Kōichi Saitō

Directing

Kōichi Saitō

Born — Died

1929-02-03 — 2009-11-28

Place of birth

Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

40 titles

Kōichi Saitō (斎藤 耕一 Saitō Kōichi, 3 February 1929 – 28 November 2009) was a Japanese film director and photographer. Born in Tokyo, Saitō started studying at Rikkyo University but ended up graduating from the Tokyo College of Photography (currently Tokyo Polytechnic University). He was initially a movie stills photographer at Nikkatsu before launching his own production company, Saito Productions, and directing his first film, Tsubuyaki no Jō, "a low-budget, independent film with a visual flair that earned comparisons with Claude Lelouch and with Richard Lester’s Beatles films, including A Hard Day’s Night". Some of his first films were youth movies featuring Group Sounds music. He came to p…

Known for

Tsugaru Folksong poster
6.9

A young girl is being asked about a man with whom she was keeping company, as her grandmother plays a lament on a shamisen. Then the focus changes to a couple arriving from Tokyo - the woman returning to her home, the man an escapee from the yakuza. The man doesn't seem to mind when the woman sells her favours to tourists at the local bar, just as she seems to take his attentions to Yuki, a blind girl, with equanimity.

Tsugaru Folksong

1973

The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi poster
6.4

Obayashi's take on the famous Kosuke Kindaichi series, made popular partly thanks to the numerous movie-adaptions by Kon Ichikawa, the most known being The Inugami Family. Kosuke Kindaichi is the most famous detective in Japan. Kindaichi gets a new case to figure out who has beheaded a valuable statue and made off with its head.

The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi

1979

Only on Mondays poster
6.7

Yuka is a “good-time girl” from Yokohama who is persuaded by her papa to sleep with a foreign business executive so that he can close an important deal. Nakahira presents a shrewdly observed portrait of a modern, sexually assertive woman—an unsettling character for a changing but still patriarchal society.

Only on Mondays

1964

The Homeless poster
7.8

Two inmates are simultaneously released from jail, but go their separate ways, only to cross paths again in the nearest brothel. There they make the acquaintance of a would-be prostitute. They help her escape and decide to guide her on her quest for sunken contraband somewhere off the coast.

The Homeless

1974

The Rendezvous poster
6.6

The brief love story of an attentive young man and a beautiful woman who meet, fall in love and part during the course of a train ride.

The Rendezvous

1972

Little Snack poster
10.0

Two young adults (Nana Ozaki and Hiroshi Fujioka) meet at a Snack Bar where the youth hang out and bands like The Village Singers and Purple Shadows play, and soon they fall in love, but a shadow and a secret hangs over them.

Little Snack

1968

Behind the camera

Tsugaru Folksong poster
6.9

A young girl is being asked about a man with whom she was keeping company, as her grandmother plays a lament on a shamisen. Then the focus changes to a couple arriving from Tokyo - the woman returning to her home, the man an escapee from the yakuza. The man doesn't seem to mind when the woman sells her favours to tourists at the local bar, just as she seems to take his attentions to Yuki, a blind girl, with equanimity.

Tsugaru Folksong

1973

Tsugaru Folksong poster
6.9

A young girl is being asked about a man with whom she was keeping company, as her grandmother plays a lament on a shamisen. Then the focus changes to a couple arriving from Tokyo - the woman returning to her home, the man an escapee from the yakuza. The man doesn't seem to mind when the woman sells her favours to tourists at the local bar, just as she seems to take his attentions to Yuki, a blind girl, with equanimity.

Tsugaru Folksong

1973

The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi poster
6.4

Obayashi's take on the famous Kosuke Kindaichi series, made popular partly thanks to the numerous movie-adaptions by Kon Ichikawa, the most known being The Inugami Family. Kosuke Kindaichi is the most famous detective in Japan. Kindaichi gets a new case to figure out who has beheaded a valuable statue and made off with its head.

The Adventures of Kosuke Kindaichi

1979

Only on Mondays poster
6.7

Yuka is a “good-time girl” from Yokohama who is persuaded by her papa to sleep with a foreign business executive so that he can close an important deal. Nakahira presents a shrewdly observed portrait of a modern, sexually assertive woman—an unsettling character for a changing but still patriarchal society.

Only on Mondays

1964

The Homeless poster
7.8

Two inmates are simultaneously released from jail, but go their separate ways, only to cross paths again in the nearest brothel. There they make the acquaintance of a would-be prostitute. They help her escape and decide to guide her on her quest for sunken contraband somewhere off the coast.

The Homeless

1974

The Rendezvous poster
6.6

The brief love story of an attentive young man and a beautiful woman who meet, fall in love and part during the course of a train ride.

The Rendezvous

1972

Little Snack poster
10.0

Two young adults (Nana Ozaki and Hiroshi Fujioka) meet at a Snack Bar where the youth hang out and bands like The Village Singers and Purple Shadows play, and soon they fall in love, but a shadow and a secret hangs over them.

Little Snack

1968

Frozen River poster
3.0

A young doctor starts working at a mental hospital in the Yokohama region and falls in love with one of the patients there.

Frozen River

1976

The Blue Mountains '88 poster
4.5

No synopsis available yet.

The Blue Mountains '88

1988

No artwork available
NR

Adaptation of a 1956 novel by Yukio Mishima.

The S.S. Happiness Sets Sail

1980

Ningen no sabaku poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Ningen no sabaku

1990

Shadow of Deception poster
6.5

It was five years ago when Minako spent a night with Sozo, younger brother of her ex-husband. She now lives in a local town with a rich old man who owns a dry goods store. Minako travels to Tokyo on business every three months, during which time she continues to meet Sozo, who has married the daughter of his respected teacher.

Shadow of Deception

1971

Kigeki: koko kara hajimaru monogatari poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kigeki: koko kara hajimaru monogatari

1973

Dear Tomorrow poster
NR

Youth drama

Dear Tomorrow

1969

Dear Tomorrow poster
NR

Youth drama

Dear Tomorrow

1969

Bokyo poster
9.0

In 1940, Kubota Shoten, which has been in business for generations, goes bankrupt due to the debauched lifestyle of its president, Kunimitsu Kubota. Subsequently, Kunimitsu moves back to his hometown and his children are sent to live with other relatives.

Bokyo

1993

Jesus is My Boss poster
8.0

A warring Yakuza awakens to Christianity and becomes an evangelist. The film is modelled on the real-life "Mission Barabbas," a Christian evangelistic group of ex-Yakuza.

Jesus is My Boss

2001

Jesus is My Boss poster
8.0

A warring Yakuza awakens to Christianity and becomes an evangelist. The film is modelled on the real-life "Mission Barabbas," a Christian evangelistic group of ex-Yakuza.

Jesus is My Boss

2001

Journey Into Solitude poster
6.9

Bored with her school life, a 16-year-old student leaves home to take a trip along the Pacific Ocean. After meeting with a theatre group she falls sick and is rescued by a fisherman.

Journey Into Solitude

1972

Second Chance poster
1.0

A man survives a double suicide attempt, while his girlfriend does not.

Second Chance

1973

Lemon in the Rainbow poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Lemon in the Rainbow

1968

The Sea Doesn't Look Back poster
NR

In stark contrast to his elder brother, who is racing along the fast track to success, his younger brother, Reiji, leads a carefree life in Yokohama. He feels sympathy for Mie, whom his brother had dumped in pursuit of a career, but upon learning that she is suffering from a terminal illness and has little time left to live, his sympathy turns into intense love.

The Sea Doesn't Look Back

1969

The School Cap poster
NR

A Tokyo student transfers to a rural school and finds it difficult to adjust himself to its customs and traditions. One of the customs is the wearing of an old school cap by a senior. It is a symbol of courage and bravery and is handed down to a new senior each year.

The School Cap

1963

Fallen Leaves and Sweet Memories poster
NR

Nobuko and five male friends graduate from a high school, promising to remain friends forever. One year later, Nobuko is working as a mediocre actress for TV commercials, and the five men are wearing beards and have formed a psychedelic rock band. One day, Nobuko meets Jun, who draws cartoons based on his experiences.

Fallen Leaves and Sweet Memories

1969

Fallen Leaves and Sweet Memories poster
NR

Nobuko and five male friends graduate from a high school, promising to remain friends forever. One year later, Nobuko is working as a mediocre actress for TV commercials, and the five men are wearing beards and have formed a psychedelic rock band. One day, Nobuko meets Jun, who draws cartoons based on his experiences.

Fallen Leaves and Sweet Memories

1969

The Story of Yumeji Takehisa: In Love poster
8.0

Based on the life of artist Yumeji Takehisa, who is most famous today as the definitive artist of "Taisho Romanticism" and for his melancholic paintings of beautiful women (bijinga). His early career was deeply intertwined with Japan's socialist and anarchist movements.

The Story of Yumeji Takehisa: In Love

1975

Aspiration poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Aspiration

1977

Onigiri: Arcadia monogatari poster
2.0

A couple flees Tokyo, their family and friends. The girlfriend is a member of a rock band. She is dating the man, but friends and family are against it compelling her to move away. They stay at an inn in an area in which they know no one. One inn employee finds out about their dilemma and introduces them to a local farmer who offers them work and a home.

Onigiri: Arcadia monogatari

2004

Onigiri: Arcadia monogatari poster
2.0

A couple flees Tokyo, their family and friends. The girlfriend is a member of a rock band. She is dating the man, but friends and family are against it compelling her to move away. They stay at an inn in an area in which they know no one. One inn employee finds out about their dilemma and introduces them to a local farmer who offers them work and a home.

Onigiri: Arcadia monogatari

2004

Rainbow Over Paris poster
NR

A young composer falls in love with the beautiful daughter of a wealthy company president and flies to Paris when he learns she is studying music there. But, when he finally wins her after many difficulties, he somehow feels empty, because his spirit has always been aroused against barriers before him.

Rainbow Over Paris

1970

Rainbow Over Paris poster
NR

A young composer falls in love with the beautiful daughter of a wealthy company president and flies to Paris when he learns she is studying music there. But, when he finally wins her after many difficulties, he somehow feels empty, because his spirit has always been aroused against barriers before him.

Rainbow Over Paris

1970

Someday, Somewhere poster
1.0

Ken's older sister Yoko, who has raised Ken like a mother, decides to move to Brazil with an older man.

Someday, Somewhere

1975

Someday, Somewhere poster
1.0

Ken's older sister Yoko, who has raised Ken like a mother, decides to move to Brazil with an older man.

Someday, Somewhere

1975

Waterfront Blues poster
7.0

Based on Shinichi Mori song

Waterfront Blues

1970

Tabiji: ofukuro-san yori poster
NR

Based on Shinichi Mori song

Tabiji: ofukuro-san yori

1971

Tabiji: ofukuro-san yori poster
NR

Based on Shinichi Mori song

Tabiji: ofukuro-san yori

1971

Seasonal Wind poster
NR

Shinji, a young man who accidentally met a successful model, moves to Tokyo because of his admiration for her. However, a harsh reality awaits him in Tokyo. As a result, Shinji returns to his hometown to start life anew. A romantic drama inspired by the hit song of the same name by Goro Noguchi.

Seasonal Wind

1977

Hotel Rose poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Hotel Rose

1996

The Wonderful Ones poster
7.0

Village Singers film

The Wonderful Ones

1968

Invitation from the Beach poster
NR

A wealthy Japanese sugar factory manager in Hawaii finds his wife sinking into depression and madness.

Invitation from the Beach

1978