Sen Yano

Acting

Sen Yano

Born — Died

1928-02-11 — 2010-09-17

Place of birth

Kotake, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

37 titles

Known for

Film credits

1990s · 4 titles

Woman in Witness Protection poster
6.4

Vain, middle-aged actress Biwako is placed in witness protection while authorities investigate the brutal murder she witnessed. Under the watch of two dedicated cops, Biwako struggles to maintain her career, her public image, and her personal life as she prepares for her new role on the witness stand.

Woman in Witness Protection

1997

Supermarket Woman poster
6.7

A struggling Japanese neighborhood supermarket manager chances upon an old classmate, who has plenty of ideas for revitalizing his business.

Supermarket Woman

1996

Tales of a Golden Geisha poster
6.2

Nayoko, a good-hearted geisha, brings luck to the men she sleeps with, even though most are scoundrels who don’t deserve it.

Tales of a Golden Geisha

1990

Tistou the Green Thumb poster
6.5

When eight-year-old Tistou is sent home from school after being unable to stop falling asleep at lessons, his father decides that he will continue his education by learning from observation of real life, and where better to start than in the garden! With the gardener Mr. Moustache, Tistou discovers he has a remarkable gift—the green thumbs: everything he touches grows into beautiful plants. His next lesson is with the stern Mr. Turnbull, manager of his father's armament factory who takes Tistou to visit the town to learn about "order." Over the course of the next few days Tistou learns many new things as he visits the town prison, the slums, and the hospital, and everywhere he tries to change the world into a better place with his new extraordinary power. Finally, he learns about war, and upon visiting his father's factory, he finds out that they supply the two countries at war with their weapons...

Tistou the Green Thumb

1990

1980s · 6 titles

A Taxing Woman's Return poster
6.4

Ryōko Itakura returns as the tough-as-nails government taxing agent. This time she must figure out a way to expose a fanatical religious cult lead by a corrupt sociopath.

A Taxing Woman's Return

1988

Willful Murder poster
8.0

The president of the Japanese National Railways is found dead during a period in which train service is plagued by numerous layoffs, strikes and shutdowns. The government says that the president was murdered; the police claim it was a suicide. A quizzical reporter follows the case for years, but the basic question remains unanswered: was the victim killed by members of the burgeoning Communist movement in Japan, or was the death stage-managed by the authorities in hopes of discrediting the Communists?

Willful Murder

1981

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 Empty Table poster
6.9

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.

The Empty Table

1985

The Cold-Hearted Sea poster
NR

A film adaptation of the novel of the same title written by Hiroshi Hatayama (畑山博).

The Cold-Hearted Sea

1984

Tonga Adventure Family poster
NR

This adventure family drama is based on the story of Kazuhiko Inoue, who quit his job as a salesman at a trading company and moved his family to Tonga, known as "The Last Paradise".

Tonga Adventure Family

1982

1970s · 6 titles

Inn of Evil poster
6.3

In feudal Japan, when any commerce with the rest of the world is strictly prohibited, an idealist appears at an isolated inn, headquarters of smugglers with stolen money intended to ransom his loved one forced to work in a brothel.

Inn of Evil

1971

The Bullet Train poster
6.9

A Japanese bullet train is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers so the train crew can learn how to defuse the bomb.

The Bullet Train

1975

Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy poster
7.0

Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his respect. Iemitsu and his brother Tadanaga become bitter rivals for the shogunate, and the land is split into factions, eventually erupting into warfare. Iemitsu's mentor, his fencing instructor Yagyu, is fixated upon securing Iemitsu the shogunate and ends up betraying everyone, even his own family, in pursuit of the goal.

Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy

1978

Hunter in the Dark poster
6.3

Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.

Hunter in the Dark

1979

Home from the Sea poster
7.2

On a beautiful island in Seto Inner Sea, Seichi and Minko make their living by transporting rocks to construction sites by boat. They cherish the deepest affection for this piece of land they call home, and the simple life they lead. But rapid industrial growth makes it all but impossible to continue their chosen living style, and they are forced to leave their beloved hometown in search of a brighter future. But their hometown lingers on their hearts, and they dream of a time when they may once again return.

Home from the Sea

1972

Will to Conquer poster
NR

The struggles of a low-ranking samurai (Nakamura) coming to terms with the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the end of Japan's feudal age with the 1868 Restoration.

Will to Conquer

1970

1960s · 13 titles

Woman in the Dunes poster
8.2

A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.

Woman in the Dunes

1964

The Face of Another poster
7.8

A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.

The Face of Another

1966

Pitfall poster
7.3

A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.

Pitfall

1962

Violence at Noon poster
6.2

Two young women must come to terms with the fact that a man they're deeply linked to is a murdering rapist.

Violence at Noon

1966

Sword of the Beast poster
7.5

Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.

Sword of the Beast

1965

Illusion of Blood poster
6.4

The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.

Illusion of Blood

1965

Beast Alley poster
7.0

Desperate to escape her grueling life caring for her paralyzed husband, Tamiko murders him and burns down their home to start anew. She is soon entangled in the dark web of an influential, elderly power broker, becoming his mistress and a pawn in his political schemes. As she descends further into a downward spiral of moral decay, Tamiko realizes that the freedom she sought is merely a new form of entrapment.

Beast Alley

1965

Three Yakuza poster
7.8

A tale of three Yakuza gamblers who traveled Japan during the samurai era living by their wits and sword skills. Told in 3 separate vignettes, each part tells the story of a different drifter’s life. Part 1: A man is on the run after killing two Hasshu Officials to avenge his Boss. He must make a life or death decision as he is asked to protect a gang from attack. Part 2: A pair of gamblers chased out of a crooked game must fight not only their pursuers, but the ghosts of their pasts as well. Part 3: A wanderer who wants to live according to the Yakuza Code, but is not sure that he can do so when asked to save a town from an evil official.

Three Yakuza

1965

Young People poster
9.0

"Young People" is a story about the lives of four brothers and a sister, Sato. After the death of his parents, the older brother, Taro, who works in construction, decides to replace them. The second brother, Jiro, is a truck driver. The third, Saburo, is a student, dreams of a better future for the whole family are connected with him, with his career. Brothers and sisters are fighting to give him a higher education. And, finally, the youngest of the brothers, Suekichi, is also going to enter the university after graduation. The life of the Sato family is complicated. Taro is kind, but limited, not always able to find a common language with his brothers and sister Orie. The girl cannot stand the despotism of her brother, leaves her home and goes to work at the factory. With her departure, everything in the house goes upside down. Suekichi fails her university entrance exams, Orie is forced to return to her family.

Young People

1968

Cash Calls Hell poster
7.5

Before leaving prison, Oida uncomfortably enters into an agreement with his cell mate: in exchange for a half-share of 30,000,000 yen, he is to assassinate three strangers given to him on a list. However, upon meeting his first potential victim, Oida has second thoughts. Yet, even as he tries to back out, the body count starts climbing. Oida must now try to alert the people on his list of their impending danger, and find out why they are being targeted in the first place.

Cash Calls Hell

1966

The War Without Weapons poster
NR

It's a story of the life of a man who advocated the necessity of sex education to children, which was unusual at the time, solely opposed to the amendment of the Peace Preservation Law, and was assassinated by a rightist prior to his opposition speech.

The War Without Weapons

1960

Shin yūkyōden poster
NR

In this town, Kagosuke and Ryukichi of the Okamoto family, who are deeply committed to the yakuza way, are straightforward and justice-loving hot-blooded men. However, their slight clumsiness is a flaw, but they are extremely strong in fights, and there's no one who can match them. They are head over heels for Osen-san. They are both desperately unwilling to yield even if the other is a brother.

Shin yūkyōden

1966

Black Flower Petal poster
10.0

A reformed bartender is blackmailed into aiding a heist by former gang associates, leading to betrayal, violence, and the collapse of his hopes for a new life.

Black Flower Petal

1960

1950s · 6 titles

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity poster
8.2

Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

1959

Darkness at Noon poster
6.9

Police beat a murder confession out of four innocent men who are then sentenced to death. Based on a true story.

Darkness at Noon

1956

The Forest Is Alive poster
NR

Film adaptation of the stage version of Samuil Marshak's "Twelve Months"

The Forest Is Alive

1956

The Song of the Cart poster
6.9

A lifetime story of a woman who stubbornly lives in a poor mountain village in post-war Japan.

The Song of the Cart

1959

His Scarlet Cloak poster
8.0

The humorous tale of Jimbei, a miller, and his wife Osen who live in complete happiness. But Osen's beauty attracts numerous would-be lovers among whom is the local governor, a timid creature, who is dominated by his high-born and beautiful wife, who dresses in a scarlet battle-tunic, a sign of his family's military merit around which he fabricates fantastic tales of his prowess in war. During the traditional festival when the villagers are released from observance of all social customs and restrictions, it is permissible for any man to attempt win the favors of the one he loves. However, the timid but romantic governor goes to the length of having the miller arrested to clear the way for his seduction of Osen. But Osen fights off his advances with an old hunting gun and dashes out of the mill. Jimbei, meanwhile, has escaped from jail and dashes home to finds the governor in his bed. Convinced that his wife has been violated, he decides to take an eye for an eye.

His Scarlet Cloak

1958

Jose Torres poster
7.9

A documentary about the eponymous Puerto Rican boxer

Jose Torres

1959

Series credits