is paroled, he joins a private detective agency, where he is asked to investigate Mitsue Takazawa, the wife of a local trading firm president. While secretly conducting his own research, he finds out that Takazawa's husband is the one, responsible for Kikuchi's imprisonment, who also have set sights on Setsuko, a woman Kikuchi becomes romantically involved with.
Dramatic story of one man trying to make a difference.
When a gifted Japanese craftsmen dies, his three daughters are summoned to decide who will take over the family ribbon business in this family drama. Only one daughter cares to carry on her father's work, but she is met with resistance from her stepmother. One sister cares nothing for the artisan tradition, while the other is an icy opportunist whose only love is for money. It is the daughter who cares the most for her father's work who wanders away in a symbolic journey of self discovery.
Drama about two college friends, now working for the same banking firm, torn apart by jealousy over their inequitable positions and love lives.
Based on the novel of the same name by Seichō Matsumoto.
A biopic about Japanese baseball player, Tetsuharu Kawakami.
Film directed by Kenji Misumi.
A young samurai learns that he is the illegitimate son of the Shogun. Hoping to reunite with his birth father, he travels to Edo to find Shogun Yoshimune.
On a post-war peaceful day in Japan, Toyomatsu Shimizu, a barber as well as a good father and husband, is suddenly arrested by the Prefectural Police as a war criminal and sued for murder.
Ise, a successful entrepreneur, accidentally murders his lunatic wife after he is spotted having an affair with his secretary, Harumi. In his attempt to perfect his crime, he drives to a remote quarry to bury his wife’s body, but along the way, he finds another dead body in the back of his car! Given no choice, Ise dumps both bodies. Meanwhile, Yoshie begins her search for her missing brother, Yoshihiko. After surprising twists and turns, Ise faces his fate.
Jiro Sone sacrifices all comfort to devote himself to research. Young housewife Yachiyo is disappointed with her husband Kappei, who is more attracted to mountain climbing and another girl. When Yachiyo’s father is introduced to Jiro, all of their lives become intertwined...
Upon discovering that her father has a mistress, a young girl befriends the "other woman" and her child. Realizing that her half-sister is doomed to being regarded as an outcast, the heroine sets about to spiritually legitimize the girl.
It’s been five years since her husband had passed away. Fuyuko lives in the quiet suburbs, in a small but loving home with her three beautiful daughters. Haruko, the eldest, is the lead vocalist in a band. Natsuko is the conscientious type, who spends her days in ballet classes beautifying herself. The youngest of the three, Akiko is a bookworm who found her niche in philosophy. Although the sisters may appear to have nothing in common, there is one thing they all agree on; "Mom needs a new husband".
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
Ultra-perky model likes single freedom but feels ryosai kenbo ("good wife, wise mother") pressure, exemplified by her bored-to-tears sister.
A young lord joins gang of Robin-esque robbers.
Layabout teen Shoken is dissatisfied with his nagging single mother and bullies at school. He and his friends decide to form a cool rock band, but a tragic discovery about his family weighs on Shoken heavily.
Starring Akira Takarada as a lightweight boxing champion.
U.S. Army Captain Clark Allen gains attention by walking back and forth, the length of Japan, gambling with U.S. servicemen in order to raise funds to rebuild an orphanage. Suspicious of Allen's motives, a Japanese newsman, Hiroshi Kitabayashi, traces the American's background until he discovers the motive behind Allen's long walk.
The 22nd film in the Shacho comedy series.
From runaway brides to a typhoon, the continued adventures of Ushikata police station.
This historical film depicts the life of a man who was at the mercy of the waves during transition from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji Restoration, and therefore, shows audience the dynamic change from Edo to Meiji. Before the war, the director, Eisuke Takizawa, together with the writers, formed a scenario writer group "Narutaki-gumi and they shot many historical masterpieces.
Following the detonation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese military and the government clash over the demand from the Allies for unconditional surrender. Minister of the Army Anami leads the military officers who propose to fight on, even to the death of every Japanese citizen. Emperor Hirohito, however, joins with his ministers in asking the unthinkable, the peaceful surrender of Japan. When the military plots a coup to overthrow the Emperor's civilian government, Anami must face the choice between his desires and loyalty to his Emperor.
In the first group of Yoshitake Ichi and Taketatsu Sada Preparatory Training, the team leader was Sou Adachi, a veteran warrior with strict training. Yoshitake's father was called, and his mother lived in the house where he used to work, but Midori, a female student at that house, secretly loved Yoshitake.
The movie is about a man who started a brothel to make money out of his poor circumstances in the late Meiji period.
Zensaku, middle-aged and deaf in one ear, learns that his son's fallen for the daughter of a war officer responsible for the maiming.
1960 Japanese movie
A film by Shinobu Hashimoto.
A home drama about a mother and her three daughters, based on the novel by Fumiko Hayashi.
At an Osaka electronics company, power struggles, corporate schemes, and personal agendas collide when the boss is away. As tensions rise around a meddling heiress and a collapsing business deal, one quiet employee steps up to set things right.
A struggling salesman at World Electric finds his major deal blocked by internal politics and pressure from all sides. During a company trip to Beppu, personal entanglements and old company secrets surface, forcing difficult choices and quiet compromises.
World Electric's top ad model disappears, throwing the company into disarray. A fortune-teller’s influence spreads through upper management, sending staff on a misguided search. Misinformation, internal friction, and unexpected revelations push the company to its limits.
Amid management shakeups and arranged marriage plans at Sekai Electric, an executive couple tries to support a young woman’s relationship with an academic over a business heir.
A straight-laced employee is tasked with supervising his impulsive CEO during a business trip intended to revive struggling sales.
Executives from a Japanese department store travel to Hawaii to acquire land for expansion but become entangled in romantic distractions and miscommunication. By the time they act, the property is lost to a rival, forcing an abrupt return to Tokyo and uncertain outcomes.
As Marukyū Department Store plans its Hawaii expansion, company executives become sidetracked by local pleasures and personal entanglements. By the time they resume business, the target property is lost to a rival—forcing an abrupt return to Japan with both deals and relationships unresolved.
Iwato Construction secures a major project in Hokkaido and promotes a key employee, but chaos follows—personal conflicts, missed deals, and a lost hotel contract. Redemption comes when they restore a fire-damaged department store, earning overdue payment and a morale boost.
A clothing manufacturer president tries to revitalize his company during a business downturn by securing new sales partners and chasing a deal with a world-renowned fashion designer.
As his fashion company rides a wave of post-recession success, President Kurihara seeks to expand into women’s apparel through a deepening partnership with a French firm.
In this outing, Shoji (Morishige) and his employees plan to build a hotel for Expo 70.
In this continuation of Discover Japan with the 5 Gents (Shacho sen ichiya, 1967), Shoji (Morishige) and his employees plan to build a hotel for Expo 70.
A Film By Shiro Toyoda
Three young employees navigate love, ambition, and meddling bosses as workplace crushes evolve into defiant relationships that challenge social expectations.
A privileged son betrays his family for the favors of a geisha in 18th century Osaka.
In a small town, Tomoko, a new bus conductor, works hard to prove herself. She crosses paths with Saburō, the company president’s playful younger brother, who slowly reveals a more sincere side.