Acting

Akira Nakamura

Born — Died

1916-04-07 — 1969-12-09

Place of birth

Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

58 titles

Known for

Jigoku poster
6.3

A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.

Jigoku

1960

Sanshiro Sugata poster
6.5

A hotheaded youth in 1880s Meiji Japan apprentices to judo master Shōgorō Yano, trading brute jujutsu bravado for discipline and humility. As Sanshirō matures, he proves judo’s spirit against old-guard challengers—including a deadly duel—while falling for his vanquished opponent’s daughter. Based on the novel by Tsuneo Tomita, son of Tomita Tsunejirō, the earliest disciple of judo.

Sanshiro Sugata

1943

Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War poster
8.0

Meiji Tenno portrays the buildup to the Russo-Japan War. In addition to showing the political events that led to war, it also shows the era from the story of a farm family in rural Japan that sends their son off to war. As such, it could be considered an anti-war movie, showing how, while war is devised by governments, the people do not really understand what war is, and its combatants often do not know what they are fighting for.

Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War

1957

Twilight Saloon poster
8.0

Inside a bustling postwar Tokyo beer hall, a diverse group of patrons, performers, and workers spend a single evening navigating their personal frustrations and social anxieties. A disillusioned professor, a struggling artist, and various laborers find their lives intersecting through chance encounters and heated arguments fueled by drink.

Twilight Saloon

1955

Evil Brain from Outer Space poster
5.0

An evil brain from outer space unleashes monsters with deadly diseases on Earth with trying to conquer the universe. Superhero Starman must battle them all to save his planet.

Evil Brain from Outer Space

1966

The Eagle of the Pacific poster
7.8

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a brilliant tactician, is a loyal subject of the emperor, despite his grave misgivings about leading Japan's navy into war with the United States. He opposes the attack on Pearl Harbor, but, overruled, he leads his forces to the best of his ability.

The Eagle of the Pacific

1953

Film credits

1960s · 9 titles

Jigoku poster
6.3

A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.

Jigoku

1960

Evil Brain from Outer Space poster
5.0

An evil brain from outer space unleashes monsters with deadly diseases on Earth with trying to conquer the universe. Superhero Starman must battle them all to save his planet.

Evil Brain from Outer Space

1966

Straight Talk on Romance: The Definitive Guide poster
NR

A omnibus movie consisting of the three parts: "Kechinbo", "Yowak" and "Kōshoku".

Straight Talk on Romance: The Definitive Guide

1961

The End of Love poster
NR

A leading postwar Japanese film critic and theorist who co-founded the seminal film magazine Eiga Hihyo (Film Criticism) in 1957, Eizo Yamagiwa made his directorial debut with this independent feature—long thought lost until a negative was recently discovered—about a group of idle bourgeois students known as the “Roppongi Tribe” (Roppongi zoku). Depicting the resignation and nihilism of the postwar generation in the years following the Anpo Treaty conflicts through a coming-of-age narrative, Yamagiwa offers sharp criticism of the prevalent characterizations of Japan's new youth offered by Nikkatsu's taiyozoku (“Sun Tribe”) films and the New Wave at large.

The End of Love

1961

No artwork available
10.0

Home drama about tin craftsmen and their families in downtown Tokyo. Though poor, they do not lose their cheerfulness or give in to oppression.

Kaachan

1961

Kanashimi wa itsumo haha ni poster
NR

The last film produced by Shintoho.

Kanashimi wa itsumo haha ni

1962

The Ghost Cat of Otama Pond poster
8.0

Two lovers lost in the mountains. In what direction do not go, they find themselves in a mysterious forest pond, as if some kind of force does not want to let them go. Once upon a time, over a century ago, there had been a crime, whose shadow still hovers over these places.

The Ghost Cat of Otama Pond

1960

東京の夜は泣いている poster
NR

Kazuko Matsuo sings the theme song to this drama film.

東京の夜は泣いている

1961

Zoku-sei to ningen poster
NR

1961 Japanese movie

Zoku-sei to ningen

1961

1950s · 35 titles

Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War poster
8.0

Meiji Tenno portrays the buildup to the Russo-Japan War. In addition to showing the political events that led to war, it also shows the era from the story of a farm family in rural Japan that sends their son off to war. As such, it could be considered an anti-war movie, showing how, while war is devised by governments, the people do not really understand what war is, and its combatants often do not know what they are fighting for.

Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War

1957

Twilight Saloon poster
8.0

Inside a bustling postwar Tokyo beer hall, a diverse group of patrons, performers, and workers spend a single evening navigating their personal frustrations and social anxieties. A disillusioned professor, a struggling artist, and various laborers find their lives intersecting through chance encounters and heated arguments fueled by drink.

Twilight Saloon

1955

The Eagle of the Pacific poster
7.8

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, a brilliant tactician, is a loyal subject of the emperor, despite his grave misgivings about leading Japan's navy into war with the United States. He opposes the attack on Pearl Harbor, but, overruled, he leads his forces to the best of his ability.

The Eagle of the Pacific

1953

Snow Country poster
6.7

It's a man's world. Shimamura, an artist, comes to this snowbound town to rejuvenate himself. He connects with Komako, a geisha he met on a previous trip, and it seems like love. She's the foster daughter of a local family, almost engaged to the family's son Yukio, now dying of consumption. He's tended by his sister Yuko who's angry at Komako for abandoning her brother. Shimamura returns to Tokyo but promises he will be back soon. In anticipation of his return, Komako breaks with her patron and her family loses their home. Complications arise when Shimamura doesn't come back as promised. Then Komako discovers that he and Yuko knew each other in Tokyo. Can Komako escape destiny?

Snow Country

1957

An Inn at Osaka poster
7.5

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.

An Inn at Osaka

1954

The Ghost of Kasane poster
7.3

A blind masseur visits a samurai to request the return of a loan. The samurai kills him in anger, then has his servant dump the body in the Kasane swamp. However, the ghost of the masseur returns to haunt the samurai, who kills his wife by mistake and then goes to the swamp and drowns himself. 20 years later, the masseur's daughter unknowingly falls in love with the samurai's son who has been brought up to be a servant. After she is horribly disfigured in an accident, he plots to run away with another woman, but the path of their escape lies by the Kasane swamp...

The Ghost of Kasane

1957

Ghost in the Regiment poster
8.0

Desiring another officer’s new wife, a military police lieutenant fabricates evidence of treason that consigns the innocent man to torture and a firing squad. The lieutenant rapes the wife, but is haunted by bad dreams which after he is assigned to a battalion with the victim’s brother.

Ghost in the Regiment

1958

Admiral Yamamoto and the Allied Fleets poster
5.0

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto leads the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy to defeat the American Fleet.

Admiral Yamamoto and the Allied Fleets

1956

Devil Princess’ Beauty Competition poster
NR

An exciting historical drama in which a beautiful woman secretly solves the family problems of the Owari clan. Hibari Misora plays two roles: a charming princess and a dashing youngster, performs songs and dances throughout the film until the big decisive battle.

Devil Princess’ Beauty Competition

1956

Bloody History of Soldiers poster
NR

A historical film that portrays the fervent and violent actions of young Army and Navy officers, such as the February 26 and May 15 incidents, in a semi-documentary style.

Bloody History of Soldiers

1958

The Lady Vampire poster
5.4

Tamio takes Itsuko to an art gallery and the two find one painting is a nude portrait of Itsuko's mother, who disappeared twenty years ago when she was just a baby. No one knows the first thing about the artist who painted it, but he goes by the name Shiro Sofue, and he's always wearing shades in the daytime...

The Lady Vampire

1959

Nonki saiban poster
NR

A spectacular comedy with a star-studded cast that depicts unusual trials and unexpected verdicts regarding the five deadly sins: the crime of beauty, the crime of a terrifying wife, the crime of taking the wrong course, the crime of seducing, and the crime of killing with laughter.

Nonki saiban

1955

No artwork available
NR

Fourth installment in the "Achako's Notebook of Youth" series.

Achako's Notebook of Youth 4: Happy Marriage

1953

Mysterious Clouds: Legend of Satomi's Heroic Deed poster
NR

In the first year of Chōroku, Satomi Yoshimi, lord of Takita Castle in Awa, faces defeat by neighboring lord Anzai Kagesuren. As the castle nears collapse, Anzai demands a seed from Yoshimi’s lineage, specifically from his wife, Fushihime. Outraged but facing annihilation, Yoshimi gives Fushihime a string of eight ancestral beads and urges her to escape to loyal retainer Inuda Kobungo. Instead, she goes alone to Anzai, followed by her dog, Hachibo. In a twist, Hachibo attacks and kills Anzai, allowing Fushihime to escape. She later reveals that the beads protected her and predicts that eight warriors bearing these beads will someday defend the Satomi family before passing away. Yoshimi finds one of the beads in Inuzuka Nobuno’s armor and convinces her to serve him. Meanwhile, Baka Daiki, plotting to overthrow Satomi, imprisons Inukawa Shosuke, who tries to intervene, under the watch of vassal Aminen Saomojiro.

Mysterious Clouds: Legend of Satomi's Heroic Deed

1957

The Pacific War and the International Military Tribunal poster
8.0

In 1941, overpopulated Japan faces an economic boycott and its armed forces push further to the south. And despite negotiations between Japan and the U. S. A. war is declared with the attack on Pearl Harbour. Victories follow for Japan on land and sea and her forces push forward to the borders of India. But gradually the tide turns in favour of the Allies and after the atom bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is compelled to accept the Potsdam Declaration and by the order of the Emperor agrees to unconditional surrender. Under the supervision of the occupation forces the International Military Tribunal opens in Tokyo to try the Japanese war leaders. Established in the cause of justice, and to prevent future aggressive wars the trials drag on for two and a half years. And on December 23, 1948, General Tojo and six other war leaders mount the thirteen steps to the gallows at Tokyo's Sugamo prison.

The Pacific War and the International Military Tribunal

1959

No artwork available
NR

Kingoro Yanagiya's 100th film.

親馬鹿花合戦

1953

No artwork available
NR

1952 Japanese film directed by Kunio Watanabe.

Geisha Waltz

1952

Emperor & Empress Meiji and the Sino-Japanese War poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Emperor & Empress Meiji and the Sino-Japanese War

1958

No artwork available
NR

1958 jidaigeki directed by Masaki Mori for Shintoho.

関八州喧嘩陣

1958

A Wicked Woman poster
7.7

In 1870's Tokyo, Den steals to support the daughter of her first marriage and her consumptive second husband. She falls in love with a young policeman, but is coerced into becoming the mistress of and procurer for a vice boss.

A Wicked Woman

1958

Secret White Line Zone poster
3.0

First film in Teruo Ishii's Line series.

Secret White Line Zone

1958

Star Poisoning Case poster
NR

Japanese crime film.

Star Poisoning Case

1958

The Prosecutor and His Sister poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Prosecutor and His Sister

1956

Hibari's Triple Role: The Dazzling Transformation of Yukinojo poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Hibari's Triple Role: The Dazzling Transformation of Yukinojo

1957

The Mother Tree poster
4.9

A painter leaves his family to paint the homes of his rich clients. A lonely, ruthless samurai falls in love with the painter's wife and rapes her. He later murders the painter and his servants. From the afterlife, the painter's ghost seeks revenge on the samurai, and saves his wife and newborn child.

The Mother Tree

1958

Super Giant: The Space Mutant Appears poster
10.0

The 7th Super Giant film. Super Giant battles a marauding alien brain-like creature created by a mad scientist and an alien army. (stand-alone episode)

Super Giant: The Space Mutant Appears

1958

Super Giant: Earth on the Verge of Destruction poster
7.0

The 4th Super Giant film, in which he continues his fight against the Kapia Aliens (Part 2 of 2)

Super Giant: Earth on the Verge of Destruction

1957

剣聖 暁の三十六番斬り poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

剣聖 暁の三十六番斬り

1957

The Tattoo Murder Case poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Tattoo Murder Case

1953

Super Giant: The Mysterious Spacemen's Demonic Castle poster
6.5

The 3rd Super Giant film, in which he saves Earth from the threat of the reptile-like Kapia Aliens.

Super Giant: The Mysterious Spacemen's Demonic Castle

1957

Hibari's Triple Role: The Transformation of Yukinojo — Part II poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Hibari's Triple Role: The Transformation of Yukinojo — Part II

1957

Flesh Pier poster
5.8

Director Teruo Ishii's crime action follows the investigative adventures of an undercover cop working with a prostitution ring. It's done in an unique documentary style.

Flesh Pier

1958

Koi no rantō poster
7.0

"My mother is Japanese, a drifting diva of Tokyo" After the death of her father Reika goes to Japan to visit her mother, but can't find her, so she starts performing at a cabaret in Yokohama. Her mother, already settled, found about Reika's whereabouts, but won't acknowledge her daughter for fear of loosing her current status.

Koi no rantō

1951

Satsujinhan nanatsu no kao poster
NR

Japanese crime film

Satsujinhan nanatsu no kao

1959

妖婦 夜嵐お絹と天人お玉 poster
9.0

Fictionalized retelling of the life of a Geisha poisoner.

妖婦 夜嵐お絹と天人お玉

1957

1940s · 14 titles

Sanshiro Sugata poster
6.5

A hotheaded youth in 1880s Meiji Japan apprentices to judo master Shōgorō Yano, trading brute jujutsu bravado for discipline and humility. As Sanshirō matures, he proves judo’s spirit against old-guard challengers—including a deadly duel—while falling for his vanquished opponent’s daughter. Based on the novel by Tsuneo Tomita, son of Tomita Tsunejirō, the earliest disciple of judo.

Sanshiro Sugata

1943

Kuro-uma no danshichi poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Kuro-uma no danshichi

1948

Ghost Cat of Nabeshima poster
6.5

Tanuma Kandayuu is a high class samurai of the house of Nabeshima. He finds a lavish board of Go (a Chinese Board game) at Kinbei's store. He recommend Kinbei to offer it to his lord. Kinbei hesitates at first, since he knows the board has a mysterious legend surrounding it; it's believed that for every game played on the board, one death is required.

Ghost Cat of Nabeshima

1949

The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya poster
7.0

Japanese Navy air cadets train for the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the HMS Prince of Wales.

The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya

1942

Invitation to Happiness poster
10.0

Kôfuku eno shôtai - Invitation to happiness

Invitation to Happiness

1947

Currents of Youth poster
9.0

It was supposed to be about a love story, but it was and was not. An aircraft mechanic working for the government is matched by his boss with the latter man's daughter (Setsuko Hara) who is both beautiful and aggressive. Yet, he picks a woman who is less assertive as his bride.

Currents of Youth

1942

Story of Leadership poster
9.0

In this semi-documentary, an older locomotive driver is tasked with training younger ones and is currently training two in particular. The old man is finding the task overwhelming as it is hard work with practical lessons and classroom components. His wife has died, but he has three daughters with the oldest taking care of her younger siblings.

Story of Leadership

1941

A Thousand and One Nights with Toho poster
8.0

The debut film of Shin Toho Productions

A Thousand and One Nights with Toho

1947

Wakaki sugata poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Wakaki sugata

1943

Miss Hanako poster
9.0

Hanakosan (1943, TOHO, MAKINO Masahiro), a thoroughly light and joyful musical comedy, influenced by Busby Berkeley films, against the national policy under the wartime, was made into a film from comic serials by SUGIURA Yukio published in a magazine.

Miss Hanako

1943

The Sisters' Agreement poster
NR

A family comprised of a father, mother and three sisters lives in a posh area. The father is a doctor who has to join the army and work at war. The four remaining women have to take care of themselves. The eldest sister is calm and lady-like. The middle sister (played by Hara Setsuko), in contrast, is active and contemporary. She aspires to be a physician too. The story is based on Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

The Sisters' Agreement

1940

A World of Two poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

A World of Two

1940

University Gates poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

University Gates

1948

Shooting Star poster
9.0

Based on that testimony, an investigation is launched in the entertainment district, and through a brief conversation between Toda and Nanako at the cabaret "R-Red," it becomes apparent that her lover, Kaneda, is suspicious. Toda and Kaneda are, in fact, members of the gang currently being frantically pursued by the Metropolitan Police. Their leader is a ruthless man named Yoshio Matsui, known as "Tetsu the Murakumo," who has his mistress, Aiko, working as a singer at this cabaret. Kaneda, using his leg injury caused by Detective Mishima as leverage, demands a large sum of money from Tetsu, but is instead met with gunfire from Tetsu's gang. Upon hearing the gunshots, Officer Fujita, who was patrolling nearby, gives chase. As Kaneda lies dying, he reveals the truth before drawing his last breath. With this near-confirmation, Fujita puts out an all-points bulletin for Tetsu.

Shooting Star

1949