Masashige Narusawa

Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (Aru eiga-kantoku no shogai) is a 1975 Japanese documentary film on the life and works of director Kenji Mizoguchi, directed by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba). It runs 150 minutes and can be found on the second disc of the Region 1 Criterion Collection release of Ugetsu (1953).

Emika has been raised by her aunt Ineko, who runs a high-class club in Akasaka. Ineko is backed by Ohashi, a political mastermind, but at the same time, she gives money to Riki, a young aspiring photographer, and has a relationship with him. Riki gets to know Emika and falls in love with her at first sight. When Riki asks Ineko for money to buy a car, Ineko sells Emika's virginity to Ohashi.

Japanese “kayo” film based on the song by "Namida koi" by Aki Yashiro.

Poor Yoko knows she is getting played and used by a playboy, but she loves him with all her heart and soul.

Two boys and two girls become acquainted and fall in love.

A story about club hostesses in Osaka.

横浜育ちで表参道のマンションに住む元秘書のりん子は貿易会社社長・野呂の世話を受けている。恐妻家の野呂はランチタイムだけ顔を見せていた。野呂の息子・勝行は父の行動に疑いを抱いて尾行し、父の妾がりん子だと知る。勝行は以前りん子に密かに想いを寄せていたのだ。だが、勝行と立ち寄った小料理屋で知り合った船員姿の俊夫と出会い、勝行を店に残して浮気をしてしまう。横浜で育ったりん子は船員姿に弱かったのだ。数日後、ゴーゴー喫茶に出かけたりん子はアフリカに行ったはずの俊夫と再会する。実は、俊夫は自動車のセールスマンだったのだ…。

Love-hate drama of three beautiful sisters in Ooku in Edo Castle.

クラブのボーイ・渉は夜の世界を巧みに泳ぐプレイボーイ。洗練された容貌にものをいわせ、口からでまかせ、女を口説く憎めない男だが、渉にいれあげる女も多かった。「千人斬り」を目指す野長瀬社長はスナックで知り合った千津子を口説いていたが、ドライな千津子は誘いを巧みにかわしていた。そんな千津子をみた渉は自らも交際を迫るがあっさり振られてしまう。だが、一度や二度で振られて引き下がる渉ではない。千津子を強引に誘い出すことに成功するのだが…。

A detective tries to outwit a jewel thief who has kidnapped the daughter of a jeweler to get to an exquisite diamond.

A samurai kills a blind man who tells him to repay his debts. Because of the samurai's actions his entire family is to bear a terrible curse.

Jiro, a smooth-talking, womanizing bartender, flees from a Yakuza boss to Yanagase.

An absolutely astonishing art house ninkyo yakuza film. Wandering gambler runs into a young swindler woman working with old man. They are both arrested by detective. A year later gambler is staying with gangster boss when he comes across that woman and her partner again. Boss lusts for both her and his own daughter, while the boss's crazy yakuza brother loves his daughter, who, in turn, watches the player and wants to destroy the people standing in her way. And here lies one of the film's remarkable departures from the standard ninkyo efforts: it doesn't have a third party villain, nor a clear distinction between good and evil. It's bursting with romantic emotion and wrenched with gritty realism, shot with striking black and white compositions, and explodes into shocking carnage. It has lengthier, more detailed gambling scenes than any other yakuza film I've seen. And it has a heartbreakingly beautiful score. You could call it the Ashes of Time of ninkyo yakuza films. A masterpiece!

An absolutely astonishing art house ninkyo yakuza film. Wandering gambler runs into a young swindler woman working with old man. They are both arrested by detective. A year later gambler is staying with gangster boss when he comes across that woman and her partner again. Boss lusts for both her and his own daughter, while the boss's crazy yakuza brother loves his daughter, who, in turn, watches the player and wants to destroy the people standing in her way. And here lies one of the film's remarkable departures from the standard ninkyo efforts: it doesn't have a third party villain, nor a clear distinction between good and evil. It's bursting with romantic emotion and wrenched with gritty realism, shot with striking black and white compositions, and explodes into shocking carnage. It has lengthier, more detailed gambling scenes than any other yakuza film I've seen. And it has a heartbreakingly beautiful score. You could call it the Ashes of Time of ninkyo yakuza films. A masterpiece!

Otama, daughter of a poor candy vendor, becomes the mistress of a man whom she believes to be a widower and owner of a prosperous dry goods store. The man is in fact married with children, and is a despised loan shark who takes money from the poor without qualms. Totally enraptured with Otama, this usurer establishes her and her father in separate houses and generously gives them gifts including silk taken as interest from Oshige, a poor cloth dealer who does business with the sewing teacher, Otama's neighbor. Otama's satisfaction with her situation gradually crumbles as she discovers the truth about her benefactor.

A playboy bartender pretends to be gay in order to approach women. He is in cahoots with another opportunist, a young woman who is trying to seduce a rich married man. Their attempts at making easy money can only end tragically.

Ken Watanabe, a young man from Tokyo, comes to the great plains of Rumo, Hokkaido to see his hometown with his own eyes. Ken, who was entangled in this land's boss Samejima and collapsed, was rescued by Shingo Kazama, a mountain man who works at the quarry. Samejima, who doesn't like Shingo, tries to interfere with Shingo's work...

A young bartender acts as a pimp on the side: he pretends to have VD to get a girl an abortion. She is actually infected by another and plans her revenge.

During the war a university professor meets a girl and marries her. Very soon however, it is apparent that their needs are not matched. He would much rather be translating Shakespeare than attending to her, and she has a secret in her past - one that results in her sleeping with a great number of men.

日本人の心をゆり動かし、幾多の名作を世におくり出した、長谷川伸の傑作股旅文学の映画化。顔に大きな刀傷、生き別れの妹を探して旅から旅の関の彌太ッぺ。旅の途中、ふとしたことで助けた、親を失くした一人ぼっちの少女に妹の面影を見い出した。...そして10年。再会した少女は美しい娘に成長していた。

The sexual experiences of the passionate Sakiko, from her fling with her boss in her first job to her ending up as a prostitute.

The sexual experiences of the passionate Sakiko, from her fling with her boss in her first job to her ending up as a prostitute.

The basic story in Love under the Crucifix is about Ogin, daughter of a tea master, who are both Christians in feudal Japan. Ogin falls in love with a feudal prince, also a Christian who is already married, and that creates problems. Further, when the Shogun bans Christianity, the situation worsens.

A touching story about a young boy, Genta, who bravely takes on life's challenges in hopes of finding a better life for himself and his sickly mother.

Katsujiro the fisherman overcomes his laziness when he learns of his younger sister Okiku’s unfortunate fate. Nakamura Kinnosuke stars in two roles (Katsugoro and Aoyama Harima) in this film about the tragic nature of society in the late Edo period.

In this first episode, we are introduced to Takezo, what Musashi used to be before he became the man of legend. His beginning are not exactly auspicious. He sides with the Toyotomi at Sekigahara, and as a result finds himself on the losing side of the historic battle. He and his friend Matahachi manage to escape the slaughter although the latter is wounded in his leg. They stumble across the young Akemi who makes her living with her mother Oko by robbing corpses of their armor and anything else they can sell. Oko takes it into her head to seduce Matahachi, which she does first by skillfully sucking the gangrene from his blood, and then just by sucking.

When master swordsman Mikogami Genshiro of the Ono fencing school returns to find that his ailing sensei has been murdered in the dead of night, he must find the culprit and exact revenge. His return sets off a series of violent incidents and incites a high ranked female skilled in sword to test his mettle after he unwittingly offends her. The ever delightful Misora Hibari co-stars with the great Tsuruta Koji in this exciting tale set in the earliest days of the Tokugawa shogunate. Lots of exciting swordfights highlight this entertaining motion picture!

The adopted son of an Osaka courier falls in love with a prostitute and, discovering that she is about to be purchased by a client, steals money from his employer to redeem her. Hunted criminals, the two young lovers take flight to Yamato, but, as in Chikamatsu's other domestic tragedies of love and duty (known as sewamono), they must be pursued and their passion destroyed by death. Favourite Uchida themes, such as the indenturing of a prostitute (cf. YOSHIWARA; A BLOODY SPEAR AT MT. FUJI), and his characteristic emphasis on performance and theatrical artifice re-emerge here; but the daring device of having Chikamatsu appear as a character - not unlike having Shakespeare interpolated into a film adaptation of one of his plays - is just one of many surprises this remarkable film holds. “Extraordinary” (Donald Richie).

From an original story by Shibata Renzaburo, the novelist who created such classics as: the "Nemuri Kyoshiro" series (Son of the Black Mass), "Destiny’s Son" etc. comes the complex story exploring the mystery behind why Ino Morimasa betrayed his sworn brother Ishida Mitsunari, thus leading to the defeat of the Toyotomi at the Battle of Sekigahara. Starring Nakamura Kinnosuke in one of the strongest performances of his career as Ino's estranged son seeking justice. Originally known as "The Forbidden Castle".

A chance meeting between two traveling gamblers leads to a case of mistaken identity when the farmers transporting gold to the governor think they are about to be robbed as the two gamblers face off against each other swords in hand.

Based on the original work by Shuji Hojo, Itohan Monogatari depicts the fate of a clumsy and kind-hearted woman in the Taisho era.

赤線地帯にある特殊飲食店「夢の里」の主人は、国会に上程されている売春禁止法案が可決されたら売春婦はみな投獄されると、女たちを慌てさせる。より江はなじみ客と結婚するが、夫婦生活が破綻し舞い戻ってきた。一人息子のために働くゆめ子だったが、その息子から縁を切られ発狂してしまった。やすみは自分に貢いでくれた客に殺されかけた。ラジオが売春禁止法案の否決を伝えると、「夢の里」は再び客の呼び込みを始めた。そしてそこには、店を辞めたやすみに代わり、下働きだったしず子の姿があった。

The story of Yoshinaka during the tumultuous period of warring related to us in the Heike Monogatari. Close in setting to Kinugasa’s famous Gate of Hell (1953).

Special Forces commander Captain Tadamori returns to Kyoto after successfully defeating the uprising of pirates in the western sea of Japan. But because the high courtiers dislike career soldiers gaining power and influence, they ignore the will of ex-Emperor Toba and refuse to reward the captain. Reward recommender Lord Tokinobu is punished, and the captain sends his son Kiyomori to the Lord's residence, where he falls in love with Tokiko, the Lord's daughter. Meanwhile, Kiyomori finds out that he is possibly the ex-Emperor's son... Written by L.H. Wong

In eighth century China, the Emperor is grieving over the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their influence over the court. General An Lushan finds a distant relative working in their kitchen whom they groom to present to the Emperor. The Emperor falls in love with her and she becomes the Princess Yang Kwei-fei. The Yangs are then appointed important ministers, though An Lushan is not given the court position he covets. The ministers misuse their power so much that there is a popular revolt against the Yangs, fueled by An Lushan.

The tragedy of the geiko girl Ume and the men who try to pursue her.

Yukiko's fiance learns her mother runs a geisha house and ends their engagement. She despises what her mother does until one of her clients shows interest and starts to woo her.

A young woman, who must support her father as a middle-aged man's mistress, finds herself falling in love with a student closer to her age.

An Ishiro Honda film.

Drama about a famous one-eyed, one-armed samurai swordsman of the middle of the Tokugawa period by the name of Tange Sazen. By chance, Tange gets an old pot in which the secret of the treasure of 1000000 ryos of gold is hidden. However, a bunch of different people hunt for the pot and Tange will have to apply his phenomenal fencing skills with the sword.

This early gem starring the great Mifune Toshiro tells the tale of Katakana Yonetaro aka "The Shark," a rough-and-tumble horse trader in Japan's rugged northernmost territory of Hokkaddo.. ...

The fall of an accountant enthralled by the sexual charms of a cabaret dancer.

Adaptation of the original story by Hida Yoshiro, whose depiction of the world of the yakuza is unparalleled. Gisuke, a weather-beaten yakuza with nostalgia and memories of love in his heart.