Yoji Yamada

Directing

Yoji Yamada

Born 1931-09-13 · Osaka, Japan

Yoji Yamada (山田 洋次 Yamada Yōji, born September 13, 1931 in Toyonaka City, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese film director best known for his Otoko wa Tsurai yo series of films. He was born in Osaka. But because of the work of his father, who was an engineer for the South Manchuria Railway, from the age of 2 he was brought up in Manchuria. Following the end of World War II, he came back to Japan and subsequently he lived in Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture. After receiving his degree from Tokyo University in 1954, he entered Shochiku and worked under Yoshitaro Nomura as a scriptwriter or as an assistant director. He has won many awards throughout his lengthy career and is well respected in Japan and by critics throughout the world. He wrote his first screenplay in 1958, and directed his first movie in 1961. Yamada continues to make movies to this day. He once served as president of the Directors Guild of Japan, and is currently a guest professor of Ritsumeikan University.

Acting credits

Film Director Satsuo Yamamoto poster
NR

A documentary made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Satsuo Yamamoto's death.

Film Director Satsuo Yamamoto

1993

I Lived, But... poster
6.8

An extremely lovely tribute to Ozu, on the 20th anniversary of his death. It uses a combination of footage from vintage films and new material (both interviews and Ozu-related locations) shot by Ozu's long-time camera-man (who came out of retirement to work on this). Surprisingly (or perhaps not), it focuses less on Ozu's accomplishments as a film-maker than on his impact on the lives of the people he worked with..

I Lived, But...

1983

Ken San poster
6.7

KEN SAN pieces together the puzzle of the life and legacy of Japan's mythical acting icon, Ken Takakura. Collaborators, friends and family tell intimate stories of Ken's journey: how one man of quiet dignity became a cultural barrier-breaking film star.

Ken San

2016

700 Days with Ryuichi Sakamoto poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

700 Days with Ryuichi Sakamoto

2015

Seijo Story: 60 Years of Making Films poster
NR

After meeting as college students in the cinema town of Seijo, husband and wife Nobuhiko and Kyoko Obayashi have gone on to direct and produce acclaimed films together for 60 years.

Seijo Story: 60 Years of Making Films

2019

Sat-chan Tadashi-chan: Sengo minshu-teki dokuritsu pro funtō-ki poster
NR

After the war, many filmmakers were expelled from the Japanese film industry due to the Toho Dispute and the Red Purge. Amid such circumstances, there were people who set up their own independent production companies and embarked on film production without relying on corporations. This documentary film focuses on the passionate "spirit of film" of directors such as Satsuo Yamamoto and Tadashi Imai, who, despite many hardships, produced a succession of masterpieces overflowing with humanism and rebellious spirit.

Sat-chan Tadashi-chan: Sengo minshu-teki dokuritsu pro funtō-ki

2015

55th anniversary performance of Tora-San: Rakugo, Talk and Tora Jiro Returns poster
NR

This special performance was held to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the release of the film Tora-San. The event was a must-see for fans and non-fans alike, featuring rakugo stories reminiscent of the world of Tora-san, a new rokyoku based on the secret story of the birth of Otoko wa Tsuraiyo, and a rare talk show featuring director Yamada and other speakers sharing their thoughts. Rokyoku ‘Tora-san no Shussei’ (The Birth of Tora-san) Tamagawa Tafuku Rakugo ‘Matsuyama Kagami’ by Yanagitei Kochiraku Rakugo ‘Kasa Go’ by Hanaroku Yanagiya ‘Ohanashi’ (talk show) Yoji Yamada, Chieko Baisho, Osamu Akimoto, hosted by Hanamitsu Yanagiya. (7 September 2024 at Yurakucho Yomiuri Hall) Organised by Shochiku Co.

55th anniversary performance of Tora-San: Rakugo, Talk and Tora Jiro Returns

2024

Behind the camera

Tokyo Taxi poster
7.3

One day, taxi driver Koji Usami is tasked with driving 85-year-old Sumire Takano from Shibamata, Tokyo to a senior care facility in Hayama, Kanagawa. Sumire asks Koji to make some detours. Gradually opening up to her, Sumire begins to tell the story of her grand past...

Tokyo Taxi

2025

Tokyo Taxi poster
7.3

One day, taxi driver Koji Usami is tasked with driving 85-year-old Sumire Takano from Shibamata, Tokyo to a senior care facility in Hayama, Kanagawa. Sumire asks Koji to make some detours. Gradually opening up to her, Sumire begins to tell the story of her grand past...

Tokyo Taxi

2025

The Twilight Samurai poster
7.8

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

The Twilight Samurai

2002

The Twilight Samurai poster
7.8

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

The Twilight Samurai

2002

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

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

My Sons poster
7.8

Tetsuo is a young man living in Tokyo, who falls in love with a deaf-mute factory girl. He has always felt jealous of his college-educated brother, but ultimately wins both the girl and his father's acceptance and support in a touching and refreshing way.

My Sons

1991

My Sons poster
7.8

Tetsuo is a young man living in Tokyo, who falls in love with a deaf-mute factory girl. He has always felt jealous of his college-educated brother, but ultimately wins both the girl and his father's acceptance and support in a touching and refreshing way.

My Sons

1991

Tora-san's Matchmaker poster
9.0

After failing to find a job, Mitsuo becomes a fisherman on a small island, and develops a crush on a young nurse there. Tora-san, dispatched to bring Mitsuo back home, himself falls in love with an attractive but troubled woman visiting her father.

Tora-san's Matchmaker

1993

Tora-san's Matchmaker poster
9.0

After failing to find a job, Mitsuo becomes a fisherman on a small island, and develops a crush on a young nurse there. Tora-san, dispatched to bring Mitsuo back home, himself falls in love with an attractive but troubled woman visiting her father.

Tora-san's Matchmaker

1993

A Distant Cry from Spring poster
7.4

The quiet life of a mother and her young son living on a farm in Hokkaido is changed by the arrival of a man who ignites flames of romance in the heart of the mother and shows her boy the importance of grit and kindness, but then he leaves with the autumn wind.

A Distant Cry from Spring

1980

A Distant Cry from Spring poster
7.4

The quiet life of a mother and her young son living on a farm in Hokkaido is changed by the arrival of a man who ignites flames of romance in the heart of the mother and shows her boy the importance of grit and kindness, but then he leaves with the autumn wind.

A Distant Cry from Spring

1980

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

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

Nagasaki: Memories of My Son poster
6.9

Nobuko works in Nagasaki, Japan as a midwife. Her son died 3 years earlier from the atomic bomb. On August 9, 1948, her son appears in front of her again. Since that time, Koji appears in front of her and they reminiscence about pleasant times. These happy, but bizarre moments seem eternal.

Nagasaki: Memories of My Son

2015

Nagasaki: Memories of My Son poster
6.9

Nobuko works in Nagasaki, Japan as a midwife. Her son died 3 years earlier from the atomic bomb. On August 9, 1948, her son appears in front of her again. Since that time, Koji appears in front of her and they reminiscence about pleasant times. These happy, but bizarre moments seem eternal.

Nagasaki: Memories of My Son

2015

The Castle of Sand poster
7.4

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

The Castle of Sand

1974

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

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

Zero Focus poster
6.3

One week into newlywed Teiko Uhara's marriage, her husband, Kenichi, leaves on a short business trip and never returns. Teiko travels across Japan to search for him, and along the way discovers some surprising facts about her husband's past. With only a pair of old photographs among his belongings to go off of, Teiko tries to figure out what has happened to him.

Zero Focus

1961

What a Wonderful Family! poster
7.3

A husband and wife have been married for 50 years. For her birthday, the husband asks the wife what she wants for her birthday present. She replies that she wants a divorce. The wife's divorce announcement sends the entire family into chaos.

What a Wonderful Family!

2016

What a Wonderful Family! poster
7.3

A husband and wife have been married for 50 years. For her birthday, the husband asks the wife what she wants for her birthday present. She replies that she wants a divorce. The wife's divorce announcement sends the entire family into chaos.

What a Wonderful Family!

2016

Mom, Is That You?! poster
6.1

Akio, an HR worker, visits his transformed mother Fukue in Tokyo. Baffled by her new lively self, he encounters a friendly neighbor. Through these interactions, Akio gains new perspectives, noticing overlooked aspects of life.

Mom, Is That You?!

2023

Mom, Is That You?! poster
6.1

Akio, an HR worker, visits his transformed mother Fukue in Tokyo. Baffled by her new lively self, he encounters a friendly neighbor. Through these interactions, Akio gains new perspectives, noticing overlooked aspects of life.

Mom, Is That You?!

2023