Akira Emoto

Akira Emoto

Birth : 1948-11-03, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan

History

Old good "Emo-chan" of modern Japanese cinema. Emo's father was a close friend of legendary episode player Taji Tonoyama in elementary school days. His mother's grandfather ran a shamisen store in Ginza, Tokyo. Both parents like movies and theaters. After graduating from Machinery Department of Tokyo Industrial High School, Emoto got a job at a trading company. However, he became an actor and became a student of the acting classes of the theater company "Marui", which is headed by Nobuo Kaneko, and met Yusaku Matsuda who was in the same class. In 1999, he won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Dr. Akagi. He also won the award for best supporting actor at the 7th Hochi Film Award for Dotonbori River and Hearts and Flowers for Tora-san.

Profile

Akira Emoto

Movies

September 1923
Teiji Igusa
Based on the murder of nine street peddlers in the aftermath of the Great Kanto earthquake
満天のゴール
Ripples
Taro Kadokura
Hard Days
Do Unto Others
Shosaku Shiba
Yudo: The Way of the Bath
regular customer
Two estranged brothers inherit Marukin Hot Springs, a small-town bathhouse. One sees it as an homage to their late father; the other – a struggling architect – as lucrative real estate for condos. Their eclectic collection of townsfolk customers show them the value of the bath goes way beyond a scrub and soak.
Shylock's Children
Hajime Sawazaki
Egoist
Is love an ego to save yourself, or... Based on Takayama Makoto's autobiographical novel, this film tells the story of the love between Kosuke, an editor, and Ryuta, a personal trainer.
Umami
Salaryman
Following a near-death experience France's leading chef throws himself into a quest seeking the flavor that has confounded his life since he was defeated by a Japanese chef's bowl of noodles as a young man.
A Man
After divorcing, Rie has found happiness with her second husband Daisuke and formed a new family. But when Daisuke dies in a tragic accident, she discovers her new husband was not the man she thought he was. Rie calls on the attorney Kido to help her find the truth about the identity of the man she loved. A quest that will open larger questions about the nature of identity itself, and what makes a person real at all.
Michiko's Long Night
Michiko used to work as a live-in part-timer at an izakaya, but suddenly lost her job and her house at the same time due to COVID-19 pandemic. There are no new jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and diners and internet cafes are closed. Michiko is at her wits' end, but there in front of her is a bus stop that stands slightly brightly in the darkness, illuminated only by the streetlights.
Wandering
Agata
On a rainy evening, 19-year-old university student Fumi Saeki happens to meet 9-year-old Sarasa Kanai in the park. Kanai Sarasa is soaking wet. She is separated from her parents and lives with her aunt, but she tells Saeki Fumi that she doesn't want to go back to her aunt. Saeki Fumi takes Kanai Sarasa to his apartment and they live together for the next 2 months. Saeki Fumi is then arrested for kidnapping. He is labeled as a dangerous kidnapper and Kanai Sarasa is labeled as a poor victim. 15 years later, Kanai Sarasa and Saeki Fumi happen to meet each other.
海の見える理髪店
老店主
Noise
Shoji
Shishikari is a remote island, which is behind the times. The island suffers from a decreasing population and declining industries. Keita Izumi (Tatsuya Fujiwara) begins to produce black fig on Shishikari Island. Because of his well received product, the island is close to receiving a 5 billion yen grant from the government, which is part of the goverment's policy to reinvigorate rural economy. The residents of the island are excited, but their peaceful days changes by the appearance of Mutsuo Komisaka. Keita Izumi and his friends Jun Tanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) and Rookie Police Officer Shinichiro Moriya are suspicious about him. One night, Keita Izumi's daughter goes missing. Due to that, Keita Izumi, Jun Tanabe and Shinichiro Moriya happen to kill Mutsuo Komisaka. They decide to hide Mutsuo Komisaka’s murder to protect the future of the island and their families. It turns out Mutsuo Komisaka was a psycho killer. Police officers come to Shishikari Island to catch Mutsuo Komisaka.
Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai
Set in the 19th century, "Moeyo Ken" follows the life of Toshizo Hijikata. He was the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi and fought against the Meiji Restoration.
The Great Yokai War –Guardians–
old man
Kei Watanabe is a fifth grade elementary school student. He has inherited the hunter's blood to hunt yōkai. To save the world from being destroyed, Kei Watanabe challenges a war against the yōkai.
The Master Plan
Kawabata
Kida and Makoto grew up together because they have it in common that they don't have parents. And a transfer student, Yotchi, also gets along with them because she has a similar background, which is that they come from not such a good home environment. They spent their school life supporting each other. But, at the age of 20, Yotchi disappeared. Then Lisa, the daughter of a politician and a top model, appears in front of the two men. Makoto takes an unusual romantic interest in Lisa, who lives in a different world from them, and asked her out to dinner, but she does not take him up on it at all. Kida warns Makoto to give up on her because they live in different worlds, but Makoto quits his job and vanishes without a trace.
Underdog: Part One
Sakuro
Tells the story of three bottom-dog boxers who gets used as punching bags. Pro boxer Suenaga Akira fell off the path to greatness but still tries to crawl his way to the top. Omura Ryuta is a youngster who grew up in foster care. Miyagi Shun, a TV celebrity with famous parents, takes a shot at boxing as part of a TV show. Three underdogs with very different back stories put their pride on the line as they exchange blows.
Living In Your Sky
Concierge Kondo
In the time after Naomi’s parents suddenly die, she happens to meet and bond with the popular actor Morinori Tokito who lives in the same apartment building.
Wonderful Paradise
Homeless
In consequence of his professional mistakes and declining career, Shuji and his family, the Sasaya’s, are forced to leave the wealthy suburb of Tokyo. The move is slow, long and heartbreaking, and the two Sasaya children, an old teenager and a young adult, unwittingly turn the grieving process into an exuberant and unpredictable farewell party!
Nosari: Impermanent Eternity
A young man wanders and makes calls to elders who live alone. Saying “Granny, it’s me,” he lies to them that he is their grandson. An old lady, who runs a music shop in the declining shopping area in Amakusa, answers his call and warmly accepts him. Pretending as her grandson, he settles down in the town. He gets used to his friendship with young villagers, the sound and landscape of Amakusa, and the old lady’s everyday life.
I Never Shot Anyone
Takashi Renjo
Renji Ishibashi, starring in the movie for the first time in 18 years, plays a hero with two faces, a dull novelist and a legendary killer. Susumu Ichikawa, an obsolete writer with no manuscript at all, had another face - a legendary hitman. But the truth of the matter is... he had never shot a person. One day, he receives a murder request from a friend. Seeing this as an opportunity to achieve the ideal hard-boiled novel, he decides to hire a real hitman and demands that he report to him the assassination situation as it was.
Stardust Over The Town
Kumabe Rokuzo
Story of the struggling chorus group "Yamada Osamu and the Hello Nights", who gain an unexpected new member in the young Ai, who pursues her dream of becoming a singer.
Show Me the Way to the Station
A young girl, Sayaka, develops a heartwarming friendship with an old man named Hasu. Based on an award-winning novel by Ijuin Shizu.
The Promised Land
Goro Fujiki
A girl is kidnapped and the perpetrator roams freely. When a similar case occurs along the same road and in similar circumstances a suspect is identified leading to the accused running away and going into hiding.
They Say Nothing Stays the Same
Toichi
Toichi is a boatman who ferries the villagers to a town on the other side of the river. Besides rowing a boat for the villagers all day long, he barely communicates with anyone except Genzo, a young neighbour. Upstream, a large bridge is being constructed. Everyone is excited, but Toichi has mixed feelings about it. One day, Toichi meets a mysterious girl. Having no family and no place to go, Toichi lets her stay with him, but this encounter starts to bring about changes to Toichi's life.
It Feels So Good
Kenji's father (voice)
When it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko surprises him by proposing that they have sex again. The one night stand is the new beginning.
Iwane: Sword of Serenity
Urakusai
Iwane Sakazaki returns to his homeland and gets caught in the middle of an incident that results in the tragic death of two of his best friends from childhood. He decides to leave his domain, parting with his fiancée Nao, and becomes a vagrant masterless samurai with nothing more to lose. Iwane drifts to Edo, filleting eels during the day and working as a bodyguard at night for Imazuya, a reputable money exchanger. He gradually wins the trust of the people around him because of his mellow nature, the chivalrous way he treats everyone with courtesy, and his skills of swords. One day, he learns that Imazuya is being targeted in a conspiracy to sabotage a new monetary system implemented by the government, and Iwane decides to protect the people who have given him support.
Godot of the Emotos
The acting family, the Emotos, are the subject of this documentary following Emoto Akira and his sons.
Castle of Sand
Chiyokichi
A bruised and battered corpse in Shibuya, Tokyo has the attention of the local cops. A veteran detective is assigned to the case. The last utterance of the victim is one clue that detective Imanishi has to work on. Yet, the case becomes more tangled quickly. Elsewhere, a prodigy named Waga Eiryo is composing an orchestral piece.
Oz Land
Boss
Kurumi is hired at a high-end hotel, but is instead dispatched to work at fun fair that is connected to the business network. The new work is out in the country and there is not much else to do or places to go. The go-to employee is one Yoshiko. Kurumi wants to be successful and valued and is eager to learn from Yoshiko. All is not as it seems on the surface however.
Recall
Seiji Nomura
A woman was killed by a truck wheel, which flew off while the vehicle was in motion. As the freight company which owns the truck becomes the target of the public and the media’s wrath, Tokuro Akamatsu, the president of the freight company, realizes that a structural defect within the truck itself may have been to blame. A conspiracy of the wheel manufacturer's attempts to cover up a defective product is uncovered.
Shoplifters
Yoritsugu Kawado
After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them.
Color Me True
Tadashi Honda
Kenji is a young aspiring movie director. He falls in love with Princess Miyuki, who came from a black‐and‐white movie.
Evil and The Mask
Detective Aida
Kuki Fumihiro is a son from a wealthy zaibatsu (conglomerate) family. His father raises him to become pure evil. Kuki kills his father to protect his adopted sister Kaori. Afterward, Kuki disappears. He undergoes plastic surgery and takes the identity of Koichi Shintani. He watches Kaori and faces the great evil that exists within the Kuki family.
Kodokunogurume ōmisoka supesharu ~ tabe-osame! Setouchi shutchō-hen ~
Mukoku
Seppo Mitsumura
Kengo was gifted in Kendo (Japanese martial art) but he quits after a tragic incident. He works as a security guard and spends his days drinking. One day, he encounters a high school student Toru, who has a natural ability in Kendo. Toru revives the spirit of the sport in Kengo and he resumes practice again.
Neko Ninja
Kariyazaki
Kagerota is a young ninja who embarks on his first mission: stealing the goldfish from a wealthy samurai. He succeeds, but then a mysterious fat cat starts following him. His distinctive red nose leads Kagerota to believe that the feline stalker is actually the reincarnation of his long last father, a legendary ninja who left him when he was ten years old.
Lu Over the Wall
Ashimoto's Grandfather (voice)
In a small fishing village, a gloomy middle school student named Kai meets a mermaid named Lu.
The Dog Bridegroom
Kenkichi Okumura
Ninomiya Azusa is a depressed elementary school teacher in Tokyo, who has problems both at work and in her personal life. One day, she suddenly hears a voice saying "If you go to Imore Island, you will get what you want.", so she decides to give it a try.
Random Lives
Hanamura
Questioning the meaning of people's lives, the multiple stories include the work of a manga artist, old men get involved in a fight and a murder, a bus incident which affects those who survive it, fishing, cherry-blossom viewing and more
Survival Family
A world wide electrical outage occurs. Everything that requires electricity comes to a stop. Tokyo is nearly ruined. Yoshiyuki Suzuki decides to escape from Tokyo with his family.
Shippu Rondo
Masaomi Togo
An illegal biological weapon K-55 is stolen from a university lab. The university lab can't even call the police because the secret nature of the weapon. The school lab then receives a message stating that the entire country is now being held hostage and they must pay a ransom of 300 million yen.
Sniper
Tatsuyuki Miyata
Detective Ryoko Kozuki receives a demotion after having an affair with a superior. She succeeds in arresting a rapist in an undercover operation that puts her at risk. Her achievement immediately becomes the talk of the precinct, but no one approaches her because of her past. Ryoko is determined to bring criminals to justice. She takes on “The Prime Ministerial Candidate Snipe Case” which took place 15 years earlier.
Rage
Landlord
A man brutally murders a married couple and leaves the word “ikari” (“rage”) written with their blood. The killer undergoes plastic surgery and flees. At three different locations in Japan, a male stranger appears. People suspect that the stranger might be the murderer.
Black Widow Business
Jun Sakurada
Kozo Nakase attends meetings for single widowers looking to remarry. He meets Sayoko Takeuchi and eventually marries her. Not longer after their marriage, Kozo Nakase suddenly collapses and dies. Kozo Nakase leaves everything to Sayako. The rest of his family are left out of his will including his daughter Tomomi. Tomomi hires a private investigator, Honda, to find out more about Sayoko.
A Grain of Wheat
Honda
“A Grain of Wheat” is a story of two bakeries in Yokohama. A French baker, Eriko, makes a sudden visit to Honda who is the owner of a historical bakery in Yokohama. They have different attitudes towards the craft of bread making but they start to feel mutual respect as they make bread together.
Shin Godzilla
Ryuta Azuma : Chief Cabinet Secretary
When a massive, gilled monster emerges from the deep and tears through the city, the government scrambles to save its citizens. A rag-tag team of volunteers cuts through a web of red tape to uncover the monster's weakness and its mysterious ties to a foreign superpower. But time is not on their side - the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the world is about to evolve right before their very eyes.
The Mohican Comes Home
Osamu Tamura
Eikichi left his hometown in Hiroshima for Tokyo. He tried to find success with his music band, but failed. Several years later, Eikichi goes home to tell his father, Osamu, that his girlfriend is pregnant. His father curses him out, but he is also excited to have a grandchild. Osamu has a party to celebrate the news, but, at the party, he collapses and goes to the hospital. Eikichi struggles to make his father happy.
A Living Promise
Zenzo Takeda
Yuma Nakahara (Yutaka Takenouchi) is the CEO of an IT company and he is a workaholic. He is focused only on expanding his company. He receives a phone call from his former co-worker and friend Kouhei, but Kouhei doesn't say anything. Yuma gets the sense that something is wrong and heads to Kouhei's hometown of Shinminato, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. In Shinminato, Yuma meets other people and becomes involved in the Shinminato Hikiyama Festival. His outlook on life begins to change.
Journey to the Shore
Mr. Hoshitani
Mizuki’s husband Yusuke went missing for 3 years. He suddenly comes back home one day and asks Mizuki to go on a trip with him. Their trip consists of visiting the people that helped Yusuke on his previous travel. While travelling together, Misuki sees, touches and feels what Yusuke did for those 3 years.
The Big Bee
Murofushi
Set in 1995. A helicopter, operated remotely, is hovering in the sky over a nuclear power plant. The power company, prefectural government and media all receive a fax. The fax contains a threat that if the nuclear power plant is not taken offline the helicopter will be dropped. 8 hours is given as the deadline. Making the situation even more dire, a young child is in the helicopter.
The Pearls of the Stone Man
Kumaji Ueda
Atsushi and Ryoko are a married coupled. They decide they want to live around nature and move to Biei in Hokkaido, Japan. Atsushi isn't sure what to do with his free time, so Ryoko asks him build a stone wall around their house. Atsushi experiences tragedy, but later gets closer to his estranged daughter, Satoko. Atsushi continues building the stone wall.
Vampire in Love
Sojiro
Kiira seems like an ordinary young girl, who likes to talk with her friends and to dress up. Her ultimate goal is to become the world's best baker, but what differentiates her from others is that she is a vampire. She has never told anyone her secret, including her childhood friend Tetsu, whom she played with everyday and liked as a child. After her parents died when Kiira was only 12-years-old, she had to go live with her relatives and lost contact with Tetsu. Now, 8 years later, Tetsu appears at the bakery where Kiira is working part-time. Kiira is ecstatic to see her first love again. Soon, they are dating and Kiira dreams of having a family with Tetsu. Kiira also becomes filled with worries because she is vampire.
GARO -Gold Storm- Sho
Priest Soutatsu
Ryuga and Makai Priest Rian attempt to cleanse the Golden Armor when they are confronted by living weapons- the Madou– who have another way to free the world from Horrors. In the process, Ryuga will unlock a new stage of power referred to as Garo Sho.
Living Rights
The fifth work of the "Kita-Shirakawa school movie" in which a student of Kyoto University of Art and Design, a professional film staff, and a cast team up to make a film. With a certain big disaster, people are struggling for love while holding their own circumstances, and as a result, they ask what it is to "live correctly" even in a vague and uneasy era. Ittoku Kishibe played Yanagida, the protagonist of the protagonist who created and exhibited objects that incorporate radioactive materials to create and display indiscriminate terrorism.
A House on a Hill
Yoshitarō Terashima
Rieko Sugita, a young and beautiful hairdresser who happens to visit a bedding shop owned by Yoshitaro (Emoto) and the latter becomes so besotted with her that they begin an affair without his wife's knowledge. On the other hand, Rieko hates her late mother (Fueki Yuko) for sleeping around with other men but is actually following in her footsteps by sleeping with men for money. One day, she reunites with her first love Naoki (Ozawa) who has become an assistant professor and shares a dark secret with her. Soon, the romance between them is rekindled. However, Yoshitaro who has lost his fortune and is about to lose Rieko, becomes consumed by jealousy which brings Rieko, Naoki and him to the point of no return. -- Dorama World
0.5 mm
Takeshi Sasaki
Sawa, a home helper for a middle class family with an elderly infirm grandfather, is forced to stretch her morals to keep her job. As a result, she finds herself broke and out on the street. She survives her first night by striking up an ambiguous friendship with a kindly old man, gaining access to a portion of the immense wealth held by Japan's aging population. She continues with similar encounters, and while these begin as scams or revenge on rampant sexism, they ultimately become vulnerable intergenerational exchanges.
Cold
Jin Ichinose
Genius scientist Kikuo Himura (Yosuke Kubozuka) succeeds in developing a miracle cure for the cold virus. There are now people who are after Kikuo Himura's cold vaccine. Doctor Ichinose (Akira Emoto) is jealous of Kikuo Himura and tries to get the formula which is only in Kikuo Himura's head. Dougen (Chris Peppler) is a high-ranking member of a secret organization. Him and his subordinate try to get the vaccine source by any means necessary. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman, Sakurako (Manami Konishi) approaches Kikuo Himura.
Time Trip App
Ryuzo Yanagita
In 1868, a battle between new government forces and shogunate forces are about to take place in Edo. Katsu Kaishu (Hiroshi Tamaki) wants to avoid useless bloodshed and sends a peace envoy to Takamori Saigō, but Katsu Kaishu is unable to get a response from Takamori Saigō. One day, Katsu Kaishu meets high school teacher Mikako (Satomi Ishihara) and her student Masaya who is captivated by the shogunate. Mikako and her student Masaya tells Katsu Kaishu that they are from the future. Katsu Kaishu takes care of Mikako and her student Masaya, while Mikako hopes to go back to the future where she came from.
Oh! Father
Hayashi Tomita
Yukio is a typical high school student in every way except that he's an only child in a family of five. This is because he has four fathers, each with their own unique personalities and interests. The only thing they share in common is their love of their son. When Yukio witnesses a robbery, he becomes involved in a bizarre string of incidents involving his fathers.
Wood Job!
Toshiro Yamane
After failing his university entrance exam, Yuki Hirano sets his eyes on the role of a forestry trainee. Setting off for training he doubts his decision many times, but eventually after passing the training course, he is sent to Kamusari Village for a year of work experience - where he becomes assimilated with the beauty of nature and the warm-hearted people of the village.
A Woman from Ashio
A story about a woman from Yanaka Village, Tochigi Prefecture, which was abolished by the government due to the Ashio Copper Mine pollution incident in the late Meiji Period. The drama depicts the struggle of the woman who gradually matures as a person through her encounters with versatile figures, including socialists and writers, after moving to Tokyo.
Sleeping Forest
Daisuke Ota
A man is found dead in a office of Takayanagi Ballet Company. The suspect is a female dancer at the ballet company. The Takayanagi Ballet Company insists that the incident is a self defense case, but after an investigation there's doubts in that claim. Then, the director of the Takayanagi Ballet Company is poisoned to death. Are the cases related?
Fly, Dakota, Fly!
In January 1946 a British military transport plane departs from Shanghai on its to Tokyo, Japan. During the flight the airplane makes an emergency landing on Sado Island. The residents on the island have heard stereotypes of the British soldiers and have mixed feelings about the their new "guest." Nevertheless, for the next 40 days the islanders take care of the crew members until the plane can take off once again. This includes Chiyoko Morimoto who is the daughter of the inn owner where some of the British crew members stay.
Present for You
Shigeru Kajiwara (Joe Odagiri) works part-time at a company that sells mysterious health food. One day, the other employees run off with the company's money.
Unforgiven
Kingo Baba
Set in Hokkaido, Japan in the 1880s. Jubei Kamata (Ken Watanabe), who is on the side of the Edo shogunate government, kills many people. His name is infamous in Kyoto. When the battle at Goryoukaku is about to be finished, Jubei disappears. 10 years later, Jubei lives with his kid in relative peace. He is barely able to make a living. Protecting his dead wife's grave, Jubei has decided to never pick up a sword again, but due to poverty he has no choice but to pick the sword again. Jubei becomes a bounty hunter.
The War and a Woman
client of woman
Set towards the end of World War II, Nomura (Masatoshi Nagase) is a writer who is in despair. A woman works in bar and is a former prostitute. Many years ago, her father sold her to a brothel due to the family's severe financial hardships. The writer and the woman then agree to live as husband and wife until the war ends. The woman doesn't feel sexual pleasures due to her past, while the man lusts for the woman's body. Meanwhile, Ohira (Jun Murakami) fought for Japan in China. He participated in unconscionable acts against civilians in the name of war. He returns to Japan with only one arm. Ohira then begins to prey on innocent women.
Yellow Elephant
Arechi
Married couple Aiko Tsumari and Ayumu Muko live a happy and peaceful life. Aiko is bit naive, while Ayumu works as a not so popular novelist. One day, a letter arrives for Ayumu. Because of this letter, the couple become estranged...
Humanoid Monster, Bem
Kao no nai otoko
Bem, Bela and Belo arrive at a new town plagued by a series of mysterious, unsolved cases which, as they discover, are caused by another youkai, one more powerful than they have ever encountered. The story will also focus on Belo's first love, and his increasing desire to become human. In the meantime, Bem and Bela have found a way to become human, but are conflicted about whether to let just Belo turn human, or along with Belo, become humans themselves.
One Day in January
Every year on the fourth of January, Shobei's soba restaurant serves "Sanada Soba"; soba noodles topped with grated spicy daikon radish. Even regulars refrain from coming to the restaurant because of the extra spicy soba. But on year, a stranger comes in and finishes the bowl, announcing that it tastes familiar. The man begins to visit every year on the 4th of January to eat Sanada Soba. Shobei develops a warm feeling towards the peculiar customer he interacts with once a year.
The Life of Budori Gusuko
Narrator / Dr. Kūbō (voice)
The fairy tale follows a young man named Gusukō in the Tōhoku forests of northeastern Japan in the 1920s. After an onslaught of droughts and natural disasters, Gusukō is forced to leave his home and search for a better life elsewhere. Gusukō joins a group of scientists at the Ihatov Volcano Department, which deals with the same natural disasters that drove Gusukō from his home.
Casting Blossoms to the Sky
Seijiro Nose
In 2011, a journalist arrives in Nagaoka, a Japanese village that underwent destruction during both World War II and the 2004 Chūetsu earthquakes, and is now notable for the fireworks it launches annually in memory of the victims of war. She is there for two reasons: firstly, to learn about the experiences of Nagaoka's inhabitants, and secondly, to watch a stage play written by an enigmatic student of her ex-boyfriend, which depicts the bombing of the city during WWII.
A Sower of Seeds
Shuzo Morikawa
Kinjiro, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, is a good-natured fellow who goes around the country helping farm families. At his new appointment in Usuki City, Oita Prefecture, he visits a tea-growing family he has known for a long time. There, he finds the family head's granddaughter Minori, who lost her job in Tokyo and has just returned home.
Ace Attorney
Saibancho (Judge)
Based primarily on the first game in the series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, the film focuses on rookie defense attorney Phoenix Wright, as he strives to protect his clients in various murder trials, including the death of his mentor, Mia Fey, and the accusation of rival prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth. Phoenix's greatest ally is Mia's younger sister Maya, a spirit medium whose body is posessed by Mia to communicate with him.
Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet
Yoneuchi
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) was the Japanese Naval commander who was given the order to attack Pearl Harbour, an order he was duty bound to obey which went against his own personal beliefs. While this infamous attack is a low point in Japanese and US history it wouldn’t have happened if the Japanese government had listened to Yamamoto in 1939 and searched for a more peaceful way to end their war campaign, proving his many ominous presages of the outcomes of the attack to come true.
Life Back Then
Masashi Inoue
Kyohei Nagashima (Masaki Okada) has shut away the world. During his high school days he was the target of bullying and experienced horrifying moments. Now as a young adult Kyohei takes a new job. He works for a company that specializes in cleaning out the homes of recently deceased individuals. With his new job Kyohei meets co-worker Yuki (Nana Eikura). Yuki has also experienced a traumatizing event as a teen and has also shut herself away from the world. These two young people form a bond as they go through the homes of the recently departed people. They gradually open up to each other and in the process to the world. Yet, their fragile psyches may or may not be ready for such changes ...
Karate-Robo Zaborgar
Dr. Akunomiya
An evil criminal organisation called Sigma kidnap prominment business leaders to harvest their DNA and only Karate-Robo Zaborgar can save them.
Shikei Kijun
Kyusaku Tsushima
Do criteria exist for the death penalty? Yusuke Mito, a law faculty lecturer who did not become a lawyer even though he passed the bar exam, the famous lawyer Kojiro Otomo who advocates the abolition of the death penalty, and the public prosecutor Mariko Nagase studied law together. Each have their own thoughts about the death penalty. One day, Otomo’s wife is murdered by someone. Shinzo Sabae who is resentful of a lawsuit that Otomo had been in charge of, is arrested as a suspect. Otomo reverses the stance he had had until now and seeks the death penalty against Sabae. This prompts Mito to make the decision to become a lawyer and stand in the court. However, the first case Mito takes charge of is the defence of Sabae, who murdered the wife of his good friend, Otomo…
In His Chart
Doctor
Dr. Ichito Kuriharai (Sho Sakurai) works at a clinic in Nagano Prefecture. He rarely has any free time due to the clinic's shortage of doctors and the constant influx of patients. Ichito even sometimes diagnoses patients out of his area of speciality and sometimes goes days without sleeping. He hopes to work at a major hospital where he can get more free time to spend with his wife Haruna (Aoi Miyazaki) and also specialize in his field of study. However, Ichito is also reluctant to add to shortage of doctors at the clinic and break his relationships with the patients. One day, Dr. Ichito Kuriharai clears out the belongings of a terminal cancer patient who passed away. During this time, he discovers a letter made out to him thanking him for the care he provided to her, even though he could not cure her sickness. Dr. Ichito Kuriharai then has a revelation about the medical chart he keeps in his hand - filled with personal observations and concerns ...
Ninja Kids!!!
The film stars Seishiro Kato as Rantaro who is sent to a ninja training school by his parents. During the summer, their teacher is invaded by a group of rival ninjas culminating in a race to ring a bell on top of a mountain.
A Honeymoon in Hell: Mr. & Mrs. Oki's Fabulous Trip
wet guy
Although Nobuyoshi and Saki just got married and moved into a new apartment, their relationship still lacks spark. Things start to change as they meet a weird fortune-teller who also happens to operate tours to hell. Without further ado the young couple books a honeymoon trip which takes them to the most bizarre, colorful and fun vision of hell you could ever dream of.
Postcard
Yukichi Morikawa, the Father-in-Law
Toward the end of World War II, middle-aged soldier Keita is entrusted with a postcard from a comrade who is sure he will die in battle. After the war ends, Keita visits his comrade's wife Yuko and bears witness to the tragic life she has led.
Cast Me If You Can
Homeless guy
An actor, who always plays supporting roles and lives in the shadow of his famous playwright father, falls in love with an energetic aspiring actress and rediscovers himself.
The Lightning Tree
Kakunoshi Enokido
Set during the Edo Period, a young man from a noble family meets a young woman under a special tree called "Raiou" (the tree was struck by lightning at one time with the broken part eventually sprouting out cherry blossoms). The young woman lived freely in the mountains after she was abducted as a young child. The couple soon fall in love under the Raiou tree, but become acutely aware of their different social positions & the ramifications it has on their relationship.
Sakurada Gate Incident
Magojiro Kaneko
Mito Domain Samurai Seki Tetsunosuke must pay the consequences for his role in the assassination of Great Elder Ii Naosuke. Based on true events.
Heaven's Story
A senseless double murder resonates eight years later in four intertwined stories.
Villain
Yoshio Ishibashi
Shimizu Yuichi is a shy and lonely day laborer looking for love. He aimlessly spends time corresponding with girls via telephone dating services and going on random encounters with girls looking for spending cash. His world is shattered one day when he is involved in the murder of one of his former encounters, the sweet-faced Ishibashi Yoshino who, after being jilted by playboy Masuo Keijo, berates and mocks the troubled loner.
Hutch the Honeybee
Hutch the Honey Bee and friends set on an adventure to find Hutch's missing Queen Bee Mother, whom he lost during a surprise attack by a group of Hornets. In the process Hutch makes friends with various other animals. At a town called Sepiatown he even befriends Amy, a kindhearted human girl who can talk with insects ...
A Crowd of Three
A Crowd of Three tells the story of two men, Kenta & Jun, who grew up as almost brothers at a children's facility. Kenta & Jun now works as part of a demolition crew but become fed up with their jobs. The friends then decide to take a road trip up north to visit Kenta's brother at the Abashiri prison.
A Lone Scalpel
Matsuo Okawa
Dr Toma, a skilled surgeon, starts work at a regional hospital in Japan. After performing an operation to remove a patient’s liver cancer, something that normally would not be done at this hospital, he quickly gains a very good reputation amongst the town’s people. Some of his colleagues become so jealous they are resentful and waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity to crucify him. Soon they get their chance as Dr Toma considers performing a controversial operation…
Haru's Journey
Michio Nakai
Stuck in a fishing village in Hokkaido, Tadao's grand-daughter Haru is desperate to visit Tokyo, a trip Tadao is reluctant to make.
After the Flowers
Soan Nagai
Ito, daughter of a clan official, encounters Magoshiro Eguchi. Magoshiro is a low ranking samurai sparks an attraction with Ito. Ito challenges Magoshiro to a sword match using bamboo sticks. Mahoshiro accepts. The pair's duel causes sparks to fly an attraction from both sides. Meanwhile, Ito faces an arranged marriage with Saisuke Katagiri and Magoshiro is with Kayo...
Golden Slumber
Hodogaya Yasushi
When easy-going Aoyagi meets an old friend for a fishing trip, he ends up drugged, framed for the Prime Minister's assassination, and on the run from corrupt cops. It's only the beginning of what quickly becomes the worst, weirdest day of his life. But he'll get by with a little help from his friends, who include a famous pop diva, a rockabilly deliveryman, a crippled old gangster, and the world's most cheerful serial killer.
Yona Yona Penguin
Jii (voice)
Rintaro directs a tale of three children who visit a land of wonder. This is the first "3D anime" that Madhouse has produced. Oh, and there are penguins.
Boku to Mama No Kiiroi Jitensha
Shotaro
Taishi lives with his father Kazushi. His mother left home when Taishi was very young and he barely has any memories of her. He believes that his mother left home to study in Paris. His favorite moments come once a week when he receives a letter from his mother. But one day, during Taishi's summer vacation, he learns that his mother isn't in Paris but in Shodoshima, Japan. Taishi then decides to take his pet dog with him and bicycle from his hometown of Yokohama all the way to Shodoshima. On his 500 kilometers trip to Shodoshima, Taishi meets various peoples and touches their hearts, while leaving behind small miracles. What Taishi doesn't know about his mother is that she suffers from memory loss and that's why she lives apart from her family. Taishi's father Kazushi soon learns that his son has left for Shodoshima and he sets out to find his son.
April Bride
Teishi Nagashima
On April 5, 2007, a couple married in a church. At first glance, it was a typical wedding. The bride, however, was suffering from late-stage breast cancer and had been given only a month to live. A young woman is diagnosed with breast cancer but keeps the information from her boyfriend. When he finds out, he decides to plan a wedding even though she only has one month to live. Based on the true story of Chie Nagashima, a women afflicted with breast cancer and her husband Taro Akasu.
Rain Fall
Tatsu Ishikura
A hit man looks to protect the daughter of one of his victims against CIA assassins.
John Rabe
Matsui Iwane
A true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.
Penguins in the sky - Asahiyama zoo
Itsuro Usui
Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, is the northernmost zoo in Japan. The unpopular zoo welcomes a new zoo keeper, young Yoshida (Yasuhi Nakamura), who has more affection for insects than people after years of being bullied at school when he was young. Yoshida soon realizes that Asahiyama Zoo is facing a financial crisis and the zoo director Takizawa (Toshiyuki Nishida) has been doing everything in his power to save the zoo from closing down. Moved by Takizawa's passion, Yoshida and other zoo keepers came to share the zoo director's belief that one's dreams can come true, and together they tackle this seemingly impossible task of revitalizing Asahiyama. A breakthrough arrives in the form of “Behavioral Exhibition,†a method that is pioneered by Ashiyama's zoo keepers and which eventually makes the zoo renowned throughout the world.
Happy Flight
Saito
A variety of aviation professionals such as pilots, flight attendants, the ground crew, mechanics, dispatchers, controllers, and the bird patrol crew all support a single flight. They have only one mission: to secure the safety of the passengers!
Teacher and Three Children
Yoshio Ichikawa
The 95-year-old director shot the film in his hometown of Ishiuchi, Hiroshima. The story is based on a teacher he had when he was a child.
Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit
Counselor
In an attempt to spur citizens into taking more productive roles in society, the Japanese government issues death messages, or "ikigami", informing them that they have only 24 hours left to live. The film follows a young man tasked with delivering these messages, as well as the victims.
The Cycling Genius Is Coming!
Teru (Yuya Endo) has been brought up in a hill town and spent his childhood conquering the slopes on his bicycle. Being a cycling fanatic, who resents defeat, he joins Kamegaoka High School, which used to boast a powerful cycling club. There he meets Hatomura (Yuichi Nakamura), an ace of the club who wants to turn around the club which has deteriorated to the point of dissolution, and Yuta (Hiroki Suzuki), an aloof cycling genius with unshaken confidence in his speed who does not allow others to follow him. Meeting a rival that is faster than him for the first time, Teru joins the club in order to challenge them. His only interest, however, is his own cycling speed. Joining the club teaches Teru the importance of teamwork to support the lead cyclist and to place priority on the victory of the team. --AsianWiki
All Around Us
kunimasa Yasuda
Kanao, a courtroom portrait artist, observes crimes, scandals and the decline of Japanese values without passing judgement. As he and his wife endure the tragedy of their first child’s death, hope slowly unfolds and their love story flickers to life once again.
The Taste of Fish
Shojiro Sanada
It may sound cliché, but Japanese people really do love their fish. If Japan has the best and freshest fish in the world, then Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market is where you're most likely to find them. It's the home of Japan's biggest daily fish auction, and it's a place of fierce competition between fish merchants that have been in the business for generations. Based on a comic series, The Taste of Fish follows businessman Shuntaro, who has a successful career in a trading company and is in a steady relationship with girlfriend Asuka. One day, Shuntaro has to help out at the fish wholesaler store run by Asuka's father, and he immediately falls in love with the world of Tsukiji Fish Market. Soon, Shuntaro quits his job and devotes all of his time to running the business while learning about the market's fascinating set of long-standing traditions. However, he must first also learn to distinguish the tastes of different fishes before he can survive in the competitive world of Tsukiji.
世界で一番美しい夜
Journalist
Betrayed and disgraced, big-city reporter Kazuya Mizuno is banished to a desk at Kaname's boring little town newspaper. But Kaname isn't as boring as it seems on the surface. Not with characters around like Shimeko, a girl genius with a childlike lack of propriety, and her ace fisherman/folk-singer dad. Or the overbearing and unpleasant local Shinto priest, a former Christian cultist. Or Endo, Kazuya's new colleague, a bitter drunk after his son's suicide. Or Kin, a former terrorist, now a hermit on his boat engaging in secret "research." Or perhaps most importantly Teruko, the hypnotically beautiful bar owner, the focus of all manner of innuendo and intrigue. Something mysterious, even mystical, is going on Kaname, and hapless Kazuya is about to be thrown into the middle of it.
The Chasing World
Doctor
A teenager is transported to a parallel world where everyone who shares his family name is being hunted down by the dictatorial government.
The Shadow Spirit
mimasaka koushirou
A series of murders of beautiful girls occur in Tokyo not long after the end of the war. Also the daughter of a retired actress, Yuzuki Yoko, has gone missing. In the meantime, a religious cult that claims to shut away misfortunes in a box has been gaining popularity, displaying an eerie aspect. Yoko's daughter is alleged to have been run over by a train, and taken into a research institute situated in a gigantic box-shaped building. A private detective Enokizu (Abe Hiroshi), a writer Sekiguchi (Shiina Kippei), a journalist Atsuko and a police detective Kiba each pursues their own case, and Chuzenji (Tsutsumi Shinichi), an owner of a secondhand bookshop, "Kyogoku Do" suspects that all cases are linked to the box-shaped research institute.
Prodigy
Hisashi Kikuna
Naruse Uta is a "unique" 13 year old child. She possessed the talent to read sheet music even before she could speak, but has now come to the point where she hates playing the piano. Her father was also a piano virtuoso, but mysteriously disappeared from her life at a young age. Because of her father's disappearance Uta's mother had to move out of their posh home and into a far modest working class neighborhood. In this working class neighborhood there is a local grocer. The grocer's son Kikuna Oto happens to be a budding musician, but lacks the drive to truly succeed. That is until Uta Naruse comes into his life...
Life Can Be So Wonderful
Haeo
Five short stories of life's joys and sorrows are brought together in this omnibus drama from Japan.
Three for the Road
The Go Master
Kensaku Segoe
The life of Go master Wu Qingyuan from his meteoric rise as a child prodigy to fame and fortune as a revolutionary strategic thinker, as well as the tumultuous conflicts between his homeland of China and his adopted nation of Japan.
Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad
Doctor from Sasazuka Clinic
Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.
Starfish Hotel
Mr. Trickster
Office drone Arisu finds his own life imitating the mystery novels of his favourite writer when his wife disappears and he finds he is being pursued by a sinister figure in a rabbit suit.
The Happiness
the story of a vagrant (Ishibashi) who arrives in a town in Hokkaido. With only a threadbare suit, an old pair of sneakers and a bag containing all his worldly possessions the proprietors of a local convenince store (played by Jun Murakami and Akemi Sakurai) taske pity on the man and bring him in.
The Summer of Stickleback
Set in Kyoto, 1990 Mizuho Oshima is a high school girl who hates her alcholic mom, adores her father, and has a crush on school swim team member Sho Sugimoto. Her father lives with another women, but Mizuho hopes to reunite her family. Her mother then takes up with an Amerian soldier named Charlie and they become an item. This crushes Mizuho's hopes of reuniting her family. Mizuho then seduces her mother's lover ...
Japan Sinks
In the aftermath of a major earthquake, scientists predict that Japan will sink into the sea. As further disasters follow, politicians plead with other countries to take refugees, while scientists struggle to save Japan itself.
Memories of Matsuko
Tsunehiro Kawajiri
While combing through the belongings of his recently deceased aunt, Matsuko, nephew Sho pieces together the crucial events that sank Matsuko's life into a despairing tragedy.
It's Only Talk
Based on an award winning novel, It's Only Talk is about the life of Yuko, a 35 year old woman. She is single and unemployed, and suffers from manic depression. The movie begins with Yuko moving to Kamata Town.
Scrap Heaven
Detective Yabuta
The lives of a young cop, a sanitation worker and a brooding pharmacist violently intersect on a bus that's hijacked by a suicidal political flunky, then cross paths again months later.
The Suspect: Muroi Shinji
Seigo Tsuda
One day in February, 2005, Metropolitan Police Department Superintendent Muroi (Toshiro Yanagiba) is arrested to take responsibility for a botched murder case he headed. His faithful colleagues, including Arashiro (Toshio Kakei) and Okita (Miki Maya), only exacerbate the situation when they try to help clear his name. Is Muroi guilty as charged or merely taking the fall? What is the truth behind the murder? Two lawyers, one determined to get Muroi, the other resolved to save him, a feud between two police departments, political power plays and legal trappings, all combine to orchestrate Muroi’s downfall.
The Great Yokai War
A young boy with a troubled home life becomes "chosen," and he stumbles into the middle of a great war of yōkai (a class of mythological creatures), where he meets a group of friendly yōkai who become his companions through his journey. Now he must fight to protect his friends and free the world of the yōkai from oppression. The yōkai originate in Japanese folklore and range from the cute and silly to the disturbing.
For the coming day
Miyo Hanayama (Etsuko Ichihara) works as a home care nurse, supporting the home care of patients who are close to death. Shigeaki Noguchi (Shigeru Kamiyama) complains that his wife has stopped talking to him since he collapsed once. Noriko Imaizumi (Hideko Yoshida) refuses to undergo surgery because her business has taken off and continues to recuperate at home. And 18-year-old Emi Akizuki (Juri Ueno) insists on visiting the town where she used to live. Everyone is trying their best to live their lives while keeping an eye on their imminent death, which may come at any moment. Meanwhile, Yuki (Mari Hoshino), a nurse like Miyo, discovers she is pregnant.
Love Is Five Seven Five
Grandfather
A haiku club comprised of five unlikely students aim to win the national high school haiku tournament.
Tetsujin 28: The Movie
Yunosuke Otsuka
One of the true classic's of anime's much-loved robot genre.
Moon and Cherry
Sakamoto
When an alluring young woman joins an erotic writing class, she begins a game of sexual cat and mouse with a naïve college student. As they venture into more and more unpredictable territory in the bedroom, he begins to think she might be using him as a test subject for her fiction more than anything else.
The Motive
Yoshifumi Katakura
Four people are discovered brutally murdered in an up-scale high-rise apartment. All the victims appear to be family, but as the investigation deepens it is discovered that one of the victims isn't related to the family.
River of First Love
Hidejiro Tasaki
8-year old boy, Shimpei, who loves fishing and painting, lives with his beautiful mother, surrounded by nature. His mother, Satsuki, has a weak constitution and lost her husband years ago. She takes care of her son lovingly but sometimes strictly, on her own. Shimpei's childhood sweetheart, Sayuri, is deaf, but somehow they can understand each other and they always spend time together.
Drugstore Girl
Koji Nabeshima
Pharmaceutical student, Keiko witnesses her boyfriend having an affair. Shocked and disappointed, she jumps on a train ("destination anywhere, east or west, she don't care") and ends up in a town named Masao in Tokyo's remote suburbs. There, she gets a part-time job at a newly opened drugstore. What do ya know.. The local shopping district's middle-aged men all fall for the young girl's charms, and they start practicing lacrosse once they have found out that that's her favourite sport.
Zebraman
Being a failure as a teacher and a familyman, Shinichi tries to escape everyday live by dressing up as "Zebraman", the superhero. Although the TV series whas canceled after only 6 episodes, this cannot stop him from acting out his escape fantasy in a self made zebra-suit. He get's more then he could ever wish for, when his black-and-white dressed alter-ego seems to be the only thing to stand between absolute (green) evil and a happy ending.
Winning Pass
This is a story about a high school student who had it all going for him. He was great at basketball, he had a love like no other, until a day where he loses the ability to walk. This is the story of his struggle through hardship to regain it all.
The Lakeside Murder Case
Tomoharu Fujima
Three couples are staying at a lakeside cottage with their children. They want them to prepare intensely for a prestigious high school's entrance exam with the help of a private tutor. One night, one of the wives confesses to her husband that she has killed his mistress.
The Hunter and the Hunted
Neko
Doppelganger
Murakami
Hayasaki is an inventor working on an Artificial Body. It is not going well and he is stressed out and on the verge of being fired from the research division of his company. His doppelgänger appears to help him out of the rut he has created for himself.
Worst by Chance
Shigeharu Kaneshiro
He can't control himself inside of him. Hidenori, a Japanese-Korean, hasn't seen his family in a few years. He doesn't want to go to school but just wander the streets. He always grins at a trifle. When he is caught stealing and he feels pain as his finger is cut off, he just smiles. He murmurs "Should I commit suicide?" in front of his dead sister. Yumi, an obsessive-compulsive girl, has a sticky finger. A boy who wanders the Sybuya. They join Hidenori's reckless plan by chance. They plan to stow away in order to show Korea to his sister, who has never seen the motherland. Three people who are out of this world and the dead go toward Hakata.
Zatoichi
Pub Owner
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Farewell, Kuro
Shuzo Hanazono
Based on a true story set in Matsumoto city, Nagano, during 1960s. A stray dog wanders into a high school's grounds. The dog, named Kuro, stays at the school and becomes a special friend to everyone.
Teacher's suitcase
Sensei/Matsumoto Harutsuna
Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, 'Sensei', in a bar. He is at least thirty years her senior, retired and, she presumes, a widower. After this initial encounter, the pair continue to meet occasionally to share food and drink sake, and as the seasons pass - from spring cherry blossom to autumnal mushrooms - Tsukiko and Sensei come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love.
Owl
A mother and daughter are stranded in small, isolated cabin, and are starving to death. In order to survive, they plan to entice men that happen to stray to their cabin with sex, and kill them. All goes well until a local cop shows up and, then, an old relation.
Barber's Sorrow
A S&M comedy about a masochist barber.
11'09''01 September 11
Sakichi Furuhashi (segment "Japan")
Filmmakers from all over the world provide short films – each of which is eleven minutes, nine seconds, and one frame of film in length – that offer differing perspectives on the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
KT
Hiroshi Uchiyama
This movie is a political/espionage thriller, based on a real kidnapping incident of Korean politician, Kim Dae-Jun.
Turn
Matsubara
Maki is a talented copper plate artist, however, just before her first gallery show, she gets struck by a truck. When she comes to she is at home. When she ventures outside, the city is deserted and she knows something is deeply wrong. Each day repeats; she wakes up at 2:15 in the afternoon. Gradually things start change, the phone rings, and she finds that she is not alone...
Waterboys
Mama
In a Japanese school, 5 adolescent geeks join the new sport teacher and take up the challenge to take part in the synchronised swimming competition, in-spite of the mockeries of the real sportsmen.
The City of Lost Souls
Kuwata
Brazilian-Japanese gangster Mario rescues his Chinese girlfriend Kei as she's about to be deported from Japan. Desperate to escape, he hides in Tokyo's booming Japanese-Portuguese community and seeks passage from the country from a Russian mobster. To meet his price, they hold up a bigtime drug deal between the Chinese Mafia and the local Yakuza.
Kaza-hana
An alcoholic civil servant wakes up under a cherry tree in Tokyo next to a bar hostess with whom he's impulsively made a suicide pact. Though he's now changed his mind, he agrees to travel with her to Hokkaido, her preferred site for ending it all.
Zawa-zawa Shimokita-sawa
Artist
Director Jun Ichikawa spins this affectionate portrait of the people who populate Shimokitazawa, a bohemian corner of Tokyo filled with small theater companies and smoky coffeehouses.
Nagisa
A coming of age story about a 13-year-old girl named Nagisa (Seashore) and the summer when she blooms into a woman.
Another Heaven
Doctor Akagi
A pair of hard-boiled Tokyo cops are investigating a gruesome murder: after killing the victim, the murderer cut his skull open and cooked his brain in a stew. As they try to track down the killer, they discover that, quite literally, everybody is a suspect. Will they bring the terror to an end, or will they become part of it themselves?
Kaizokuban Bootleg Film
Tatsuo
Two best friends—Tatsuo, a retiring Yakuza member, and Kiyoshi, a cop—travel to the funeral of a woman they both loved.
The Nagaharu Yodogawa Story: A Cineaste's Life in Kobe
Matashichi
Depicts the life of Nagaharu Yodogawa.
Round About Midnight
Totsuka
Koji, a jazz musician, takes a cigarette break in between sets at a Tokyo nightclub. He witnesses a murder and runs into a girl, Linda, who is being pursued by the killers. For the next two hours, Koji and Linda are running from both the hitmen and the police. Mistakenly identified as prime suspects, they have to solve the crime but time is running out: Koji has to be back to perform in his club by midnight, as a very special guest will be attending.
Will to Live
Doctor
It is based on the story of The Ballad of Narayama updated to the present day, with the substitution of putting a parent into an old people's home for the abandonment of the original. The film won the Golden St. George and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 21st Moscow International Film Festival.
Legend of the Cat Monster
Ryohei Shimura, Joji Tamura
In the year 198X, a young screenwriter, Ryohei Shimura, has been in a slump lately. Then an opportunity arises. He is asked to write a script for the comeback film of Akiko Ryuzoji, the legendary beauty who was known as Japan's Cleopatra. Ryohei met Akiko right away, but he couldn't believe his eyes. Akiko was young and good-looking, even though she was already an old woman. Ryohei moved into Akiko's house to work on his scenario. A film director, Mizumori, who lives with Akiko at the mansion, warns Ryohei, “Don't sleep with Akiko,” he says. In fact, Ryohei was chosen for the job for a surprising reason...
Dr. Akagi
Dr. Fuu Akagi
At the end of WWII, Japanese doctor Akagi searches for the cure for hepatitis in the prisoner-of-war camp.
The Key
Soichiro Anzai
Ikuko is a mature, reserved Kyoto woman married for many years to a respectable, now-middle-aged man. The only problem in their relationship has been that her husband is dissatisfied with her lack of passion during lovemaking. All this changes after they meet the young Mr. Kimura
Body and Soul
Yoshihiko now lives with a couple of old friends, a married couple, Ryosuke and Aya. They share a past in several senses. It was Ryosuke who walked off with Yoshihiko’s girlfriend Aya. In doing so, he broke up with his own girlfriend, Reiko. Now they are all back together again and old feelings begin to surface.
Abduction
The film opens with kidnappers of a corporate executive making an unusual ransom demand: that a wizened executive from another company haul large bags of money through downtown Tokyo as the media documents his every move. When the first old man almost dies from exhaustion, a second, and eventually a third elderly corporate fat cat is ordered to do the same. The police detective assigned to the case (Tetsuya Watari) and his younger partner (Masatoshi Nagase) are livid with indignation at this sorry spectacle. They learn that these four men were involved in a massive industrial spill that poisoned an entire rural hamlet 20 years previous. Suddenly, the detective -- who studied in the States and apparently absorbed some John Wayne-like mannerisms in the process -- isn't sure who are the victims and who are the villains.
The Eel
Tamotsu Takasaki
White-collar worker Yamashita finds out that his wife has a lover visiting her when he's away, suddenly returns home and kills her. After eight years in prison, he returns to live in a small village, opens a barber shop (he was trained as a barber in prison) and talks almost to no-one except for the eel he "befriended" in prison. One day he finds the unconscious body of Keiko, who attempted suicide and reminds him of his wife. She starts to work at his shop, but he doesn't let her become close to him.
The Rainbow Seeker
A young man fails his company entrance exams and leaves home to work at a run-down cinema in Tokushima, whose owner lives to bring entertaining films to the residents of his small town.
Free and Easy 8
Yukawa
When Su-san invites his late friend's daughter to come along on a fishing trip, she falls in love with Hama-chan's fishing protégé.
Shall We Dance?
Detective Miwa
A bored Japanese accountant sees a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves ballroom dancing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private detective to find out why he has started coming home late smelling of perfume.
Maborosi
Yoshihiro
A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
Major Akira Yuki
A mysterious extraterrestrial being resembling Godzilla rapidly approaches Earth. The monster, dubbed SpaceGodzilla, lands to challenge the King of the Monsters.
The Friends
Nagatomo
A delightful and moving coming-of-age story. One summer, three young boys take an increasing interest in an eccentric old man who lives alone in a house surrounded by an overgrown garden. The boys form a bond with the recluse and set about weeding and replanting the garden.
Ahiru no uta ga kikoete kuru yo.
A man fed up with city life moves to a village in the mountains
Private Lessons II
Oba
An insecure young Asian man meets an interesting sensual European woman who teaches him the secrets of love and life.
Sky Cannot Be This Blue
Director
Kantarou Kobayashi is an ordinary businessman who has multiple troubles on hand. He's been having an affair with a woman working in the same company, but she does lots of eccentric things. His wife has no interrest in anything but her plan to build a new apartment where their old house is. His son suffers skin eruptions. His mother appears to have senile dementia.
Yamai wa kikara: Byôin e ikô 2
A comedy about a young woman who has terminal cancer.
Sumo Do, Sumo Don't
Professor Tokichi Anayama
A college senior, Shuhei, is blackmailed by a professor into joining the school's sumo team. He is aided by a group of misfits who must team together to defeat their rivals or face disgrace and the disbandment of the sumo club.
A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era
Kogoro Katsura
In the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, there was a cute warrior, Souji Okita, who belonged to the armed police of the shogunate in Kyoto. Very few knew that Souji was not a boy, but a woman. Souji loved the vice-leader of the armed police, Toshizou Hijikata. Souji suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and coughed up blood during a battle. Toshizou helped her but said that he did not care for the girl with a smell of blood. Souji had a real talent for swordsmanship and no one but Ryouma Sakamoto could compete with her. Ryouma was a liberal intellectual and tried to carry out a revolution without blood. However, the bloody Meiji Restoration broke out and Souji killed Ryouma who lost his dream. Because a friendship had sprung up between Toshizou and Ryouma, Toshizou got angry and slashed at Souji with a sword. Unwillingly, she unsheathed her sword and thought that she might get love if she was killed by the man she loved.
Dance till Tomorrow
Live action adaption of Naoki Yamamoto's romantic comedy manga series.
Goodbye Mama
A successful office lady, who has made herself sexually available to a doctor, has her routine disrupted when her former boyfriend's son appears in her life. She is not connected to the boy, but his father has been in an accident.
The Last Frankenstein
Prof. Sarusawa
Professor Sarusawa and his psychic daughter Mai live together after the suicide of the Professor's wife years earlier - which was caused by a suicide plague running rampant throughout the city. Dr. Aryo lives in a nearby castle with his wife, whom Dr. Aryo created, and a hunchbacked assistant. Dr. Aryo once worked at the same university with Professor Sarusawa but was fired for his morbid experiments. Now, Dr. Aryo may hold the key to unlocking the origins & cure for the suicide virus which Professor Sarusawa may now have. Meanwhile Professor Sarusawa's daughter Mai can be bring to life Dr. Aryo's stitched up cadavers which Dr. Aryo hopes to create a new race with.
Betrayal tomorrow
A violent detective who can handle assault and blackmail in a straight forward manner.
Maria's Stomach
A carnivorous monster lives on the island of Sipang. A group of office ladies band together to fight it.
Roar of the Crowd
Based on the non-fiction books by Takushi Ono (the NHK announcer, not the gymnast) and Yoshinari Tobe.
Universal Laws
Fancy Dance
Masoho's boss
Yohei, a punk rocker, becomes a Buddhist monk in order to inherit a mountain temple. Though initially rebelling against the tough monastic discipline, he learns to adjust. Then his girlfriend shows up, enticing him to return to his rock 'n' roll roots.
Beijing Watermelon
Mr. Teramoto, the Shopkeeper
Shunzo is a popular greengrocer in a town near Tokyo. His life, and the lives of his wife Michi, and their two children, undergoes a dramatic change when he encounters Li, a poor college student from China.
Battle Heater
Riichi Hama
Furuchi and Hama are two unsuccessful repair agents and electronic engineers. One day Furichi finds a so-called Kotatsu heater. Soon after this Furichi dies in a traffic accident. But with the help of a stun gun succeed Hama Furichi bring back to life, but also Kotatsu heater comes alive then.
Tora-san Goes to Vienna
Hyoma Sakaguchi
During his wandering throughout Japan, Tora-san meets a suicidal man. He travels with the man to Vienna, but winds up homesick for Japan.
Mottomo Abunai Deka
Maeo
Taka and Yuji find evidence in a 15-year-old case, but the statute of limitations expires in four days and they're hunting illicit gun manufacturers.
Revolver
Keisuke Mineya
When a gun belonging to a police officer is stolen, it ends up in the hands of a student, who decides to use it on a yakuza who beat him recently. Now the police officer is hot on the student’s trail, and he’s determined to prevent the gun from going off.
The Silk Road
In 1026, students in western China are shanghaied into the forces of crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the length of the Silk Road. One student is Zhao Xingde, who becomes the favorite of his commander, Zhu Wangli. While sacking a fortress, Xingde discovers Tsurpia, princess of the Uighur. He hides her; they fall in love. When he's sent away to study Xixian, he leaves Tsurpia in Zhu's care, but returns to find her engaged to Li. Tragedy follows, and he and Zhu enter a pact to take revenge when Li arrives at Dun-Huang, the region's seat of learning and culture. Against overwhelming odds, they find a surprising way to leave a monument to their life and love.
The Yen Family
Shinichi Amemiya
Set in Japan during the bubble era, this unique home comedy cheerfully and humorously depicts the daily life of a strange family that works together to accumulate a small amount of money, while mixing irony and satire.
Angel Guts: Red Vertigo
Yakuza
Nami is a nurse and the unwilling object of her patients' lust. When she is hit by a car whilst fleeing from the home of her unfaithful boyfriend, the driver of the car takes her as a sexual prisoner.
The Great Department Store Robbery
Katsuyo plans her last gang robbery.
Bedtime Eyes
Based on a polemic novel by Amy Yamada, Bedtime Eyes is about the intense love relationship between a second rate Japanese jazz singer and a black American GI on the margins of the law.
A Tale of Young Elopement
Matsuda
A 30-year-old man's life gets up-ended when his girlfriend accepts an arranged marriage meeting with a more successful man.
The Heartbreak Yakuza
A hardened gangster encounters by chance a woman he hasn't seen since childhood. They are both engulfed in the underground world of intergang warfare.
Congratulatory Speech
Yasuhei Higashida
The Second Is a Christian
Kumashiro
The story of beautiful Christian nun, Kyoko who is the object of affection for two very different men - one the happy-go-lucky yakuza gangster, Haruhiko who is the next-in-line to takeover the ragtag "Tenryu Gumi" gang and the other bumbling police detective Kumashiro. The Tenryu Gumi is a collection of misfits and other troublemakers but are relatively peaceful due to their Christian beliefs. Their bitter rivals are the more traditional "Kuroiwa Gumi", a much more sadistic and violent group led by godfather Kuroiwa.
I Want To Live Once More: Shinjuku Bus Fire Incident
Hirofumi Maruyama
On the night of August 19, 1980, a bus was set on fire by the vagrant Hirofumi Maruyama at the Shinjuku West Exit Bus Terminal. In the burning flames, Mitsuko, who was exhausted by her affair, suddenly thought of suicide. As a result, she escaped too late from the bus and suffered a serious injury. From there, she was hospitalized for a long time. As she gradually recovered, the wife of her affair partner, Soroku Sugihara, died of cancer. Soroku proposed to Mitsuko again, and they lived together. Due to Soroku's mounting debt, they decided to flee to Tojinbo. With the desperate persuasion of her acquaintances, Mitsuko regained her desire to "live again."
Capone Cries a Lot
Ushiemon
Umiemon is a naniwa-bushi singer who travels with his wife to the United States in hopes of achieving fame and fortune.
Location
Konno
The melodramatic story of a pink crew’s tragi-comedic adventures on location. A fictionalized adaptation of set photographer Ichiro Tsuda's 1980 book The Location (Za Rokēshon), an illustrated 229-page document about the cameraman’s experiences with pink cast and crew on the sets of several films produced in the late 1970's.
Make-Up
Kikuo Tsutano
Double Bed
Tôru Yamazaki(山崎徹)
Kato is a small time TV producer. He has a wife Masako, and a young son Taro. Kato also has a friend Yamazaki who he knew since college. Yamazaki has a girl friend Riko who lives with her younger sister Yuko who's an actress. Yamazaki is a lyric writer/womanizer and he starts to have an affair with Masako, but he's still going out with Riko.
The Man from Shimizu
On the day his mother dies, young gambler Jirocho swears in front of her grave that he'll never gamble again. But, that night, Jirocho heads to a gambling den, where he bets the condolence money for his mother's funeral. No surprise to learn he loses the lot. Not the hard-boiled yakuza story it seems, this is a comedy featuring many new artists who were making a name for themselves at the time.
Suspicion
Shigekazu Akitani
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...
Hearts and Flowers for Tora-san
Kondo
During his travels, Tora-san gets drunk with an old man in Kyoto. Though Tora-san never fully comprehends his importance, the old man is a Living National Treasure ceramist. At his home, Tora-san makes a good impression on the old man's maid, who apparently falls in love with Tora-san.
Lovers Lost
Ishizuka
A poignant love story between a 29-year-old woman, who has once been a prostitute but is now the mistress of a wealthy jewelry merchant, and a 19-year-old college student.
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun
Detective Kuroki
A high-school girl inherits a declining yakuza organization, which seeks to repair its fortunes under her leadership.
Disciples of Hippocrates
The story revolves around Ogino, who is in the last year of his medical studies. Between lectures, exams, on field training, his commitment as a pro-reformist militant and his girlfriend, Ogino is starting to wonder if he's really cut out to be a doctor.
Masked Crusader, Mr. Jirenman
Kantarô Iwata
Kantaro Iwata's life is not a happy one, neither at the office where he is looked down upon, nor at home where he has a nagging wife and children who treat him with scorn. All these things pile up until he takes things into his own hands.
Shimoochiai Yakitori Movie
Mr Akatsuka's Porno: Let's Try It One More Time with Feeling
Daigorô Hatayama
Nikkatsu Roman Porno