Taketoshi Naitô

Taketoshi Naitô

Birth : 1926-06-16, Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Death : 2012-08-21

Profile

Taketoshi Naitô

Movies

New Shadow Warriors IV: Jiraika 2
Shippuu (Hayate) appeared suddenly dead. However, he fell into the hands of Sarutobi for due to his loss of memory.
Riot in Gujo
Naoto Ogata plays Sadajiro, a young farmer fighting out the battle of the riot through to the end. Sadajiro's wife is played by Hiromi Iwasaki, his father is played by Go Kato and Ryuzo Hayashi plays a leader of the Riot. The Riot in Gujo is called one of the biggest three riots in the Edo Period as it took almost 5 years to settle and also involved the Edo government. This movie is a period film about the riot and Gujo farmers fighting for their tenacity of purpose. The farmers had suffered enough from heavy taxes and decided to rise up in riot when the domain lord, Yorikane, issued a new act, which practically forced tax increases. Asking the lord to retract the act, they pour down to the Hachiman Castle. For once they attain the repeal deed signed by the chief retainer. However the promise is broken. Now the farmers decide to make a direct plea to the Edo Residence…This film is full tension and breathless moments.
Samurai Fiction
Kanzen Inukai
A warrior-in-training and his bumbling friends go in pursuit of a stolen sword.
After Life
Ichiro Watanabe
On a cold Monday morning, a group of counselors clock in at an old-fashioned social services office. Their task is to interview the recently deceased, record their personal details, then, over the course of the week, assist them in choosing a single memory to keep for eternity.
Bonds
Mr. Soga
Tetsuro Haga is a troubled gangster, living under the assumed identity Ise for ten years, to escape jail for gunning down his cruel adoptive father. His life begins to unravel when a journalist following him takes an interest in the wife of a boyhood chum, and the wife of another close friend takes an interest in Ise. A couple of murders later, Ise/Haga goes on the run and also sets out for revenge.
My Secret Cache
Shotaro Morita
Sakiko, a young bank teller, has an unhealthy obsession with money. Thieves hold up the bank, kidnapping Sakiko in the process, but eventually crash their car, resulting in a suitcase stuffed with cash falling into a nearby river. For the remainder of the film, Sakiko begins a desperate quest to retrieve the money.
Kamikaze Taxi
Domon
A young foot soldier in the yakuza seeks revenge when his prostitute girlfriend dies after a session with a high-ranking Japanese politician with a taste for torture. He sets out on a 'kamikaze' mission to kill his bosses and the politician; along the way, he acquires the aid of a taxi driver who has recently returned to Japan after living in South America for several decades and is struggling to cope with poverty and the prejudices of native-born Japanese.
Marriage
An omnibus featuring the work of three different filmmakers.
Summer of the Moonlight Sonata
Yuki
Two soon-to-be kamikaze pilots stop by a local school near their base to play the piano one last time, leaving a deep impression on a teacher. Years later, she seeks out the relatives of the pilots when the piano is old and about to be discarded.
Luminous Moss
Novelist
A headmaster and a novelist, looking for inspiration, regard a strange natural phenomenon before sharing stories of their own.
Shingo's Ten Duels
The classic tale of the shogun's illegitimate son Aoi Shingo is told in three parts as he strives to become the greatest fencer in Japan, while his father Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune seeks to reunite with his lost son. When the secrets of Shingo's birth are revealed to him, it sets off a series of events that bring him to cross swords with members of the shogun's inner circle in a series of duels that could change the destiny of Japan.
Death of a Tea Master
Toyobo
Years after the death of legendary tea master Rikyu, his disciple Honkakubo attempts to resolve the mystery of the master's death.
Green Boy
In order to encourage his son who became paralyzed due to a traffic accident, he depicts a former boxer aiming for aiming to win.
A Step
Director
Romantic love story of Russian physician Gusev and Japanese woman Keiko takes place in time of fighting of Russian and Japanese scientists against poliomyelitis epidemic broken out in Japan in 1959.
Michinoku Reunion Tour Murders
Suspense.
The Man Who Assassinated Ryoma
The Man Who Assassinated Ryoma is a movie about a haunted blood-thirsty Bakufu officer who might have killed Ryoma Sakamoto.
The West Tako Cheerleaders
Ryuji Gamo
A boy seeks manhood in joining his school’s militaristic cheer squad.
Sukeban Deka: The Movie
Some person
After the events of the TV series, the 18 year old Yoko Godai has abandoned her special agent Saki Asamiya name to return to her normal life, and is now studying for college entrance exams. However, she accidentally bumps into a young man named Kazuo Hagiwara trying to escape from a group of hitmen, and learns that he comes from Sanko Academy, a private school located in a remote island known as Hell's Castle. The school is ruled by a former revolutionary thought to be dead named Hattori who is trying to brainwash students into terrorists to help him stage a fascist coup d'etat in Japan.
Congratulatory Speech
Iwasaki, managing director
Gray Sunset
Grandfather Fuyukichi Takano, a former university professor, gets fired from his museum job when he is affected by Alzheimer's disease, but his affliction serves to deepen family ties. Japan's submission to the 58th Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Godzilla 1985
Takegami, Chief Cabinet Secretary
Originally released in Japan as "The Return of Godzilla" in 1984, this is the heavily re-edited, re-titled "Godzilla 1985". Adding in new footage of Raymond Burr, this 16th Godzilla film ignores all previous sequels and serves as a direct follow-up to the 1956 "Godzilla King of the Monsters", which also featured scenes with Burr edited into 1954's "Godzilla". This film restores the darker tone of the original, as we witness the nuclear destruction of giant lizard terrorizing Japan.
The Return of Godzilla
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takegami
After a fishing boat is attacked, the sole surviving crew member realizes it is none other than a resurrected Godzilla. However, efforts to bring the story to light are suppressed by the Japanese government amid growing political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, who are both willing to bomb Japan to stop the monster.
Make-Up
Shiro's father
The Fir Trees Remain
The 21-year-old feudal on Sendai, Tsunamune Date, was prohibited to go out in the daytime for his misbehavior during his short stay in Edo. On the next day, his 4 attendants were killed one after another. Sakai Utanokamike, the Rozyu, is turned out to be involved in this scheme, and the aim is to destroy the Date family. Tsunamune's brother Munekatsu Date who is willing to take over the family doesn't know the real purpose of Utanokami and helps him. Munesuku Harada gets to know the whole picture of the incident and takes action alone for the sake of protecting the Date family, leaving his own family. His lonely fight continues for 10 years and he got in danger in Utanokamike's house, and...
Dojo Breaker
Tomisaburo Wakayama is back with a new take on the classic Yamamoto Shugoro masterpiece “Ame Agaru” as a samurai on the run with his bride who makes a living by challenging dojo masters to a match, then taking money from them to keep quiet about it. Staying at an inn filled with many colorful characters and trying to make enough money to bribe the border officials to let them pass to the next domain this exciting, yet heartfelt story is a true testament to the power of the sword. When he meets an equally skilled swordsman the sparks will fly with a surprise ending that captures the soul of Japan!
Suspicion
Judge Yazawa
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...
Ten Duels of Young Shingo: Chapter 2
Brings Shingo face to face against Yagyu Tajima, the Shogun’s fencing instructor in a match that could save a domain near Osaka.  Meanwhile Shogun Yoshimune must face a painful decision whether or not he can finally see his son for the first time.
Fifth Movement
When a broadcasting company takes away its financial support from a symphony orchestra, some of the members refuse to admit defeat. The first violinist returns to his home and manages to get the orchestra back together for a grandiose performance, saved at the last minute by their original conductor -- and boding well for the future of the die-hard musicians.
Shogun Assassin
Lord Bizen
A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.
Port Arthur
Narrator (voice)
Depicts the bloody siege of the fortress of Port Arthur, one of the most strongly fortified positions in the world, during the Russo-Japanese War of (1904 - 1905). In the story dominated the character Lt Takeshi Kogyo (Teruhiko Aoi), teachers, and a reserve officer who became commander of the platoon and later company. At the same time monitors the conduct of the army commander general Nogi (Tatsuya Nakadai), which was commissioned of the emperor Matsuhito (Toshirô Mifune) to the conquest of the fort.
The Fixer
Political fixer Homei Yamaoka's misdeeds come to light, throwing Japanese politics into deadly confusion. But he's not going down without a fight.
August without Emperor
Labor Minister Hamao
Taking the Chilean coup as an example, a group of young officers plan to overthrow the Japanese government on V-J Day. They aim to abolish the post-war constitution, restore the national army and revive the traditional spirit of Japan. As the conspiracy is exposed, the coup squadrons are wiped out one by one. The remaining squadron takes over a night train bound for Tokyo.
Third Base
Judge
Third and Shinbunbu embark on a plan to make money by Third becoming a pimp and Shinbunbu a prostitute.
Island of Hell
Yosamatsu Kito
A scruffy detective investigates the murders of three sisters on a small Japanese island in 1946.
The Possessed
Horror film based on the story by Ryunosuke Akutagawa.
Manhunt
Sakai Yoshihiro
A tough prosecutor is falsely accused of theft and goes on the run to clear his name. He is assisted by the beautiful daughter of a rich man.
Solar Eclipse
When bribe money from a rigged election funnels into a dam construction project, collusion, lust, greed and even murder are on the ballot.
Doterai Man
Business is a game! A theatrical version of the TV drama that became a social phenomenon starring Teruhiko Saigo. Set in a wholesaler town in Osaka, it depicts the activities of the main character Takezo Yamashita who repels adversity with a man's stubbornness and guts.
The Castle of Sand
Search Section Chief
Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murderer of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a rail yard.
The Last Samurai
The film follows the story of Sugi Toranosuke, a ronin, who returns to his home town of Edo many years after his attempted suicide as a sickly child. Rescued and adopted by a master swordsman, he has grown into a master swordsman and a very kind gentleman. The time is around 1868 the year that the nails were finally put into the coffin containing the feudal system that nurtured and sustained the samurai. Sugi is confused and unsure about what is happening but his teacher wants him out of the chaos of the multiple power struggles between the various clans.
Prophecies of Nostradamus
Chief Cabinet Secretary
Professor Nishiyama, after studying and interpreting the prophecies of Nostradamus, realizes that the end of the world is at hand. Unfortunately, nobody listens to him until it is too late. As the effects of mankind's tampering of the earth - radioactive smog clouds, hideously mutated animals, destruction of the ozone layer - rage out of control, the world leaders hurtle blindly toward the final confrontation. The film sparked controversy in Japan and was subsequently pulled out of circulation, with no official video release of the uncut film.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
Mawatari Hachiro
In the fifth film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto is challenged by five warriors, each has one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assassination.
Coup d'Etat
Army officer
A freestyle biopic of Ikki Kita, the ultranationalist intellectual whose ideas inspired the failed military coup in 1936.
Bounty Hunter 3: Eight Men to Kill
Noro Jinnai
The third movie following the exploits of bounty hunter Shikoro Ichibei. The theft of almost a half ton of gold from the shogunate's official mine threatens to bankrupt the government of Japan. Despite a desperate search the gold has not been found, causing officials of the Tokugawa bakufu to call on their most skillful secret agent, Shikoro Ichibei.
The Fearless Avenger
Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by Yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed. Though now even more of an outcast, Jokichi is asked by another Yakuza boss, Umezo, to guard Oyuki, the wayward daughter of Juzaburo. The tragic consequences of this assignment will lead him into a deadly trap and a final confrontation with Chogoro.
Special Boy Soldiers of the Navy
Japanese youngsters enduring hard training in Recruit Camp and then going to Iwo Jima in the last days of World War II.
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun
Tadahiko Ohashi
A war widow determined to clear the name of her disgraced husband, who was court-martialed for desertion and executed. Official records have been destroyed, and the ministry that distributes benefits continues to deny her a pension. Twenty-six years after the war, she seeks out four survivors of her husband's garrison. Each tells a dramatically different story about her husband's conduct, but she is determined to learn the truth.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
Ichige Gyobu
In this first film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, adapted from the manga by Kazuo Koike, we are told the story of the Lone Wolf and Cub's origin. Ogami Itto, the official Shogunate executioner, has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.
Live My Share, Mother
Doctor Maeda
At school, Fumio is good in everything. His cheerful, out-going personality makes him a great favorite with teachers and classmates alike. He is in perfect health and there does not seem to be a single shadow to cloud his life. Then, one day, he feels a sudden pain in his shoulder. His parents take him to a doctor who tells them that their son has bone cancer and must be hospitalized. The parents cannot believe their ears, for Fumio had always been the picture of abounding health. The whole family with the exception of Fumio is cast into the depths of despair. They wonder why it had to happen to their Fumio and their happy family. The father who recovers first and decides to fight cancer to save his son's life.
Mission: Iron Castle
The Shinobi-no-Mono series was so successful that Daiei Studios dipped into the well one more time, making the best 60′s B&W ninja movie ever seen in the otherwise color-dominated year of 1970. Issei Mori directs Hiroki Matsukata as the reluctant leader of a small band of spies charged with kidnapping a noblewoman from a heavily ninja-proofed castle. The finality of the air slowly began to fill like smoke, and in all that had become dark the loyalty of the Ninja who dared to go shone like light as they entered a world shrouded in mystery. Things do not go as planned in what is possibly the darkest and most fatalistic of the already noir-ish 60′s fare. Both the decade and it’s distinctive style of shinobi cinema went out on a high note with Mission Iron Castle.
Kanto Woman Fortitude
The Magoichi Saga
Lord Oda Nobunaga gains control of nearly all of Japan and tries to enlist the aid of Magoichi and his 3.000 gunners.
Safari 5000
A Japanese racing driver for Nissan named Godai (Yujiro Ishihara) have a rivalry with a French driver named Pierre (Jean-Claude Drouot). Godai is enlisted to race in an annual endurance race, The East African Safari Rally. Peripheral to this is the story concerning Godai's former lover Yuko (Ruriko Asaoka), a fashion designer, and her friend Anna (Emmanuel Riva), who happens to be Pierre's wife.
The Woman Gambler's Revenge
Tenth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.
Hoodlum Priest And The Gold Mint
It’s cross and double-cross in these further adventures of Ryuzen, the wayward priest played by Katsu Shintaro as he tries to help a woman who may be the heir to a fortune get what is rightfully hers. Matsuo Kayo, who first rose to international stardom as ‘the supreme ninja’ in “Shogun Assassin” gives an outstanding performance in this clever and exciting caper tale set in the samurai era. Ryuzen agrees to help her, but is he just in it for himself, and is she really who she claims to be? When they come up against Boss Tobei it’s a virtual free-for-all as everyone struggles to walk away with a fortune in gold!
The Woman Dicer
Seventh film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.
The Woman Champion
Fifth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.
The Saga of Tanegashima
Tokiaki Tanegashima
Well before “Shogun” as warring clans were fighting for power throughout Japan, a Portuguese vessel ran aground off Tanegashima. Lord Tokitaka helped Captain Pinto repair his ship. The grateful captain offered the lord a gift--a matchlock musket—the first firearm ever seen in Japan. But like a great stone hurled into placid waters, this simple gift will start a revolution. Tokitaka tasks Kinbei, his greatest swordsmith, to copy this musket and build guns for Japan. While Kinbei struggles to forge Japan’s first musket, a great love blooms between Captain Pinto and Kinbei’s daughter Wakasa. But for Kinbei, to let Wakasa marry Pinto and go to Portugal is unthinkable. And as Kinbei creates Japan’s first matchlock factory, Lord Oda Nobunaga will seize upon firearms as the key to sweep all other clans before him, tearing a blood-soaked path of destruction through Japan.
The Snow Woman
Minô
A master sculptor and his apprentice are trapped in a bad snow storm after finding a special tree for carving a statue for the local temple. Finding refuge in an abandoned hut they celebrate their luck in finding the tree but soon they are visited by the Snow Witch who freezes the sculptor to death but takes pity on the apprentice. He must promise to never speak of this or she'll return and kill him.
The Night before Pearl Harbor
The last film in the series brings the tale to the doorstep of Pacific War, with the planning of the bombing of Pearl Harbor dominant in Nakano Spy School.
The Wife of Seishu Hanaoka
The disturbing story of a physician who conducted the first operation with general anaesthetic, and the women in his life who are both so determined to win his love that they volunteer as subjects for his experiments
Portrait of Chieko
Director Sawada
Takamura, a poet and sculptor, marries a budding artist named Chieko who dreams of becoming an oil painter. When a series of hardships befall her family, she finds herself unable to confide in her husband, and the pain she carries within begins to weigh heavily on her sanity...
Rebellion of Japan
Suzuko, a woman in her twenties who has a brother with political problems (due to communist reprisals), lives for over five years in a love affair with Tate who's a young lieutenant in the Army, ultimately becoming a right-wing fundamentalist revolutionary. She marries another man, one totally dedicated to the rigorous practices of Noh theatre, in an arranged marriage, but the bond that connects her with Tate is too strong.
Shinobi no mono 8: The Three Enemies
[Period Covered: 1570-1573] Towards the end of the Tenmon Era, Shogun Ashikaga`s powers were weakening by the day and many were there who planned to overthrow him. It was the beginning of the Sengoku (Warring States) period. Three men attack a gunpowder maker in a farmhouse, the first chopping off his arm with his sickle-&-chain weapon, the second blinding him with sword, the third giving the killing blow. His son Kojiro Kosume escapes the attackers as everything he has known up to then explodes into conflagration. He grows up & enters the start of the Tokugawa Era, intent on avenging his father.
The Betrayal
A naively honorable samurai (played by Raizo) comes to the bitter realization that his devotion to moral samurai principles makes him an oddity among his peers, and a very vulnerable oddity in consequence. He takes the blame for the misdeeds of others, with the understanding that he will be exiled for one year and restored to the clan's good graces after the political situation dies down. As betrayal begins to heap upon betrayal, he realizes he'll have to live out his life as a master-less ronin, if not hunted down and killed.
The Thieves' Who's Who
In the book of the world's greatest rogues, the number one man can only be one person.
Young Boss: Invitation to Fight
A Trap
Prosecutor Shimada
When her only relative, her elder brother is accused of robbing and murdering an old woman loan-shark, pretty, young Kiriko travels from her home in Kyushu to Tokyo to get Japan's top lawyer to defend her brother. Unfortunately her naive idealism is shattered when the lawyer refuses to take the case based on her insufficient funds. What follows is a long determined revenge plot that sees the heroine become a Tokyo bar hostess and worse to punish the lawyer. The plot thickens with another murder mystery and a sleuthing reporter.
A Chain of Islands
Hidaka
When a US army sergeant is found drowned in Tokyo Bay, an investigation is launched to determine how and why he lost his life. The investigation uncovers a black market scheme involving counterfeit money, murder, and conspiracy.
Snow Country
Shimamura's friend Koizumi
This movie is based on an immortal literary work "The Snow Country," a story about a life of geisha Komako who lives in a region with heavy snowfalls.
Taking the Castle
The Sengoku Era was coming to an end. The monopoly of the ever powerful shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa, was at a near. Only one man was brave enough to stand in Ieyasu's way - A lone wolf samurai by the name of Kagekatsu Uesugi. Inspired by Uesugi's courage to revolt, a young samurai warrior, Touzou Kuruma decides to join the fight. Their target: the Tamonyama Castle.
Gazing at Love and Death
A young girl knows that she is going to die and in this she is supported by the devotion of the boy who loves her. They originally met at the hospital. There it transpired that the only way to save her life was to sacrifice an eye and part of her face. The operation seems a success. Later, however, her other eye becomes affected. She feels she must let the boy go, and yet she depends so much upon his devotion.
The Long Death
On January 26, 1948, a robbery of the Teigin bank took place in Tokyo - the criminal poisoned the bank employees and fled the scene with a large amount of money. In parallel with the investigation conducted by the Japanese police, journalists are also trying to find the culprit. Based on a true incident.
Itsudemo yume o
This is a factory area in downtown Tokyo, and Hikaru, nicknamed Pika-chan, is a nurse at the Mihara Clinic, a friend of the poor.
A Design for Dying
Shikiko Oba is nimble with her fingers and teaches dressmaking and designing. Among her pupils are Rinko, Katsumi and Tomie. Ginshiro, who is as shrewd as the shrewdest of the older generation of dyed-in-the-wool Osaka businessmen, steps into picture and Shikiko soon feels that he is indispensable to her. But the advent of a man in their midst breaks up the harmony that has existed among the four women, as gradually he forces himself on them with promises of love.
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
Tange Ittôhei
After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his dear wife and his old life, Kaji faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his fellow men sneak behind enemy lines.
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
Tange Ittôhei
Kaji is sent to the Japanese army labeled Red and is mistreated by the vets. Along his assignment, Kaji witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against the recruit Obara. He also sees his friend Shinjô Ittôhei defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
The Wild Reporter
Seven years ago, Ishimatsu Toshio, a talented radio producer at Zen Nihon Hōsō, witnessed a crazed drug addict murder his wife and then commit suicide, though Toshio was able to save the lives of their two children. Just transferred from Shimizu to Tokyo, Toshio hopes to produce a program that will expose the drug trade in Tokyo. One day, Toshio stops into a noodle shop where he is mistaken for a drug dealer and passed a bagful of drugs. The real dealer arrives in time to follow Toshio home. That night Toshio is attacked by the dealer, who turns out to be Kenji, one of the children Toshio had saved. Kenji can't bring himself to kill Toshio, so he runs away and goes into hiding from the mafia. While continuing to investigate the drug trade, Toshio searches for Kenji to get Kenji's testimony for his program.
Umi wa kurutte iru
Lucky Dragon No. 5
An ageing fishing boat, Dai-go Fukuryu Maru ("Lucky Dragon No. 5") sets out from the port of Yaizu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It travels around the Pacific line fishing. While the ship is near Bikini Atoll, the ship's navigator sees a flash. All the crew come up to watch. They realize it is an atomic explosion, but take time to clear their fishing gear. A short time later, grey ash starts to fall on the ship. When the ship returns to port the sailors have been burned brown. They unload the fish, which are then transported away. They visit the local doctor and then go to Tokyo for an examination. It turns out they are all highly radioactive. Their symptoms become worse, and the contaminated fish causes a panic.
I Want to Be a Shellfish
Television production of I Want to Be a Shellfish. On a post-war peaceful day in Japan, Toyomatsu Shimizu, a barber as well as a good father and husband, is suddenly arrested by the Prefectural Police as a war criminal and sued for murder. According to the accusation by GHQ, Toyomatsu "attemped to kill a US prisoner", which was nothing but an order by his superior and failed after all with hurting the prisoner by weak Toyomatsu. Also, Toyomatsu was driven to corner at the trial by the fact that he fed the US prisoner some burdock roots to nourish him. Toyomatsu believes nothing but being not guilty, but he is sentenced to death by hanging. Prior to the execution, Toyomatsu writes a long farewell letter to his family, the wife and the only son: "If I ever incarnate, I hate to be a human being any more.... Oh yes, I would like to be...a shellfish living on the rock-bottom of the sea."
Voice Without a Shadow
Asako, a former telephone operator once heard the voice of a murder suspect which has continued to haunt her. Years later her husband invites his boss, Hamazaki, over for dinner and she realises his voice is suspiciously like that of the killer. Before she can investigate further, Hamazaki is found dead and her husband becomes the prime suspect.
Joyu
Based on Kakuko Mori's autobiography, about her life and retirement from acting due to her increasing blindness.
The Shadow of Fear
Inspector Yasumoto
In the backstreets of Ginza, the boss of a hairdressing salon is found dead, killed by strangulation. The detective on the case soon hears rumors about the murder.
How Sorrowful
The story of a novelist whose wife is confined in a mental hospital. His love for her drives him to write about her, though he runs into trouble when her parents accuse him of cashing in on her misfortune.
Darkness at Noon
Lawyer Kondo
Police beat a murder confession out of four innocent men who are then sentenced to death. Based on a true story.
The Burmese Harp
Kobayashi
In the War's closing days, when a conscience-driven Japanese soldier fails to get his countrymen to surrender to overwhelming force, he adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.
Ishigassen
Across the Inagawa River that runs through the center of the village, the children of the two villages scrambled for a swimming pool, and each time a stone battle took place. Takemaru, the only son of the priesthood of Tada Shrine, was weak and was always forced to carry stones. However, neither swimming nor stone-throwing was a secret to his sick mother, Kouko... Seishi Matsumaru, Ryuichi Yoshida, and Ado Matsuyama were adapted from "Tenmangu" and "Ishigassen", directed by Mitsuo Wakasugi of "Waran Hayashi", and photographed by Hanjiro Nakazawa of "The Last Women".
Ai Sureba Koso
Kôno (segment 2)
Sisters
Tomoshibi
Students in a small rural school love their poor but unconventional teacher Mr Matsukuma although he is misunderstood by most of the villagers and is forced to leave. After his departure there is great depression but there is a chance to rekindle the lantern of the title and the values Matsukuma represented ...
Miniature
Ginko, a poor cobbler's daughter, becomes a geisha to support her family. She passes from one geisha house to the next, trying to find love and hope in the process. No matter how hard she tries, she just can't escape her sad fate.
A Lonely Woman in a Lonely Land
Kiyoji Yamada
Onna Hitori Daichi wo Yuku (A Lonely Woman in a Lonely Land, Kinuta Production, 1953) was the second feature film directed by Kamei Fumio, who is known as a master of documentary films, and followed his “Haha Nareba Onna Nareba(Become a Mother, Become a Woman)” (1952).