Kamatari Fujiwara

The Hidden Fortress

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

Kin no tamago: Golden Girl

Once an average and seemingly ordinary Tokyo girl, she suddenly finds herself as a TV star owing to her discovery by a casting company, which noticed photographs that her cousin had sent. When another actress falls ill she is given the role instead. Her first film is a success propelling the young actress to popularity, her own fans, money and a house. While everything looks dandy from the outside not all is well within the family however.

Ikiru

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

I Live in Fear

An aging foundry patriarch, gripped by terror of nuclear annihilation, tries to uproot his family to Brazil. When they petition to have him declared incompetent, a family-court counselor witnesses his obsession slide into ruin—and asks whether ignoring the atomic threat is any saner.

Sanjuro

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

The Bad Sleep Well

In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.

Yojimbo

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

The Lower Depths

Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, Okayo, Osugi extracts her revenge by revealing her infidelity to her jealous husband.

Mickey One

A former comic is on the run from the mob.

High and Low

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

A Woman's Life

A woman remembers her own marriage when dealing with the love life of her son.

The Funeral

When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.

Sazae-san, the Wayward Wife

Masuo and Sazae are enjoying their newlywed life in their new house, even though they are in company housing. Masuo's colleague is invited to thank him for the newlyweds, but Masuo has been told by Managing Director Hanamura to go on a business trip to Kansai. Before long, Masuo contacted Sazae to come to Osaka.

Sazae-san's Newlywed Family

Sazae's wish came true and she got married to Masuo. The two ended up living together at Sazae's parents' home, the Isono family. However, the newlywed life that started at the Isono family was a disaster. At the Isono family, where bonito and Wakame pranks and neighbors visit, it is difficult even to be alone.

Sazae-san's Marriage

Sazae finally gets married, but right after that, Masuo is transferred to Osaka. A heartbroken Sazae sends her parents on a silver wedding trip, and eventually heads for Nikko, a travel destination. Sazae is once again overwhelmed by the sight of the newlyweds bustling with sunlight, but...

Love's Zephir Along the Tokaido

A movie directed by Nobuo Nakagawa

Forty-Eight Man

Jidai-geki by Kiyoshi Saeki

Sazae And Aunt Apron

An adaptation of the popular Sazae-san comic strip

When We Came Back

Melodrama by Kiyoshi Saeki

Four Seasons of Women

Woman melodrama by Shiro Toyoda

Double Suicide

Successful and married with children, paper-mill owner Jihei knows better than to contradict the strict social and moral codes of 18th-century Japan. But when he meets the lovely courtesan Koharu, he becomes a man obsessed. Koharu returns his love, even foregoing other customers while Jihei schemes to somehow buy her freedom. His efforts yield ruinous consequences for his business and his family life, and Koharu is meanwhile purchased by another client.

Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice

Fearless Edo-period police inspector Hanzo Itami, nicknamed The Razor, has developed his own unique way of extracting information for his inquiries. His first adventure sees him investigating his superior officer's mistress, whom he suspects of having ties with a reputed criminal on the loose.

Zoku Sasaki Kojiro

1951 Japanese movie

The Sword of Doom

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.

Ayako

An ambitious young woman uses her sex appeal to solve financial problems in her family, including a brother in debt to the yakuza, and a father who stole money from his firm to repay his son's debt.

The Blossom and the Sword

Tai Kato’s early 20th century set yakuza epic about an ordinary merchant girl (Hiroko Maki) who crosses paths with an assassin (Tetsuya Watari). The encounter sends her to jail as a suspected accomplice. Years later she marries a yakuza boss, whose gang is affiliated with working class people.

Tokyo Twilight

Two sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot accept the fact that she was abandoned as a child.

Roppongi Nights: Love Me, Love Me

Director Iwauchi Katsuki adapted this melodrama from Sasazawa Saho's award winning novel about two young lovers from different sides of the tracks set against the backdrop of the Roppongi district in Tokyo. Masaaki (Minegishi Toru) is the son of a prominent judge and a Law student at university. Chikage (Nakagawa Yuki) is a teenager from an underprivileged home. Both are desperately looking for an escape from their lives when they meet in Roppongi one night and fall in love. But coming from such different backgrounds, their happiness isn't assured.

Sazae-san Plays Cupid

An adaptation of the popular Sazae-san comic.

Three Outlaw Samurai

Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.

Beyond the Hills

Story of young love in the hills.

Sir Galahad in Campus

The first instalment in Toho's popular Wakadaishō (Young Guy) series.

The Man Who Waited

A bizarre murder at a hot springs resort threatens to disrupt an Edo detective's (Hasegawa) vacation. When his hot-blooded wife (Yamada) starts snooping around, however, he finds himself reluctantly drawn in to the case.

Different Sons

In the middle of the period of high economic growth in Japan, a family is thrown into disarray over work, money, and romance. Their father's sudden unemployment later in life causes friction among the siblings of the Akagi family. Kensuke, a salaryman at a top company, refuses to support his parents while his brother, Shoji, determines to care for them despite only working as a taxi driver. The concern over money affects Noriko's own love life as she courts a wealthy salaryman to the chagrin of her mechanic boyfriend.

Travelling Actors

This film depicts a troupe of wandering kabuki players traveling through rural Japan.

A Woman's Identity

1962 Japanese movie

Samurai Saga

Edmund Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, transplanted to Japan. A poet-warrior with an oversized nose (matched only by his great heart) loves a lady. But she sees him only as a friend, so he helps another man to woo her by giving him the poetry of his own heart.

Tojuro's Love

A colourful study of theatrical life. Two acting troupes vie for the Kyoto market during the Genroku Era. Tojuro, an extremely popular actor, feels the limits to his acting when he sees his rival troupe put on a new type of play featuring its star, Nakamura. He has the famous Chikamatsu write a new play but cannot get used to the character he is to play in it.

The Actress and the Poet

Among the tight-knit neighbours are a poet, his actress wife, a bachelor budding author, a tobacco shop owner-cum-landlady, an insurance salesman and his nosy and greedy wife. Enter a young and seemingly high-class couple who just so happens is open to purchasing life insurance from their swift neighbour. In the meantime, life is imitating art across the street, which may end up providing for either a happy ending or a rude split - eventually that is.

Onna yajikita-tatchi ryokō

1963 Japanese movie

Man of the House

This film is based on a real Meiji era performer -- and tells of Tochuken's partnership with his wife (played by Chikako Hosokawa) who played shamisen for his songs/recitations), his affair with a geisha (Sachiko Chiba), and the deterioration of his partnership and marriage.

The Road I Travel with You

The otherwise promising young man Asaji (Heihachirô Ôkawa) and his younger brother Yuji (Hideo Saeki) face blighted lives because of society's disapproval of their illegitmacy and déclassé family.

Sararīman yajikita dōchū

1961 Japanese movie

Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro

Drama about a couple and how they found themselves related with music, their egos and each other.

The Kingdom of Spectacles

Hide-chan (Hideko Takamine) and her family are on a trip to Tokyo. While visiting a fairground, a pickpocket (Kamatari Furukawa) steals the father's wallet. While everyone is trying to hunt down the thief, Hide-chan decides to make the most of it and enjoy her stay, while the thief and his main pursuer (Akira Kishii) play hide-and-seek among the funfair's spectacles and freakshows

A Gentle Breeze With Father

9th directorial work by Yamamoto Satsuo.

The Homely Sister

In the 19th century Edo period, sisters Oshizu and Otaka have sacrificed their personal happiness to work and care for their ailing father. Otaka falls in love, but can’t accept a marriage proposal since her older sister needs to marry first. When Oshizu learns of this decision, she takes matters in her own hands.

武蔵と小次郎

As the reputation of Sasaki Kojiro, who traveled through various provinces with his long sword seeking duels, began to spread, he was summoned by Lord Hosokawa Sansai upon the recommendation of Kokura clan warrior Iwama Kakubei. However, at this time, due to the proposal by Nagaoka Sado, it was agreed that Kojiro would face Miyamoto Musashi in a duel. If he won, Kojiro would officially become the chief instructor, as he desired. Until then, he had a provisional stipend of 500 koku. Learning that Musashi was in Kyoto, Kojiro set off for the city. En route, he was joined by a woman named Shino, who held a grudge against Musashi.

Young Guy at Sea

Eternal young guy, Yuzo Kayama stars in this fifth installment of the Young Guy series. Young Guy returns to the swim team from the first movie, boards his rival Blue Guy's boat, and meets a young woman on a small island.

Invisible Man

When an invisible man is run down by a car it’s up to an eager young reporter and a strange clown to bring a dangerous gang to justice.

Men and War III: The Final Chapter

Final part of epic drama about war and its effects upon human beings, follows the fortunes of the Godai family through the Sino-Japanese War through the Soviet Union's sudden attack upon Japanese troops at the end of the war.

Dorobō Sodachi Dorobōi

A suspense comedy about thieves starring Kazuo Funaki.

Kokusai Mitsuyudan

Directed by Daisuke Ito.

Murahachibu

A villager's family is ostracized after he makes an accusation of rigged elections

Onna Ikitemasu: Sakariba Wataridori

Akane Kawasaki, known for her aversion to physical contact with men, possesses some unfavorable habits such as stealing. Despite these flaws, she garners popularity in the slums due to her compassionate care for children. In an attempt to secure a stable future for their child, she enters into marriage with Tsutomu Yamazaki, who struggles with a stutter. Unfortunately, their union is cut short by the untimely death of Tsutomu Yamazaki in an accident.

Kaze no ko

1949 drama film

Sasaki Kojiro

Director Hiroshi Inagaki's early version of the life and death of famed swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. Otani Tomoemon gives a brilliant performance as Sasaki Kojiro, who rises from humble beginnings to national fame, and a young Toshiro Mifune appears as the legendary master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi for the first time and essentially sets the standard for future portrayals.This masterpiece is based on the original story as written by noted author Murakami Genzo and is far superior to any other versions. Following Kojiro from his earliest days through his fateful meeting with Musashi, this movie is filled with exciting and dramatic moments culminating in the best version of the final duel ever seen on film.

Third Generation Boss

Based on Kazuo Taoka's autobiography, this film follows a Kobe gangster as he builds the small Yamaguchi-gumi into Japan's largest criminal clan.

Red Beard

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

(Street of Wandering Pigeons) When Will the Birds Come Home

Yoshida Denkichi does loses sight of his wife Chiyoko and daughter Toyoko during the war, and is taken in by a familiar woman, Oshige, and becomes the owner of "Fujimura" in the town of Hato. Eiko is a timid woman who hates Terada, a watchmaker who is obsessed with her; Tamie is a hard worker who asks for money from customers to support her mother and daughter Teruko; Tane, who dreams of the day they can be together, gives money to her lover Takeda; Machiko, an apres girl, is selective about her customers in the name of romance. They are women working in the red light district at "Fujimura."

Mount Hakone

Japanese drama.

Kasajiro: Truncheon versus Sword

A series of murders at Fukagawa lumberyard is tied to a grudge letter from the deceased Kansuke Tsukunamiya. Officer Kasajiro Sakane investigates the baffling case.

Five Men in a Circus

The main focus is on the 5 member band of a small circus as it runs into problems while touring rural Japan. It also pays lots of attention to the two daughters of the aging and irascible ringmaster-circus owner. The high points are the sound (and score) and cinematography featuring a lot of vertiginous panning (appropriate - as high wire trapeze artists are also an important element in the film). A fascinating side-light on 30s Japan.

Dodes'ka-den

On a Tokyo dump’s shantytown edge, interwoven vignettes follow residents scraping by: a boy who “drives” an imaginary trolley, a homeless father and son designing a dream house, a young woman brutalized at home, drunks, schemers, and saints of small kindnesses. Kurosawa crafts a ragged mosaic of hardship, fantasy, and flickers of grace that keep people moving forward.

Kagemusha

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

The Girl in the Rumor

A story of two sisters, the older being more traditional, the younger a "moga" ("modern girl"). Their widowed father runs the family sake shop, but is running into financial trouble, causing him to tamper with his stock; Meanwhile, his long-time mistress yearns for something more serious. Amidst this, the older sister is introduced to a well-off suitor: A university boy, much more intrigued by the less traditional little sister. A doddering grandfather, an officious uncle and busybody neighbors also don't make the lives of the hardworking members of the family any easier.

The Sun's Burial

In Osaka's slum, capricious folks without futures engage in pilfering, assault and robbery, prostitution, and the trading of ID cards and blood.

Eyes, the Sea and a Ball

A teacher in a poor island community tries to improve his students' spirits by entering them in a volleyball tournament as long-shot underdogs.

The Battle of Okinawa

The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.

東海水滸伝

1945 Japanese movie

The Blue Mountains: Part I

Teacher Yukiko finds herself in opposition to conservative faculty and villagers after defending a student for being in a relationship with a young man from Tokyo.

Wife! Be Like a Rose!

Kimiko, a Tokyo white-collar working girl, lives with her serious, intellectual, haiku-writing mother. Kimiko seeks to marry her boyfriend but needs her absent father to act as the go-between and negotiate the marriage. Kimiko travels and finds her father living with a second family.

Three Sisters with Maiden Hearts

Three sisters earn money for their bossy mother by being samisen street musicians. This means mainly playing a banjo type instrument for tips in bars...

Hideko the Bus Conductress

Okoma, a witty young woman working as a conductor in an old, rickety bus in Kōfu, Yamanashi (rural Japan), has a creative idea that could avert the dwindling number of passengers when her job and the bus company itself are at stake.

Umi o yobu koe

1945 Japanese movie

An Inn at Osaka

An Inn at Osaka, rarely seen outside Japan, follows the story of an insurance company executive from Tokyo, Mr. Mito, who is demoted to the Osaka office. He takes a room at a small inn and tries to rebuild his life. Notable for its exquisite framing and cinematography, An Inn at Osaka allows its complicated plotlines to disappear behind the minutiae of penury and humiliation that Mito and others suffer during the post-war economic and social reconstruction.

When Winter Comes

An old man cashes in all his possessions and sets off on a journey to the Tohoku region in late autumn. Along the way, he visits a friend on his deathbed and develops a faint affection for an elegant old woman, but the purpose of his journey is actually to find a place to die. He gives a large sum of money to a young couple, who are poor but have a dream for the future, and tries to throw himself into the sea. The movie depicts the loneliness of an old man who has lost his wife.

A Carpenter and Children

A carpenter, Shigetsugu, learns a lesson of love and humanity from five orphaned children and an affectionate woman named Oritsu. It's a winning combination of drama and humor. The warm friendship that grows between the carpenter, the woman and the children making this into a true masterpiece.

The Day the Sun Rose

Shinkichi, a peasant employed as a cloth-dyer, has a dream: in the midst of the civil war which ravages Japan, he hopes to revive the long-banned custom of the Kyoto Gion Festival, and by doing so, bring together the warring clans and rampaging brigands in peaceful celebration.

Cold Rice, Osan, Chan

Three stories revolve around independence, a man searching for his wife, and a poor craftsman trying to make money.

The Munekata Sisters

Setsuko is unhappily married to Mimura, an engineer with no job and a bad drinking habit. She had always been in love with Hiroshi but both of them failed to propose when Hiroshi left for France a few years ago. Now he is back and Mariko tries to reunite them. She too is secretly in love with Hiroshi.

The Portrait

The mistress of a crook real estate broker comes to terms with her soulless existence after an artist paints her portrait.

The Woman Next Door

A 1981 TV movie based on a short story by Kuniko Mukoda, starring Kaori Momoi and Jinpachi Nezu. A housewife is slowly tempted by a mysterious man who she overhears one day through the wall of her apartment.

Barefoot Gen: Explosion of Tears

First live action "Barefoot Gen" sequel.

Beyond the Hills

Adaptation of a novel by Yojiro Ishizaka, originally released in two parts.

Conduct Report on Professor Ishinaka

Three humorous love stories set in rural Japan.

I Am a Cat

1936 P.C.L. adaptation of Natsume's novel.

Botchan

1935 P.C.L. adaptation of Natsume's novel.

The End of the Night

Walking home late one night, a down-on-his-luck sewage worker runs into a drunk businessman with a briefcase full of cash. His impulsive decision will lead to a long, dark night of the soul, while his lady love, a bar hostess, tries to cope with her sudden change of fortune.

Okuni and Gohei

A high-born woman named Okuni travels around the country with Gohei, a samurai retainer who is in service to her. They are in search of Tomonojo, who has killed the man who was Okuni’s husband and Gohei’s master, and they cannot return to their lord’s home until they have fulfilled their duty of hunting down and killing Tomonojo.

The Lonely Swordsman (Part 1)

Historical drama about a sleepy-eyed ronin.

The Lonely Swordsman (Part 2)

Historical drama about a sleep-eyed ronin

Stakeout

Two detectives begin a stakeout based on the slim chance of catching a murderer whom they suspect will try to reunite with an old flame.

Mr. Pu

A math teacher loses his job while falling in love with a local girl.

Husband and Wife

A married couple looking for an apartment move in with the husband's co-worker, a widower. The husband becomes jealous of the widower and his wife.

Mother Never Dies

The premature death of a young mother serves as inspiration for her husband and son.

Ditch

Postwar Tokyo. Pin and Toku live in the squatter area of Kappanuma. Pin and Toku are avid gamblers. They take in Tsuru, a slightly demented woman who has run away from a geisha house.

Duel of Blood and Sand

Frustrated with the bad behavior of his lord, Inaba Yajuro (Otomo) declares that he is leaving the clan and sets off on a journey that leads him into a small town besieged by a violent group of brigands. In a kind of homage to Kurosawa's 7 Samurai, the townspeople have been unable to defend themselves and Inaba sets out to teach them how to stand up for themselves. Meanwhile the vile Lord Yasumasa has sent the 4 finest swordsmen in the clan out to hunt Inaba down and kill him. Led by the magnificent Ichibei (Konoe), a master of weaponry in his own right, everything points to an ultimate showdown between the former friends in a battle to the death.

The Approach of Autumn

A single mother from the country raising a 6th grade boy comes to Tokyo, leaves the boy to live with his uncle's family, runs a struggling grocery store, and works a local inn. The boy befriends a girl, the daughter of the innkeeper.

The Unbalanced Wheel

A study of uneasy relationships among the inhabitants of a tiny rural community.

Light of Africa

Two semi-slackers with an ultra-intimate friendship work, slack and drink in a freezing Hokkaido town.

Time Within Memory

Minoru visits his home on Okinoerabu island for the first time in thirty years. Seeing the old man who used to be in love with his mother, Minoru recalls the old days spent on the island with his young, beautiful mother.

The Sunshine Girl

A young factory worker struggles to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

The Maiden Courtesan

Period romantic drama.

Tadano Bonji: Jinsei Benkyô

Based on the comic by Yutaka Asou

The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan

An outlaw pushes the residents of Edo's red light district to rebel against a growing number of stifling, moralistic laws.

Love Never Fails

Two youths – the serious son of a Buddhist abbot and his rakish pal – quarrel over a restaurant keeper's daughter. When one of the youths dies, the other boy and the girl find they cannot forget him.

Tipsy Life

The film generally regarded as Japan’s first true musical was also the first film made entirely in-house by the pioneering studio P.C.L., a company founded specifically to take advantage of emergent sound technology. P.C.L. worked in collaboration with a brewer’s firm, Dai Nihon Biru, who met the production costs of the film in full, and whose products are featured in the film in an example of the sophisticated and modern merchandising typical of the studio’s early work. The film is partially set in a beer hall, and its story concerns a beer seller at a train station and her relationship with a music student trying to create a hit song. Director Sotoji Kimura was to become a company stalwart, making such films as Ino and Mon, while actress Sachiko Chiba would emerge the studio’s first real star, appearing in such films as Wife Be Like a Rose.

The Skin of the South

When a group of young geologists declares a mountainside marked for residential development unstable, they are met with scorn on two fronts. On one end, they must contend with the local villagers who balk at the prospect of relocation; on the other, they face the ambitions of the headstrong lumber baron, whose actions will only further destabilize the land. Their pleas for reason ignored, the scientists can do little but observe as nature runs its inevitable course.

Chocolate and Soldiers

Chocolate and Soldiers (チョコレートと兵隊, Chokorēto to Heitai) is a 1938 Japanese war film directed by Sato Takeshi and one of the most effective Japanese propaganda films of the late 1930s. The American director Frank Capra said of Chocolate and Soldiers "We can't beat this kind of thing. We make a film like that maybe once in a decade. We haven't got the actors. It shows the common Japanese soldier as an individual and as a family man, presenting even enemy Chinese soldiers as brave individuals. It is considered to be a "humanist" film, paying close attention to the human feelings of both the soldier and his family. Cinema theorist Kate Taylor-Jones suggests that Chocolate and Soldiers provided "a vision of the noble, obedient and honourable Japanese army fighting to defend the emperor and Japan.

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun

A high-school girl inherits a declining yakuza organization, which seeks to repair its fortunes under her leadership.

Tokyo Sweetheart

Following the Second World War, the lives of various people in a poverty-stricken area of Tokyo are entertwined. Pachinko parlor girls, shoeshine boys, a maker of costume jewelry, and a streetcorner artist all struggle to make their livings and to find happiness in difficult surroundings.

Che, Che, Che with Love

A musical romance.

Weeping Doll

A Hibari Misora musical about an impoverished girl and her brother in Postwar Japan.

The Woman Who Touched the Legs

A screwball tale of a suspected “lady thief” and the detective who is on her trail, following her from Osaka to her home village, where she is going to hold a memorial service for her father. Of course, the detective falls in love with his prey.

Horse

Ine Onoda, the eldest daughter of a poor family of farmers, raises a colt from birth and comes to love the horse dearly. When the horse is grown, the government orders it auctioned and sold to the army. Ine struggles to prevent the sale.

The Lone Journey

Forced on the road by yakuza obligations, a man sets out on a reckless journey to Tsumagoi. Movie posters for local cinemas were often displayed at sento (public baths) too. The handwritten text on the bottom here announces the film will play at Hassen for 3 days.

Drifting

Adaptation of Fumiko Hayashi's novel.

China Night

Wartime propaganda filmed by the Japanese in occupied China, Shirley Yamaguchi portrays an orphan rescued from the streets by a kindly Japanese merchant marine officer. Part spy thriller and part Shanghai travelogue, it was part of a popular series known as "Chinese Continental Friendship" made by the occupying Japanese in China.

Enoken's The Magician

Enoken plays a magician real powers come from his magical hat. A jealous theater owner sends girls, then goons, to keep Enoken from performing his grand show!

Happiness of Us Alone

The story is of two people. One is deaf, the other deaf and mute. They marry after meeting at a school reunion, and the film follows their trials and tribulations ... and joys.

The Man Who Came to Port

An Ishiro Honda film.

Lovetide

An Ishiro Honda film.

Mother and Son

An Ishiro Honda film.

Good Luck to These Two

A young man and woman are determined to marry despite opposition from her parents.

The Story of Iron Arm Inao

An Ishiro Honda film.

Chûshingura

After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.

Taking the Castle

The Sengoku Era was coming to an end. The monopoly of the ever powerful shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa, was at a near. Only one man was brave enough to stand in Ieyasu's way - A lone wolf samurai by the name of Kagekatsu Uesugi. Inspired by Uesugi's courage to revolt, a young samurai warrior, Touzou Kuruma decides to join the fight. Their target: the Tamonyama Castle.

The Tragedy of "W"

A young theatre actress fights for her uncertain career while having to confront the personal sacrifices that will arise from it.

Tragedy of the Coolie Samurai

Gonza was a handsome young laborer, a footman and spear-carrier, working hard for his meager wage. All Gonza wanted was to marry his young sweetheart, but despite their mutual poverty, her status as the daughter of a samurai blocked their path to happiness. A chance opportunity to achieve samurai status would come one day, but Gonza will regret trusting the so-called honorable samurai who extended this fateful offer, and the terrible price he'd pay, fighting for his life in one of the most blood-spattered samurai battles ever filmed.

Cut the Shadow

The womanizing master of a run-down dojo hires an unemployed samurai to make himself look good instead of learning the skills himself. He lives to regret this laziness when he falls in love with the daughter of a higher class samurai and is informed on their wedding night that he must defeat her before their marriage can be consummated....

Seven Samurai

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Sazae-san Sequel

An adaptation of the popular Sazae-San comic strip.

Sazae-san

An adaptation of the popular Sazae-san comic strip. The first entry in Toho's Sazae-san series.

Teenage Sazae

Adaptation of the popular Sazae-San comic strip. The first entry in the series shot in color.

Sazae's Engagement Trip

An adaptation of the popular Sazae-San comic strip. The first entry in the series shot in TohoScope.

Sazae-san's Baby

An adaptation of the popular Sazae-San comic strip.

A Second Life

1948 Japanese drama film.

Crazy Uproar

Also known as Crazy Uproar.

Jakoman and Tetsu

In a village subsisting on it herring fishery, a one-eyed criminal named Jakoman terrorizes the inhabitants. One of them, the son of the head of one of the fish companies by the name of Tetsu, decides to overthrow Jakoman and his cohorts.

Meeting of the Ghost of Apres-Guerre

In a small town, according to the homecoming of Professor Ishinaka, the youth culture group was overwhelmed to make a presentation for the summer festival, but because of lack of funds, she works part-time at the spectacle of a tour, a haunted house Especially. The ghost was a struggle amongst the people, it was a great success in filling the crowd, but in the circus hut next to it, Kenji who was supposed to have disappeared was pitiful.

I Want to Be a Shellfish

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.

Toyuki

Shot mostly in Tokyo, this comedy depicts two Chinese tourists who have travelled from their country to Japan in order to experience the latter country.

Children of the Sun

At 38, Seiu marries Masako, who is emotionally distant and attempts suicide. Masako’s past includes being sold into servitude and an unrecognised pregnancy. Seiu learns the truth and accepts Masako and the unborn child, embracing his roles as husband and father. He also reforms a troubled youth at his institution. In a climactic speech, Seiu inspires his students with resilience and love.

Sky of Hope

What is marriage? Young couple in match-making wanted to know before they decide. They visited married couples of sisters and brothers. Love comedy in 1942.

Harikiri Boy

An early Tōhō salaryman musical.

Mado Kara Tobidase

The movie "Jump Out of the Window" is a heartwarming work that depicts the interaction between two families. Shusuke Tokuyama (Den Obinata) runs an agricultural and livestock industry, and has his father Ritaro (Hiroshi Shiomi), younger brother Yuji (Keiju Kobayashi), wife Fujiko (Kiko Todoroki), and four children (three of whom are Obinata's sons). They lived in a large family of 8 people, including 2 children and 2 daughters. The Fujieda family next door is Chieko (Ayako Okamura), whose husband, a captain, died in a shipwreck at sea, her daughter Mariko (Kyoko Kagawa), and her son Michio (Oohinata's son), who has a leg disability and is undergoing rehabilitation. ) We were a family of three. Through the interaction between the Tokuyama family and the Fujieda family, the importance of family and the kindness of people are reflected on the screen.

Tokai no kaii 7-ji 03-bu

Miyamoto Tokunosuke works at a Detective Agency in the heart of Tokyo. When his lover Ranko tells him that she's pregnant, he begins to worry. His company hasn't paid his backsalary and he doesn't know how he will pay for the new baby. His friend Suihei tells him about a job at a bar, but on his way there, Tokunosuke meets a mysterious man who sells him a newspaper...for tomorrow!

The Bitch

The fall of an accountant enthralled by the sexual charms of a cabaret dancer.

Chorus of the Century--Patriotic March

A biographical film chronicling the life of composer Setoguchi Tōkichi (1868-1941) from his early days as a clarinetist in the Imperial Japanese Navy band to his later years when his music, in particular the famed “Warship March” (Gunkan kōshinkyoku), surged in popularity.

The Rookie Managers

1955 Japanese movie

Inochi hateru hi made

1966 Japanese movie

All of Myself

The daughter of a former Miss Universe winner finds success as a fashion model in Tokyo following the death of her fiancé.

Playboy President: Part II

After a promotion brings new professional challenges, a diligent employee is pulled into corporate matchmaking and a high-stakes business conflict over a critical eel supply.

Five Gents and Karate Grandpa

"Shacho" comedy about the president of a salt manufacturing company.

The Rise and Fall of a Jazz Girl

Minako, a runaway from Osaka chasing her dream of becoming a singer, struggles through poverty, failed jobs, and exploitation in Tokyo. With the help of a kind old vendor, a supportive reporter, and eventually singer Akira Takarada, she finally gets her chance to shine on stage.

Hateful Things

The story follows a humble merchant from Tohoku who travels to Tokyo to fulfill his dream of buying goods directly from wholesalers. During his stay, he experiences some of the happiest days with his daughter, only to be confronted with harsh realities that test family bonds, honor, and human frailty.

The Blue Mountains

About schoolgirls in a rural town, and a love letter which has the entire community in an uproar.

Blue Buds

Outspoken student Noriko stands up to bullies and befriends pitcher Mitsuo. As their bond deepens, she impulsively declares she wants to marry him—then reconsiders, realizing both still have growing to do before love can truly begin.

The Wife is a University Student

Outspoken student Noriko stands up to bullies and befriends pitcher Mitsuo. As their bond deepens, she impulsively declares she wants to marry him—then reconsiders, realizing both still have growing to do before love can truly begin.

The Blue Mountains Part 2

At Kaikō Girls’ School, a fake love letter sparks a heated PTA debate. Teacher Shimazaki wins the vote, while students and staff navigate misunderstandings and mischief. Amid the chaos, romance blooms: Numata proposes to Yukiko, and Rokunosuke declares his love to Shinko, ending with a joyful countryside outing.

New Tengu Kurama: Samurai in the Pouring Rain

Kurama Tengu uncovers a suspicious gold robbery tied to a political scheme within the shogunate. As he follows the clues, hidden alliances, betrayals, and a mysterious woman entangle him in a dangerous conspiracy whose true aim remains just out of reach.

Schooldays

Three college friends support swimmer Okubo through family and financial troubles. Junko, a woman he helped, develops feelings for him, while a former classmate reappears. With his friends’ quiet help, Okubo regains focus and wins a major student swimming competition.