Kiichi Nakai

Just 80 years ago, the peaceful sea was a battlefield. Soldiers continued to fight, dreaming of returning home, and their families continued to pray and wait for their safety. What stories were there in each of their lives, and what were they each thinking?

In the present day, the local government of Katori City is in the process of sponsoring a taiga drama about its famous historical figure Tadataka Ino, who is known for being the first person to make a map of Japan in 1821. During the process of of making the drama series, a surprising fact is discovered about the first map. That fact is that Tadataka Ino was not the person who made the first Japanese map.

The day before his exhibition, world-renowned painter Tamura discovers that his own work contains a forgery. Meanwhile, the body of a woman with countless ukiyo-e tattoos is discovered at the sea. From the two incidents, the name of Ryuji emerges.

A treasure appears in front of antique dealer Norio Koike (Kiichi Nakai) and potter Sasuke (Kuranosuke Sasaki). The treasure is Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s chawan (procelain tea bowl) called Houou, that has been missing.

A man's body is found under the statue of a winged kirin in the Nihombashi area of Tokyo. A suspect named Yashima has a car accident and falls unconscious while he is attempting to run away. Yashima's lover Kaori comes from Fukushima and tells detectives that he is absolutely not a criminal. Meanwhile, Detective Kyoichiro Kaga's (Hiroshi Abe) investigates and uncovers a point of contact between the dead body and Yashima. A hidden fact of the victim is revealed which even his children did not know about...

After 10 years of marriage, a couple finds itself walking on a small path in the mountains. Allowing them to discover one another.

Keisuke Kuroda wakes up in a hospital bed unable to remember who he is. While sneaking out of the hospital, he sees a glimpse of the news and realizes that he is the Prime Minister of Japan. His approval rating was the lowest in the history of modern Japan. During a recent speech, a citizen had thrown a rock at him causing him to lose his memory. Keisuke Kuroda’s subordinate takes him to the official residence of the prime minister where he tries to implement changes to the country. The only people aware that he has lost his memory are his three secretaries.

A chronicle of the life of Yasui Santetsu, a 17th century master of go who turned his attention to astronomy and created a new calendar for Japan. Based on the life of Santetsu Yasui (December 27, 1639-November 1, 1715), appointed as the first official astronomer in the Edo Period and would go on to create the Jokyo calendar at the imperial request.

The story takes place over a 24 hour period. In the southernmost part of Japan, 20 fishing boats of an unknown nationality suddenly fire upon and occupy parts of the Hateruma archipelago. Members of the Japan Coast Guard are detained. Under the extremely tense situation, the Japanese government sends Aircraft Carrier Ibuki and an escort fleet to the area. Ryota Akitsu is the captain of the Aircraft Carrier Ibuki and Toshiya Niinami is second-in-command. It is now 6:23 am. and Japan faces one day which they never have before.

A heartwarming tale about the turning point in the life of an elite business man in his fifties and a local train that has been running since 1911. Hajime is in line to be the next head of a prominent electronics company. He toils day and night over his work and has no time for his family. But one day, his mother in Shimane falls ill, and his best friend dies in an accident. Grief-stricken, Hajime returns home, where memories of his childhood dream come back to him. He had always wanted to be a train conductor and drive the local "bataden" Ichibata Electric Railway.

Defence lawyer Emi is assigned to a particularly unusual case: a man is suspected of murdering his wealthy wife, and his only alibi is a 421-year old ghost, Rokubei. At first Emi is hesitant, but when she pursues her lead she is visited by the ghost herself. And so the fun begins in the courtroom when Prosecutor Osano starts to cross examine.

Rival Chinese military strategists Sun Bin (Sun Honglei) and Pang Juan (Francis Ng) clash in this historic war adventure set during the Era of Warring States.

A comedy about a concierge at a plush hotel who deals with a series of unusual guests.

At Sakurada Gate in 1860, the shogun’s chief minister and his retinue of bodyguards are ambushed and annihilated. Bearing the responsibility and shame for this failure is Shimura Kingo, master swordsman and chief of the guard. Forbidden to take his own life in atonement, he is instead tasked with hunting down the remaining assassins; however, fate intervenes and now only one is left. Devoted to his late lord and his duty, he relentlessly pursues the sole remaining assassin for the next thirteen years. But times are changing in Japan and the way of the sword has become outlawed. What does this mean for Kingo?

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.

The morning variety show, a staple of television around the world, offers news and entertainment but TV host Shingo didn’t expect to be himself the source of the news and entertainment.

A family that was severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck in March 2011, and a family that escaped the disaster. The film depicts the collapse and rebirth of two families whose children were supposed to marry each other. A moving drama written by Yamada Taichi and starring Nakai Kiichi, Kuroki Meisa and Kamiki Ryunosuke.

National Audit Bureau member Hajime Matsudaira (Shinichi Tsutsumi), Tadako Torii (Haruka Ayase) & Asahi Gainsbourg (Masaki Okada) travel from their homebase of Tokyo to the city of Osaka. Their mission is to discover any financial irregularities & to ensure the correct use of federal money in the Osaka city government. Their initial audits go smoothly, but things turn more interesting once they enter the Karahori shopping district - the area with a long history reaching back to the Meiji era.

Sakai is a city near Osaka by the bay famous for its swords in the old days and kitchen knives today. Norio is an antique dealer in the city. Sasuke is a potter in the city. Seventeenth century tea master Sen No Rikyu appears before them one day.

Takada, a Japanese fisherman has been estranged from his son for many years, but when the son is diagnosed with terminal cancer his daughter-in-law, Rie, summons him to the hospital. Through a series of obstacles and relationships, he is brought unexpectedly closer to both an understanding of himself and of his son.

Hyakkimaru, a warrior on a quest to reclaim 48 of his body parts which were each taken by a demon, is joined by Dororo, a thief on a quest to avenge the death of her parents.

After six years away, D.A. Kuryu Kohei (Kimura Takuya) returns to his former Josai branch of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, just in time for a brewing storm. Kohei's first case starts out simple enough. The suspect, a blonde-haired security guard, had already confessed to manslaughter, but he suddenly retracts his confession and takes things to court with big-shot defense attorney Gamo (Matsumoto Koshiro). It turns out that the security guard is a key alibi witness in a high-profile political corruption case, and the results of his case will directly affect the next. With the media, politicians, and a special investigative team breathing down his back, Kohei must handle the case with care (and flair) to find out the truth.

A hustler who gets in trouble with a gang boss in the port town of Sukago agrees to make good with the don by putting him in contact with a mysterious hitman — an assassin the hustler has no idea how to contact. Instead, he hires an actor to play the role, though the thespian has no idea what he's getting into.

A Chinese emissary is sent to the Gobi desert to execute a renegade soldier. When a caravan transporting a Buddhist monk and a valuable treasure is threatened by thieves, however, the two warriors might unite to protect the travelers.

A celebration of the ancient art of Japanese rakugo, roughly translated as “comic storytelling”. The film is interspersed with numerous funerals and wakes, songs, dances, and often disgustingly crude jokes.

A middle-aged salaryman with a typical family, living quietly in a provincial city (Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture), wakes up one morning in the summer of 1994 to find himself the prime suspect in the biggest mass-murder case of the decade.

Kanichiro Yoshimura is a samurai and family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the low pay he receives from his small-town clan. He is forced by his love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.

A group of demons in the ancient Japanese capital of Heian is dismembering members of a family of Japanese nobles.

Shūji Yamaoka was a suicide pilot during the war who somehow survived Japan's surrender. After decades of working as a fisherman in Kumamoto, a provincial seaside city in southern Kyushu, Yamaoka remains reluctant to discuss his wartime experiences with anyone, much less an intrusive reporter looking for a feature story. Then a series of events shake Yamaoka to the core, forcing him to re-evaluate his past.

A man arrives in the city upon news of a potential terrorist strike in Italy. He is Japanese foreign diplomat, Kosaku Kuroda, and he’s here under orders of his supervisor at the Foreign Ministry, Hiroshi Kataoka (Kiichi Nakai), to aid in the safeguarding of Japanese citizens. Kuroda’s main contacts at the Japanese embassy consist of Ambassador Kikuhara, Counselor Nishino, and fellow diplomatic envoys Haba and Tanimoto. All are busy preparing for the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Kawagoe due to arrive for the high-profile G8 foreign minister’s meeting. Meanwhile, somewhere on the festively-lit streets of the city, a young Japanese girl has suddenly gone missing. Is it an abduction simply for ransom? Or could it be a prelude to terror?

Jirocho (Kiichi Nakai), a fledgling bakuto who left his wife, goes on a year-long training with his minions: right-hand man and military master Ohmasa (Kishibe Ittoku); stinky priest Daigoro (Takashi Sasano); well-known stranger Ishimatsu Mori (Yoichi Nukumizu); beautiful Masagoro Oiwake (Kazuki Kitamura); and others. As Jirocho's fame spreads, he gains more enemies. Among them are Katsuzo Kurokoma (Koichi Sato), who is one of the most powerful in Koshu, and the villain who is also Ishimatsu's nemesis, Masaru Mima (Riki Takeuchi). A traitor also emerges from the family, Yoshikazu Ebisu (Yoshikazu Ebisu). Meanwhile, Jirocho's wife falls ill and other terrible situations occur. Jirocho falls into a pinch of absolute despair. What on earth will he do? What is the fate of his minions? The Jirocho family will face a fierce battle...

A four-part anthology in the spirit of The Twilight Zone, this film starts off with a group of commuters stranded at a train station in the rain, listening to stories told by one of the group. These include tales of a group stranded in the mountains and haunted by guilt over a death they inadvertantly caused, an emotionally broken chessmaster pressed into playing a real-life game for an eccentric millionaire, a wandering medieval samurai who finds a modern-day cell phone on the ground and a person on the other end asking questions about the past, and a young couple who agree to try a computer simulation of what their future as husband and wife would be like.

Guitarist Ko-chan is a mess of sexual repression after a childhood at the mercy of two elder sisters eager to use him as a guinea pig for their make-up skills. Bassist Gaku-chan keeps a bucket in the wings for whenever his nerves get the better of him, and drummer Momo-chan is doomed to forever carrying the botched childhood attempts at self-tattooing. It's not until this foursome is forced to look for an additional guitar player after Jin's dad burns his Stratocaster, that attitude and musical ability enter into the equation. Leather-clad, shade-wearing Tani (Tamaki), inseparable from his black Les Paul, is introduced as the king of R'n'R cool and Jinnai keeps him firmly seated on his throne throughout the film, retroactively proclaiming the guitarist, rather than himself, as the band's true hero.

Film about Sakamoto Ryōma. The focus is on Oryo, the maid who became Ryoma’s wife and lived with him for one year before his death.

The Isokaze, an Aegis-class escort vessel, sets sail on a routine training exercise, playing host to a platoon from the Fleet Training Group. No sooner is the Isokaze on open water, however, then the FTG reveal themselves to be terrorist stowaways who kill the ship's captain, send the rest of the crew overboard and take control of the vessel. The ship is carrying a secret biological weapon which the terrorists are now threatening to use to level Tokyo! Only a stowaway NCO, Sengoko (played by Sanada Hiroyuki from Ring and Twilight Samurai) is in a position to stop them - but does he really have what it takes to save the day? Playing like a cross between a sea-faring version of Top Gun and Die Hard, director Sakamoto Junji shows that it's not just Hollywood that can produce thrill-a-minute action spectaculars.

Ryuji Inahara, the heir to the Atami Yamazakiya family, subsequently placed the group under the control of the influential members of the Guretai, known as the "Yokohama Four Heavenly Kings," and the Inahara group quickly expanded its influence from Yokohama to the Tokaido region. The world of yakuza then enters the era of Ryuji Inahara and Masao Tashiro, the third generation member of the Yamaga-gumi.

Two newlyweds decide to build their dream home, and hire an old friend named Yanagisawa to design it. Unfortunately, Yanagisawa isn’t licensed to build homes, so they call in the wife’s father, a retired carpenter, to help out. When Yanagisawa’s contemporary ideas clash with the old carpenter’s traditional Japanese methods, the project becomes a huge mess.

Physically separated from her father and at odds with her distraught mother, a girl must negotiate her own passage to maturity.

Kon Ichikawa's retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai) dedicate their lives to avenging his death.

A pampered young model is killed in a traffic accident. Given the chance to return to earth, she becomes involved with the advertising executive who is trying to cover up her death. A blend of fantasy and trenchant realism in which Somai uses the ethereal glow of advertising images to comment on the transience of life.

Goro, a small-time thug who manages an adult video store, is approached with a proposal for a sham marriage. Seeing no option to refuse, he agrees to lend his family registry in exchange for money and the promise that he’d be “helping someone out.” His partner in the marriage is a Chinese woman named Bai Lan, who plans to use the money she earns after obtaining Japanese citizenship to support her family back home. Goro and Bai Lan meet only once, during her immigration screening, after which they each go their separate ways. A while later, Goro receives some unexpected news.

During a quest to find a Taiwanese father's grave, disturbing memories of child abuse are aroused.

As great military commander Nobunaga Oda consolidates his power across Japan, one of his actions is to wipe out a clan of assassins, killing every man, woman and child he found in the village. Years later, one survivor has hired a young, skilled assassin to avenge his friends and family. His mission: to sneak into the most heavily guarded castle in Japan, and eliminate the supreme ruler.

An omnibus featuring the work of three different filmmakers.

Rica and Kengo have been living together for the past four years. It's been a very happy time for Rica; the only dark spot being an accident she caused during a shoot for a commercial in which Kengo's good friend, Shibata, nearly lost his life. The memory of this event weighs heavily on Rica's conscience. One night Kengo tells Rica that he has fallen in love with a charming but inscrutable woman named Hanako.

Made-for-TV movie based on the novel “The Puppeteer in the Shadows” by master storyteller Fujisawa Shuhei, this tale of swordsmanship, heroism, and romance in the highest chambers of power in the Tokugawa shogunate. Caught up in deadly intrigue at Edo Castle after fulfilling a dying man wish. Now forced to rely on his mastery of swordsmanship. Tsurumi, who walked away from his samurai status to practice calligraphy is caught between opposing forces leading to fierce battles among samurai and ninja!

Assistant police inspector Aida is assigned to investigate the murder of a former gang member. When a justice ministry official is killed days later in a similar manner, he begins to suspect that something bigger is going on...

Period piece about a samurai who marries a mysterious beautiful young woman who claims to have lost her memory.

In the Meiji era, Countess Kibune must undergo surgery to save her life, but she refuses to receive anesthesia because she is afraid to reveal a secret. She asks a young doctor, Takamine, to operate on her without anesthesia.

After the death of previous Boss, a gang war lasts for more than four years.

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.

A 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.

Two poor, married farmers have recently lost their only child; after a freak visitation, they pry open an alien cocoon to greet their new daughter.

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.

Tora-san visits brother-in-law Hiroshi's hometown to attend a memorial service for his late father. When the local temple priest becomes intoxicated, Tora-san wearing the priest's robe delivers the memorial speech, much to his family's surprise. Thinking he's found his true calling, Tora-san decides to join the order, and falls for the priest's divorced daughter.

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.

Story of famed Japanese actress Kinuyo Tanaka, with an emphasis on her working relationship with director Kenji Mizoguchi.

In the War's closing days, when a conscience-driven Japanese soldier fails to get his countrymen to surrender to overwhelming force, he adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.

Emiko Hayasaka (Seiko Matsuda), who lives in Hawaii, has arranged a marriage with Akira Kuniyoshi (Shinji Yamashita), the son of the president of a hotel chain. Although Emiko is not yet ready to get married, Akira and both of her parents are enthusiastic about the matchmaking. During a summer vacation in Japan, Emiko is attacked with a knife by a boy, but is saved by Shinji Terao (Kiichi Nakai), a young man who happens to be passing by. Shinji is passionate about windsurfing and trains hard every day for the world championships. Emiko is attracted to him because of his sincerity, though he is not very sociable. Upon returning to Hawaii, she overcame her parents' objections and got him to break off his proposal to Akira. Meanwhile, the world competition is approaching and Shinji comes to Hawaii from Japan.

One year after the Kidojis' eldest son Otohiko was arrested for his part in a terrorist kidnapping, which resulted in multiple deaths, all the other perpetrators' parents have either resigned from their professional positions or taken their own lives, Nobuyuki Kidoji remains adamant that he is not responsible for his son's actions.