Yoshitarō Nomura

Directing

Yoshitarō Nomura

Born — Died

1919-04-23 — 2005-04-08

Place of birth

Kyoto, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

40 titles

Yoshitarō Nomura was a prolific Japanese film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His first accredited film, Pigeon, was released in 1953; his last, Kikenna Onna-tachi, in 1985. He has received several awards during his career, including the Japanese Academy Award for "Best Director" for his 1978 film The Demon.

Known for

Behind the camera

The Castle of Sand poster
7.3

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

The Demon poster
6.6

When Sokichi stops providing his long-time lover Kikuyo enough money to pay for the care of their three young children, Kikuyo leaves the children with Sokichi - and his very surprised and angry wife Oume - and disappears.

The Demon

1978

The Demon poster
6.6

When Sokichi stops providing his long-time lover Kikuyo enough money to pay for the care of their three young children, Kikuyo leaves the children with Sokichi - and his very surprised and angry wife Oume - and disappears.

The Demon

1978

Stakeout poster
7.1

Two detectives begin a stakeout based on the slim chance of catching a murderer whom they suspect will try to reunite with an old flame.

Stakeout

1958

The Street of Desire poster
10.0

A valet at a fancy nightclub hatches a plot to punish those responsible for his father's death.

The Street of Desire

1984

Amagi Pass poster
6.5

Japan in the 1940s. A high school boy went into a magic encounter with Ozuka Hana, a geisha (pub-girl) when he traveled through Amagi Pass. A mysterious murder took place afterwards, an Ozuka was held responsible. 40 years later, the boy, who became a printing shop owner, was visited by a retired policeman who came from Amagi Pass. The truth then started to reveal itself.

Amagi Pass

1983

Mount Hakkoda poster
6.6

Two infantry regiments of the Imperial Japanese Army—210 men overall—tackled Mt. Hakkoda in the winter of 1902 to prepare for war with Russia.

Mount Hakkoda

1977

The Perennial Weed poster
7.0

A detective wonders that his sister is a murder suspect.

The Perennial Weed

1975

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

Miyamoto Musashi poster
7.3

In Part I we see the young would-be swordsman setting out to achieve greatness in war, achieving nothing because fighting on the losing side, & then beginning his long period of wandering & training, with the goal always in mind of his duel with Kojiro. Part II builds toward that great duel on Ganryu Island, with considerable focus on Musashi's planning & forethought as to how to gain an advantage.

Miyamoto Musashi

1973

Dangerous Women poster
NR

Shuhei, a mystery writer, is invited to a dinner party at a country house. The guests include Tanase and his wife Noriko. Next day, Tanase is shot and Noriko with a gun stands near him. Tanase calls one of the guest's name and dies.

Dangerous Women

1985

Village of Eight Gravestones poster
7.0

The heir to a family fortune discovers that a curse has been placed on it, put there centuries before by a band of samurai warriors. Adaptation of novel by Seishi Yokomizo

Village of Eight Gravestones

1977

Tokyo Bay poster
7.0

An investigation into a drug smuggler who is assassinated in front of an insurance building sets two detectives, Sumikawa and Akine, into a sprawling investigation through Tokyo's underworld.

Tokyo Bay

1962

Lake of Illusions poster
4.0

A free-spirited girl living in a Japanese province spends her time working in a brothel and running with her dog. When her routine is shattered she gets on a path of hate and self discovery.

Lake of Illusions

1982

Suspicion poster
7.0

A car going at 25 mph plunges into the sea at Shinko Harbour, Toyama prefecture. Inside is the local business magnate Fukutaro Shirakawa, who perishes. Riding alongside him and surviving unhurt is his second wife, Kumako. It soon comes to light that Kumako’s husband was insured for 300 million yen and she is arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband for the insurance money. The newspapers denounce her as an evil woman, while the public is in no doubt about Kumako’s crime. Ritsuko Sahara is chosen as her defence attorney but the pair clash over almost everything...

Suspicion

1982

Suspicion poster
7.0

A car going at 25 mph plunges into the sea at Shinko Harbour, Toyama prefecture. Inside is the local business magnate Fukutaro Shirakawa, who perishes. Riding alongside him and surviving unhurt is his second wife, Kumako. It soon comes to light that Kumako’s husband was insured for 300 million yen and she is arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband for the insurance money. The newspapers denounce her as an evil woman, while the public is in no doubt about Kumako’s crime. Ritsuko Sahara is chosen as her defence attorney but the pair clash over almost everything...

Suspicion

1982

Suspicion poster
7.0

A car going at 25 mph plunges into the sea at Shinko Harbour, Toyama prefecture. Inside is the local business magnate Fukutaro Shirakawa, who perishes. Riding alongside him and surviving unhurt is his second wife, Kumako. It soon comes to light that Kumako’s husband was insured for 300 million yen and she is arrested on suspicion of murdering her husband for the insurance money. The newspapers denounce her as an evil woman, while the public is in no doubt about Kumako’s crime. Ritsuko Sahara is chosen as her defence attorney but the pair clash over almost everything...

Suspicion

1982

At the Side of the Bridge poster
NR

1962 Japanese movie

At the Side of the Bridge

1962

At the Side of the Bridge poster
NR

1962 Japanese movie

At the Side of the Bridge

1962

The Wicked poster
6.7

A selfish playboy uses rich women to pay off his debts. Divorcing his wife and marrying the woman he loves throws him into a spiral of destruction.

The Wicked

1980

The Scarlet Camellia poster
5.2

A young woman begins murdering all those responsible for her ailing father's condition. Because the girl is so outwardly sweet and innocent, the detective looking into the deaths does not suspect her.

The Scarlet Camellia

1964

Writhing Tongue poster
7.0

Five-year-old Masako gets a scratch on her finger. After that, she begins to suffer horrible spasms. The doctor checks on her and concludes that she has tetanus. Her parents have to bear the sufferings of their child. The once peaceful family has changed completely.

Writhing Tongue

1980

Writhing Tongue poster
7.0

Five-year-old Masako gets a scratch on her finger. After that, she begins to suffer horrible spasms. The doctor checks on her and concludes that she has tetanus. Her parents have to bear the sufferings of their child. The once peaceful family has changed completely.

Writhing Tongue

1980

The Incident poster
7.2

The body of Sakai Hatsuko, a woman of 23 who has been slain with a knife, has been found in a forest. Some days later, Ueda Hiroshi, a 19-year-old shipyard worker, is arrested and charged with the murder. At Ueda's trial, a complex story unfolds.

The Incident

1978

The Incident poster
7.2

The body of Sakai Hatsuko, a woman of 23 who has been slain with a knife, has been found in a forest. Some days later, Ueda Hiroshi, a 19-year-old shipyard worker, is arrested and charged with the murder. At Ueda's trial, a complex story unfolds.

The Incident

1978

To Your Majesty, The Emperor 2 poster
NR

Based on Muneta Hiroshi's military novel. The main character, Yamaguchi Zensuke, is a military dog soldier. He joins the army and winds up sent overseas to China as a part of the military dog unit. He's ridiculed by others due to his inability to advance.

To Your Majesty, The Emperor 2

1964

To Your Majesty, The Emperor 2 poster
NR

Based on Muneta Hiroshi's military novel. The main character, Yamaguchi Zensuke, is a military dog soldier. He joins the army and winds up sent overseas to China as a part of the military dog unit. He's ridiculed by others due to his inability to advance.

To Your Majesty, The Emperor 2

1964

The Three Undelivered Letters poster
6.0

A young Japanese-American man arrives at his grandmother's old hometown in Yamaguchi, begins to stay at her family's elite but dysfunctional household, and gets entangled in a sinister plot of murder.

The Three Undelivered Letters

1979

The Politicians poster
NR

Who will be the next prime minister? As two candidates start to compete, political game and brutal murder ensue. And the existence of secret love letters changes the situation.

The Politicians

1983

The Politicians poster
NR

Who will be the next prime minister? As two candidates start to compete, political game and brutal murder ensue. And the existence of secret love letters changes the situation.

The Politicians

1983

Theater of Life poster
10.0

Centred on Aonari Hyokichi, a young literary man with aspirations to become a writer, and the surrounding people, including Kira Tsuneo and Tobigashikaku.

Theater of Life

1972

Ohana han poster
NR

This is a film adaptation of a popular NHK drama that depicts a strong-willed woman, Hana, who lives a lively life while being swept up in the waves of the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras.

Ohana han

1966

The Shadow Within poster
5.7

When a married man begins an affair with a woman from his past, he comes to suspect her young son intends to murder him.

The Shadow Within

1970

The Shinano River poster
NR

Romantic drama based on the manga published in Young Comic.

The Shinano River

1973

The Shinano River poster
NR

Romantic drama based on the manga published in Young Comic.

The Shinano River

1973

The Refugee poster
NR

A Chinese medical student named Gan Shosho finds himself cut off from his homeland as he is studying in Japan during the outbreak of the war. Despite his difficult circumstances, he finds love in the form of Sachiko and the two marry. They later travel to Nanjing to live a new life together where Sachiko and Shaochang cooperate with the Japanese-backed government. Their ultimate hope is to secure peace but their idealism is not enough to keep them together through brutal times and with the end of the war the two find themselves facing a divorce... --Osaka Asian Film Festival

The Refugee

1955

Scorpion poster
NR

Japanese drama film.

Scorpion

1967

Call from Darkness poster
6.3

Keiko Inagawa pays a visit to neurologist Aizawa about her fiancé Tatsuo Tamura. A mysterious case involving the disappearance of Tatsuo’s three brothers, one after the other, is yet to be resolved and now Tatsuo, seized with the idea that he too may disappear, has had a nervous breakdown. Aizawa suggests that Tatsuo recount his dreams as a means of solving the mystery, since human beings have an instinct that foretells the near future in the form of a dream. Keiko and Tatsuo eventually discover that the three disappearances have a strange connection…

Call from Darkness

1981

Ohana han: Dai ni bu poster
NR

A sequel to Ohana han.

Ohana han: Dai ni bu

1966

Dancing Girls of Izu poster
9.0

While traveling alone through the scenic Izu Peninsula, a lonely Tokyo student named Mizuhara encounters a troupe of itinerant performers and develops a bittersweet first-love attachment to a young dancer named Kaoru.

Dancing Girls of Izu

1954