Shirō Itō

Intrepid tax investigator Ryoko Itakura sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo, a suspected millionaire and proprietor of a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels, who has for years succeeded at hiding the true extent of his assets from the Japanese authorities. Itakura and Gondo soon find themselves engaged in a complicated, satirical battle of wits.

Kon Ichikawa's war film depicts the 60-hour period from the departure of the battleship Yamato, the pride of the Japanese Navy, until its sinking by the American forces during Operation Ten-Go.

The third "Comic Storyteller" feature. A comedy set in historic Edo.

It may sound cliché, but Japanese people really do love their fish. If Japan has the best and freshest fish in the world, then Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market is where you're most likely to find them. It's the home of Japan's biggest daily fish auction, and it's a place of fierce competition between fish merchants that have been in the business for generations. Based on a comic series, The Taste of Fish follows businessman Shuntaro, who has a successful career in a trading company and is in a steady relationship with girlfriend Asuka. One day, Shuntaro has to help out at the fish wholesaler store run by Asuka's father, and he immediately falls in love with the world of Tsukiji Fish Market. Soon, Shuntaro quits his job and devotes all of his time to running the business while learning about the market's fascinating set of long-standing traditions. However, he must first also learn to distinguish the tastes of different fishes before he can survive in the competitive world of Tsukiji.

Tamura Masakazu plays Shohei Yamauchi, a freelance reporter obsessed with finding out the truth about a traffic accident in which his beloved daughter died. Judging by the photo of the accident, which appeared in the news described by photojournalists as "one coincidence in a hundred thousand", and the survivor's testimony that "I saw a red fireball" immediately before the accident, the circumstances of the accident are questionable. The film is based on a late masterpiece by Seicho Matsumoto.

New Year's Eve at a posh hotel and all should be shipshape. It is not. There is the traditional party, an official ceremony, entertainment and a special dinner planned and yet there is trouble everywhere. An Animal is on the loose, a politician to protect, a prostitute to handle, a bellhop to focus and a few things more.

Ryo, a young former banker, gets beaten up over a debt from gambling. A yakuza boss saves him, and Ryo decides to train to become a yakuza under him.

Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are -- an accomplished Chinese martial artist named Wang Kang and his youthful attendant -- Zatoichi finds them and discovers that the pair's mixed up with a dangerous bunch of terrorist samurai who murdered the boy's parents. Now, Zatoichi must step in to save the day.

An upscale Japanese hotel hires Mahiru Inoue, a lawyer adept at dealing with the Yakuza, to help them rid their hotel of the local gangsters so they can get a contract for a meeting of important foreign officials.

A struggling Japanese neighborhood supermarket manager chances upon an old classmate, who has plenty of ideas for revitalizing his business.

Jr. High School Student Wataru and his friends like playing in an abandond building and looking for ghosts. However it seems he is not the only one. Another mysterious student Mitsuru shows Wataru that there is a magical door to another world where one can go and get the Goddess of Fortune to grant one wish! When tragedy strikes Wataru's family he decides to open the door for himself.

When easy-going Aoyagi meets an old friend for a fishing trip, he ends up drugged, framed for the Prime Minister's assassination, and on the run from corrupt cops. It's only the beginning of what quickly becomes the worst, weirdest day of his life. But he'll get by with a little help from his friends, who include a famous pop diva, a rockabilly deliveryman, a crippled old gangster, and the world's most cheerful serial killer.

Two Osaka comedians, Makoto (Tomomitsu Yamaguchi) and Kinta (Go Morita), are riding bicycles in Tokyo when they're hit by a dump truck. They regain consciousness in 1945, but not of their own bodies. Somehow, their souls have been transported into the bodies of two tokkotai (special forces, or "kamikaze") pilots. Having grown up in a peaceful, carefree Japan, the two comedians experience severe disorientation at having to suddenly deal with the realities of war. They attempt to escape their squadron, knowing that Japan will eventually lose the war, but are nevertheless moved by the young men they meet, all of whom have very different opinions about their fate and the responsibilities that have been placed upon them.

Kuroiwa, a high school teacher who carries a “Big Magnum 44” gun is sent to a school that is full of violence. Can Kuroiwa reform the students with the gun?

The movie revolves around Mitsuba, who studies traditional art of rakugo. Rakugo is a form of comical story telling, sometimes referred to as sit-down comedy. Even though Mitsuba is mediocre at best, he ends up teaching three students.

Oshin comes from a family of poor rice farmers. Her father and brother must work in the fields and her grandmother and mother, who is expecting another child, barely have enough to eat. In order to make ends meet for her family, 7-year-old Oshin gives up school and decides to become a servant in the household of a wealthy family, where she faces trials and tribulation beyond her worst fears.

Hideyuki Mitamura, a student at a private school near Osaka, is kidnapped on his way home from school.

The fourth and final "Comic Storyteller" feature.

Kanzo Hattori, an apprentice Ninja, leaves his home town of Iga for his final training. He must go to the city of Edo (Tokyo), and the first person he meets shall be his master, whom he must protect with his life, whilst upholding the ninja code. Also while in Edo, Hattori must find out why their rivals, the Koga Ninjas, are flourishing while the Iga Ninjas are dying out. Hattori's master is Kenichi, a 9 year old boy. Kenichi is an introvert and not very popular boy, so he never plays with the other children from school. Kenichi also has a secret crush on a young lady called Midori, yet he's too shy to speak to her. Though as he watches Hattori trying his best, he too begins to try. Meanwhile, people are being found unconscious, their bodies completely unmarked. All the victims have a tattoo (the Koga Ninja crest) and are found with a throwing knife lying close by.

The story of a Japanese man who as a 16-year-old went to Maui to work in the sugar cane fields in order to support his family back in Japan. Now 89 and still living in Hawaii he is visited by his granddaughter who brings him a letter from his disinherited and recently dead son. This brings back memories of his life with his wife and family following the attack on Pearl Harbor, in particular of his son who had gone off to join the war for the Americans.

No synopsis available yet.

Kimihiko Onizuka is a salaryman infatuated with maiko (apprentice geisha) and whose greatest goal in life is to play a party game called "yakyuken" with one.

A radio DJ, Mai starts a new program called, "Love Letters from the Drawer" to assist people who need an extra push to send out their simple yet very important message for their loved ones. The show was inspired by her own experience after reading a letter from her father after he died. Through her radio show, various characters come to light as everyone awaits for a miracle to happen. A miracle which can occur only by them expressing their true feelings... The movie is full of emotions and music plays an important part of it. It has a great cast that represent the many faces of love. Parents, sons, lovers, and friends. The movie takes you to several locations within Japan, you can get a look at the beautiful coast and shrine, as well as the city sights

Following the brutal rape and murder of his teenage daughter, a single father seeks revenge against the responsible youths. His pursuit for justice becomes a deadly cat-and-mouse game with both the perpetrators and the police.