Kon Ichikawa

Directing

Kon Ichikawa

Born — Died

1915-11-20 — 2008-02-13

Place of birth

Mie, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

45 titles

Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films The Burmese Harp and Fires on the Plain, to the documentary Tokyo Olympiad, which won two BAFTA Film Awards, and the 19th-century revenge drama An Actor's Revenge.

Known for

The Makioka Sisters poster
7.4

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.

The Makioka Sisters

1983

The Burmese Harp poster
7.8

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

The Burmese Harp

1956

The Inugami Family poster
6.8

When a tycoon passes away, he unexpectedly leaves the family fortune to outsider Tamayo on the condition that she marries one of the grandsons, pitting blood against blood.

The Inugami Family

1976

The Magic Hour poster
7.5

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.

The Magic Hour

2008

47 Ronin poster
7.4

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.

47 Ronin

1994

Odd Obsession poster
6.2

A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.

Odd Obsession

1959

Film credits

Behind the camera

The Makioka Sisters poster
7.4

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.

The Makioka Sisters

1983

The Makioka Sisters poster
7.4

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.

The Makioka Sisters

1983

The Burmese Harp poster
7.8

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

The Burmese Harp

1956

The Inugami Family poster
6.8

When a tycoon passes away, he unexpectedly leaves the family fortune to outsider Tamayo on the condition that she marries one of the grandsons, pitting blood against blood.

The Inugami Family

1976

The Inugami Family poster
6.8

When a tycoon passes away, he unexpectedly leaves the family fortune to outsider Tamayo on the condition that she marries one of the grandsons, pitting blood against blood.

The Inugami Family

1976

47 Ronin poster
7.4

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.

47 Ronin

1994

47 Ronin poster
7.4

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.

47 Ronin

1994

Odd Obsession poster
6.2

A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.

Odd Obsession

1959

Odd Obsession poster
6.2

A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.

Odd Obsession

1959

Galaxy Express 999: The Movie poster
6.9

In the future, one can achieve immortality by obtaining a mechanized body. Orphaned, young Tetsuro hitches a ride on the space train Galaxy Express 999 in the hope of obtaining a cyborg body to avenge his mother's death. Along the way, he meets Maetel, who is the spitting image of his dead mother.

Galaxy Express 999: The Movie

1979

Ten Nights of Dreams poster
6.3

Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, this outstanding anthology delves into the surreal subconscious with ten madly imaginative, reality-subverting visions that range from wonderfully wacky to nightmarishly unsettling.

Ten Nights of Dreams

2007

The House of Hanging poster
6.2

This time, Kousuke investigates a murder in a hospital. The murderer leaves misleading evidence to divert Kousuke's attention on the case. Suspicion and doubt clouds Kousuke's mind.

The House of Hanging

1979

The House of Hanging poster
6.2

This time, Kousuke investigates a murder in a hospital. The murderer leaves misleading evidence to divert Kousuke's attention on the case. Suspicion and doubt clouds Kousuke's mind.

The House of Hanging

1979

Princess from the Moon poster
6.4

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.

Princess from the Moon

1987

Princess from the Moon poster
6.4

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.

Princess from the Moon

1987

Island of Hell poster
6.2

A scruffy detective investigates the murders of three sisters on a small Japanese island in 1946.

Island of Hell

1977

Fires on the Plain poster
7.6

In the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier afflicted with tuberculosis is abandoned by his company and left to wander the Philippine island of Leyte.

Fires on the Plain

1959

Murder of the Inugami Clan poster
6.9

Inugami Sahei, who built up the wealth of the Inugami Clan, passes away, leaving a will with Furudate, his legal adviser, for his daughters Matsuko, Takeko and Umeko, all of whom have different mothers, and for their sons, as well as for Nonomiya Tamayo, the granddaughter of a person to whom Sahei feels heavily indebted. The will states that all his assets are inherited by Tamayo alone, on the condition that she marries one of the sons of the daughters. Furudate's assistant learns the content of the will, and seeks advice from Kindaichi Kosuke, a private detective, as he senses the air of unease. Shortly afterwards, murders start to occur one after another in the clan.

Murder of the Inugami Clan

2006

Murder of the Inugami Clan poster
6.9

Inugami Sahei, who built up the wealth of the Inugami Clan, passes away, leaving a will with Furudate, his legal adviser, for his daughters Matsuko, Takeko and Umeko, all of whom have different mothers, and for their sons, as well as for Nonomiya Tamayo, the granddaughter of a person to whom Sahei feels heavily indebted. The will states that all his assets are inherited by Tamayo alone, on the condition that she marries one of the sons of the daughters. Furudate's assistant learns the content of the will, and seeks advice from Kindaichi Kosuke, a private detective, as he senses the air of unease. Shortly afterwards, murders start to occur one after another in the clan.

Murder of the Inugami Clan

2006

Lullaby to Kill poster
6.6

Kôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police detective and they start to investigate an old unsolved murder. Then some murders happen. Kindaichi must find out about the past in order to reveal who the murderer is.

Lullaby to Kill

1977

Lullaby to Kill poster
6.6

Kôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police detective and they start to investigate an old unsolved murder. Then some murders happen. Kindaichi must find out about the past in order to reveal who the murderer is.

Lullaby to Kill

1977

Punishment Room poster
6.9

Shimada is a student of U College. When the college's baseball team wins the day, he and his friend Ito drug two girls they met at the game.

Punishment Room

1956

All of Myself poster
NR

The daughter of a former Miss Universe winner finds success as a fashion model in Tokyo following the death of her fiancé.

All of Myself

1954

All of Myself poster
NR

The daughter of a former Miss Universe winner finds success as a fashion model in Tokyo following the death of her fiancé.

All of Myself

1954

Koto: The Ancient City poster
7.0

Chieko (Momoe Yamaguchi) has been raised as the only child of parents who run a dry goods store. When Chieko was a middle-school student, she learned that her parents are not her biological parents. Cheiko's mother told her that she was stolen while sleeping under a cherry tree in Gion, Kyoto, Japan, but Chieko doesn't believe that. Her relationship with her parents is very close. Chieko only tells her childhood friend Shinichi, but...

Koto: The Ancient City

1980

Koto: The Ancient City poster
7.0

Chieko (Momoe Yamaguchi) has been raised as the only child of parents who run a dry goods store. When Chieko was a middle-school student, she learned that her parents are not her biological parents. Cheiko's mother told her that she was stolen while sleeping under a cherry tree in Gion, Kyoto, Japan, but Chieko doesn't believe that. Her relationship with her parents is very close. Chieko only tells her childhood friend Shinichi, but...

Koto: The Ancient City

1980

An Actor's Revenge poster
6.6

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

An Actor's Revenge

1963

Tokyo Olympiad poster
7.7

This impressionistic portrait of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics pays as much attention to the crowds and workers as it does to the actual competitive events. Highlights include an epic pole-vaulting match between West Germany and America, and the final marathon race through Tokyo's streets. Two athletes are highlighted: Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who receives his second gold medal, and runner Ahamed Isa from Chad, representing a country younger than he is.

Tokyo Olympiad

1965

Tokyo Olympiad poster
7.7

This impressionistic portrait of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics pays as much attention to the crowds and workers as it does to the actual competitive events. Highlights include an epic pole-vaulting match between West Germany and America, and the final marathon race through Tokyo's streets. Two athletes are highlighted: Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who receives his second gold medal, and runner Ahamed Isa from Chad, representing a country younger than he is.

Tokyo Olympiad

1965

Lonely Heart poster
8.3

A police procedural surrounding murder at a bookstore and the private lives of the cops trying to solve the case.

Lonely Heart

1981

Lonely Heart poster
8.3

A police procedural surrounding murder at a bookstore and the private lives of the cops trying to solve the case.

Lonely Heart

1981

The Crowded Train poster
6.8

Tamio Moroi, a young university graduate, works at a large brewery where he is taught to do nothing but look busy. When his father goes insane, he is told to send money for medical research into the condition. This prompts him to pay his father a visit, leading to a series of mishaps that leaves him at the bottom of the heap in what he once expected to be a promising lifetime career.

The Crowded Train

1957

The Crowded Train poster
6.8

Tamio Moroi, a young university graduate, works at a large brewery where he is taught to do nothing but look busy. When his father goes insane, he is told to send money for medical research into the condition. This prompts him to pay his father a visit, leading to a series of mishaps that leaves him at the bottom of the heap in what he once expected to be a promising lifetime career.

The Crowded Train

1957

A Woman's Testament poster
6.4

The first story concerns an attractive young woman who works in a Tokyo nightclub. Her plan for a solid financial future has a double whammy. In the second story, a beautiful young woman is employed by an unscrupulous real estate agent to convince male clients to invest in worthless property. The last story is about a widowed geisha who has no real financial worries and who falls in love with a forger.

A Woman's Testament

1960

The 8-Tomb Village poster
6.8

A band of samurai warriors places a curse on a family fortune thus frustrating the heir 4 centuries later.

The 8-Tomb Village

1996

The 8-Tomb Village poster
6.8

A band of samurai warriors places a curse on a family fortune thus frustrating the heir 4 centuries later.

The 8-Tomb Village

1996

Ten Women in Black poster
5.9

Kaze is a philandering TV producer. His wife and nine of his mistresses conspire to kill him. However each woman would rather keep him alive, as long as she was the only woman in his life.

Ten Women in Black

1961

The Heart poster
7.0

In the dying months of the Meiji era, a sympathetic student befriends a married couple, but soon realizes they share a curiously strained relationship stemming from an unknown incident in their past.

The Heart

1955

I Am a Cat poster
4.0

Nakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He’s put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will appreciate how the actor comically rants about here. His home life is almost disastrous, with a ditzy (but attractive) wife, three young children, a loud school nearby that’s controlled by a corrupt businessman he loathes, and frequent visits from layabout friends. And the grey-furred, green-eyed cat!

I Am a Cat

1975

Queen Bee poster
7.6

To solve the mystery of a murder of an old governess which takes place at a wealthy Daidoji family's country estate, family secrets and lies dating back several generations must be sorted out once and for all.

Queen Bee

1978