
Directing
Masanori Tominaga
Born
1975-10-31 (50)
Place of birth
Uchiko, Ehime Prefecture, Japan
Known for
Directing
Credits
34 titles
Masanori Tominaga (冨永 昌敬, Tominaga Masanori, born October 31, 1975) is a Japanese film director. His 1999 short film, Dolmen, received the Honorary Mention of the International Jury at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in 2000. Tominaga directed the first feature film, The Pavillion Salamandre, starring Joe Odagiri. He directed Pandora's Box, starring Shota Sometani and Riisa Naka, based on the novel by Osamu Dazai. He directed the comedy film, Vengeance Can Wait, starring Minami, Tadanobu Asano, Eiko Koike and Takayuki Yamada. Tominaga directed The Echo of Astro Boy's Footsteps, which is a documentary about Matsuo Ohno, the sound designer for Astro Boy. It was described by …
Known for
7.8In an audacious reworking of the biopic, this ensemble drama sees jazz pianist Minami Hiroshi’s memoir cleverly reinterpreted into a surreal and playful story about chasing dreams, disillusionment and the inner lives of professional artists. Closer to playing two sides of the same coin than tackling a dual role, Ikematsu Sosuke embodies two versions of Minami – the naïve upstart and the jaded pro – who magically cross paths as they become entangled with a cast of colourful characters in the seedy alleyways and jazz clubs of Ginza over a single night.
Between the White Key and the Black Key
2023
6.5A struggling, unemployed musician living with his girlfriend looks to improve his life after he discovers how she's been paying the rent.
Pumpkin and Mayonnaise
2017
6.2When Suei was little, his mother had an affair with a young man who lived next door. Suei's mother and the young man killed themselves by using dynamite. After Suei graduated from high school, he worked at a factory before quitting his job. He then went to Tokyo and began working in the erotic magazine industry. Suei eventually became the chief editor of a famous erotic magazine in the 1980's.
Dynamite Graffiti
2018
6.0Madoka meets her husband's parents, who run a 450-year-old hand fan shop in the center of Kyoto. Together with her artist friend Anzai, they start an essay manga about the traditional shops in the area. On Madoka's first day minding the store alone, she ends up giving an interview to a TV crew and angering quite a lot of people by being a bit too candid. While Madoka is enamored by Kyoto, she has quite a lot to learn about the unsaid rules and the passive-aggressiveness of the local proprietresses.
Strangers in Kyoto
2025
6.5Omnibus film "Bungo Sasayakana Yokubo" features 6 different short stories set under 2 different themes ("Mitsumerareru Shukujotachi" & "Kokuhaku Suru Shinshitachi").
Bungo: Stories of Desire
2012
5.8Hidenori and Nanase have lived together for ten years in a tense, platonic relationship. The wheels of change are set in motion when married couple Takao and Azusa move in next door. After Hidenori catches Nanase and Takao having an affair, he becomes obsessed with watching Nanase through a peephole, and planning his cruel revenge.
Vengeance Can Wait
2010
Film credits
Behind the camera
7.8In an audacious reworking of the biopic, this ensemble drama sees jazz pianist Minami Hiroshi’s memoir cleverly reinterpreted into a surreal and playful story about chasing dreams, disillusionment and the inner lives of professional artists. Closer to playing two sides of the same coin than tackling a dual role, Ikematsu Sosuke embodies two versions of Minami – the naïve upstart and the jaded pro – who magically cross paths as they become entangled with a cast of colourful characters in the seedy alleyways and jazz clubs of Ginza over a single night.
Between the White Key and the Black Key
2023
7.8In an audacious reworking of the biopic, this ensemble drama sees jazz pianist Minami Hiroshi’s memoir cleverly reinterpreted into a surreal and playful story about chasing dreams, disillusionment and the inner lives of professional artists. Closer to playing two sides of the same coin than tackling a dual role, Ikematsu Sosuke embodies two versions of Minami – the naïve upstart and the jaded pro – who magically cross paths as they become entangled with a cast of colourful characters in the seedy alleyways and jazz clubs of Ginza over a single night.
Between the White Key and the Black Key
2023
6.5A struggling, unemployed musician living with his girlfriend looks to improve his life after he discovers how she's been paying the rent.
Pumpkin and Mayonnaise
2017
6.5A struggling, unemployed musician living with his girlfriend looks to improve his life after he discovers how she's been paying the rent.
Pumpkin and Mayonnaise
2017
6.2When Suei was little, his mother had an affair with a young man who lived next door. Suei's mother and the young man killed themselves by using dynamite. After Suei graduated from high school, he worked at a factory before quitting his job. He then went to Tokyo and began working in the erotic magazine industry. Suei eventually became the chief editor of a famous erotic magazine in the 1980's.
Dynamite Graffiti
2018
6.2When Suei was little, his mother had an affair with a young man who lived next door. Suei's mother and the young man killed themselves by using dynamite. After Suei graduated from high school, he worked at a factory before quitting his job. He then went to Tokyo and began working in the erotic magazine industry. Suei eventually became the chief editor of a famous erotic magazine in the 1980's.
Dynamite Graffiti
2018
6.0Madoka meets her husband's parents, who run a 450-year-old hand fan shop in the center of Kyoto. Together with her artist friend Anzai, they start an essay manga about the traditional shops in the area. On Madoka's first day minding the store alone, she ends up giving an interview to a TV crew and angering quite a lot of people by being a bit too candid. While Madoka is enamored by Kyoto, she has quite a lot to learn about the unsaid rules and the passive-aggressiveness of the local proprietresses.
Strangers in Kyoto
2025
6.5Omnibus film "Bungo Sasayakana Yokubo" features 6 different short stories set under 2 different themes ("Mitsumerareru Shukujotachi" & "Kokuhaku Suru Shinshitachi").
Bungo: Stories of Desire
2012
5.8Hidenori and Nanase have lived together for ten years in a tense, platonic relationship. The wheels of change are set in motion when married couple Takao and Azusa move in next door. After Hidenori catches Nanase and Takao having an affair, he becomes obsessed with watching Nanase through a peephole, and planning his cruel revenge.
Vengeance Can Wait
2010
5.8Hidenori and Nanase have lived together for ten years in a tense, platonic relationship. The wheels of change are set in motion when married couple Takao and Azusa move in next door. After Hidenori catches Nanase and Takao having an affair, he becomes obsessed with watching Nanase through a peephole, and planning his cruel revenge.
Vengeance Can Wait
2010
4.0Four beautiful sisters are entrusted with taking care of Kinjiro, a giant salamander and national treasure. Rumors spread that Kinjiro is an impostor, so a genius x-ray technician is sent to run some tests.
The Pavillion Salamandre
2006
4.0Four beautiful sisters are entrusted with taking care of Kinjiro, a giant salamander and national treasure. Rumors spread that Kinjiro is an impostor, so a genius x-ray technician is sent to run some tests.
The Pavillion Salamandre
2006
5.1Having failed to get into graduate school, with no girlfriend, no money, and no prospects of success with his band, Tsurugi's life has reached rock bottom. One day, after watching the video of Aya Matsuura's song “Momoiro Kataomoi”, he becomes obsessed with the idol singers of “Hello! Project”, and plunges into the idol geek lifestyle. However, as time passes, he and his buddies all find other things just as important as the idols and begin to move on.
In Those Days
2021
7.5After Japan's defeat in WWII, "Pandora no hako" follows a young man named Risuke who has contracted tuberculosis. He travels to the countryside to a unique nursing facility to receive treatment for his disease. At the sanatorium all the patients and nurses go by nicknames and Risuke decides to reinvent himself as Hibari. During his stay, Hibari develops realationships with other patients and nurses. After Hibari's friend Tsuikushi gets discharged from the nursing facility, Hibari writes to him about his relationships with Dakesang the chief nurse and Mabo another nurse that is bright and seems to like him.
Pandora's Box
2009
7.5After Japan's defeat in WWII, "Pandora no hako" follows a young man named Risuke who has contracted tuberculosis. He travels to the countryside to a unique nursing facility to receive treatment for his disease. At the sanatorium all the patients and nurses go by nicknames and Risuke decides to reinvent himself as Hibari. During his stay, Hibari develops realationships with other patients and nurses. After Hibari's friend Tsuikushi gets discharged from the nursing facility, Hibari writes to him about his relationships with Dakesang the chief nurse and Mabo another nurse that is bright and seems to like him.
Pandora's Box
2009
NRThe film consists of five films about Yamato in the post-COVID period. Tominaga's "The Fourth Eye" depicts a bewildered father who is introduced to his stepfather by his estranged daughter; Kiyohara's "The Light of March" tells the story of a woman who becomes pregnant at a young age and tries to flee the town. Takeuchi's "Makie no Bouken" (Makie's Adventure), Yamamoto's "Ano Hi, Kono Hi, Sono Hi" (Ano Hi, Kono Hi, Sono Hi), about a city employee who goes around taking video letters for people who are retiring, and Miyazaki's "Eri-chan to Kumi-chan no Long, Mundane Day" (Eri-chan to Kumi-chan no Long, Mundane Day), about two people who have too much time on their hands to bury a time capsule in a forest on the outskirts of town.
MADE IN YAMATO
2021
10.0The late Fujio Akatsuka is revered by many Japanese artists and scholars for his developments to early comedy manga, but his contributions aren't just limited to the world of print media. Featuring commentary from family, friends, colleagues, and celebrity fans, Fujio Akatsuka's story is told with archival footage and animation, showcasing the life of the man who went beyond manga.
The Man Who Went Beyond Manga: Fujio Akatsuka
2016
4.9Kanichi works at wet tissue company in Mito, Japan. He runs into Gondo. 10 years ago, Gondo was fired from his job as a teacher for secretly filming others. He is now with Mihari who works as a hostess. He took away her away from Tokyo. Kanichi falls in love with Mihari at first sight and takes her away from Gondo. Meanwhile, due to a female student on the video Gondo secretly shot, an unexpected disturbance is created.
Rolling
2015
4.9Kanichi works at wet tissue company in Mito, Japan. He runs into Gondo. 10 years ago, Gondo was fired from his job as a teacher for secretly filming others. He is now with Mihari who works as a hostess. He took away her away from Tokyo. Kanichi falls in love with Mihari at first sight and takes her away from Gondo. Meanwhile, due to a female student on the video Gondo secretly shot, an unexpected disturbance is created.
Rolling
2015
4.9Kanichi works at wet tissue company in Mito, Japan. He runs into Gondo. 10 years ago, Gondo was fired from his job as a teacher for secretly filming others. He is now with Mihari who works as a hostess. He took away her away from Tokyo. Kanichi falls in love with Mihari at first sight and takes her away from Gondo. Meanwhile, due to a female student on the video Gondo secretly shot, an unexpected disturbance is created.
Rolling
2015
NRBased on the comic book by Marie Abiko.
Konna otona no onnanoko
2007
NRBased on the comic book by Marie Abiko.
Konna otona no onnanoko
2007
NRNozomu Kizaki, a man who hates violence and has survived in the underworld by using “sermons” as a weapon. He is also known as “Gandhi Kizaki” (Sho Aikawa). He has given up on the yakuza business, and in order to support those who are struggling to repay their debts, he teaches baseball to children while running the Hope Shokai, a money-lending business. One day, while on a collection mission, Kizaki discovers that one of the debtors is Gota Yagisawa (Takeshi Ayano), a prodigy pitcher who once made his name at the Koshien National Championships. Gota, who had never held a regular job and was mired in debt, is moved by Kizaki's “sermon” and decides to rebuild his life under his guidance. However, the shadow of the Kuroda clan, a yakuza organization, looms behind the pair...
目を閉じてギラギラ
2011
NRNozomu Kizaki, a man who hates violence and has survived in the underworld by using “sermons” as a weapon. He is also known as “Gandhi Kizaki” (Sho Aikawa). He has given up on the yakuza business, and in order to support those who are struggling to repay their debts, he teaches baseball to children while running the Hope Shokai, a money-lending business. One day, while on a collection mission, Kizaki discovers that one of the debtors is Gota Yagisawa (Takeshi Ayano), a prodigy pitcher who once made his name at the Koshien National Championships. Gota, who had never held a regular job and was mired in debt, is moved by Kizaki's “sermon” and decides to rebuild his life under his guidance. However, the shadow of the Kuroda clan, a yakuza organization, looms behind the pair...
目を閉じてギラギラ
2011
NRAn fantastic anthology made by Katsuya Tomita, Masanori Tominaga and Tetsuya Mariko for the 4th Okinawa International Movie Festival in 2012.
同じ星の下、それぞれの夜
2013
NRThe man who created the sounds of the future, legendary sound designer Matuo Ohno, most famous for his work on the 1963 animated TV show Astro Boy.
The Echo of Astro Boy's Footsteps
2011
NRAnthology of stories involving a person finding dead body
be found dead
2004
NRAnthology of stories involving a person finding dead body
be found dead
2004
NRA social suspense comedy by the directory of “The Pavillion Salamandre”.
Shirley Temple Japon
—
NRA social suspense comedy by the directory of “The Pavillion Salamandre”.
Shirley Temple Japon
—
A movie clue has lost his transceiver somewhere in the shore.
Lostceivers
2020
A movie clue has lost his transceiver somewhere in the shore.
Lostceivers
2020
NROn the rearview mirror is the face of a man driving a car. He is babbling on to himself about something. In fact, he just left home after a quarrel with his wife. He returns home with a view to revenging on his wife, but she is nowhere to be seen. In a little while, his childhood friend Dacao pays a visit. This short film < Kamemushi > by director Tominaga Masanori became famous after its release in cinemas in Japan, which is very rare for a short film. The mind of the deluded main character is well portrayed through the exquisite combination of image and sound.
Stink Bug
2003

