Yôichi Numata

A new documentary on director Nobuo Nakagawa and the making of the film, Jigoku. Featuring exclusive interview with Nakagawa collaborators.

500年に及ぶ鎖国政策が続けられているその国 建御雷家の末裔である若く美しい娘・雪は、あらゆる感情を抑圧し、冷徹に人を殺す刺客として育てられてきた。ある日、空暇と名乗る老人から雪の母・亞空を殺した人物が建御雷家の首領・白雷だと知らされ、反旗を翻す。ところが、返り討ちに合い重傷を負った彼女は、反政府組織の活動家である隆に助けられ、彼との生活の中で、次第に人間らしい感情を取り戻していく。しかし、執拗な追手はすぐそこまで迫っていた。白雷と壮絶な戦いの中、翻弄される雪の運命は――。

・事件・から一週間、井戸の中から発見された貞子の死体が解剖された。ところが、30年前に殺された筈の彼女の遺体は、解剖の結果、少なくとも死後1年ないし2年しか経っていないことが判明する。すると、貞子は30年近く井戸の中で生きていたことになる！　遺体の身元確認にやってきた貞子の母・志津子の従弟・山村敬は、思わず貞子の怨念のすさまじさに戦慄を覚えるのだった。

某テレビ局のディレクターである浅川玲子は、都市伝説にまつわる取材の中で、見た者を1週間後に死に至らしめる「呪いのビデオ」に関わったと噂される男女が、数日前に奇怪な死を遂げた自分の姪、大石智子と同日の同時刻に死亡していることに気づく。調査を進めた玲子は、同時に死んだ智子たち4人の間には交友関係があり、彼らが1週間前に伊豆の貸し別荘「伊豆パシフィックランド」に宿泊していたこと、そしてその際に撮影されたフィルム写真上の4人の顔が不気味に歪んでいることに着目する。彼らの死の謎を突きとめようとして問題の貸し別荘を訪れた玲子は、そこで貸出されていた不審なビデオの映像を見てしまい、直後に不気味な無言電話を受け取る。これを境に、玲子自身の写真もまた死んだ4人と同様に歪んだ顔で写るようになってしまう。

A group of Japanese tourists try to forget their pasts and find themselves in India.

Second live action "Barefoot Gen" sequel.

Set in Japan's Tenpyou era (729-749 CE), four young monks are sent to China to study Buddhism and bring a high priest back to Japan with them. The film tells the tale of the four monks' youth and the life and times of the high priest Ganjin.

Shihomi Etsuko plays a race car driver who also lends out her services to the Japanese Secret Service. Although there really isn't much of a "chase" to be seen, Shihomi does pursue a cartel of drug runners and assorted Japanese yakuza types. While the story is pure 70's exploitation and gritty crime drama, the best reason to see it is for the Martial Arts Action of Etsuko Shihomi. The action is over-the-top and at times hilarious (i.e. Shihomi battling the lead criminal atop a moving gondola or Shihomi battling a whip-wielding Catholic Nun).

The Bohachi Clan, the most vile, corrupt organization with ties deep in the Shogunate, have controlled the flesh trade in Japan for generations. When threatened by a competitor, they employ Saburai, a nihilistic ronin on the verge of self destruction. Blood gushes and limbs fly for anyone who stands against Saburai as he instills the Way of the Bohachi.

In Part I we see the young would-be swordsman setting out to achieve greatness in war, achieving nothing because fighting on the losing side, & then beginning his long period of wandering & training, with the goal always in mind of his duel with Kojiro. Part II builds toward that great duel on Ganryu Island, with considerable focus on Musashi's planning & forethought as to how to gain an advantage.

With her first love that unfolded in the battlefield in her heart, and with a short sword and a pillbox as her weapons, female gambler Okatsu the Tiger Lily travels from gambling site to gambling site. Surrounding her are Omon, an outlaw star blind lone gambler; Onaka, a thief who’s after Okatsu to avenge her father’s death; Ohide, a tattoo artist whose back is covered by a dragon tattoo; and Oryu, a young girl sold as a prostitute to a gambling family.

女子刑務所からの脱走を企てたナミと由紀子だったが、二人のもくろみは失敗に終わる。ナミは刑事の杉見と恋人同士だったが、麻薬のおとり捜査に使われた上、杉見に裏切られてしまった。ナミは復讐のため杉見を襲うが、逆に逮捕されてしまったのだ。ナミは刑務所で他の女囚から嫌われていたが、唯一、由紀子とだけは親しかった。ある日、刑務所で暴動が起こり、由紀子が射殺されてしまう。

Ninkyo with Hideki Takahashi.

A story of lone wolf struggling with human compassion and duty.

The seventh chapter of the stunning Hibotan Bakuto series. Many years have passed since Oryu the Red Peony began her soul-searching journey after her father was killed. In her travels, she meets villagers whose crops and livelihoods are being destroyed by pollution from a local factory. They seem to work out an agreement, but Oryu must help the poor villagers when the greedy factory owner and corrupt politicians betray them…

Superbly entertaining action comedy with Tomisaburo Wakayama as Kuriyama Capone who learned his trade under Al Capone in Chicago. The film follows his first venture to Japan with gangster brothers Frank (Shingo Yamashiro) and Joe (Fumio Watanabe). And being chased by gangster and the FBI, including the granddaughter of Eliot Ness. The whole thing is a good amount of fun, the performances especially (Wakayama, Yamashiro, Watanabe in a rare heroic role), making this one of routine director Takashi Harada’s best pictures.

Oryu searches for blind child she left behind and get involved in a Yakuza turf war that takes place in the Tokyo Theater.

Okatsu the Fugitive is the third film in the "Ohyaku/Okatsu" series. Okatsu; a "tomboy" who is good with a sword. Her father has found her a man to marry and actually she doesn't seem too upset about the situation. At the same time, a bunch of farmers are being slaughtered by a corrupt group running a tobacco smuggling ring. They're being investigated by a man who is documenting their crimes and when they find out about it, they torture him for information but get none. It's not long before he and Okatsu's mother wind up dead and she sets out for revenge.

A young female samurai comes upon a dying messenger and agrees to deliver the scroll he was carrying to its destination. However, unbeknownst to her, the scroll is actually a formula for a new kind of gunpowder. An evil clan that is planning to overthrow the Emperor is also after the scroll, and they try to take it from her.

When Honjo is selected as Kansai district's chairman, Iwasa of the rival gang asks Itsuki to do everything possible to have Honjo step down, which puts Itsuki between a rock and a hard place.

Film with Junko Miyazono.

Dr. Mikami is an elderly somewhat clumsy, very popular therapist, his patients turn to him with all possible and impossible questions. Because Dr. Mikami's specialty is sexual clarification... The world's best-selling sex literature was filmed here in a manner close to the original. And the openness of the image shows the shocking conflicts of young people in scenes that were never filmed. Shocking documents about sex life from the doctor's office.

A portrait of a man trying to become an artist in order to escape from his life as a miserable peasant due to severe annual tribute during the reign of the fifth Tokugawa Shogun Tsunayoshi.

Nabeshima Naoshige murders his lord, Ryuzoji Takafusa, seeking to gain power and steal his Lord’s wife. To avoid her fate, Lady Takafusa drowns herself along with her cat in a nearby marsh. A decade later, Naoshige’s efforts to steal another woman trigger a curse on him when she also commits suicide at the same marsh — forcing him to suffer the consequences of his past actions.

Tokyo, 1934. The boss of the clan that controls gambling agonizes and some of his followers propose to Nakai to take his place, but he refuses the offer and suggests they choose Matsuda, who is in prison. Other clan members oppose and Ishido is elected. When Matsuda is freed, he doesn't accept this decision.

Inosuke, a former gangster, and his friends struggle to make a living as simple fishermen in this tale of chivalry and friendship among yakuza in the northern regions.

Bungo is released from prison to find his son Kenichi in the care of strangers. Teruko, the woman originally looking after the boy, was forced to leave town and sell herself into prostitution. Bungo and Kenichi, in their search for Teruko, arrive in a new place and find work running a peddling stall for the upright Tatsumaki family. However, the drifting father and son soon find themselves caught up in a struggle for territory. Boss Negishi, the head of the yakuza family responsible for the death of the former Tatsumaki leader, will stop at nothing to take over the marketplace. Sickened by the injustice, Bungo takes on the rival boss knowing it might cost him his newly acquired freedom..

A teenage boy discovers that the planet Icarus is on a collision course with Earth by gazing through his telescope. Scoffed at by the scientific establishment, the boy is kidnapped and brought to a secret UN base in the Japan alps. He is immediately inducted into the secret program whose mission is to finish the Super-Destruction Beam cannon and destroy Icarus. The cannon is missing a special mineral for the lens. The team heads for a mysterious island in the middle of the Pacific. There they find ancient ruins of Atlantis but they are suddenly attacked by a strange drill shaped metal squid spaceship. It's commanded by the evil being Nazu who has engineered the collision with Icarus! He doesn't want to share the universe with humans and he really doesn't want the cannon finished. The action is on and the team discovers the Golden Bat who has been asleep for over 10,000 years awaiting this very moment to save the earth!

Japanese mystery film directed by Michiyoshi Doi.

Live-action adaptation of Ko Kojima's manga "Sennin buraku".

The story is of two people. One is deaf, the other deaf and mute. They marry after meeting at a school reunion, and the film follows their trials and tribulations ... and joys.

Third and last "Maboroshi tantei" film, based on the manga by Jiro Kuwata.

Second "Maboroshi tantei" film, based on the manga by Jiro Kuwata.

Japanese film about a juvenile delinquent who becomes a part of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.

仏教系の大学に通う清水四郎は、恩師の矢島教授の下で彼の一人娘の幸子と婚約していたが、謎めいた笑みを浮かべる同窓の田村がしつこくつきまとってくるため、彼の誘惑から逃れようとして逆に次々と罪を重ねていく。まもなく、幸子を自動車事故で亡くしてしまった四郎は実家へ戻るが、そこに住む画家の谷口円斎の娘で幸子にそっくりなサチ子と恋に落ちる。しかし、田村に加えて四郎に轢き逃げされたヤクザの志賀恭一の情婦が復讐しようと後を追ってきたため、四郎は吊り橋でもみ合っているうちに2人を殺害してしまう。 その晩、四郎の父の剛造が経営する老人ホーム「天上園」の創立十周年記念パーティーでは集団食中毒が発生し、入所老人たちが全員死亡。更に復讐にやってきた志賀の母が酒に毒を盛ったことで、四郎も剛造もすべての人間が悶死する。死の間際、地獄へ落ちる幻想を見た四郎は、そこで会った幸子の霊から彼女が四郎の子を身ごもっていたことや、その子も水子になって地獄へ落ちていることを告げられる。四郎は我が子を見つけるべく、八大地獄の修羅場をさまようのだった。

Two lovers lost in the mountains. In what direction do not go, they find themselves in a mysterious forest pond, as if some kind of force does not want to let them go. Once upon a time, over a century ago, there had been a crime, whose shadow still hovers over these places.

Japanese spy film.

Japanese war film.

From the king of Japanese exploitation films comes a criminal drama told in a semi-documentary fashion. The murder of the chief official of Kobe city's Customs triggers an investigation of a prostitution ring called the 'Yellow Line' that sells Japanese women. A hired assasin is betrayed by his organization, and kidnaps a woman who happens to be the girlfriend of a newspaper reporter.

During the naval battle of Midway in WWII, the battleship Mutsu was in its home port in Japan. The ship's officers and crew were frustrated at not being able to take part in the fighting. They had been held back by orders from the Naval Ministry, but there was also a plot by saboteurs, who were trying to prevent the sailing of the Mutsu. Director Komori developed a suspenseful plot by including a fictional adaptation of the Russian spy Richard Sorge, who had been captured in Japan and subsequently executed. Komori brings a fictional Russian spy to the screen by portraying him as a military attaché at the German embassy. As Germany was an ally of Japan in WWII, a secret agent being a mole in the German embassy is a perfect cover. The interaction of the saboteurs and the officers and crew of the Mutsu make an exciting story.

Arrested for the murder of her wealthy businessman father, convicted on false evidence and sentenced to death, Kyoko is determined to prove her innocence.

Japanese thriller.

In January 1904, the situation between Japan and Russia had grown tense. The Emperor Meiji is deeply concerned, for Russia has started to build an invincible fortress at Port Arthur, and the relations between two countries have become strained to breaking point. General Nogi has retired to the first reserve and is now a gentleman farmer, but he is prepared for sudden mobilization. Finally, Japan declares war against Russia and Emperor Meiji appoints General Nogi as the commander of the force to attack Port Arthur. However, in spite of several all-out attacks, the fortress is strong and the casualties increase among the Japanese. Because of these reverses, there are loud cries for a change in command. However, the Emperor places his confidence in General Nogi.

三原葉子のセクシーシーンが話題となった猟奇活劇。岩手県北上川上流の白山村。ここで十年に一度行われる"火づくり祭り"には、秘密があった。祭りのたびに、名高い"舞草の名刀"を生娘の生き血を用いて鍛えていたのだ。

The treasures of the Aoyamas were buried at the bottom of the sea when a large earthquake occurred years before. Yumi Aoyama is the only person who knows the location, but her family dies one after another through curious incidents, as if the family were under a curse. Yumi is surprised by the ghost of a dead sister who looks the same as the grim figure who jumped into the old well alter stabbing herself with a sword. Fearful that a similar fate awaits her, Yumi seeks the help of her friend Kyoko. Later the ghost appears before Kyoko and her fiancé, Detective Nonomiya. In a haunted cave, Kyoko and Yumi are in deadly peril from those who seek treasures of the Aoyamas.

Japanese crime film

In 1941, overpopulated Japan faces an economic boycott and its armed forces push further to the south. And despite negotiations between Japan and the U. S. A. war is declared with the attack on Pearl Harbour. Victories follow for Japan on land and sea and her forces push forward to the borders of India. But gradually the tide turns in favour of the Allies and after the atom bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan is compelled to accept the Potsdam Declaration and by the order of the Emperor agrees to unconditional surrender. Under the supervision of the occupation forces the International Military Tribunal opens in Tokyo to try the Japanese war leaders. Established in the cause of justice, and to prevent future aggressive wars the trials drag on for two and a half years. And on December 23, 1948, General Tojo and six other war leaders mount the thirteen steps to the gallows at Tokyo's Sugamo prison.

Nude models are being brutally murdered one after another. Is the painter with the dark sunglasses really the killer?

Japanese crime film.

Harada Kai, the Date clan's Chamberlain attempts to take power from the lord himself.

1957 crime film

Meiji Tenno portrayed the ramp up to the Russo-Japan War. In addition to showing the political events that led to war, it also showed the era from the story of a farm family in rural Japan who sent their son off to war. As such, it could be considered an anti-war movie, showing how, while war is devised by governments, the people do not really understand what war is, and it's combatants often do not know what they are fighting for.

In this Golden Globe winner for Best Foreign-Language Film, director Heinosuke Gosho -- a master chronicler of Japanese middle-class life -- presents the story of Kiyoshi Yoshida (Koji Shitara), who feels estranged from both parents after his father returns from war. How the boy adapts to life with the virtual stranger his father has become is the film's focus. Chikage Awashima, Yûnosuke Itô and Yoshiko Kuga also star.

An exciting historical drama in which a beautiful woman secretly solves the family problems of the Owari clan. Hibari Misora plays two roles: a charming princess and a dashing youngster, performs songs and dances throughout the film until the big decisive battle.

It is a sport film about cycling.

Ryutaro is a spy employed by the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, who is the target of assassination attempts that aim to hand power over to his younger brother Tadanaga. Before learning of these plots, Ryutaro discovers himself in a predicament of his own when he rushes to the defence of a local girl who is caught between her boyfriend and a greedy businessman. The situation results in many violent one-on-one skirmishes between Ryutaro and the businessman’s many samurai defendants, one of whom enigmatically refuses to reveal his face or use more than just the one hand. Before long, Ryutaro’s top priority is not protecting Iemitsu as it should be, but rather unearthing the true identity of the mystery samurai.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto leads the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy to defeat the American Fleet.

Japanese youth film about kendo.

Japanese drama.

An Ishiro Honda Film.

Japanese sports comedy film about kendo.

A movie that depicts the tragic fate of many Yokaren flight-academy pilots.

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.

Atsuko is an office secretary who is also her family's primary source of income and caretaker in postwar Japan.

Five women classmates from a college in Tokyo are on the first stretch of a walking tour when one of them, Masako, falls ill at a railway station. Osen, a middle-aged maid from a nearby inn, takes her in and nurses her, assisted by Dr. Minami, a young physician who diagnoses her illness as a mild case of pneumonia. With Masako in good hands and needing a few days to recuperate, her classmates continue their tour. Masako’s recovery, however, is hampered by her spoiled and immature nature and her determination to punish the world for the loss of her mother.

The Stormy Era of Twenty Years

This film is strongly anti-war film. The film is based on the collection of writings by Japanese student soldiers who died during World War II. The film is located to Burma. It shows the everyday problems of soldiers in contrast of their ideas and the cynicism of their commanders. Soldiers are also victims of military bullying by their commanders.

Kindaichi challenges the mystery of an incident in which three sisters were killed one after the other according to an ancient tradition on an isolated island in the Seto Inland Sea. Kosuke Kindaichi received a will from his friend Kito, which said, "Go to Gokumon Island to save my three younger sisters," and Kosuke went to Gokumon Island. Upon arriving at the residence of Quito, there were three beautiful sisters, a crazy father, a cousin of Sanae, and Kosuke plunged into a strange atmosphere. The film adaptation of the masterpiece novel of the same name by Seishi Yokomizo. Kyozo Kataoka plays Detective Kosuke Kindaichi, and Ryutaro Otomo plays Inspector Isokawa, who can be called Kindaichi's best partner.

The stage director Shimamura, who is bringing western theatre to Japan, falls in love with the outspoken actress Sumako Matsui, and leaves his family to be with her, while trying to keep his Art Theatre solvent.