Reizaburo Yamamoto

A recently released gangster has to cope with the recent shifts of power between gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.

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.

A bittersweet love story between yakuza Hiroshi and a married woman Reiko.

On his release from prison a young yakuza, along with his brother, decides to turn his back on criminal life instead of taking over the position of his recently deceased father, boss of the Asahina clan. But their exit proves more difficult than planned when their rival clan steps in to exact revenge.

The second film in the "Suruga yukyoden" series, in which Shintaro Katsu plays Jirocho Shimizu. The film features Omasa, Komasa, Ocho, who will become Jirocho's wife, as well as other members of his future family. There is a particularly great swordfight near the end where Katsu and cronies attack the rival villainous yakuza clan to rescue their ailing, elderly boss. The action choreography, cinematography and editing of this sequence is quite brilliant, treading a difficult tightrope act between genuinely goofy antics and exhilirating, bloody violence.

No synopsis available yet.

1962 Japanese movie. Remake of Mori's 1942 original movie

No synopsis available yet.

Two obaachans become fast friends listening to music in front of a record store. They both boast about their loving sons but in reality, one had just escaped a retirement home and the other was looking for an escape from her son and daughter-in-law. With nowhere to go, the two wander around, befriending a cosmetics salesman and a kind waitress who give them beer. This biting social satire starring two memorable grandmothers, scripted by Yôko Mizuki, picked up on Japan’s aging population problem far ahead of its time.

The eldest daughter of a rural family Mon returns home from Tokyo pregnant after an affair with a college student Kobata, which causes a scandal that will threaten the marriage prospects of the younger sister San, in her cash-strapped family. The ill-tempered eldest brother Inokichi decides to take on the role of disciplinarian, with harrowing results.

No synopsis available yet.

The conclusion of the story of famed swordsman, Sasaki Kojiro. After surviving a series of daring adventures, Kojiro seems to have finally discovered the ultimate happiness in life when he is reunited with Tone, the love of his life. However, his days of happiness are overshadowed by an upcoming duel with his fateful enemy Miyamoto Musashi.

Jidai-geki by Kiyoshi Saeki

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.

The Blue Pearl depicts the interplay between a young man from Tokyo and two ama (pearl divers; literally “women of the sea”) in a superstitious coastal town. Though raised within the same tradition-bound crucible, the two women – Noe and Riu – are portrayed as diametric opposites; the former meek but affectionate, the latter strong-willed but jaded by a tryst with metropolitan life.

No synopsis available yet.

With one million yen in stolen cash, Kurita plans his escape to Hokkaido with an unwilling bar girl named Katsumi.

A continuation of the prior film (影法師).

A romantic melodrama about the shifting relationship between Ryosuke and Miki as their precarious employment and social circumstances shift around them.

No synopsis available yet.

Dai-ichi-bu: Dôkai-wan no rantô - Kiyoshi Saeki directed movie.

No synopsis available yet.

On the night the shogunate's treasury was breached, the guard Utsugi had already been taken down. His colleague Ryunosuke felt responsible and decided to catch the culprit, not only for the sake of the beautiful wife of Utsugi, Chika, but also for his own honor. Chika's younger brother Shinjiro and the powerful Uechi family living near Ryunosuke's abode, join hands to support Ryunosuke. Counterfeit coins begin to surface—a scheme by the corrupt faction led by Yanagisawa. The henchman behind this is Koyamada Tesshin, who gathers ronin to amplify Yanagisawa's power. Among those ronin is Tendo Sakon—a man who drinks silently and plays the flute when in a mood.

No synopsis available yet.

A village struggles to survive when the nearby lake becomes barren of fish.

No synopsis available yet.

1951 Japanese movie

During the 17th Century roving bands of hatamoto were causing trouble in the new capital city of Edo and constantly fought with the townspeople at every turn. The leader of these ruthless samruai was Mizuno Jirozaemon, who despite his high rank was in deep financial distress, thus leading to a tragedy that shook the very streets of the city.Opposing him was Banzui-in Chobei, the ‘Protector of the Weak’ who was willing to put his life on the line to save the 808 districts of Edo from the 80,000 hatamoto whose violent behavior threatened to destroy the fabric of society. Starring Bando Tsumasaburo, the first great star of the silver screen along with mega-star Ichikawa Utaemon, this is a story not to be missed. Torn from the pages of history, this true story has been told many times, but never as powerfully as this!

Dai-ni-bu: Aijô ruten: Kiyoshi Saeki directed movie

In postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward the swampy underworld he can’t escape.

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.

The "opinion leader" of the "opinion leaders" is furious at the "opinion leader's" opinion.

No synopsis available yet.

1947 Japanese movie

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.

1942 adaptation of Izumi Kyoka's novel.

Kazuo Hasegawa's debut at Daiei.

Fourth film of the Bannai Tarao series starring Chiezo Kataoka

No synopsis available yet.

A film adaptation of the story “Gonzo and Sukejū” from a new perspective.

This epic depicts the battle between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. The focus of the story is the struggle by the unit leader in charge of the main supply wagons and the supply troops to transport materiel to the Uesugi army. To this are added episodes involving an itinerant woman.

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.

A musical film marking Yoshiko Yamaguchi's debut at Daiei.

The Opium War is a 1943 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Masahiro Makino. "Ahen senso" in Japan refers to the First Opium War. The story of the film concerns this war.

A man gets rid of a cheap pot without knowing it contains a map to a treasure. As word spreads, many join in hunting it.

Jirokichi the Rat is wanted in Edo for robbing the mansions of the rich. While on the run, he falls for Osen, a girl who has been sold to a brothel by her criminal brother, Nikichi. When he goes to find Nikichi, Jirokichi immediately falls for Okino, a poor girl who is also under threat from Nikichi.

Tomotaka Tasaka's A Pebble by the Wayside (Robo no Ishi), made in 1938 and taken from a Yuzo Yamamoto novel, takes place around 1902, was about a young boy brought up entirely by his mother since his drunken father is never home. An intelligent teacher wants to send him to middle school, but instead the father apprentices him to a clothing store to which he is in debt. The mother dies and the boy is forced to quit work when his father insults the store owner. Later the boy goes to Tokyo, but only to continue his hardships. First he is forced to do a maid's job at a boarding house and later is used by an old woman to steal at funerals. Finally he is rescued by the teacher, whom he meets in Tokyo.

During the 20s in Japan, a romantic student at Tokyo's Waseda University is filled with noble sentiments absorbed from literature but his naive illusions will be shattered by the ruthless realities of money and power.

Directed by Daisuke Itō.

1938 Theater of Life adaptation.

Kanji is a poor peasant widower who struggles to earn a living for his daughter and himself and to pay off his father-in-law's debts.

Japanese historical film. Considered Lost.

A story about Kinsaburo Kamiya, who infiltrated the Satsuma clan at the end of the Edo period. Based on the novel "Satsuma Hikyaku" by Jiro Daibutsu, and a sequel to Satsuma Hikyaku Tokai Hen (Satsuma Courier: Eastern Sea Story) directed by Daisuke Ito in 1932

No synopsis available yet.

Yamanaka Sadao's fourth feature film. The Life of Bangaku

No synopsis available yet.

A group of Japanese soldiers land in Chinese territory. They advance on a village ; one soldier, Norimoto, is killed in the attack, but the village is captured. Norimoto’s body is recovered and buried. Over the next two days, the soldiers advance inland. Two more soldiers, Naito and Takahashi, are injured. They remain behind to recover, but vow to catch up. Their comrades march on...

In old Edo, Kakunojo (Chiezo), a dandy about town, falls in love with Oichi (Isuzu Yamada), whose merchant family is much beyond Kakunojo's status. He nevertheless pursues her until her initial disgust breaks down into fondness, then romantic feelings, inducing her to abandon her fiance on their wedding day.

No synopsis available yet.

Adaptation of the novel by Osaragi Jirō. Again scripted by the legendary Yamanaka Sadao