Kaori Momoi

Acting

Kaori Momoi

Born

1952-04-08 (74)

Place of birth

Tokyo, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

91 titles

Kaori Momoi  (桃井 かおり, Momoi Kaori, born April 8, 1952 in Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese actress. Momoi was born in Tokyo, and at the young age of 12 traveled to London to study dance at the Royal Ballet Academy. After 3 years she returned to Tokyo, later graduating from Japan's Bungakuza School of Dramatic Arts. In 1971, Momoi debuted in director Kon Ichikawa's Ai Futatabi (To Love Again) beginning a career that has already spanned 35 years and over 60 films. As an actress, she has worked with some of the most notable films directors in Japan, including Akira Kurosawa (Kagemusha, 1980), Tatsumi Kumashiro (Seishun no Satetsu, 1974), Yoji Yamada (The Yellow Handkerchief, 1977 and Otoko wa Tsura…

Known for

SMAP×SMAP poster
8.5

SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games.  These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking.  Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.

SMAP×SMAP

1996

Ghost in the Shell poster
6.1

In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.

Ghost in the Shell

2017

Furuhata Ninzaburo poster
8.8

Furuhata Ninzaburō is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Kōki Mitani and is often referred to as the Japanese version of Columbo. The series is a police detective drama starring actor Masakazu Tamura as Furuhata Ninzaburo and Masahiko Nishimura as his stereotypically bumbling sidekick, Shintaro Imaizumi. The program aired weekly and featured a guest villain each time, usually a famous talent in Japan. Pop-stars like SMAP, television hosts like Sanma Akashiya and even sports figures like Ichiro Suzuki have been featured on this program. It was one of the most popular television dramas in the history of Japanese television, having spawned several seasons and TV specials.

Furuhata Ninzaburo

1994

Memoirs of a Geisha poster
7.6

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Memoirs of a Geisha

2005

Kagemusha poster
7.8

A feudal epic presenting the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. The impostor becomes comfortable living his life among nobility, but his responsibilities to his station grow more demanding the longer he occupies it.

Kagemusha

1980

Too Much poster
5.6

When a heartbroken New Yorker moves to London hoping for a love story, she falls for an indie musician who's anything but the typical romantic hero.

Too Much

2025

Film credits

2020s · 2 titles

2010s · 10 titles

Ghost in the Shell poster
6.1

In the near future, Major is the first of her kind: a human saved from a terrible crash, then cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals.

Ghost in the Shell

2017

Helter Skelter poster
6.7

Top model Lilico, having recently undergone multiple cosmetic surgeries, begins to experience troubling side effects. As she desperately tries to retain her perfect image, Lilico descends into a world of nightmares and makes those around her miserable.

Helter Skelter

2012

Emperor poster
6.2

As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.

Emperor

2012

Greetings from Fukushima poster
6.1

A young German woman bonds with an elderly Japanese woman while touring the Fukushima region of Japan in the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake.

Greetings from Fukushima

2016

Toriko 3D Movie: Kaimaku! Gourmet Adventure!! poster
5.7

Teran Plains' village was attacked by a giant starving Gerold, and the village's youngster, Peck, sought Toriko for help. But lying ahead in wait is something much more ferocious and hideous than just a Gerold.

Toriko 3D Movie: Kaimaku! Gourmet Adventure!!

2011

3.11 A Sense of Home Films poster
6.5

In memory of the Japanese earthquake on 3.11, each director presents a 3 minute and 11 second short film in tribute to those who were lost that day.

3.11 A Sense of Home Films

2011

Magic Kimono poster
5.0

The story of middle-aged Japanese woman Keiko, who has been living in a shell for decades due to a family tragedy in Kobe. The modest act of eating and the sensations it gives us provided Keiko a lifeline to survive. Unwillingly, she joins a group of Japanese women traveling to Northern Europe to participate in a kimono show in the fairytale-like art nouveau world of Riga. During her performance, Keiko suddenly comes face to face with her husband, who disappeared twenty years ago and now wants to read-dress their relationship and who Keiko has become.

Magic Kimono

2017

Candy Boys poster
1.0

In EDO, the fabulous wonderland where only men exist, the most beautiful courtesan is Shiratori Dayū. His apprentice's suicide made him desolate, and he finds love when he meets the most popular and sexy candy boy, Furimatsu, at the "Candy Shop." However, the town of EDO bans romantic relationships, and a rare disease starts to spread.

Candy Boys

2015

Hee poster
3.0

Years after she related to him the story of her parents’ death in a fire, for which – rightly or wrongly – she feels responsible, Japanese psychiatrist Dr. Sanada meets his former patient Azusa once again. Back then, she lambasted him for being wrong for the job. Back then, he let slip that she isn’t actually crazy. Now she’s a prostitute living in precarious circumstances in Los Angeles and is accused of murder, with her memories once again moving inexorably towards a fire. Sanada assesses her in the presence of an investigator who appears not to understand Japanese. Is Azusa now mentally ill for real? Was she back then? And why does the description of her tormentors upset him so?

Hee

2016

Greater Things poster
4.0

In this stunningly composed meditation on space and human relationships, an adrift Iranian architect, a disengaged Japanese couple, and a Lithuanian mixed martial arts fighter search for connection in modern Japan. From the stylishly designed shops of Tokyo to a minimalist glass suburban home to a mysterious tree house in the woods, Greater Things reveals the strange places we inhabit, and how they can both unite and divide us.

Greater Things

2015

2000s · 11 titles

Memoirs of a Geisha poster
7.6

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Memoirs of a Geisha

2005

Sukiyaki Western Django poster
6.2

A nameless gunfighter arrives in a town ripped apart by rival gangs and, though courted by both to join, chooses his own path.

Sukiyaki Western Django

2007

Love and Honor poster
7.4

A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.

Love and Honor

2006

The Yellow Handkerchief poster
6.3

A road trip through Louisiana transforms three strangers who were originally brought together by their respective feelings of loneliness.

The Yellow Handkerchief

2009

The Sun poster
6.7

A re-imagination of Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s final days in power as WWII draws to a close.

The Sun

2005

Izo poster
6.0

Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.

Izo

2004

The Yakiniku Movie: Bulgogi poster
5.5

Korean-Japanese director Gu Su Yeon makes his directorial debut with the mouthwateringly delicious The Yakiniku Movie: Bulgogi. As the title clearly states, pride of place goes to juicy, bite-sized meat, and viewers will get a delightful eyeful of food, food, and more food in this fabulously fulfilling gourmet comedy. Reveling in Japan's love for food-themed shows, the film revolves around a culinary battle of David and Goliath proportions, cheekily parodying Japanese cooking shows with Iron Chef-like editing, excited running commentary, and comedic how-to segments. The Yakiniku Movie also shines a light on the food culture of Japan's resident Korean population, proving that tasty food transcends all boundaries.

The Yakiniku Movie: Bulgogi

2007

Dance, Subaru! poster
6.7

Subaru and her twin brother Kazuma share a dream in becoming ballet dancers, but their passion is discouraged by their father. After Kazuma's death from a hereditary illness, dancing became Subaru's only happiness and she yearns to lose herself in dance. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she runs into cabaret owner Isuzu, who recognizes the talent in Subaru and trains her in her nightspot. But to become a professional ballerina, Subaru has to overcome harsher challenges than merely satisfying the cabaret drunkards. Spurred on by her rivaling dance companions, Subaru enters an international dance competition, to vie for recognition and a scholarship to any top ballet company in the world. Subaru and her companions soon discover that there are more to compete than the championship, and tests of friendship, betrayal and self-worth come one after another. Gradually the youngsters learn about themselves as dancers, as persons and as friends.

Dance, Subaru!

2009

Like Asura poster
6.6

The four Takezawa sisters discover that their father has an illegitimate child so they hire a private detective to investigate.

Like Asura

2003

The Many Faces of Chika poster
9.0

When her husband is hospitalized with tuberculosis, Chika has a series of three relationships: with a teacher in her hometown, with a student in Tokyo, and with an aging gangster.

The Many Faces of Chika

2005

Crossfire poster
6.3

Junko was born with a type of ESP called pyrokinesis which she can use to incinerate anyone and anything at will. Junko is secretly in love with Kazuki, a young man who works with her. His sister is killed and a boy named Masaki suspected but the police don't arrest him. Junko tells Kazuki about her powers and takes revenge.

Crossfire

2000

1990s · 11 titles

Swallowtail Butterfly poster
7.5

The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan.

Swallowtail Butterfly

1996

Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald poster
7.6

A love story written by an ordinary housewife is going to be broadcast as a radio drama and almost everyone among the crew insists on changing various parts of the play to their liking.

Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald

1997

Bounce Ko Gals poster
6.7

Jonko runs a group of high school girls involved in paid dating. Raku is a street dancer. Togo was brought up in the US, and after being back in Japan for one year, wants to escape to New York. Their contact with the world of talent scouts and yakuza places them in danger over the span of one day and night in the Shibuya district of Tokyo.

Bounce Ko Gals

1997

The Most Suitable Profession for Women poster
7.0

The story follows a veteran female detective who is investigating a series of brutal murders, including the killing of a pregnant woman. Her investigation leads her to a strange, silent young man who becomes the prime suspect. As she gets closer to him, a bizarre and dangerous relationship develops, blurring the lines between hunter and hunted.

The Most Suitable Profession for Women

1990

Like a Rolling Stone poster
5.5

Tanaka is a yakuza who collects 'protection money' from establishments. He has just been released from jail, where he had spent eight years, and finds out that his boss wants to get rid of him. Tanaka is not an archetypal yakuza; he travels by public transport. But he does have two mistresses: Ayumi, who runs a nightclub, and Yoshie, a brothel-keeper. When Tanaka's boss ends up in hospital, second man Kurauchi exerts increasing pressure on Tanaka. Tanaka deliberately has himself wounded by a fighter to dodge several of Kurauchi's demands.

Like a Rolling Stone

1994

Tadon and Chikuwa poster
8.0

A film based on two short stories by Shiina Makoto. Tadon is the story of a cab-driver who spends his days listening to his passengers' conversations. Chikuwa is about a writer who faces a creativity bottleneck.

Tadon and Chikuwa

1998

The Girl of Silence poster
6.0

14 year old Nakamura is sexually abused by her stepfather. She invents a friend who is coming to her rescue when she really needs it.

The Girl of Silence

1995

Ready to Shoot poster
3.7

A middle-aged man discovers an injured refugee woman trembling in the corner of his bar in Kabukicho. He quickly becomes aware that her life is in his hands when he learns she is hiding from the yakuza.

Ready to Shoot

1990

円都 YEN TOWN poster
NR

Making-of documentary for Swallowtail Butterfly

円都 YEN TOWN

1996

Tokiwa: The Manga Apartment poster
6.3

There once stood a famous apartment building where such prominent manga artists as Tezuka Osamu, Shotaro Ishinomori and Fujio Akatsuka all lived, worked, and shared experiences. The name of the complex was Tokiwa-so, and these were the early days of artists who would later be revered as legends.

Tokiwa: The Manga Apartment

1996

A Giant Monster Appears in Tokyo poster
7.0

A large, dinosaur-like monster has risen from Tokyo Bay and attacked the city. As the government collapses into chaos, the people of a rural town in Fukui Prefecture, from whose perspective we see the entire movie, watch as the events unfold on TV. Some decide to run for their lives, some take it as a sign of the apocalypse, some go completely crazy, but most of the townspeople wait and watch, and wonder where the monster will head next.

A Giant Monster Appears in Tokyo

1998

1980s · 15 titles

Kagemusha poster
7.8

A feudal epic presenting the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. The impostor becomes comfortable living his life among nobility, but his responsibilities to his station grow more demanding the longer he occupies it.

Kagemusha

1980

Final Take: The Golden Age of Movies poster
6.6

Director Ogata discovers a new female star in Koharu Tanaka, who works selling candy at a studio theater and she is given a part as a bit player. After the studio's top leading lady is embroiled in a scandal, Koharu is suddenly thrust into the limelight when she replaces her in a film and gains instant fame and fortune. But the going is not always easy, and she soon seeks help from unexpected quarters.

Final Take: The Golden Age of Movies

1986

Eijanaika poster
6.2

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.

Eijanaika

1981

The Yen Family poster
6.2

Set in Japan during the bubble era, this unique home comedy cheerfully and humorously depicts the daily life of a strange family that works together to accumulate a small amount of money, while mixing irony and satire.

The Yen Family

1988

No More Comics! poster
6.4

Stuck doing show-biz schlock, an investigative reporter stumbles on a scheme to swindle pensions through an attractive gold futures scam, a potential news-story.

No More Comics!

1986

READY! LADY poster
NR

Ryoko, a free-spirited 23-year-old woman, quits her job after being caught having an affair with a co-worker and finds herself on the street. She comes to Tokyo, relying on her aunt Moeko, a career woman who works as a manager at a major city bank. The two, who have completely different personalities, quarrel constantly whenever they see each other.

READY! LADY

1989

Suspicion poster
7.0

A car going at 25 mph plunges into the sea at Shinko Harbour, Toyama prefecture. Inside is the local business magnate Fukutaro Shirakawa, who perishes. Riding alongside him and surviving unhurt is his second wife, Kumako. It soon comes to light that Kumako’s husband was insured for 300 million yen and she is arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband for the insurance money. The newspapers denounce her as an evil woman, while the public is in no doubt about Kumako’s crime. Ritsuko Sahara is chosen as her defence attorney but the pair clash over almost everything...

Suspicion

1982

Main Theme poster
6.4

A kindergarten teacher meets a novice magician and together they travel to another city to find love.

Main Theme

1984

Kidnapping Blues poster
7.3

A man and a little girl meet in a bicycle parking in Tokyo. The little girl says she wants to watch the sea, and their travel begins. The man does not intend to be a kidnapper – he asks the girl to phone her mother and tell her she's with him. During their trip they meet various people, but they always must continue on, lest the man be arrested.

Kidnapping Blues

1982

Tomorrow poster
8.0

On August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This film, based on a story by Mitsukaru Inoue, describes the daily life of people in Nagasaki the day before that fateful event. It presents the human drama of people's lives, and their feelings of joy and sadness. These include a newlywed couple, an expectant mother, and lovers who must say farewell because the boy is called to serve in the army. Each of these people, like others in the city, hoped to live with their dreams for ‘tomorrow’. But tomorrow never comes for them, as their lives are brought to an abrupt and unexpected end. Knowing how the story ends, in this case, doesn't detract from it at all; rather, it enhances the emotional impact, which is further heightened by the poignant musical score from Teizo Matsumura. 'Ashita' is the first film in Kazuo Kuroki's 'War Requiem Trilogy,' which also includes 'Utsukushii Natsu Kirishima' (2002) and 'Chichi to Kuraseba' (2004).

Tomorrow

1988

Onyanko the Movie - One Shot Crisis! poster
7.0

The story revolves around a hardcore Onyanko Club fanatic who decides he wants to kill the girls to prevent the young, cute idols from getting old and married - in a sense, to preserve their youth for eternity.

Onyanko the Movie - One Shot Crisis!

1986

Gate of Youth 2 poster
10.0

Mid 50s: the trials and tribulations of Shinsuke Ibuki, freshly arrived in Tokyo from Kyushu.

Gate of Youth 2

1982

Hawaiian Dream poster
10.0

Tatsuhiko and Shofumi are hoodlums living in downtown Hawaii, having flown out of Japan and entered the country illegally for a reason. The two make a living by trafficking pakalolo – marijuana – under the pretext of selling tea leaves, but they are in a foreign land where they don't speak the language well. When they get busted by the chief of police, they're forced to make a deal and and help get a local crime boss masquerading as a benevolent celebrity arrested.

Hawaiian Dream

1987

Until Evening poster
7.0

Intellectual collegue professor Sasa becomes obsessed with beautiful Sugiko, a virgin. Eventually, luring her to a love hotel.

Until Evening

1980

The Woman Next Door poster
NR

A 1981 TV movie based on a short story by Kuniko Mukoda, starring Kaori Momoi and Jinpachi Nezu. A housewife is slowly tempted by a mysterious man who she overhears one day through the wall of her apartment.

The Woman Next Door

1981

1970s · 11 titles

The Yellow Handkerchief poster
7.0

A convict, newly released from prison for murder, joins two strangers on a road trip through Hokkaido to visit his ex-wife, whom he hasn't seen in four years, knowing that if she puts a yellow handkerchief on the window, it would mean that she wants him back at home.

The Yellow Handkerchief

1977

Bitterness of Youth poster
6.8

A footballing law student tutors an undergraduate, developing into a romance that soon enough goes awry.

Bitterness of Youth

1974

Tora-san, the Matchmaker poster
8.7

Tora-san helps out a runaway bride.

Tora-san, the Matchmaker

1979

The Youth Killer poster
6.5

Though his parents help him run the family business, Jun still feels persecuted by their love; when they bar him from meeting with his girlfriend, tensions increase.

The Youth Killer

1976

Invitation of Lust poster
7.5

Hirobe is a lonely man. After witnessing her girlfriend die with a terminal illness, he wanders through the city like a shadow. One day, he meets Masako and they begin an affair. Masako is in an unhappy marriage with Yazawa, who is also cheating on her with a younger lover. The tension builds up to an unforgiving, yet quiet climax...

Invitation of Lust

1975

The Assassination of Ryoma poster
4.8

Story of the last three days in the life of Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), the imperial loyalist who tried to unite the Choshu and Satsuma clans and prepared the way for the Meiji Restoration (1868).

The Assassination of Ryoma

1974

Sweet Scent of Eros poster
4.0

Yukie, Koichi and Akira are rogues looking for a place to crash. They move into a house which Etsuko (Kaori Momoi) inherited from her parents. Soon after getting settled, the hippies slip into a communal lifestyle. They eat, have sex, and generally share everything together.

Sweet Scent of Eros

1973

To Love Again poster
5.0

A Japanese girl and a French boy make strides in overcoming the cultural barriers that prevent them from fully expressing the love they have for one another.

To Love Again

1971

No More Easy Life poster
7.3

Mariko is living the life of a typical Japanese college student in the 70's, spending far more of her time balancing boyfriends and part-time jobs than on her schoolwork. She finds herself torn between a former boyfriend who's the tough, insensitive-but-sexy, type, and a new acquaintance who's more sensitive to her feelings, but who still acts childishly selfish at times. Will she choose one of them, or decide to go her own way?

No More Easy Life

1979

I'm No Angel poster
7.0

A young couple lives together in a small apartment and struggles to keep their relationship together, despite inertia and financial hardship. Based on the comic Red Colored Elegy by Seiichi Hayashi.

I'm No Angel

1977

Heaven Sent poster
6.2

Sayoko is desperate to bear a child of her own, but her live-in boyfriend Shinsaku strenuously objects to the idea. One day, someone leaves behind a six-year-old child at their door, claiming that Shinsaku—or four other men—is the child's father! Sayoko and Shinsaku set out on a journey to find the real father.

Heaven Sent

1979

Series credits

SMAP×SMAP poster
8.5

SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games.  These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking.  Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.

SMAP×SMAP

1996

Furuhata Ninzaburo poster
8.8

Furuhata Ninzaburō is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Kōki Mitani and is often referred to as the Japanese version of Columbo. The series is a police detective drama starring actor Masakazu Tamura as Furuhata Ninzaburo and Masahiko Nishimura as his stereotypically bumbling sidekick, Shintaro Imaizumi. The program aired weekly and featured a guest villain each time, usually a famous talent in Japan. Pop-stars like SMAP, television hosts like Sanma Akashiya and even sports figures like Ichiro Suzuki have been featured on this program. It was one of the most popular television dramas in the history of Japanese television, having spawned several seasons and TV specials.

Furuhata Ninzaburo

1994

Too Much poster
5.6

When a heartbroken New Yorker moves to London hoping for a love story, she falls for an indie musician who's anything but the typical romantic hero.

Too Much

2025

The Roads Men Travel poster
8.2

The series depicts the employees of a security company from different generations and backgrounds facing many difficult questions. It features a guard who survived a suicide mission during the war and his conflicts, rebellion, empathy and reconciliation with the younger generation born after the war.

The Roads Men Travel

1976

R-17 poster
5.2

A young school counselor steps into a prestigious girls' academy, only to uncover a hidden world of harassment, manipulation, and forbidden desire that the institution is desperate to keep quiet. Case by case, the girls she's there to help pull her deeper into the darkness behind the school's polished walls, and closer to a truth that will shatter everything she thought she understood about them, and herself.

R-17

2001

Priest of Darkness poster
NR

Kōchiyama Sōshun serves as a cha-bōzu (He is kind of tea man) in the administrative headquarters of the Tokugawa shogunate but he works behind the scene to protect powerless people from evil power of Tokugawa shogunate. Kataoka Naojirō and Ushimatsu work for Kōchiyama. Kaneko Ichinojō is a ronin whose interests often align with Kōchiyama

Priest of Darkness

1975

Gift poster
6.0

An unconscious young man is found inside the closet of a missing billionaire. Amnesiac, he is given the name Yukio and kept close to Naomi—the woman who was supposed to disappear alongside the billionaire, Shibata—in case he ever recovers his memories of the night he was rescued and the whereabouts of Shibata and his fortune.

Gift

1997

Haguregumo poster
6.5

Set at the end of the Edo period, the series depicts Kumo's family with his wife, Kame, their 11-year-old son, Shinnosuke. Kumo is always ignoring work and playing and he is also notorious for womanising.

Haguregumo

1978

The Life of Bangaku poster
NR

Master swordsman Bangaku Ajigawa is a Ronin with an honest heart, and hates deception. With no family or money, he lives by his own rules. Bangaku’s one treasure and reason to live is his master sword, Hekimitsuhira. But because of it, people around him regularly lie and deceive him. This light-hearted samurai drama follows the comedic life of Bengaku. Produced by Eizou Kyoto, this drama is to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Director Kon Ichikawa.

The Life of Bangaku

2002

Downtown Story poster
NR

The story revolves around a bar and a poor church in downtown Yokohama , a port town . Kazami Yobuko is a singer and hostess at the bar . The bar originally belonged to Yobuko's mother, Ranko, but Ranko committed an assault and is serving time in prison, and the bar now belongs to Tsukiyo. This is the story of the twists and turns of the love story between Yobuko and a poor pastor , Shioya Isaku. The story begins on Christmas Eve, when Isaku helps Yobuko, who is suffering from a miscarriage .

Downtown Story

—

SCANDAL poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

SCANDAL

2008

Female Detective Yuko Kasumi poster
NR

A popular suspense series in which a female prosecutor, Yuko Kasumi, solves difficult murder and arson cases in Yokohama and Shonan, by putting herself in the victims' shoes and judging their "hearts".

Female Detective Yuko Kasumi

1985

遠藤憲一と宮藤官九郎の勉強させていただきます poster
NR

An unprecedented program in which Kenichi Endo, an actor who is active on the front lines as a famous by-player, and Kankuro Miyato, a scriptwriter who has worked on numerous movies, dramas, and stages, study "making the roles of famous actors". Broadcast. A one-situation drama written by Miyato and starring Endo. I thought that the shooting of the drama was completed safely, but due to a trouble, I decided to retake it. Instead of the co-star who has returned, a famous actor who was present at the scene will appear in a hurry. What kind of change will be made by different actors playing the same role in the same story? ??

遠藤憲一と宮藤官九郎の勉強させていただきます

2018

Pieces of Autumn poster
NR

University student Minoru Niijima is a timid young man who gives up on his girlfriend's older brother after being threatened by him. Minoru's father, Seiichi, is a tired office worker nearing retirement, and his mother, Reiko, is an ordinary housewife who is considerate of her husband and believes her children are well-behaved. Minoru's older brother, Shigeru, works as a bed salesman. He is a nuisance to Minoru, as he is rough and always brags about his work. Minoru's younger sister, Yoko, is a second-year high school student, but to Minoru, she still has the childishness of a middle school student. One day, Minoru is persuaded by his university friend, Karaki, to commit a sexual assault on a train. Unfortunately, the girl he chooses is a female student from a delinquent group, and he ends up being beaten up by the delinquent group. However, the new member of the group who appears before Minoru is his younger sister Yoko.

Pieces of Autumn

1973

I AM NON poster
8.2

YouTube Originals documentary on the making of "Get To The Punchline", the first film written and directed by Non (formerly, Nounen Rena). It covers the pre-production, 13-day shoot, and post-production of the film showing the wildly creative but inexperienced film-maker's struggles to make her first film.

I AM NON

2019

Yume ni Mita Hibi poster
NR

The story follows Yonemura Hiroko, a bank clerk reeling from the betrayal of her lover, who is engaged to another woman. After a public outburst, Hiroko’s senior Tsuchiya Taeko steps in at the request of the branch manager, first by taking her to dinner and offering her to transfer to the better branch, and later by involving her in a new acquaintance whom they accidentally met in a peculiar way. That acquaintance turns out to be Sekimoto Shinsaku, a former professional baseball player struggling with his past and lack of confidence. Together, Hiroko, Tsuchiya, and Sekimoto invest in revamping a failing coffee shop called “River”, transforming it into "Terrace". As they struggle through setbacks and rebuild the shop, each of them slowly overcomes their emotional scars while pursuing their dream.

Yume ni Mita Hibi

1989

Beauty 7 poster
NR

In its heyday 10 years ago, a once bright, promising, and full of spirit beauty salon now finds itself in decline. The floor manager, son of the founder of the shop, is tending to a shop losing customers and money hand over fist, and very listless employees. With collapse imminent, the primary investor in the shop sends in a “specialist” to help turn things around, which she promises to do so within 3 months. So how does a beauty salon rebound? What is the secret to connecting with women to get them to visit the salon again? That’s simple to do when you know that a woman with an emotional complex is a woman that wants to be beautiful.

Beauty 7

2001

Madam Mari poster
NR

Legend has it that if a bride wears a dress made by Madam Mari on her wedding day, she will find true happiness. Young advertising executive Reiko is engaged to marry one of her coworkers, and seeks out the legendary dressmaker to commission her dress. But her meeting with Madam Mari doesn't turn out to as she expected, and her world is turned upside down. Before long she finds herself working as Mari's assistant.

Madam Mari

2003

前略おふくろ様 poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

前略おふくろ様

1975

Fufu seikatsu poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Fufu seikatsu

1985

ランデヴー poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

ランデヴー

1998

Heavenly Blue poster
NR

Winner of the 10th Art Works Award. The film depicts the "ultimate love" in which a man who is a murderer and a woman who doesn't believe in love meet by chance and eventually fall in love with each other. "A drama adaptation of Ayako Sono's original work of the same name, which is based on the "Okubo Kiyoshi Incident," which actually happened. The script was written by Yumiko Inoue. Koichi Sato plays the role of a ruthless murderer who murders women one after another, and Kaori Momoi plays the role of a woman who falls in love with such a murderer. It was broadcast on terrestrial TV in the "Saturday Drama" slot.

Heavenly Blue

1994

Nettaiya poster
NR

It is a hot and humid summer in Tokyo. Eiji (Yusaku Matsuda), armed with a modified gun, breaks into a salaryman's finance company in Shinjuku and makes off with nearly 40 million yen and Sachiko (Kaori Momoi), the receptionist. The two, a young man from the countryside with a perverse personality and an unattractive office worker, plan a fugitive journey without a guilty conscience with a large sum of money in their hands.

Nettaiya

1983

浮浪云 poster
5.5

No synopsis available yet.

浮浪云

1978

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

純情商店街ゆうれい殺人事件

2001

Behind the camera

3.11 A Sense of Home Films poster
6.5

In memory of the Japanese earthquake on 3.11, each director presents a 3 minute and 11 second short film in tribute to those who were lost that day.

3.11 A Sense of Home Films

2011

Hee poster
3.0

Years after she related to him the story of her parents’ death in a fire, for which – rightly or wrongly – she feels responsible, Japanese psychiatrist Dr. Sanada meets his former patient Azusa once again. Back then, she lambasted him for being wrong for the job. Back then, he let slip that she isn’t actually crazy. Now she’s a prostitute living in precarious circumstances in Los Angeles and is accused of murder, with her memories once again moving inexorably towards a fire. Sanada assesses her in the presence of an investigator who appears not to understand Japanese. Is Azusa now mentally ill for real? Was she back then? And why does the description of her tormentors upset him so?

Hee

2016

Hee poster
3.0

Years after she related to him the story of her parents’ death in a fire, for which – rightly or wrongly – she feels responsible, Japanese psychiatrist Dr. Sanada meets his former patient Azusa once again. Back then, she lambasted him for being wrong for the job. Back then, he let slip that she isn’t actually crazy. Now she’s a prostitute living in precarious circumstances in Los Angeles and is accused of murder, with her memories once again moving inexorably towards a fire. Sanada assesses her in the presence of an investigator who appears not to understand Japanese. Is Azusa now mentally ill for real? Was she back then? And why does the description of her tormentors upset him so?

Hee

2016

Faces of a Fig Tree poster
5.0

Comedy about a woman who finds a new life after she loses her busband.

Faces of a Fig Tree

2006

Faces of a Fig Tree poster
5.0

Comedy about a woman who finds a new life after she loses her busband.

Faces of a Fig Tree

2006

Goaisatsu poster
NR

An anthology exploring the meaning of the Japanese greeting goaisatsu.

Goaisatsu

1991