Shunji Sayama

Acting

Shunji Sayama

Born — Died

1918-09-13 — 1984-01-30

Place of birth

Noboribetsu, Hokkaido, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

36 titles

Known for

Stage-Struck Tora-san poster
8.2

Tora-san leaves Shibamata once again after an argument with his family and finds himself at an inn where he meets Tomekichi, a young man who looks up to Tora-san.

Stage-Struck Tora-san

1978

Tora-san's Dear Old Home poster
8.3

While Sakura and Hiroshi struggle to save funds to build a house, Torajiro befriends three young women on vacation during his travels.

Tora-san's Dear Old Home

1972

Judo Life poster
NR

Sonny Chiba's first martial arts film, a partially fictionalized judo biopic based on prominent judoka Shiro Saigo (Chiba), the second student of judo founder Jigoro Kano (Naoki Sugiura). Akira Kurosawa’s Sanshiro Sugata is based on the same character and shares some scenes, but Judo for Life focuses more on the martial arts philosophy and training, including scenes depicting how the protagonist learned his famous cat-like landing, coined the term judo, and trained with Tsunejiro Tomita (Hideo Murata). There’s also a slight yakuza film influence. The port street ambush scene is found in both films, but in Judo for Life it’s not Kano but a travelling yakuza that jumps out of the rickshaw. Entertaining and beautifully old fashioned, one does however with there were more shades of gray between good and evil, and a stronger ninkyo-like moral / honour conflict.

Judo Life

1963

Let's Have A Dream poster
7.0

A Japanese stage actor in Yokohama is terminally ill, and is determined to end his life, but doesn’t know to have inherited a large sum of money from Switzerland.

Let's Have A Dream

1967

Tora-san's Song of Love poster
8.3

Tora-san returns to his family home to learn that his brother-in-law cannot go to Mitsuo's (Tora-san's nephew) athletic event. Tora-san volunteers to take his place, but gets into an argument with his brother-in-law's boss and returns to the road. He meets a young woman in Niigata who, unbeknownst to him, is a popular enka singer.

Tora-san's Song of Love

1983

Snake Woman's Curse poster
6.0

An old man dies of heartbreak when a cruel landlord is about to repossess his land. The old man haunts the landlord from the grave. Since the man died in debt, his wife and daughter are indentured servants and are forced to work in the landlord's factory.

Snake Woman's Curse

1968

Film credits

1980s · 3 titles

1970s · 12 titles

Stage-Struck Tora-san poster
8.2

Tora-san leaves Shibamata once again after an argument with his family and finds himself at an inn where he meets Tomekichi, a young man who looks up to Tora-san.

Stage-Struck Tora-san

1978

Tora-san's Dear Old Home poster
8.3

While Sakura and Hiroshi struggle to save funds to build a house, Torajiro befriends three young women on vacation during his travels.

Tora-san's Dear Old Home

1972

Shameless School: Tackle Kiss poster
8.0

Students against teachers in the wildest kiss-stealing, petting-orgy ever.

Shameless School: Tackle Kiss

1970

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset poster
8.8

Tora-san arrives in Shibamata on Mitsuo's first day of school only to find that on his account, Mitsuo was embarrassed. After a fight with his family, he goes to a bar to drink, then brings home a surly old man with a sad story, whose identity will surprise everyone. Later, Tora meets Botan, a geisha.

Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset

1976

Tora-san's Grand Scheme poster
7.7

After winning big at the races, Torajiro Kuruma wants to take his aunt and uncle on a trip to Hawaii to partly pay the great filial debt he feels he owes them, but the plan hits a snag. Also, a pretty kindergarten teacher rents a room at Toraya.

Tora-san's Grand Scheme

1970

Night Butterflies poster
7.0

A 1971 crime film

Night Butterflies

1971

Let's Go, Grandma! poster
10.0

Let's Go, Grandma! plays like an exuberant, goofy update to Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story. Kinuyo Tanaka plays the titular Grandma, who, after selling her Hokkaido property, is apparently flush with cash but newly homeless. Her grown children take turns hosting her, making extravagant performances of filial devotion with an eye to potential profit. Making use of a catalog of wacky visual effects, bracketed by gratuitous ham-fisted fight scenes, and costarring pop singer Hideki Saijo, the film is balanced by Tanaka's nuanced performance, which delivers a denunciation of hypocrisy and greed.

Let's Go, Grandma!

1975

Price of Life poster
NR

Comedy of a phony doctor.

Price of Life

1971

Charming Men poster
9.0

One day, when Goro (Kiyoshi Atsumi) returns to his poor tenement house from a trip on a deep-sea tuna boat, his neighbor's daughter Haruko (Mitsuko Baisho) also returns from the juvenile classification center on the same day. However, at a welcome party held by Goro for Haruko, a drunk friend crashes into Haruko's house with a dump truck and is forced to leave. Goro plans to marry Haruko to a rich man and force her to pay dowry, but...

Charming Men

1970

Fun on the Run poster
NR

Comedy about five good-for-nothings who run a phony exercise-hall.

Fun on the Run

1970

Wolves of the City: First to Fight poster
8.0

Pinku from 1971.

Wolves of the City: First to Fight

1971

Nani ga nandemo Tamegorō poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Nani ga nandemo Tamegorō

1970

1960s · 21 titles

Judo Life poster
NR

Sonny Chiba's first martial arts film, a partially fictionalized judo biopic based on prominent judoka Shiro Saigo (Chiba), the second student of judo founder Jigoro Kano (Naoki Sugiura). Akira Kurosawa’s Sanshiro Sugata is based on the same character and shares some scenes, but Judo for Life focuses more on the martial arts philosophy and training, including scenes depicting how the protagonist learned his famous cat-like landing, coined the term judo, and trained with Tsunejiro Tomita (Hideo Murata). There’s also a slight yakuza film influence. The port street ambush scene is found in both films, but in Judo for Life it’s not Kano but a travelling yakuza that jumps out of the rickshaw. Entertaining and beautifully old fashioned, one does however with there were more shades of gray between good and evil, and a stronger ninkyo-like moral / honour conflict.

Judo Life

1963

Let's Have A Dream poster
7.0

A Japanese stage actor in Yokohama is terminally ill, and is determined to end his life, but doesn’t know to have inherited a large sum of money from Switzerland.

Let's Have A Dream

1967

Snake Woman's Curse poster
6.0

An old man dies of heartbreak when a cruel landlord is about to repossess his land. The old man haunts the landlord from the grave. Since the man died in debt, his wife and daughter are indentured servants and are forced to work in the landlord's factory.

Snake Woman's Curse

1968

006 wa uwaki no number poster
NR

Japanese sex comedy film.

006 wa uwaki no number

1965

The Shy Deceiver poster
7.0

A young thug wanna-be yakuza falls in love with a country girl.

The Shy Deceiver

1968

A Country Boss poster
NR

A country boss gives up his way of life because of his daughter's marriage.

A Country Boss

1962

Rising Dragon: Red-Hot Iron Skin poster
8.0

Japanese crime film

Rising Dragon: Red-Hot Iron Skin

1969

No artwork available
NR

Japanese comedy film.

凸凹珍道中

1960

Tiger of the Sea poster
NR

A group of pirates sail the treacherous Pacific ocean in search for wealth.

Tiger of the Sea

1964

Murder Unincorporated poster
6.5

When the mysterious “Joe of Spades” (Jo Shishido) executes one of the bosses of a powerful syndicate, his colleagues, fearing for their own lives, call on the services of assassin agency Murder Unincorporated to take care of the problem. This unique entry showcases some of the most peculiar killing tactics to ever hit Japanese cinema!

Murder Unincorporated

1965

Boku chin hōrō-ki poster
NR

1962 Japanese movie

Boku chin hōrō-ki

1962

Keepers of Order poster
5.0

Chuji and his family become the primary target of gangs in Nikko headed by Hasshu marshal Nakayama and boss Sukegoro Iioka. Chuji is then aided by boss Shigezo Sasagawa, Ishimatsu, and a few young yakuza.

Keepers of Order

1962

Dai nippon kosodoro den poster
NR

Japanese comedy film.

Dai nippon kosodoro den

1964

No artwork available
9.0

Japanese comedy film.

誰よりも金を愛す

1961

Tatsumaki kozō poster
NR

Tommy, a tornado boy who arrived at Arima Onsen in search of his father, whom he separated from when he was young, meets a girl named Eiko after driving away a group of thugs causing trouble at a variety show venue. Additionally, a drifter named Nanajo, impressed by Tommy's skills, approaches him with a story about a smuggling ship sinking off the coast of Kobe...

Tatsumaki kozō

1960

The Dangoro Party in the Sky poster
NR

The film adaptation of Kazuo Kikuta novel "Kumo no Ue Dangoro Ichiza", which enjoyed great success at the performances of the Toho Takarazuka Theater at the end of the year. The troupe "Kumo no Ue Dangoro" continues to tour from town to village. The small cast of the troupe includes its leader (Kenichi Enomoto), Norizo (Norihei Miki) and Taizo (Mutoshi Happa), who play female roles - they are all super actors, each of whom plays five roles. Dan Goro dreams of performing in a major theater and tries to put on a big show with a young man he meets in Shikoku named Sakai (Frankie Sakai), but...

The Dangoro Party in the Sky

1962

No artwork available
NR

Japanese comedy film.

弥次喜多珍道中 中仙道の巻

1960

Shūmatsu-ya hanjō-ki poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Shūmatsu-ya hanjō-ki

1962

Third Class Soldier Boss poster
NR

1966 Toei Comedy

Third Class Soldier Boss

1966

Hore tatte dame yo poster
NR

1962 Japanese movie

Hore tatte dame yo

1962

Our Love poster
NR

A school-themed story where everyone gathers around a campfire and cheats on tests .

Our Love

1965