Junji Masuda

From a true incident that happened in 1960's Japan. This drama is contemporary in setting but medieval in its characters and emotions as it focuses on a tangled web of murder and deceit encountered by a beautiful woman, Kayo after her abusive husband is murdered.

No synopsis available yet.

Coinciding with the LDP presidential election of the entire national public, a masterpiece depicting the reverse side of Showa political history released, superimposed cast, a group image of real politicians centered on Shigeru Yoshida and political history after the war.

Samonji, a reporter, receives a message on his answering machine from his friend Takada that says "stop it... zero plan! February." Learning that Takada is dead, Samonji begins an investigation. He and his younger sister Fumiko investigate major events happening in February but cannot find anything relevant. Meanwhile, Kanzaki, a doctor who works at a clinic on a remote island, is working on a plan to extort two billion yen.

Astronomer Shinichi Tachibana has a secret identity as the superhero "Iron Sharp" and is well beloved by children. When they are attacked by a group of metallic aliens, Iron Sharp drives the aliens away. The resourceful Tachibana helps develop an electric barrier to block the aliens from coming to the Earth. After several losses by the aliens, they announce that they will invade the Earth, throwing the world into a state of panic.

A tale of two best friends in the WWII era Japan. Takao is a young man enthusiastic about joining the navy to fight for his country. He convinces his best friend Shinji to join him. As it turns out, however, Takao's poor health prevents him from entering the navy while his friend is chosen instead. As time goes by, Takao becomes a painter and changes his mind about the meaningfulness of war and fighting, while his friend goes the opposite path. Meanwhile Takao's sister falls in love with Shinji.

No synopsis available yet.

1960 Toei war movie.

1961 Toei adaptation of Yokomizo's novel.

The Chase after Opium Dealers

After their father quarrels with local military men, Anju and Zushio are forced to flee, but they are captured and sold into slavery. When their mother dies, they are sold to Sansho the Bailiff, a cruel man who subjects them to hideous torments. While Anju falls into a lake and is transformed into a swan, Zushio escapes and after being adopted to a nobleman grows to a young man. He will then fight to defeat the evil Dayu and free all the slaves.

Young boys learn survival skills on a remote island and rescue a girl abducted by a gang of foreigners.

The lives of several Japanese families are shattered as the USA and the USSR move toward war, Japan finds itself caught in the middle, and Tokyo is ultimately evacuated as the two superpowers invoke the 'nuclear option'.

1961 Japanese movie

G-men of Japan fifth installment. A young detective, questioning a double suicide involving his police officer friend and a Turkish girl, travels all the way from Kyushu to Tokyo. Disguising himself as a yakuza member, he intends to root out the underworld's base of operations, weaving together love, guns, and violence to unravel the mystery behind the enigmatic incident and the true nature of evil. This thrilling action drama combines suspense with excitement, depicting a tale filled with love, fists, and firearms.

Detectives of the First Investigation Division are investigating the murder of a 15-year-old girl, whose strangled corpse was found in the bay of the Tama River. The ugly behavior of adults hidden in the name of social welfare is exposed by the investigation. 16th work from the popular series "Keishicho Monogatari".

A touching story about a young boy, Genta, who bravely takes on life's challenges in hopes of finding a better life for himself and his sickly mother.

No synopsis available yet.

1961 Japanese movie

Tsunokichi and Ken face off against a rival yakuza in Kyushu.

A poignant story about a young couple, Setsu and Chozo, who are torn apart to save Setsu's father's restaurant.

The first film with Tetsuro Tamba as a detective. An exciting drama about the pursuit of a criminal, which takes place in Yokohama. Tamba enthusiastically plays a police inspector who pursues a criminal who kidnapped his sister.

No synopsis available yet.

Based on the mystery novel of the same name by Seichō Matsumoto.

After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labour chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts and moves with his newlywed 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.

Junai Monogatari AKA Story of Pure Love is about two poor youths, Mitsuko and Kando, rebelling against society in various ways, who are desperately trying to be together despite tortuous circumstances. The film depicts their lives as thieves, menial laborers who can get little pay, society outcasts, and of course, lovers. Junai Monogatari depicts, mostly, their struggles within the Japanese reformatory system and Mitsuko's worsening sickness.

Two sisters learn about the existence of their long-lost biological mother, but the younger is unable to accept the fact that she was abandoned as a child.

A celebrity photograph sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous yarn over a painter and a famous singer.

A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.

A jewelry store president begins to fall for the doctor treating her husband's illness.

Mokichi Asai is a widowed father living in Nara with three daughters—Chizuru, Ayako, and Setsuko. The youngest, Setsuko, plays matchmaker for her older sisters, leading to humorous and awkward romantic entanglements.

The sixth and last Moonlight Mask film in the original series produced by Toei in the 1950s.

An attempt is made to suppress a journalist's investigation of collusion between a rural police chief and the local gangster bosses.

Having completed the first year at his new medical practice, a doctor plans to relax on his day off. However, it is not to be: on this hectic day a man just back from the war front visits the doctor with a medical emergency, followed by a woman who claims to have been molested. Then a yakuza arrives to ask the doctor to cut his finger off...

The story of a group of young people who organise their own travelling symphony orchestra to provide music for people living in remote villages shortly after the war.

No synopsis available yet.

After discovering a slaughtered corpse, the investigating team of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department began canvassing the area around the crime scene. As a result, they found a wallet with bloodstains that seemed to belong to the victim, a woman's wallet that did not fit the field, earrings, and other valuable materials, which led them on a foot search. The woman's purse had been picked up by a male prostitute on the subway, and from the prostitute's testimony, they were able to identify the pickpocket's face, but the next day, the man was found dead in a road accident, apparently murdered.

33-year-old poor writer Ogata was able to endure his miserable life cheerfully thanks to Yoshie, a 19-year-old innocent young wife. After graduating from a girls' school in Hokuriku, she immediately moved to Tokyo to meet and marry Ogata. After neatly writing Ogata's manuscript, he would buy dorayaki as a gratuity and devour it.

In the 15th year of the Meiji era (1882), Ōkuma Shigenobu, expelled from the Council of State by the Satsuma-Chōshō clique, poured his personal fortune into establishing the Tokyo Professional School in a tea field in Waseda Village. With seven professors, including Takada Sanae and Tsubouchi Yūzō, and eighty-seven students, government interference extended even to finances; Ono Azusa, who tirelessly worked to secure funding, died from overwork.

Fourth Moonlight Mask theatrical film.

Based on Matsumoto Seicho's classic mystery novel of the same name, the story centers around a group of detectives who are determined to find the truth behind an apparent double suicide.

Attracted by the report of the development of a new type of rocket fuel, the vicious dictator of Krangkor, the dark planet, descends on Earth to steal the formula from its creator, the benevolent Dr. Makin.

Television production of 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. According to the accusation by GHQ, Toyomatsu "attemped to kill a US prisoner", which was nothing but an order by his superior and failed after all with hurting the prisoner by weak Toyomatsu. Also, Toyomatsu was driven to corner at the trial by the fact that he fed the US prisoner some burdock roots to nourish him. Toyomatsu believes nothing but being not guilty, but he is sentenced to death by hanging. Prior to the execution, Toyomatsu writes a long farewell letter to his family, the wife and the only son: "If I ever incarnate, I hate to be a human being any more.... Oh yes, I would like to be...a shellfish living on the rock-bottom of the sea."

No synopsis available yet.

When a family has to relocate due to the war, they are ostracized by their new community.

Five years have passed since the three comrades who saved their lives in the Burma Campaign, namely Kenichiro Kishi, Eiji Shiga, and Daizo Kobayashi, promised to meet again five years later at the platform of Tokyo Station. Meanwhile, Shinagawa Station's crowded with repatriates. Upon returning to their homeland, their lives have changed dramatically. Daizo works as a railway construction worker. Eiji has established himself as a boxer. Kenichiro's become a gangster. In 1955, the day of their reunion is approaching. Now it is a matter of whether the three will be able to meet each other at the platform of Tokyo Station, as they had agreed on back in 1950.

Students in a small rural school love their poor but unconventional teacher Mr. Matsukuma, although he is misunderstood by most of the villagers and is forced to leave. After his departure there is great depression, but there is a chance to rekindle the lantern of the title and the values Matsukuma represented ...

A young woman tries to keep her family together after her father disowns her sister.

A comical love story between two college students — Hitomi, a strong-willed girl, and Shogo, a handsome, earnest and poverty stricken man.

Strip dancer Carmen falls in love with Hajime, who is engaged to the daughter of a right-wing politician.

Japanese drama film.

Yasuichiro Isa, who works in the labor section of Sone Mining Tokyo Headquarters, paid a monthly fee for his younger brother, Reiji, who was in trouble because he had a bonus of 10,000 yen more.

The Ueki family may not be wealthy, but smiles are never in short supply. The father is awarded prize money for 25 years of service to his workplace, but has it stolen on the way home from the ceremony...

No synopsis available yet.

Airline captain saves passengers from a brutal murderer on a plane during four hours of terror.

Shinsaku was once a renowned playwright, has now been left behind by journalism and is living a lethargic life in Oiso. His family is concerned with Shinsaku regaining his old vigor as a writer and Sakie, his daughter, finding a suitable match, while the family is struggling with the losses of war.

Koharu, a young geisha, is in love with Kenichi, an apprentice carpenter to her father Masagoro. Their love life comes to a sudden halt after an argument between their two fathers. Can their love survive in spite of the bitterness between their two families?

A Japanese family weathers much hardship after their military uncle comes to live with them during WWII.

A matchmaker looks to unite a young woman from a wealthy Tokyo family with the humble owner of an auto garage.

A 1948 Japanese film.