Seijiro Koyama

Directing

Seijiro Koyama

Born

1941-07-16 (85)

Place of birth

Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

40 titles

Born in Gifu Prefecture, Koyama attended Nihon University but quit midway to join the independent production company Kindai Eiga Kyokai, where he worked as an assistant director under such directors as Kaneto Shindō, Kozaburo Yoshimura, and Tadashi Imai. He made his directorial debut in 1971 with thechildren's film Koi no iru mura. His second film, Futatsu no hāmonika (1976), earned him a New Directors Citation from the Directors Guild of Japan. His 1983 film Hometown was entered into the 13th Moscow International Film Festival. His 1987 film, Hachiko Monogatari, about the faithful dog Hachiko, was the top Japanese film at the box office that year. He is known for his humanistic perspective.

Known for

Hachiko poster
7.8

The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.

Hachiko

1987

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables poster
7.1

In this movie that summarizes the first six episodes of Anne of Green Gables, we follow the story of Anne, an orphan full of imagination. When she arrives at her new home, she learns that sometimes you have to be a sensible person, while her unique character changes, or at least attracts, the people around her.

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables

1990

Hometown poster
9.0

Deep in the mountains of Japan a dam is scheduled to be built, thus forcing a relocation of the farmers. One of them is 78-year-old Denzo, whose son and his wife consider him senile. Left alone, he befriends a young boy, Sentaro, who has heard that the old man was once a great angler. The unlikely pair spend lots of happy time together, until Denzo has a heart attack and dies far upstream. The dam is completed and the entire area is inundated. Everyone will move away, except Denzo.

Hometown

1983

Mitabi no kaikyô poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Mitabi no kaikyô

1995

Sakura poster
NR

The story of a bus conductor who dedicates his life to the cherished Japanese symbol.

Sakura

1994

Fifth Movement poster
7.0

When a broadcasting company takes away its financial support from a symphony orchestra, some of the members refuse to admit defeat. The first violinist returns to his home and manages to get the orchestra back together for a grandiose performance, saved at the last minute by their original conductor -- and boding well for the future of the die-hard musicians.

Fifth Movement

1981

Behind the camera

Hachiko poster
7.8

The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.

Hachiko

1987

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables poster
7.1

In this movie that summarizes the first six episodes of Anne of Green Gables, we follow the story of Anne, an orphan full of imagination. When she arrives at her new home, she learns that sometimes you have to be a sensible person, while her unique character changes, or at least attracts, the people around her.

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables

1990

Hometown poster
9.0

Deep in the mountains of Japan a dam is scheduled to be built, thus forcing a relocation of the farmers. One of them is 78-year-old Denzo, whose son and his wife consider him senile. Left alone, he befriends a young boy, Sentaro, who has heard that the old man was once a great angler. The unlikely pair spend lots of happy time together, until Denzo has a heart attack and dies far upstream. The dam is completed and the entire area is inundated. Everyone will move away, except Denzo.

Hometown

1983

Hometown poster
9.0

Deep in the mountains of Japan a dam is scheduled to be built, thus forcing a relocation of the farmers. One of them is 78-year-old Denzo, whose son and his wife consider him senile. Left alone, he befriends a young boy, Sentaro, who has heard that the old man was once a great angler. The unlikely pair spend lots of happy time together, until Denzo has a heart attack and dies far upstream. The dam is completed and the entire area is inundated. Everyone will move away, except Denzo.

Hometown

1983

Hometown poster
9.0

Deep in the mountains of Japan a dam is scheduled to be built, thus forcing a relocation of the farmers. One of them is 78-year-old Denzo, whose son and his wife consider him senile. Left alone, he befriends a young boy, Sentaro, who has heard that the old man was once a great angler. The unlikely pair spend lots of happy time together, until Denzo has a heart attack and dies far upstream. The dam is completed and the entire area is inundated. Everyone will move away, except Denzo.

Hometown

1983

Mitabi no kaikyô poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Mitabi no kaikyô

1995

Mitabi no kaikyô poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Mitabi no kaikyô

1995

Sakura poster
NR

The story of a bus conductor who dedicates his life to the cherished Japanese symbol.

Sakura

1994

Fifth Movement poster
7.0

When a broadcasting company takes away its financial support from a symphony orchestra, some of the members refuse to admit defeat. The first violinist returns to his home and manages to get the orchestra back together for a grandiose performance, saved at the last minute by their original conductor -- and boding well for the future of the die-hard musicians.

Fifth Movement

1981

Fifth Movement poster
7.0

When a broadcasting company takes away its financial support from a symphony orchestra, some of the members refuse to admit defeat. The first violinist returns to his home and manages to get the orchestra back together for a grandiose performance, saved at the last minute by their original conductor -- and boding well for the future of the die-hard musicians.

Fifth Movement

1981

The Pale Hand poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

The Pale Hand

1990

The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa poster
8.0

A biographical drama depicting the life full of love and suffering of the writer and poet Kenji Miyazawa, who celebrated his 100th birthday in 1996.

The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa

1996

Himeyuri no To poster
10.0

The Girls' Division of Okinawa Normal School and the First Okinawa Prefectural High School for Girls were also known as "Himeyuri no Gakuen". In July 1944, the students, who were supposed to spend their summer vacations at home, were called back to school to prepare for the coming war and to fulfill their duties as subjects of the Imperial State. The fate of the girls and teachers awaited them as the American army attacked.

Himeyuri no To

1995

Himeyuri no To poster
10.0

The Girls' Division of Okinawa Normal School and the First Okinawa Prefectural High School for Girls were also known as "Himeyuri no Gakuen". In July 1944, the students, who were supposed to spend their summer vacations at home, were called back to school to prepare for the coming war and to fulfill their duties as subjects of the Imperial State. The fate of the girls and teachers awaited them as the American army attacked.

Himeyuri no To

1995

No artwork available
5.7

Naoto Ogata plays Sadajiro, a young farmer fighting out the battle of the riot through to the end. Sadajiro's wife is played by Hiromi Iwasaki, his father is played by Go Kato and Ryuzo Hayashi plays a leader of the Riot. The Riot in Gujo is called one of the biggest three riots in the Edo Period as it took almost 5 years to settle and also involved the Edo government. This movie is a period film about the riot and Gujo farmers fighting for their tenacity of purpose. The farmers had suffered enough from heavy taxes and decided to rise up in riot when the domain lord, Yorikane, issued a new act, which practically forced tax increases. Asking the lord to retract the act, they pour down to the Hachiman Castle. For once they attain the repeal deed signed by the chief retainer. However the promise is broken. Now the farmers decide to make a direct plea to the Edo Residence…This film is full tension and breathless moments.

Riot in Gujo

2000

No artwork available
5.7

Naoto Ogata plays Sadajiro, a young farmer fighting out the battle of the riot through to the end. Sadajiro's wife is played by Hiromi Iwasaki, his father is played by Go Kato and Ryuzo Hayashi plays a leader of the Riot. The Riot in Gujo is called one of the biggest three riots in the Edo Period as it took almost 5 years to settle and also involved the Edo government. This movie is a period film about the riot and Gujo farmers fighting for their tenacity of purpose. The farmers had suffered enough from heavy taxes and decided to rise up in riot when the domain lord, Yorikane, issued a new act, which practically forced tax increases. Asking the lord to retract the act, they pour down to the Hachiman Castle. For once they attain the repeal deed signed by the chief retainer. However the promise is broken. Now the farmers decide to make a direct plea to the Edo Residence…This film is full tension and breathless moments.

Riot in Gujo

2000

No artwork available
8.5

Hoshino Bunzo raises up his orphan grandson, Keiji whose right leg gets paralyzed when he was an infant. Bunzo loves Keiji so much that he does every thing to protect his grandson. Sonoda Keiko, a new young teacher comes to the school when a new term starts. She wants Keiji to go back to school. After two years absence from school, Keiji tries to attend the class but he cannot continue. All pupils hold an exhibition of Keiji’s paintings in the village shrine to make him happy. He is very pleased and gives his paintings to them and to Keiko, he gives a painting entitled "Spring Pony". When this picture is awarded a prize in the National Friendship Painting Compettition, it is like a new beginning for Keiji’s family.

Song of the Spring Pony

1985

No artwork available
8.5

Hoshino Bunzo raises up his orphan grandson, Keiji whose right leg gets paralyzed when he was an infant. Bunzo loves Keiji so much that he does every thing to protect his grandson. Sonoda Keiko, a new young teacher comes to the school when a new term starts. She wants Keiji to go back to school. After two years absence from school, Keiji tries to attend the class but he cannot continue. All pupils hold an exhibition of Keiji’s paintings in the village shrine to make him happy. He is very pleased and gives his paintings to them and to Keiko, he gives a painting entitled "Spring Pony". When this picture is awarded a prize in the National Friendship Painting Compettition, it is like a new beginning for Keiji’s family.

Song of the Spring Pony

1985

No artwork available
8.5

Hoshino Bunzo raises up his orphan grandson, Keiji whose right leg gets paralyzed when he was an infant. Bunzo loves Keiji so much that he does every thing to protect his grandson. Sonoda Keiko, a new young teacher comes to the school when a new term starts. She wants Keiji to go back to school. After two years absence from school, Keiji tries to attend the class but he cannot continue. All pupils hold an exhibition of Keiji’s paintings in the village shrine to make him happy. He is very pleased and gives his paintings to them and to Keiko, he gives a painting entitled "Spring Pony". When this picture is awarded a prize in the National Friendship Painting Compettition, it is like a new beginning for Keiji’s family.

Song of the Spring Pony

1985

Faraway Sunset poster
10.0

Faraway Sunset tells the story of the famed bacteriologist who is known to have discovered the agent that cause syphilis, and for his relentless search for a cure to yellow fever. As a toddler, his mother's neglect had caused an accident to his left hand, fusing together all the fingers in a bizarre twist of fate. Naturally extremely remorseful for being the cause of her son's handicap, she does everything she could to ensure that he gets to lead a normal life, despite having to fend off bullies and unfair prejudices.

Faraway Sunset

1992

A Single Drop of Water in a Mighty River poster
7.5

The story opens with Yukiko and her business partner in Moscow searching for Russian items for their store in Tokyo. There they meet a Russian translator, Nicholai, played by Sergei Nakariakov - a trumpeter from Russia. Some months later after they have returned, Nicholai and Yukiko meet again while he is auditioning for the Tokyo orchestra where seeds of romance begin. Yukiko's father, however, is diagnosed with a terminal case of cancer. Yukiko returns home to be with him in his final months as he decides not to go through therapy and let the disease run its course. Coming into contact with a childhood friend while at home Yukiko is left to choose between her old friend and Nicholai, all while having to face the emotional struggle of dealing with her father's impending death.

A Single Drop of Water in a Mighty River

2001

Until the Day Comes poster
NR

Drama depicting the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011 from the perspective of a female doctor. Takako Kawashima works as head anesthesiologist at the Sendai Medical Center. She balances her married life with help from her husband Teiichi, who runs a private clinic, but their lives are upturned by the disaster.

Until the Day Comes

2014

Isewan Taifuu Monogatari poster
NR

Animated film about Typhoon Vera (known in Japan as Isewan Typhoon).

Isewan Taifuu Monogatari

1989

Isewan Taifuu Monogatari poster
NR

Animated film about Typhoon Vera (known in Japan as Isewan Typhoon).

Isewan Taifuu Monogatari

1989

Thousand Cranes poster
7.3

April 1954. 12 year old schoolgirl Sadako thinks her main problem is being unable to pass the baton in relay races. But just as her team starts winning, she starts getting tired more easily. She is sent back to the American Base Victory Hospital, where the diagnosis is lymphatic leukemia. And she has no more than a year left to live. Her parents agree with the doctor that Sadako should not be told, but will she find out anyway ?

Thousand Cranes

1989

Thousand Cranes poster
7.3

April 1954. 12 year old schoolgirl Sadako thinks her main problem is being unable to pass the baton in relay races. But just as her team starts winning, she starts getting tired more easily. She is sent back to the American Base Victory Hospital, where the diagnosis is lymphatic leukemia. And she has no more than a year left to live. Her parents agree with the doctor that Sadako should not be told, but will she find out anyway ?

Thousand Cranes

1989

Thousand Cranes poster
7.3

April 1954. 12 year old schoolgirl Sadako thinks her main problem is being unable to pass the baton in relay races. But just as her team starts winning, she starts getting tired more easily. She is sent back to the American Base Victory Hospital, where the diagnosis is lymphatic leukemia. And she has no more than a year left to live. Her parents agree with the doctor that Sadako should not be told, but will she find out anyway ?

Thousand Cranes

1989

Shinpei: Uta Koso Subete poster
NR

From Meiji to Showa, composer Shinpei Nakayama rises from Shinshu to Tokyo, crafting enduring hits like “Katyusha’s Song,” “Gondola no Uta,” and “Tokyo Ondo,” while navigating mentors, collaborators, and the changing media of his era.

Shinpei: Uta Koso Subete

2024

Shinpei: Uta Koso Subete poster
NR

From Meiji to Showa, composer Shinpei Nakayama rises from Shinshu to Tokyo, crafting enduring hits like “Katyusha’s Song,” “Gondola no Uta,” and “Tokyo Ondo,” while navigating mentors, collaborators, and the changing media of his era.

Shinpei: Uta Koso Subete

2024

No artwork available
7.0

“Quit working as a nurse!” “All right, I will!” thus began the married life of Yasuo and Keiko. But the reality is harsh. Keiko even had to work on the first night after her marriage. Ten years later, the married couple is still at it. Yauso tends to the house and their children, while Keiko sacrifices family life for life as an overworked nurse. One day, after Keiko comes home utterly exhausted and dejected from her work, Yasuo makes up his mind and writes a letter of resignation in her place. Upon learning of this, Keiko angrily declares that nursing is what she lives for and she will keep on working. Realising that that is one battle he will never win, Yasuo sends a letter to a newspaper -- “Nurses’ husbands, aren’t you having a hard time? Get together nurses’ husbands. Contact me.” There is a tremendous response. This leads to the formation of many unions of nurses’ husbands throughout the country.

Nurse's Husband

1980

Don't Mind poster
8.0

Set in downtown Tokyo, it depicts the activities of a weak youth baseball team, the Chidori Boys, and the ordinary people who live there.

Don't Mind

1990

Kusa no ran poster
NR

This is a true story about the "Chichibu Incident," which is said to be the only revolution in Japan.

Kusa no ran

2004

Boku-chan no senjō poster
NR

As air raids intensify, fourth-grader Hisashi, or Boku-chan, chooses to evacuate from Osaka to Shimane over the objections of his mother. He is elected head of his new class but is always confronted by the delinquent Shinji.

Boku-chan no senjō

1985

Summer of the Moonlight Sonata poster
9.0

Two soon-to-be kamikaze pilots stop by a local school near their base to play the piano one last time, leaving a deep impression on a teacher. Years later, she seeks out the relatives of the pilots when the piano is old and about to be discarded.

Summer of the Moonlight Sonata

1993

Tomorrow Evening poster
NR

Ayako is a 7-year-old girl with a dark, tanned face and a somewhat mysterious expression on her face. She shows up at the elementary school and acts strangely, but the children don't know her name and just call her "that girl". There are two groups of children at the elementary school, and the conflict between the groups intensifies...

Tomorrow Evening

1977

Tomorrow Evening poster
NR

Ayako is a 7-year-old girl with a dark, tanned face and a somewhat mysterious expression on her face. She shows up at the elementary school and acts strangely, but the children don't know her name and just call her "that girl". There are two groups of children at the elementary school, and the conflict between the groups intensifies...

Tomorrow Evening

1977

Two Harmonicas poster
NR

In 1945, a boy evacuated to Miyagi Prefecture befriends a local child, and the two begin to play harmonica near the local military base. Then, one day, they hear a soldier playing harmonica from inside the base, and begin to form a bond with him.

Two Harmonicas

1976

The Last Game: Waseda vs. Keio poster
5.0

1943, two baseball teams play a last match before fighting in WW2.

The Last Game: Waseda vs. Keio

2008

Maya no Isshou poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Maya no Isshou

1996

Maya no Isshou poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Maya no Isshou

1996