Masahiro Koumoto

Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past. A deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us.

Naomi, a student dropout, only believes in things he can touch. However, when he really wants to touch someone, he recoils. As is the case when he befriends Maki, a happy-go-lucky young man who lives with Midori, a blind woman who dreamily expounds about places she has never been. When Midori becomes seriously ill, Maki and Naomi send her tapes from an imaginary trip around the world. Their relationship becomes more intimate whilst recording, but they only dare engage in rough, painful horseplay. Hesitations, feints, social pressure and awkwardness colours this sensitively told tale of two young men as they become intimate with one another – a rare story of a gay relationship in Japanese indie film.

Movie theater Asahiza has existed for almost a 100 years in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture. Unlike other theaters, Asahiza plays old films and doesn't get a lot of customers. The manger of Asahiza, Yasuzo Morita, finally decides to close down the theater. When he is about to burn the old 35 mm films, a young woman named Rika Motegi suddenly appears and tries to stop him. Rika Motegi came to Minamisoma from Tokyo to save Asahiza.

In a studio at the foot of Mt. Fuji, Gaku Hamada is struggling to shoot a movie with a dog in the lead role. Enter a huge cast of veteran actors who get involved in misadventures while on set.

Mitsuomi Kozuka quits his job due to his boss. He decides to return to his hometown for the first time in 10 years. The town is located in the countryside. There, Mitsuomi Kozuka meets Yamato Kumai. Yamato Kumai is the stepson of old man Kumai. The old man runs a farm near the home of Mitsuomi Kozuka's parents.

Set along the river basin of Shimane Prefeture's Takatsu River, a government-protected river, this drama portrays various people living in an area burdened by decreasing population as they carry on the tradition of "Kagura" Shinto music and dance which is said to be the roots of Kabuki. Directing from his own screenplay is Nishikori Yoshinari of Railways. Saito Manabu (Komoto Masahiro) operates a ranch on a mountain and worries his son Tatsuya (Ishikawa Raizo) has been making a habit of skipping Kagura practice. Then Manabu learns his alma mater elementary school will be closed down.

Aspiring university student is studying in order to try again for the university examination. One midday time seems to stand still for everyone and everything around him. Moreover, this phenomenon repeats daily. Yet, he is not the only one who is aware of the situation. There is an explanation and there is someone who holds the key to that explanation.

In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there.

The time spent between professional Shogi player Kiriyama and his three stories helps to heal his wounds. As he prepares to secure another win in an upcoming tournament, the father who left the three sisters appears and disturbs the peace.

Rei Kiriyama is a 17-years-old shogi (Japanese chess) player. He debuted as a professional shogi player when he was in middle school. He lives by himself in Tokyo, because his parents and younger sister died in an traffic accident when he was little. One day, Rei Kiriyama meets three sisters who are his neighbors. The three sisters are Akari Kawamoto, Hinata Kawamoto and Momo Kawamoto. This is his first meeting with someone outside of the shogi world in many years. Having meals with the Kawamoto family brings warm feelings to Rei Kiriyama. As Rei Kiriyama continues his shogi career, his interactions with his neighbors allows him to grow as a shogi player and as a person.

High school student Yuki Hase wants to become close with classmate Kaori Fujimiya who is alway by herself. Kaori Fujimiya refuses to become close with Yuki Hase, because she forgets her friends every new Monday. Even though Kaori tells Yuki why she doesn't want to become friends, Yuki still wants to become close to her.

Two sisters Tae and Yo come back to their old house which is soon to be torn down. Clearing up the family mementos, Tae finds a red box full of recipes and letters written by their mother who died 20 years ago. In these recipes and letters, she finds out how her mother had struggled in her life due to relocation from Japan to Taiwan, the death of her Taiwanese husband, and a battle with cancer. Tae travels to Taiwan to trace her mother's past, reminiscing about the dishes she made for the family.

Arima Kousei won numerous piano competitions while under the strict watch of his mother. He was known as the human metronome during that time. Since the death of his mother, Kousei has been unable to hear the sound of his piano. He then meets Miyazono Kaori through childhood friend Sawabe Tsubaki. Kaori plays the violin and has a free sprit. Since meeting her, Kousei is able to face the piano again. Meanwhile, Kaori holds a secret.

A girl, Yūri Kurahashi, after watching a cursed videotape together with her friend in a haunted house, becomes trapped in a conflict between the two murderous ghosts: Sadako Yamamura and Kayako Saeki

Makoto Fukamachi (Junichi Okada) is a Japanese cameraman. He finds an old camera on a backstreet of Nepal. The camera might possibly solve the mystery of whether George Mallory became the first person to successfully climb Mount Everest on June 8, 1924 or not. Pursuing the old camera's past, Makoto Fukamachi meets legendary Alpinist Joji Habu (Hiroshi Abe). Joji Habu is isolated from other people because of his reckless and thoughtless personality.

An airplane lands due to bad weather. A family, who rode on that airplane, goes through various troubles and it gets worse.

Kageyama (Sho Sakurai) works as the butler for rich heiress Reiko Hosho (Keiko Kitagawa). Reiko happens to be a novice detective but lacks certain deductive skills needed by detectives. Because of this Reiko relies on Kageyamaa to help her solve cases. Meanwhile, Kageyama isn't afraid to mince words and often calls out Reiko with his sharp tongue!

A murder takes place. In order to prove his innocence, prime suspect Ryota imprisons Akane in his room. Akane, who suspects Ryota committed the murder, happened to be at the murder scene. Ryota begins to think out what happened, but becomes nervous that he won't be able to prove his innocence. Akane then offers to help Ryota. Using a computer and smartphone they work together to prove his innocence.

The hospitality division in Kochi Prefecture can't promote the beautiful nature in the area due to a strict rule by the prefecture government. Popular writer and Kochi area native Kyosuke Yoshikado is appointed as a special envoy for tourism in the area. He then receives a recommendation to meet Seien, a former employee of Kochi Prefecture, who once hatched an unusual idea to promote tourism. Seien pushed forward a project to import pandas into the area, but lost his job because of that project. Meanwhile, hospitality division employees Fumitaka and Taki visits the tourist house which is run by Seien and his daughter. When they arrive, the daughter throws a bucket of water at them, still angry for the way her father was dismissed from his job. From there, a plan for the hospitality division is born.

A seemingly random series of bombings in a provincial city. The latest target is a public bus route. Detective Chaya chased terrorists and arrested a mysterious man with keen intelligence and physical power. The psychologist in charge of evaluating him is Dr. Mariko. After the psychiatric examination, she puts toward a hypothesis – “Is it possible he was born without emotions?”

Tamiko (Ayumi Ito) lives happily with her husband Hideaki (Sho Aoyagi) and step-daughter Kotoyo (Hazuki Inoue). Tamiko married her deceased friend Mari's (Mami Nakamura) husband. Tamiko gets along well with her step-daughter Kotoyo, but Kotoyo still doesn't call her mother. There is a traditional sumo game held to celebrate the moving of Mizuwakasu's shrine. The traditional sumo game is important to Tamiko who grew up on the island, while her husband Hideaki's reputation is not so good on the island because he broke off his engagement to a woman his parents set him up with. In order to marry his first wife Mari, he ran away from the island. Since then, his parents disowned him. Nevertheless, Hideaki and his first wife Mari still liked the island and went back to live there. Hideaki began sum wrestling then.

Set 2 years after prior film "Bayside Shakedown 3: Set the Guys Loose," a major case occurs that has the potential to take down the entire police organization. For the next 3 days, Shunsaku Aoshima and his colleagues struggle to unravel the case...

"Genji Monogatari" focuses on the love and hate relationships surrounding Genji Hakaru. Lady Fujitsubo is Genji's first love. Ryokuzono Miyasutokoro is obsessed with Genji and eventually becomes a spirit. Yu Kao, who is from the lower class, give comfort to Genji's emotional wounds. Writer Murasaki Shikibu is jealous of Genji and is eventually ordered by Seime Abe to write a work ...

Wasao, an Akita dog in Aomori Prefecture that became famous as an ugly-yet-cute dog from a traveller's blog. Heartwarming drama starring Wasao himself turns part of the life of this former stray into an original story. Setsuko, who runs a grilled-squid shop in a fishing village at the foot of the Shirakami mountains, decides to take in a large dog with a long, unruly fur that has shown up in town. She names the dog Wasao and showers it with affection, but Wasao at that time doesn't take to Setsuko.

War photjournalist Yasuyuki Tsukahara married popular manga artist Yuki Sonoda and had children. Because of Yasayuki's drinking problems the couple divorced. Yasuyuki is now coughing up blood, hospitalized, and violent. Even with all of these problems Yasuyuki can't give up drinking alcohol. His family gets tired. Yasuyuki is then hospitalized in an alcoholic ward. There he finds comfort living with other patients and having conversations with doctors. With the help of his family, Yasuyuki recovers mentally and physically, but his body has already paid a heavy toll.

After Detective Shunsaku Aoshima is promoted to section chief he has the daunting task of dealing with eight cases at the same time, which includes a murder case, bomb threat, and a bus hijacking. Complications also arise between Detective Aoshima and his juniors.

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...

Once a year, on Christmas Eve, Cafe Telekinesis holds a real psychic party. At the party, psychics gather together to show off their abilities while for the rest of the year they hide their abilities. Yone Sakurai is a program director for a psychic variety TV show called "Asunaro Psychic". She is stressed out and tired from her work, but proud of what she is doing. Yone actually believes in psychic abilities. By an audience request a new plan is set out for the program, a plan which requires the show to uncover real psychics or psychic events.

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.

The story starts in the devastated rogue city of Yokohama, surrounded by rubble. After Milly killed Jack, the main villain from the first movie, and finally satisfied her thirst for revenge for the deaths of her husband and child, she seems to be on safe ground for the moment. But just as she starts to relax, she is targeted by strange guys. They are here to avenge Jack's death.

Mei has been in love with Yuya all her life. They've grown up together. But when they reach their second year of middle school, Yuya suddenly professes his love for her older sister, Haruna.

Yamashita Takako works in the food section of a department store. She pays frequent visits to a reputable local Chinese restaurant about opening an in-store branch. The owner of the restaurant, Wang Qingkuo from Shanghai, who does all the cooking by himself, gives Takako the brush-off. One day, however, Wang collapses due to overwork, and is left with partial paralysis. Hearing the rumor of the restaurant’s closure, Takako resigns from the department store and becomes an apprentice to Wang.

Aki, who loves freedom, mets Masaya, an aspiring watchmaker. The two have opposite personalities and initially clash. The two reach better terms when Masaya is able to see Akis inner pain. Eventually, Masaya uncovers Akis sad past which was supposed to be held secret from everyone.

Young Furuhata, a 3rd-year junior high student from Tokyo, transferred to a school in the countryside due to family circumstances. He doesn't fit in at first, but he eventually gains a reputation as a detective and opens his own detective agency. One day, he hears about the town's legend of buried treasure, and he immediately begins unraveling the mystery.

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.

A hustler who gets in trouble with a gang boss in the port town of Sukago agrees to make good with the don by putting him in contact with a mysterious hitman — an assassin the hustler has no idea how to contact. Instead, he hires an actor to play the role, though the thespian has no idea what he's getting into.

After the Akizuku clan fall in defeat to rival clan Yamana, Princess Yuki (Nagasawa Masami) and general Rokurota (Hiroshi Abe), take cover in a hidden fortress, along with their clan and gold treasury. Fortuitously stumbling into the hideaways, brash young miner Takezo (Matsumoto Jun) and his bumbling sidekick Shinhachi (Miyagawa Daiuske) hatch a daring plan to help transport the gold out of enemy terrain - in exchange for a share of the stash, of course. With assassins hot in pursuit, Yuki disguises as a male and ventures into the real world with Rukurota and her peasant companions, getting her first taste of danger, toil, and budding romance with the strong-minded and willful Takezo.

Kenzo and his high school friends live in anguish, believing that there is something that sets them apart from everybody else.

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...

The Story of the 1 Litre of Tears special takes place after the events in the main drama. The Special takes the view of Asou Haruto who is remembering life the way it used to be before the events of the last episode of the series.

A cadre of backup dancers is left astray when their star singer moves on with her life and marriage. They each had their own ambition and hope, which subconsciously rested on the star power of the singer. When plan A does not work, they cling to plan B. When that does not work, in an act of desperation, they are assigned to plan C by their agency. A fight and unprofessionalism seems to put the Backdancers on permanent ice.

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.

Only three days before their high school festival, guitarist Kei, drummer Kyoko, and bassist Nozomi are forced to recruit a new lead vocalist for their band. They choose Korean exchange student Son, though her comprehension of Japanese is a bit rough! It's a race against time as the group struggles to learn three tunes for the festival's rock concert—including a classic '80s punk-pop song by the Japanese group The Blue Hearts called "Linda Linda".

Ichigo no kakera deals with a female manga artist Ichigo Nekoda (Miyazawa), whose career is heading into a downward spiral as she can't reinvent the success of her 12 year old hit the Cherry Road. Now in her early 30's she's become quite fond of alcohol and egoism to some annoyance of her loyal manager Tomoko (Kajiwara), who isn't willing to leave her side even though the financial strains of her client are also becoming her personal burdens. Ichigo still gets greeted by her female fans and willingly signs autographs, but getting praised for work that she's done over a decade ago doesn't digest as smoothly as one would assume. Her on and off man, who happens to also be her editor steers toward the off days more than usual as he also grows tired of Ichigo's uninspired ways. But when the going gets tough, Ichigo heads down to a transvestite bar where she's more than welcomed with words of wisdom and a few hard drinks.

2004 film

Hanatani Village in the valley of Tokushima Prefecture is going to be submerged when a dam is constructed. In order to preserve the beauty of the place for future generations, the villagers decide to take photographs of all the families in the village. Kenichi, the only photographer in the village, is put in charge of the project. He calls his son Takashi, an aspiring photographer, to help him with the task. Takashi is puzzled since his father and he are not at all close, but as they visit each family in turn and Takashi sees his father working, Takashi's feelings towards his father begin to change.

Sequel to the 2002 film Pika*nchi Life Is Hard Dakedo Happy, starring members of boy band Arashi.

Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Summer in 1945" (literally "A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima") is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan's surrender ending WWII. Striking a welcome retro note in its languid pacing and delicate handling of seriocomic ensemble threads, handsome production is a natural for fests. It might also prove a cornerstone for retrospectives or ancillary releases of works by a helmer ("Preparation of the Festival," "Ronin-gai") who's long been appreciated at home but has won just limited attention abroad.

When radicals from Japan's Red Army took a woman hostage in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano in 1972, Officer Atsuyuki Sassa was put in charge of diffusing the situation. But the task had its challenges. Upon arriving in mountainous Nagano, Sassa had to compete with freezing winter temperatures, conflicting opinions between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Nagano Prefectural Police, as well as public opinion to gain entrance to the lodge that held the single woman captive.

A four-part anthology in the spirit of The Twilight Zone, this film starts off with a group of commuters stranded at a train station in the rain, listening to stories told by one of the group. These include tales of a group stranded in the mountains and haunted by guilt over a death they inadvertantly caused, an emotionally broken chessmaster pressed into playing a real-life game for an eccentric millionaire, a wandering medieval samurai who finds a modern-day cell phone on the ground and a person on the other end asking questions about the past, and a young couple who agree to try a computer simulation of what their future as husband and wife would be like.

Three bank robbers, who declare themselves to be Space Travelers, take six persons as hostages when they are surrounded by the police. Among the hostages, there is a terrorist with a hidden bomb. In order to escape, the robbers ask the hostages to pretend to be part of the gang. Surprisingly, the hostages soon enjoy doing so. On that strange day, the bank becomes a tropical paradise...

Matsuzaki, who gets critically injured after a sketchy deal, is taken by his girlfriend to a church where it is rumored that miracles happen. There, they find strange twins named Pinoko. With Pinoko's guidance, Matsuzaki is saved by a genius surgeon, BJ, in exchange for exorbitant fees. However, Matsuzaki is captured by the police. Meanwhile, Reiko, a female detective who pursues Matsuzaki and other organizations, tries to solve a mystery by conducting an independent investigation. It turns out Matsuzaki was found dead.

Three apparently unrelated suicides occur on the same day in Tokyo. One involves a young athlete, one a groom at his wedding reception, and the third an elderly man celebrating his wife's birthday. A middle aged detective investigating one of the cases begins to suspect a connection between the three when he discovers that each person mentioned a "green monkey" before they died. With the help of a young psychiatrist he formulates the theory that hypnosis is somehow involved. In the mean time other bizarre "suicides" are reported and the mystery intensifies. Who will be next? What is the truth? Can more deaths be prevented?

Hatano is living as an insomniac freelance typesetter alone in his bayside apartment. One day, Aikawa, a high school classmate he hasn’t seen in over ten years, shows up on his doorstep bearing a bag of clams. Though he claims to be the director of a fast-growing trading company, Aikawa crashes on Hatano’s couch for days on end. When the sleeping pills he was offered produce a strange side effect, Hatano is slowly dragged into Aikawa’s con-artist lifestyle. Soon afterward, they cross paths with the representative of a big-name publishing company and Aikawa’s ultimate scam begins to unfold.