Masao Imafuku

Acting

Masao Imafuku

Born — Died

1921-04-08 — 2015-05-27

Place of birth

Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

57 titles

Known for

Oshin poster
8.2

Oshin is a Japanese serialized morning television drama, which aired on broadcaster NHK from April 4, 1983 to March 31, 1984. The series follows the life of Shin Tanokura during the Meiji period up to the early 1980s. Shin was called "Oshin", which is an archaic Japanese cognomen.

Oshin

1983

Mizuiro no toki poster
NR

The 15th NHK Asadora. Starring Shinobu Otake in a story about a young woman striving to become a doctor and her mother, who is a nurse. The first six-month Asadora. Average rating of 40.1%.

Mizuiro no toki

1975

Hideyoshi poster
9.7

A 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

Toge no Gunzo poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Toge no Gunzo

1982

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla poster
6.9

An Okinawan prophecy that foretells the destruction of the Earth is seeming fulfilled when Godzilla emerges to return to his destructive roots. But not all is what it seems after Godzilla breaks his ally Anguirus's jaw. Matters are further complicated when a second Godzilla emerges, revealing the doppelgänger as a mechanical weapon.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

1974

GTO: The Movie poster
7.1

Great Teacher Onizuka is back, using his unorthodox brand of inspiration and education as a substitute teacher in a depressed small town in Hokkaido.

GTO: The Movie

1999

Film credits

1990s · 9 titles

GTO: The Movie poster
7.1

Great Teacher Onizuka is back, using his unorthodox brand of inspiration and education as a substitute teacher in a depressed small town in Hokkaido.

GTO: The Movie

1999

Gemini poster
6.6

When his mother's untimely death quickly follows his father's, a doctor begins to believe a killer may be targeting him and his amnesiac wife.

Gemini

1999

Sleeping Man poster
7.8

Ever since an accident in the mountains outside town, Takuji's slept in a coma; his neighbors care for him as new events occur every day.

Sleeping Man

1996

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

Kanei Chronicles poster
NR

From all over Japan, the greatest warriors: Yagyu Jubei, Miyamoto Musashi, Araki Mataemon, and more came to test their blades in a tournament of swords. But behind the match a bloodthirsty plot is born. Tokugawa Yorinobu, a corrupt shogunate official plans to assassinate Shogun Iemitsu and take his place. With scheming samurai Yui Shosetsu and ruthless Negoro ninja leader Genyusai, he plans to incite a ronin uprising and cut a bloody trail across Japan, with terrifying Chinese gunboats to back his play. Matsudaira Izu-no-kami, councilor and friend to the shogun, along with master swordsman Yagyu Jubei and ninja master Hanzo Hattori must stop Yui Shosetsu and his army of ronin and ninja assassins from tearing the country in half and taking over the government!

Kanei Chronicles

1991

Mokuyou no Kaidan'97: Akuryou Gakuen poster
NR

Haruka Renkoji is a bright and innocent high school girl. However, she is actually the descendant of an exorcist who has exorcised evil spirits for generations. She unwillingly gets involved in various ghost incidents and exorcises evil spirits that are unable to rest in peace and wander around.

Mokuyou no Kaidan'97: Akuryou Gakuen

1997

Sea of Whitetail poster
NR

Tatsuoka, a surgeon with an incurable disease. His once peaceful home was about to collapse due to the domestic violence of his eldest son Taishi. There are only a few lives left in Tatsuoka. what should i do now Tatsuoka decides to go to his hometown of Okushiri Island, where it is cold, with ambition and his own way of life to retrain his son.

Sea of Whitetail

1990

Kwaidan poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kwaidan

1992

Kappa poster
9.0

As famous photographer, Yuta Suzumori's (Tatsuya Fuji) health is worsening he tells a childhood story of when he saw a kappa in his hometown village of Kitagawa.

Kappa

1994

1980s · 16 titles

Rikyu poster
7.5

Late 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

Station poster
6.2

A detective goes out of his way to crack the case of a serial killer who specialises in murdering police officers.

Station

1981

Jazz Daimyo poster
6.3

Shipwrecked 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

Tora-san, My Uncle poster
8.2

Tora-san's nephew Mitsuo is exchanging letters with Izumi, a former classmate whose parents divorced and took her out of Tokyo.

Tora-san, My Uncle

1989

Wuthering Heights poster
6.8

Young orphan Onimaru is adopted by the wealthy Yamabe family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Kinu. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Kinu, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Mitsuhiko, a man of means who befits her stature. Onimaru vows to win her back.

Wuthering Heights

1988

A Human Promise poster
6.7

An old woman has died and her widower with dementia confesses to killing her. After this, the story goes back in time to show the events leading up to her death.

A Human Promise

1986

Kōgen ni ressha ga hashitta poster
NR

At a certain high school in Karuizawa, students relied on ordinary local trains for their commute, but with only seven trains running per day, missing one meant spending two or three hours killing time in town. This sparse train schedule on the Shinetsu Main Line

Kōgen ni ressha ga hashitta

1984

Battle Heater poster
7.5

Furuchi and Hama are a pair of unsuccessful repairmen and electronic engineers. Out in the fog late one night, Furichi finds a so-called Kotatsu space heater. Bringing their haul home to their apartment building chockfull of eccentrics leads to punk rock delinquency, murder, suicide by clock, and one cursed Kotatsu driving their electric bill into overdrive, not to mention craving human flesh.

Battle Heater

1989

At This Late Date, the Charleston poster
7.0

A 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

The Bored Samurai poster
NR

Saotome Mondonosuke is Hatamoto (a high-class warrior who is allowed to see the Shogun in person) who has a crescent-moon-shaped scar on his forehead with flashy clothes and a handsome face, and is proficient in all the military arts and called Bored Hatamoto. Mikijiro Hira acts as such a hero in history. Mondonosuke is secretly ordered to look into the suspicious movement in Nagoya castle by the Ometsuke, and he found out about the misconduct and sole it. This is a period movie about the hero!

The Bored Samurai

1983

Magistrate of the Floating World poster
6.0

Kodaira Mochizuki has come from Edo to keep Horisoto secure.

Magistrate of the Floating World

1981

Assassination Orders poster
6.5

The ronin, Sako Kanbei has to rescue the beautiful Princess Tsubaki from danger while young samurai of the Numata Clan stand up against their corrupt Chief Retainer and evil clan mistress. Kanbei wants to develop his swordsmanship only for himself, he finds that he has been implicated in a crime and must fight for justice in the ultimate battle to redeem his innocence. The swordplay in this film is reminiscent of the Lone Wolf and Cub series with its brutal and extended action sequences and awesome finale. A powerful motion picture about honor, love and cold steel!

Assassination Orders

1984

Secret of the Forbidden Valley poster
7.0

A 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

Lowly Ronin poster
8.0

Reprising his role from the popular TV series "Koya no Suronin" (The Lowly Ronin), Mifune Toshiro stars in this full-length, stand-alone made for TV movie. The wandering ronin is reminiscent of his most famous role as the samurai without a name in Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro". He travels about Japan, and while he may seek happiness, violence and tragedy always cross his path. This time, he reluctantly agrees when a girl hires him to kill a local offical who has unfairly taxed her villagers. But he soon discoves that not all is at it appears when he finds a direct link to his past.

Lowly Ronin

1981

No artwork available
NR

Genichiro Okugawa is appointed as the head of accounting in a feudal domain and travels with his servant Gonsuke to the country from Edo. Along the way, they are attacked by masked samurai on a mountain road. Genichiro is saved by Sukezaemon Tsuda, the supervisor of public works who was out hunting. Upon arriving in the domain, Genichiro is given a warm welcome by the vassals, who force him to drink heavily and find his subordinates to be rebellious. His proposed fiscal reforms are met with resistance, except by Tsuda who understands Genichiro's intentions. Genichiro marries Matsuo, the daughter of a senior councilor, but soon faces accusations of corruption.

Countryside Accountant's Government Reform

1987

No artwork available
NR

A human drama that rethinks what it means to be a family through the images of a couple, parent and child whose paths have crossed.

Kaze no Sumu Ie

1989

1970s · 18 titles

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla poster
6.9

An Okinawan prophecy that foretells the destruction of the Earth is seeming fulfilled when Godzilla emerges to return to his destructive roots. But not all is what it seems after Godzilla breaks his ally Anguirus's jaw. Matters are further complicated when a second Godzilla emerges, revealing the doppelgänger as a mechanical weapon.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

1974

Demons poster
7.7

Gengobe Satsuma, an exiled samurai cast out as an Asano clan retainer, is given a second chance to join his brothers in arms to become the 48th Ronin against the Shogunate. His faithful servant gathers the 100 ryo required for his acceptance. Gengobe is also in love with a greedy geisha named Koman. About to be sold to another man, Gengobe learns that in order to keep her, her debt is exactly 100 ryo.

Demons

1971

Battle Cry poster
5.9

During the military phase of the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Sentaro joins a local militia loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate in order to fight Imperial troops. But Sentaro's friendship with a pickpocket, who switches sides whenever it suits his needs, leads to complications that could cost Sentaro his life as they infiltrate enemy lines.

Battle Cry

1975

The Battle of Okinawa poster
7.8

The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.

The Battle of Okinawa

1971

Great Jailbreak poster
7.0

A group of prisoners attempts to break the Abashiri prison. This film can be considered a sequel to the Abashiri Bangaichi series, written and directed by Ishii Teruo. The friendship between two men on death row, a fleeting love affair with a traveling dancer and a deadly battle with the real culprit who has hunted him down filmed over a long period of time on location in Hokkaido.

Great Jailbreak

1975

Blood Type: Blue poster
6.1

UFOs appear on Earth, and people who actually see them suddenly find that their blood has turned blue. Soon panic and hysteria result in the new "blue-bloods" being persecuted by the rest of mankind, and eventually certain all-too-familiar measures begin to be taken against them.

Blood Type: Blue

1978

Coup d'Etat poster
6.5

A freestyle biopic of Ikki Kita, the ultranationalist intellectual whose ideas inspired the failed military coup in 1936.

Coup d'Etat

1973

The Village poster
7.4

This appears to be a labor of love. Its about a village which is given the opportunity to put on a musical. They would have to pay the overhead and, being that they are farmers and always busy and not rich, question the wisdom and feasibility of such an idea. A spokesperson for the acting troupe Ms. Kono lays out the whole thing and they must decide. You get little slices of rural life in Japan far, at least in sentiment, from Tokyo. The best thing about this film is that it has heart. The acting is good, but it is really about the simple storyline of outing on a show. Films rarely get made with such simplistic plots these days. Enjoy this little slice of what city people call “the simple life”.

The Village

1975

Festival Champ poster
5.3

Hiroki Matsukata is a fish market worker and a fanatical Japanese festival rascal. He also falls in love with a stripper while delivering his colleague's love letter to her but forgetting to mention it's from another man.

Festival Champ

1976

Comedy: Love and Justice Among Cheaters poster
10.0

Ex-conman Junpei plots revenge on a corrupt corporation by leading a team of swindlers posing as politicians. A slick crime comedy of cons and payback.

Comedy: Love and Justice Among Cheaters

1974

Ghost Train poster
NR

After seven people vanish from a train, a bumbling police detective teams up with a female college student to solve the mystery.

Ghost Train

1978

The Last Game poster
9.0

After the war-time government orders the disbanding of the Big-Six baseball league, the teams of Waseda and Keio universities play one final game before they are drafted into the armed forces and face the hardships of military service.

The Last Game

1979

Akumyo: Notorious Dragon poster
7.0

About 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

Sensei no tsushinbo poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Sensei no tsushinbo

1977

Love Forsaken poster
NR

The story is about Tomoko and her relationships with three men.

Love Forsaken

1971

Afterglow poster
NR

The story depicts a young man suffering from an incurable disease trying to live his life to the fullest in the time he has left. Based on the true story of Ayumu Oya (poet), the eldest son of Soichi Oya (journalist, novelist and critic)

Afterglow

1978

River Without a Bridge Part 2 poster
NR

Second part to "River Without a Bridge" (1969)

River Without a Bridge Part 2

1970

Pure Land, Poisoned Sea poster
NR

In this program based on the book of the same name by Ishimure Michiko, Kitabayashi Tanie plays “Goze,” a blind wandering performer who drifts around the stricken region of Minamata in the wake of methylmercury contamination.

Pure Land, Poisoned Sea

1970

1960s · 7 titles

Admiral Yamamoto poster
8.5

As Japan joins in a political pact with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is appointed supreme commander of the Japanese fleet. With Japan headed inexorably toward war, Yamamoto, despite his misgivings, believes the only possible victory lies in destroying the American fleet by surprise at Pearl Harbor. The attack succeeds, but fails to sink the American carrier fleet. Thus Yamamoto must lead the Japanese navy into war with ever-diminishing likelihood of success.

Admiral Yamamoto

1968

Kill! poster
7.0

A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.

Kill!

1968

Japan's Longest Day poster
7.3

A dramatisation of the 24-hour period in which the Japanese government was deadlocked over the decision to accept or reject the Allies' demand for an unconditional surrender following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Japan's Longest Day

1967

The Human Bullet poster
6.0

A soldier has been in the Japanese military for the entirety of WWII, and in that time, his dedication to the army has never faltered. However, as the war draws to a close, his commanding officers become increasingly desperate and push their men to ever more absurd extremes. The ridiculousness of the orders from above peak when the hero of the story is assigned to drive a one-man submarine straight into the hull of an enemy battleship.

The Human Bullet

1968

Judge and Jeopardy poster
9.0

It is based on the story "The Lawyer" by attorney Hiroshi Masaki and his account of Japan's "Headless Murder Case" in which a police officer beat a suspect to death during the Pacific War.

Judge and Jeopardy

1968

Where did Sharaku go? poster
8.0

Writer Jippensha Ikku hears Tsutaya Juzaburo, a wholesaler of picture books, mutter on his deathbed, "Where has Sharaku gone?" He begins to figure out the true identity of Sharaku, who disappeared after about 150 portraits of actors he created came out.

Where did Sharaku go?

1968

Trigger-Happy poster
NR

A 72-hour story about a group of rookie police officers and detectives who are candidates for the Mexican Olympic team and are in training camp for shooting competition, as they hunt down a violent criminal.

Trigger-Happy

1968

Series credits