Seven Samurai

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs pr

Shogun and His Mistress 2

In the year 1786, Shogun Ieharu Tokugawa selected beautiful Ochisa to be his concubine. It causes ot

Red Beard

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed w

Early Spring

A young Tokyo salary man and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship

Stray Dog

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded

I Live in Fear

An aging foundry patriarch, gripped by terror of nuclear annihilation, tries to uproot his family to

Pigs and Battleships

In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occup

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of la

Yojimbo

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival

The Lower Depths

Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an ag

Death of a Tea Master

Years after the death of legendary tea master Rikyu, his disciple Honkakubo attempts to resolve the

High and Low

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s

Heat and Mud

With one million yen in stolen cash, Kurita plans his escape to Hokkaido with an unwilling bar girl

Jinsei Gekijo: dai ichi bu

Part one of Shin Saburi's Theater of Life adaptation.

Good Morning

A lighthearted take on director Yasujiro Ozu’s perennial theme of the challenges of inter­generation

Rinchi

Japanese noir.

Untamed Woman

A woman marries, gives birth to a stillborn child, and divorces, falls in love with a hotel-keeper,

Lady Sen and Hideyori

From the late 1500's through the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate many battles were fought as the

Pale Flower

A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gan

Yasubei Nakayama

Jidai-geki about the life of Yasubei Nakayama, a famous ronin who did participate in the revenge aga

Shimizu Port Salaryman Part II

1962 Japanese movie

Beauty and the Thief

The picture belongs to the jidai gekki (historic) genre. It is a powerful story of violence and erot

Farewell to Spring

Bittersweet shomin-geki drama by Keigo Kimura

Hunter in the Dark

Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gom

Musume to watashi

Kill!

A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved

Shimizu Port Salaryman

Sword of the Beast

Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-leve

Seinen no isu

1962 Japanese movie

Tokyo Story

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to v

Shinobi no Mono 2: Vengeance

[Period covered: 1582-1594]. As the film opens, the warlod Nobunaga Oda rides to Iga Ayanokuni shrin

Foundry Town

Set in Kawaguchi in the early 60s, this simple story chronicles the lives of foundry families and on

A Man from Akagi

The Great Wall

In 221 BC, Qin Shihuangdi conquered the rest of China. Qin's great accomplishments and also his seri

Hiroba no kōdoku

Based on the novel by Yoshie Hotta

Dynamite Doctor

Film by director Kenji Misumi

Zoku Sasaki Kojiro

1951 Japanese movie

Horus: Prince of the Sun

Young Horus lives in a mythical Scandinavia of the Iron Age. Recovering the stolen Sword of the Sun

Zatoichi's Cane Sword

Zatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Z

Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai

After a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he recounts his gruesome family history which saw gen

The Estuary

Sasaki Kojiro

Director Hiroshi Inagaki's early version of the life and death of famed swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. Ota

The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman

A salaryman's drunken ravings in public attract the attention of journalists who coerce him into tel

The Naked Executive

The executive director of the «Chuo Shoji» company, Hidaka Shiro, is called a "demon of work", but t

Children of Hiroshima

Shows the devastation caused by the atomic bomb, and by use of a fictional storyline, portrays the s

Facing to the Clouds

A rookie newspaper journalist, Takema Sakaki, has a strong sense of justice. In the Diet Building he

Oban kanketsu hen

Ushinosuke returns to Tokyo with new ambitions. Fourth and final part of the film adaptation of Bun

Ôban

A young country boy leaves his village for Tokyo, where he begins to work as a stock trader. First p

Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen

Ushinosuke returns broke to his hometown, where everyone believes he's rich and successful. Part tw

The Bride from Japan

A young Japanese-American comes from California looking for a bride, going on blind dates with three

Samurai Assassin

Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakura

The Last War

A Japanese family is torn apart by the tensions of an avoidable nuclear world war between the superp

Black River

A university student moves into an apartment building and becomes involved with a waitress. The land

Flame of My Love

A woman's struggle for equality in Japan in the 1880s. Eiko Hirayama leaves Okayama for Tokyo, where

Yagyu Secret Scrolls

In the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets wh

I Will Buy You

A talent scout moves sharply, dead-set on signing a promising athlete to the baseball team the Toyko

Morning for the Osone Family

A Japanese family weathers much hardship after their military uncle comes to live with them during W

Twilight Saloon

Set in a tavern, director Tomu Uchida depicts the joys and sorrows of the people who gather there in

The Wild Geese

A young woman, who must support her father as a middle-aged man's mistress, finds herself falling in

Yagyu Secret Scrolls: Ninjitsu - Part II

In the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets wh

Farewell to Dream

A coming-of-age story portrayed as the loss of all youthful illusions. Sixteen-year-old Yoichi dream

The King and His Vassal

This is a story of "Takechiyo," the previous name of Iemitsu Tokunaga, the third Shogun (General). T

The King and His Vassal 2 - The Great Riot of Edo

The fish market is to be moved to Shinagawa, and Tasuke Isshin (Jun Inoue) got in trouble. Hikosaemo

Blood and Sea

The Nami family lives in a quiet fishing village at the tip of the Shima Peninsula overlooking Ago B

Police Precinct: Car 108

Patrol car 108 is on the prowl in Tokyo when it comes across a suspicious small truck. When the poli

Yajikita dōchū sugoroku

1958 Japanese movie

Wild Ducks and Green Onions

The four-member con group, including the intellectual boss Nobukichi Ishiguro (Masayuki Mori), who i

Hayauchi burai - Daiheigen no otoko

The Great White Tower

The story contrasts the life of two doctors, former classmates and now both assistant professors at

Days with Harasu

The movie depicts the interaction between a childless middle-aged couple and a small dog.

The Masterless 47

Part one of The Masterless 47.

Navy

Japanese war film.

The Crimson Plains

The action takes place in the highlands of the Chugoku region. While the owner of the Yazaki ranch i

Dash to the Sun

A song drama based on the autobiographical song "The sun is laughing" by composer Endo Minoru. It te

The Happy-Go-Lucky Guy

A group of four chorus singers leave their hometown in Kyushu and go to Tokyo to become stars. It’s

The Forest Is Alive

Film adaptation of the stage version of Samuil Marshak's "Twelve Months"

Kaze no uchi so to

Les Miserables I: God and the Devil

Les Miserables II: Banner of Love and Freedom

Port of Flowers

The sweet but naive denizens of a charming port town are hoodwinked by a couple of con men at the ou

Freedom School

Minamimura, who had always wanted to be free, suddenly quits his job. His hardworking wife is surpri

Journey to the North

Winter holidays at the university. Eikichi visits a city in the north of the country, the hometown o

Jirocho’s Days of Youth: The Youngest Boss in the Tokai Region

He was married to his lover's butterfly and started a new residence. But good things do not last. In

Mount Hakone

Japanese drama.

Jūdai no seiten

Film directed by Shima Koji and starring Wakao Ayako

風雲児

Yano, a progressive individual who seeks to overcome strength with gentleness and confronts physical

Angkor Wat Story - Beautiful Sadness

A Japanese artist (Ikebe), who had won the favor of the Cambodian royal family when he rescued their

Akitsu Hot Springs

Just after WW2, a romance between an innkeeper and a man with tuberculosis unravels near a thermal s

An Edo Magistrate

When a former artisan is tricked into putting his sister up as collateral for a loan by a gangster b

My Hometown is the Wild West

George Mihara was ordered by his grandfather Tom to go to Japan. The purpose was to deliver a $100,0

The Battle of Okinawa

The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imp

Song of Vengeance

Executive management of a major Tokyo construction company are getting bumped off one after another.

Will to Conquer

The struggles of a low-ranking samurai (Nakamura) coming to terms with the end of the Tokugawa shogu

Four and A Half Mats

Fukazawa Shino is a prostitute in the late Meiji period. Shino was deceived by Tatsukichi and sold.

Ginza Cosmetics

A luckless geisha struggles to make a living for herself and her young son.

Monument to the Girl's Corps

In 1943, critical developments in the Pacific War have placed Japan at a disadvantage, although the

Buddha

An Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six years

One Thousand Ryo Ship in the Wind and Clouds

1952 Japanese movie

A Carpenter and Children

A carpenter, Shigetsugu, learns a lesson of love and humanity from five orphaned children and an aff

Undercurrent

In Kyoto a young kimono maker with traditional ideas gets involved with a married professor.

Here Is a Spring

The story of a group of young people who organise their own travelling symphony orchestra to provide

Policeman's Diary

Lending money, job hunting for civilians and babysitting. All these things are usually not listed on

The Wolves

A group of five rookie insurance salespersons, driven to desperation by the impossibility of their w

A Grain of Wheat

The film depicts a group of boys and girls who graduate from a local junior high school and head to

Run, Genta, Run!

A touching story about a young boy, Genta, who bravely takes on life's challenges in hopes of findin

Illusion of Blood

The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.

The Vampire Moth

The story of a professional nude model stalked by a bizarre, unknown man wearing a hideous mask.

Apostasy

In the Meiji period, a schoolteacher tries to hide his lower-class upbringing as he supports a visit

How Sorrowful

The story of a novelist whose wife is confined in a mental hospital. His love for her drives him to

Firefly Light

Set in the 1860s, the final years of the Tokugawa Shogunate, The Fireflies focuses on Tose (Awashima

The War Without Weapons

It's a story of the life of a man who advocated the necessity of sex education to children, which wa

Night Drum

Following a yearlong attendance upon his shogun in Edo, samurai Hikokuro makes a long-awaited return

The Spy

Based on true events surrounding a Korean student who had entered Japan unlawfully and escaped illeg

The Man From the Sea

Japanese action film.

The Legend of the White Serpent

Lavish Japanese-Chinese coproduction based on an ancient Chinese legend about a man who falls in lov

Late Night Confession

Japanese mystery thriller.

Boss Takes to the Road

Japanese comedy film.

The Twilight Story

In this Japanese drama, a village girl goes to Tokyo and becomes a sex worker to support her ailing

The Gambling Samurai

Chuji Kunisada returns to his home village to find that Jubei Matsui, the corrupt magistrate, has be

Twin Sisters of Kyoto

In this Japanese drama, a dry goods merchant's daughter is surprised to discover that she has a twin

The Sandal Keeper

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Hitoshi Ueki) starts out as Nobunaga's "Sandal Keeper" but climbs the ranks to e

Immortal Love

A young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. T

Shinobi no Mono 3: Resurrection

[Period covered: 1595-1600] We last saw ninja Ishikawa Goemon, as he was about to be boiled alive. B

An Innocent Witch

Ayako, a young woman from a rural fishing village, is sold by her family into a brothel when her fat

The Human Wall

Drama which shows the struggle of Fumiko, a female teacher, at work and at home.

Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka

The adopted son of an Osaka courier falls in love with a prostitute and, discovering that she is abo

Marriage

In postwar Japan a young woman is unable to marry her sweetheart because her family's in difficult c

Love on Rainbow Island

Japanese counterpart to Romeo and Juliet

White Fan

Horror film directed by Toshikazu Kôno.

Kiku and Isamu: Two Siblings Born in Japan

Kiku and her brother Isamu are social outcasts, children of a prostitute mother and black GI father,

Jubilation Street

The few residents left on the streets in Tokyo share their individual stories and come to understand

The Man of Seven Faces

Detective Tarao investigates the deaths of police officers who were involved in solving a kidnapping

A Story from Echigo

A sake factory worker on holiday returns to his home town, where he rapes the wife of one of his co-

Shimizu Port of Chivalry

An all-star cast highlights this Jidai-Geki classic. Set in the samurai era, this is the tale of per

Bored Hatamoto: House of Skulls

Bored Hatamoto movie #15

Tange Sazen

In 1730, the Tokugawa Shogunate orders the Yagyu Clan to repair a huge shrine. Since it cannot refus

Rice

A touching story depicting the harsh lives of farmers in Kasumigaura. An attempt to start a fishery

A Woman in the Typhoon Area

Four unlucky pirates head to a weather tracking station set on a remote island with the intention of

So What

In a small town, high school students in their final year try to balance their studies while also pl

The Black Current

A reporter Takuo, who is sleeping in the newspaper room of the Maichō newspaper company, receives a

The Ballad of Narayama

In Kabuki style, the film tells the story of a remote mountain village where the scarcity of food le

A House in the Quarter

With her family suffering from extreme poverty, Yuko, as the eldest daughter, is sold to a successfu

Miyamoto Musashi: The Duel at Ichijo Temple

In the fourth installment, Musashi's potentially greatest opponent Kojiro jumps in and out of the st

An Osaka Story

A poor peasant, after years of scraping, becomes a rich and powerful Osaka merchant. Mizoguchi Kenji

Our Marriage

When two sisters fall in love with the same man, one must decide to look elsewhere.

Season of Farewell

A touching story of a girl who sails away from her love to keep her family together.

The Saga of Tanegashima

Well before “Shogun” as warring clans were fighting for power throughout Japan, a Portuguese vessel

Sword for Hire

Soldiers Hayate and Yaheiji secretly escape from their besieged castle. Hayate has left behind his l

Prison Walls of Abashiri 3

Upon returning to his hometown of Nagasaki, recently released prisoner Tachibana Shinichi must rejoi

Life of Hishakaku 2

Upon his release from the prison, Hishakaku joins the Kikkyo family who is struggling to regain thei

The Bandits

Friendship between an ambitious young thief and an artist during the Warring States period.

I Lived, But...

An extremely lovely tribute to Ozu, on the 20th anniversary of his death. It uses a combination of f

Fine Man

A young son of a master of the Kuwana clan gets disowned for his rebellious behavior. After he goes

Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple

After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Ky

Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island

A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal

Beyond the Seasonal Wind

Japanese drama film.

Our Happiness Alone

Mototsugu is the younger son of Akira Sakawa, a director of an advertising agency whose mother, Nobu

The Sunshine Girl

A young factory worker struggles to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

Island of Hell

A scruffy detective investigates the murders of three sisters on a small Japanese island in 1946.

Ukyunosuke on Patrol

This is one of the most powerfully effective ninja films that dispenses with the silly magic of earl

Three Faces of Love

When a gifted Japanese craftsmen dies, his three daughters are summoned to decide who will take over

The Cock Crows Twice

Three young women make a suicide pact, but they grow to have a better understanding of themselves.

Choji Snack Bar

Eiji lives a quiet life running a small Izakaya with his wife. He spends his days cooking for and se

Pressure of Guilt

Born in Sin

A dark family secret sends a 21-year-old French student (Hoshi) on a journey of self-discovery.

The Days of Evil Women

The common-law wife and daughter of a wealthy old man plot to murder him and steal his fortune, with

Eddy Currents of Life

It is 1922 and Fumiko is a high school student. Her family is poor but she loves to study literature

Murder on The Last Train

One of the earliest Japanese cop films following a mysterious killing on the last train to Mitaka, T

The Third Dead Angle

Yoshikawa and Kaji are alumni - Yoshikawa leads a life loyal to his company Toho Corporation, whilst

The Naked Sun

A young, struggling couple are making every sacrifice so they will one day in the not-too-distant-fu

The Three Treasures

The legend of the birth of Shintoism. In Fourth Century Japan, the Emperor's son Ouso expects to suc

The Beast Shall Die

A promising post-graduate literature student is transformed into a psychotic killer following the su

Lord Mito

One of Japan’s most popular historical characters, former Vice-Shogun Tokugawa Mitsukuni, whose trav

The Orphan Brother

After their father quarrels with local military men, Anju and Zushio are forced to flee, but they ar

Flowery Brothers

Early film by Kenji Misumi.

Challenge to Live

An employee at an oil cartel (Mihashi) is haunted by an act years before when he euthanized a fellow

Army

Though plagued by ill health all his life, a young Japanese man is obligated to fulfill his family's