Daishi Matsunaga

Directing

Daishi Matsunaga

Born 1974-07-03 · Tokyo, Japan

Acting credits

The Limit of Sleeping Beauty poster
5.4

Aki is an unsuccessful 29-year-old actress who eventually became a magician's assistant. While pretending to be hypnotised on the stage, Aki finds the boundary between reality and illusion becoming increasingly vague. For Aki, the only beautiful memory she has was the time spent with her lover Kaito.

The Limit of Sleeping Beauty

2017

Two Rabbits in Osaka poster
NR

An unknown calamity is killing off ninety-percent of mankind. There is no cure, no hope and no future. A man and woman, who are laden with suffering and anxiety, are drawn together. They spend their final days, and perhaps the final days of the planet, together in a different environment somewhere in central Japan of the near future.

Two Rabbits in Osaka

2011

Dependence poster
5.0

Hayato comes back to his home village after father breaks his legs and cannot walk anymore. He brings his wife Ami along with him, who had a miscarriage and has been dysfunctional and depressed ever since. Hayato hangs with his old friends and enjoys the life of the village, but Ami is a city girl and is growing lonelier. She finds comfort in the arms of Hayato's father. It's not long before everybody in the small village is aware of their relationship... except Hayato... A drama about betrayal and the illogical nature of love and happiness.

Dependence

2006

Fifteen Boys Adrift poster
6.5

A troop of children from eight to thirteen, abandoned on an island, struggling for life in the midst of passion fueled by the differences of nationalities. A story in the style of Robinson Crusoe revisited by Jules Verne.

Fifteen Boys Adrift

1982

Hush! poster
6.4

Naoya and Katsuhiro are boyfriends, new in their relationship. Things are uneven at first—Naoya is open and free while Katsuhiro is cautious and closeted—but nothing compares to the chaos that arrives when Asako, a troubled woman with a history of psychiatric problems, abortions, and casual sex, asks Katsuhiro to conceive a child with her.

Hush!

2001

MATSUMOTO TRIBE poster
NR

Confident that he’s the next great Japanese thespian, Matsumoto Fighter and his manager roam the streets of Shibuya to promote him. When he finds out that up-andcoming indie director Matsunaga Daishi is holding auditions for his latest film, Matsumoto pulls out all the stops to get in. Director Ninomiya Ken began this project as a Borat-esque mockumentary about the desperate measures aspiring actors take to break into show business. But when Fighter and his manager push the limits of their unsuspecting prey a little too far, fiction and reality begin to overlap in disturbing and surprisingly violent ways. Will Fighter finally get his big break, or will his dreams come crumbling down?

MATSUMOTO TRIBE

2017

School Ghost Story: Curse Special poster
8.8

Japanese horror film with four segments.

School Ghost Story: Curse Special

2000

The Lost Virgin poster
3.5

Spread over three time periods (Summer 10 Years Ago/Summer 5 Years Ago/This Summer), Lost Virgin tells the tale of good-time girl Chisato (Sasaki), hungry for new experiences yet ultimately in search of emotional fulfilment.

The Lost Virgin

2002

Behind the camera

Sleep No More poster
7.0

Two sisters deal with the sudden death of their mother at a wig factory. One believes it was suicide while the other is certain it was a result of possession and takes a job at the factory to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, their brother - born with an eerie gift to regenerate his own body - catches the attention of a ghostly figure roaming the factory, searching for a vessel to inhabit.

Sleep No More

2026

Egoist poster
7.0

A lonely magazine editor finds romance with his personal trainer until a confession changes everything. Based on the novel by Makoto Takayama.

Egoist

2023

Egoist poster
7.0

A lonely magazine editor finds romance with his personal trainer until a confession changes everything. Based on the novel by Makoto Takayama.

Egoist

2023

Pieta in the Toilet poster
6.7

Hiroshi has given up on his dreams of becoming a painter and works part-time cleaning office windows. He learns that he has only 3 months left to live. During his last summer, high school student Mai appears. Hiroshi becomes attracted to her.

Pieta in the Toilet

2015

Pieta in the Toilet poster
6.7

Hiroshi has given up on his dreams of becoming a painter and works part-time cleaning office windows. He learns that he has only 3 months left to live. During his last summer, high school student Mai appears. Hiroshi becomes attracted to her.

Pieta in the Toilet

2015

Uta Monogatari: Cinema Fighters Project poster
7.0

Six Stories based on Six Songs.

Uta Monogatari: Cinema Fighters Project

2018

Hybrid poster
7.0

Brand new MMA documentary following the careers of several top Japanese fighters. Watch these men prepare for big fights and put their lives in the ring for spirituality and glory.

Hybrid

2013

Pure Japanese poster
7.4

Action actor Tateishi Daisuke who struggles with loneliness after suffering a traumatic experience due to an accident during filming. One day, he comes across a senior high school girl Ayumi who is being harassed consistently by Chinese brokers and the local yakuza. He decides to protect her from them. However, after this incident, he comes to develop a mindset of seeing violence as a way to gain the affirmation and approval of others thus gradually loses himself and behaves in an extreme manner.

Pure Japanese

2022

Hanalei Bay poster
6.7

A single mother receives a phone call saying her son had died from a shark attack in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii, where she now visits annually on her son’s death anniversary. One day, she meets two young Japanese surfers who tell her about a young Japanese surfer with one leg.

Hanalei Bay

2018

Hanalei Bay poster
6.7

A single mother receives a phone call saying her son had died from a shark attack in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii, where she now visits annually on her son’s death anniversary. One day, she meets two young Japanese surfers who tell her about a young Japanese surfer with one leg.

Hanalei Bay

2018

GENERATIONS: The Documentary poster
NR

The untold truth behind GENERATIONS. This documentary offers an intimate look at their journey and the raw emotions of each member.

GENERATIONS: The Documentary

2025

That Moment, My Heart Cried poster
6.0

This project, a fusion of poetry, music, and movies, gives birth to a new style of filmmaking, through the work of five directors.

That Moment, My Heart Cried

2019

Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2018: Journey poster
NR

This omnibus film consists of three films made by three directors from three countries. With “Journey” as the theme, each of these films tells about a journey. “The Sea” is a film by Degena Yun (China), telling about mother and child’s trip to the sea from Beijing. “Hekishu,” a film by Daishi Matsunaga (Japan), tells about the journey of a Japanese businessman involved in infrastructure development in Yangon. The film depicts the entrepreneur’s emotional feelings in the face of Yangon residents who lost their homes due to the construction of the new infrastructure. The last is a film titled “Variable No. 3” by Edwin (Indonesia), which tells the story of a couple’s journey to Tokyo. There they meet a mysterious man. The man who works as a tour guide and rents out the inn, gives a strange advice to the husband and wife.

Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2018: Journey

2018

Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2018: Journey poster
NR

This omnibus film consists of three films made by three directors from three countries. With “Journey” as the theme, each of these films tells about a journey. “The Sea” is a film by Degena Yun (China), telling about mother and child’s trip to the sea from Beijing. “Hekishu,” a film by Daishi Matsunaga (Japan), tells about the journey of a Japanese businessman involved in infrastructure development in Yangon. The film depicts the entrepreneur’s emotional feelings in the face of Yangon residents who lost their homes due to the construction of the new infrastructure. The last is a film titled “Variable No. 3” by Edwin (Indonesia), which tells the story of a couple’s journey to Tokyo. There they meet a mysterious man. The man who works as a tour guide and rents out the inn, gives a strange advice to the husband and wife.

Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2018: Journey

2018

Boys poster
NR

A rift develops between two bullied friends. One of them runs into trouble when his tutor tries to help.

Boys

2011

Boys poster
NR

A rift develops between two bullied friends. One of them runs into trouble when his tutor tries to help.

Boys

2011

180 days of Heat poster
NR

This documentary explores the lives of the members of PSYCHIC FEVER in their journey towards their awaited debut.

180 days of Heat

2023

Until That Day poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Until That Day

Pyuupiru 2001-2008 poster
1.0

Pyuupiru is a Japanese contemporary artist whose works are highly acclaimed in recent years. An old friend of hers, Daishi Matsunaga, has filmed her for 8 years, ever since Pyuupiru frequented clubs wearing eccentric handmade costumes. Pyuupiru was born as male, but she gradually realized that her body does not fit her. She tried to clear that feeling by wearing eccentric costumes. People started to take notice of it as pieces of art, and she started creative activity in the contemporary art world. This film follows the vicissitudes of her mind, body, and the art works that she gave birth to.

Pyuupiru 2001-2008

2011

Vibration: THE YELLOW MONKEY poster
NR

After a 15-year hiatus, The Yellow Monkey, one of Japan's greatest rock bands, reunites in 2016 and goes on tour. They vow never to break up again. Director Daishi Matsunaga of Pieta in the Toilet and Pyuupiru captures them on and off stage examining what they did during their absence and where they are going.

Vibration: THE YELLOW MONKEY

2017