
Acting
Ichirō Zaitsu
Born — Died
1934-02-22 — 2023-10-14
Place of birth
Kumamoto, Japan
Known for
Acting
Credits
68 titles
Known for
9.7A dramatized biography of the second of Japan's three legendary leaders. Rising from obscurity, Hideyoshi served under the command of Oda Nobunaga. With an extraordinary combination of intelligence, bravery and military skill, Hideyoshi rose to near-absolute power and greatly expanded upon Nobunaga's unification of Japan's warlords. This series also focused on Hideyoshi's personal life, particularly his relationships with his mother and his wife, and the pair's rivalry for influence over him.
Hideyoshi
1996
8.5Mike Hama, Private Detective, is a chain-smoking, wisecracking tough guy with a weakness for the ladies and a soft spot in his heart, especially for his kid sister Akane. Mike's so down on his luck he'll take any case, from finding a lost pet to spying on cheating spouses. But every now and then, along comes a client with dubious and dangerous case… and that's when Mike shows his stuff.
The Private Detective Mike
2002
NRChiba Shusaku: Kendo Masshigura is a Japanese period drama that aired on the TBS network from November 2, 1970 to August 30, 1971 in the "Brother Gekijo" slot. It ran for 44 colour episodes of 30 minutes each. Based on Sohachi Yamaoka's novel "Chiba Shusaku", it depicts the youth of Chiba Shusaku, founder of the Hokushin Itto-ryu school of swordsmanship. A hot-blooded young man who calls himself Shusaku enters the dojo of Asari Matashichiro and, through encounters with all kinds of people, grows rapidly both in swordsmanship and in character. Produced by TBS and Shochiku. Rerun on the Japanese CS channel Jidaigeki Senmon Channel from March 17, 2025.
Chiba Shusaku: Kendo Masshigura
1970
5.7Kentaro lives in the suburbs with his two little brothers. They are poor, but they are happy. The factory Kentaro works for, though, goes bankrupt on pay day and Kentaro finds himself out of a job and with even less money. The brothers are thrown out of their apartment and Kentaro, a born optimistic until then, decides that he must aggressively pursue "money". This drama depicts the success story of Kentaro in his search for money and a better life.
Okane ga Nai!
1994
7.5Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord, unifying the country.
Rikyu
1989
7.2When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.
The Funeral
1984
Film credits
1990s · 3 titles
6.5Based on the comic by Tatsu Kariya. Featuring journalist Shiro Yamaoka who works for Touzai Shimbun. He is a cynical food critic who is tasked by the newspaper's owner, along with the young Yuko Kurita, to provide recipes for the "ultimate menu".
Oishinbo
1996
No synopsis available yet.
Autumn Blossoms
1999
NRSuspense TV movie based on the novel by Seicho Matsumoto, starring Ikko Furuya.
Kazu no Fūkei
1991
1980s · 23 titles
7.5Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord, unifying the country.
Rikyu
1989
7.2When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.
The Funeral
1984
6.6Director 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
6.6A lavish retelling of the true story of the final voyage and ultimate destruction and sinking of the battleship Yamato, Japan's greatest flagship during the Second World War.
The Imperial Navy
1981
6.0Three high-school students tangle with indulgent yakuza and lackadaisical police as they set out in search of the class bully, who has been kidnapped.
P. P. Rider
1983
7.0Seven raccoons with supernatural powers sneak into a freight train, disguise themselves as humans, and head to Tokyo with the intention to create a band. They become superstars "Checkers" but their true identity will be revealed very soon.
Checkers in Tan Tan tanuki
1985
6.5Tetsuaki's struggling to write a novel while his mother fades; Mitsuko's engagement has been forced upon her unwillingly; the two individuals run away to share their grief.
Mitsugetsu
1984
NRSecond live action "Barefoot Gen" sequel.
Barefoot Gen Part 3: Battle of Hiroshima
1980
7.8BJ is a relatively unknown blues singer who scraps some bars in Yokohama. He does not earn much with it and to make ends meet he also acts as a private detective.
Yokohama BJ Blues
1981
NRSet in a rural town in Yamaguchi Prefecture, this comedy centers on a young couple determined to pursue their love against all opposition, while also chronicling the comical behaviors and interactions of a cast of lovable characters.
Oddball Nippon
1983
6.7A private detective and a college student find themselves in hot water while investigating the murder of a night club owner.
Detective Story
1983
10.0A story of the skilled brain surgeon, Todo, whose talent and ambition are put to test through a series of high risk surgical procedures.
Surgical Designs in Flames
1986
6.3Shipwrecked African-American slaves arrive in the midst of Bakumatsu-era Japan; they soon carve out a niche in the market with their musical talents.
Jazz Daimyo
1986
8.0Haru, an aging scriptwriter, has isolated himself somewhere in the woods of Nagano to work on his first novel. As the last surviving member of his kin, he intends to chronicle the family he grew up in.
Tree Without Leaves
1986
7.0A young man gets thrown into detention after an episode of attempted rape. He soon meets several individuals claiming to be ministers of their own micronation…
At This Late Date, the Charleston
1981
6.5Etsuko, a female college student, tries to beat the con artists at their own game after she gets scammed one after another.
The Gentlemen’s Alliance
1986
7.0A thrilling historical drama in which a ronin played plays an active role in redeeming the name of a man who was put to death for a crime, despite being innocent.
Secret of the Forbidden Valley
1983
7.0Based on the novel of the same name by Kenzo Kitakata.
Nogare no machi
1983
7.0No synopsis available yet.
Congratulatory Speech
1985
NRThe film depicts the anguish of an arsonist as he approaches the statute of limitations.
Melodrama
1988
NRKen Ota is a Japanese-American GI. He comes to Hiroshima after WW2 looking for his big sister, but finds Keiko, a bomb victim with a keloid scar on her shoulder.
Lover, Come Back to Me
1983
NRKen Ota is a Japanese-American GI. He comes to Hiroshima after WW2 looking for his big sister, but finds Keiko, a bomb victim with a keloid scar on her shoulder.
Lover, Come Back to Me
1983
6.5Takeshi Yasui, a junior high school student is found dead in a river. The police investigate it as a murder related to bullying. The dead boy turns out to have been murdered by two of his schoolmates, who he had been bullying.
Black Board
1986
1970s · 23 titles
8.2Taro Kuroki, 42, is a stuntman with a samurai's heart. He loves adventures, plays pranks with the police, tries to cure a cat lady by reversing her trauma, and finally, rescues his niece who is about to be lured into prostitution.
The Love and Adventures of Kuroki Taro
1977
7.4After 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
9.5Baseball player Takatsuka is murdered mid-game in front of a large crowd. The autopsy reveals that he has been killed by a needle coated with a poison used by the Ainu tribe for hunting. The next morning, sports photographer Kawase is killed in the same manner. Kawase’s sister, Yuko, hires Taro Banai, the detective with seven faces, to uncover the truth.
Tarao Bannai
1978
9.0A man who survived the war carries the will of his comrades in arms, walking across the country visiting the bereaved families.
My Voiceless Friends
1972
7.0About small-time gangster Asakichi's chaotic life in the 1930s. His gambling addiction means that he must not continue working in the family business. Instead he supports himself by arranging cockfights. He becomes ex-geisha Okinu's patron and lover, and falls directly into disfavor with the yakuza.
Akumyo: Notorious Dragon
1974
7.9When his pistol is stolen, police detective Murakami is humiliated, especially when the gun is later implicated in a crime. Working with his superior, Chief Detective Sato, Murakami works feverishly to trace the location of his pistol, ultimately clashing with a gang of youthful Okinawans.
Stray Dog
1973
7.5Tarao’s services are called upon to solve the mysterious death of bride-to-be, Mariko, who was found dead with an eerie mask of a devil.
The Tragedy in the Devil-Mask Village
1978
8.0Chotaro and Nakanishi, a duo of unemployed advertisers, drifted to Isehama, a port town near Yokohama, but a gang was making its presence felt in the town and the shopkeepers in the shopping arcade were troubled by it. Chotaro poses as a journalist and uses his words of wisdom to suggest that pen is mightier than the sword, so they create a mini-comic magazine and launch a campaign to expel the gang.
Justice! Allies! Everybody Gather!!
1975
8.0In a fishing town by the Seto Sea, a student discovers a woman motionless on the beach and takes her back to his family's inn to nurse her, but he soon discovers than she is an extremist on the run from the police.
Permanent Blue
1976
NRKensho Yamashita's directorial debut.
Troubleman Laughs and Kills
1979
8.0About a girl who marries in the middle of the Pacific War, is widowed at 18, and her unflagging struggle to survive during and after the war with her son.
Deeper Than Blue
1973
NRSet in Kawasaki in 1925, Challenge at Dawn is based on the Tsurumi Riot Incident, which actually ocurred in Yokohama that year and was sparked by corruption and yakuza involvement in the construction industry.
Challenge at Dawn
1971
8.0Chiyomatsu under the hill, also known as Choromatsu. He is a young man whose occupation is an approach shop, that is, a phony business of sex brokerage. Choromatsu is partnered with Umekichi, whom he calls "big brother," in this business. They live on the second floor of the aka-chochin (red lantern) owned by Takeko, where boys and girls who were abandoned at the abandoned children's temple on Mukojima also live together, making up a family of people who are not related to each other.
Machi no Hi
1974
9.0Comedy of two brothers working at a local governmental office.
The Instant Services Bureau
1971
NROne day an innocent-looking girl in white clothes appears on board of a ramshackle boat The owner of the boat, Okin, decides to let Mari stay with him without asking her any questions. Turmoil ensues with the reaction of the crew when the runaway girl starts working alongside with them.
Beyond the Rainbow
1972
NRA period comedy set at the end of the Sengoku Period about Sasuke Saruhi, a middle-aged ninja.
Ninjutsu: Sasuke Saruhi
1976
NR1971 Japanese movie
Kaiun ryokō
1971
NRDaisuke and Shinichi are companions who frequent girlie shows and parties until they find out they are rivals bidding for control of a major resort hotel. During the bargaining sessions each accuses the other of misconduct because of their escapades, thus getting them in trouble with their families. Shinichi's ecology group and Daisuke's wife's women's lib movement become involved.
Bridal Cruise
1976
NRComedy of a phony doctor.
Price of Life
1971
NRNo synopsis available yet.
やるぞみておれ為五郎
1971
9.0One 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
NRA drifting gambler named Tamegorō befriends a weary salesman and helps connect him with a nightclub hostess whose father has just been released from prison. In a rapidly industrializing coastal town dominated by yakuza influence, Tamegorō becomes entangled in gang conflicts and the exploitation of local workers. As he grows attached to the struggling people around him, the carefree drifter finds himself driven toward an act of rebellion against the corrupt underworld controlling the city.
Umarekawatta Tamegorō
1972
10.0Fukuzo, Kato and Matsuko, Kato's wife, are operating the "Kurenai Sightseeing Service" in Tokyo. Fukuzo and Kato were comrades during the war. One day Fukuzo guides Harumi, an old woman, to the Yasukuni Shrine where the souls of fallen soldiers are enshrined. Finding she has no place to go, Fukuzo carries her to his shack by the sea.
Oh, My Comrade!
1970
1960s · 11 titles
NRThe fourth and final "Comic Storyteller" feature.
Comic Storyteller — The Great Burglar
1967
6.8Kuruma Torajiro is discovered looking around Kyoto for someone special to him.
Tora-san's Cherished Mother
1969
7.0A comedy about a good-natured train conductor Shinsaku helping his old friend Miwako find her missing brother.
New Year Trip
1968
NRNo synopsis available yet.
手錠無用
1969
NRThe golden duo of Yoshitaro Mura and Kiyoshi Atsumi brings you a full-on comedy filled with laughter and melancholy set in Kitakyushu. Matsujiro Minamida (Atsumi) plays an uneducated and uncouth local troublemaker who becomes the talk of the town following an unexpected incident.
Big, Big Fellow
1969
7.0The film portrays a satirical view of today's heartless money-oriented society.
The Funeral Racket
1968
NRA lovely female thief, and disguise artist, has a great passion for her next big job which she sets up with her right-hand man: She intends to steal 500 million yen of ill-gotten money from the safe at Nitto Textiles
Lady with Seven Faces
1969
NRThe fourth "Tenamonya" feature. Adapted from the popular television comedy, Fujita stars in this film based on historical events.
Last Days of the Tokugawa Regime: Tenamonya Confusion
1967
NRTwo men succeed in opening a joint restaurant after hilarious troubles.
One Two Punch
1969
NR1968 Japanese movie
Mappira shain yūkyōden
1968
NRA costumed film featuring the famous hero of Japanese history, Isshin Tasuke, arranged in the form of a popular song.
Isshin Tasuke: Edoites Festival
1967
Series credits
9.7A dramatized biography of the second of Japan's three legendary leaders. Rising from obscurity, Hideyoshi served under the command of Oda Nobunaga. With an extraordinary combination of intelligence, bravery and military skill, Hideyoshi rose to near-absolute power and greatly expanded upon Nobunaga's unification of Japan's warlords. This series also focused on Hideyoshi's personal life, particularly his relationships with his mother and his wife, and the pair's rivalry for influence over him.
Hideyoshi
1996
8.5Mike Hama, Private Detective, is a chain-smoking, wisecracking tough guy with a weakness for the ladies and a soft spot in his heart, especially for his kid sister Akane. Mike's so down on his luck he'll take any case, from finding a lost pet to spying on cheating spouses. But every now and then, along comes a client with dubious and dangerous case… and that's when Mike shows his stuff.
The Private Detective Mike
2002
NRChiba Shusaku: Kendo Masshigura is a Japanese period drama that aired on the TBS network from November 2, 1970 to August 30, 1971 in the "Brother Gekijo" slot. It ran for 44 colour episodes of 30 minutes each. Based on Sohachi Yamaoka's novel "Chiba Shusaku", it depicts the youth of Chiba Shusaku, founder of the Hokushin Itto-ryu school of swordsmanship. A hot-blooded young man who calls himself Shusaku enters the dojo of Asari Matashichiro and, through encounters with all kinds of people, grows rapidly both in swordsmanship and in character. Produced by TBS and Shochiku. Rerun on the Japanese CS channel Jidaigeki Senmon Channel from March 17, 2025.
Chiba Shusaku: Kendo Masshigura
1970
5.7Kentaro lives in the suburbs with his two little brothers. They are poor, but they are happy. The factory Kentaro works for, though, goes bankrupt on pay day and Kentaro finds himself out of a job and with even less money. The brothers are thrown out of their apartment and Kentaro, a born optimistic until then, decides that he must aggressively pursue "money". This drama depicts the success story of Kentaro in his search for money and a better life.
Okane ga Nai!
1994
NRThe story follows Ryota Mizusawa, a kitchen unit salesman, and Masumi Sakaki, a hand model and single mother of two children. Due to a real estate scam, both Ryota and Masumi are sold the same apartment. To retain their new home, they decide to pose as a married couple, leading to a series of comedic and heartfelt situations as they navigate their unconventional living arrangement.
Marriage Begins With A Lie
1993
8.0A biographical series about Tokuzō Akiyama, who served as the imperial cook, from his youth until he became the chief cook of the Ministry of the Imperial Household.
Tennō no Ryōriban
1980
NRTv special that follows the life of Genghis Khan. Adapted from a novel by Yasushi Inoue.
Aoki Ookami Narukichiomoase no Shougai
1980
No synopsis available yet.
女の夏
1975
