Discoveries from Japan World Cinema

An injured Edo official is rescued by a vassal whose appearance is exactly like himself, and swears to sweep out the criminals from the town on his behalf.

One of Japan's most popular stories is the tale of Kutsukake Tokijiro, a traveling gambler who finds that he must take care of the wife and child of a yakuza he had been forced by the code of the gamblers to fight man to man. In a brilliant performance from super-star Ichikawa Raizo, with strong support from two of the greats from Toho, Shimura Takashi (7 Samurai) and Aratama Michiyo (Sword of Doom) the heartfelt story reaches new heights. Tokijiro, having learned the true nature of the boss to whom he was obligated for having spent a night and eaten at the gang's headquarters takes up arms against them in a running battle fought across the back roads of the entire nation. Another powerful rendition of this superb story, it is not to be missed!

The story depicts the love and hate surrounding artificial insemination between a husband who is unable to have children and a normal wife.

The story of a photographer who becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman who lives in the apartment opposite his.

A young man falls in love with a woman he meets at a party, but when she leaves him, he must face some uncomfortable truths.

Short animation for the song "Massara" by Kiyoe Yoshioka.

Matsunaga, the president of a real estate company, spends his week in a secret hideaway to forget his title and social status. One day, he meets Fumiko, a girl who has a mysterious charm, and is gradually attracted to him. Matsunaga deepened his relationship with her, but suddenly a mysterious man appeared.

Based on the murder of nine street peddlers in the aftermath of the Great Kanto earthquake.

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

After the 1995 Kobe earthquake, a writer remembers travelling with his family to bury his brother after World War II.

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.

Since their parents died at an early age, Susumu and Yoriko have lived together. Susumu is now 33-years-old and Yoriko is 40-years-old. Both of them have yet to marry. They are like most siblings and they rely on each other. One day, Susumu and Yoriko receive a letter that is sent to the wrong address.

A remake of the 1953 film of the same name.

Arata Kaizaki, a jobless adult, undergoes an experiment that makes him 10 years younger. He goes back to high school and falls in love with Chizuru Hishiro, who is more than she seems.

An employee of a bank goes missing following his retirement from the bank. Veteran detective Yobuno (Koji Yakusho), who is set to retire himself, is charged with the investigating the missing person case. Det. Yobuno quickly finds more mysterious as he delves into the case, but a woman named Keiko Fukumura (Eri Fukatsu) surfaces who may hold the key to case.

This film stays very faithful to the original down to the smallest details, save for the kangaroo-rat that suddenly appears twenty minutes into the movie and subsequently follows Aladdin around, serving no purpose in the story but fulfilling the role of token animal mascot. The story takes some illogical and confusing jumps at the point where Aladdin begins to court the princess, and the extravagant animation that had characterised Toei films of the 60s, when Toei had the best animators around, had become a thing of the past long before this point; but this is still an above-average film, in large part because of the screenplay that stays so faithful to the original. The character designs are slightly more western-looking than one is accustomed to seeing in anime.

It is the 16th series of the call series with the highest masterpiece among the "President" series. The president of the U. s.solar paint, heitaro Domoto (Morishige), has become completely American, and plans to rationalize the company to the American style and prohibit the company's entertainment. Members of the Taiko Kyushu Branch Company (Ryohei Miki), who were living in the banquet, were hit by a big blow, and the company and the meeting club were very annoying. After that, the president who went to the business trip to Kyushu met with a sexy Geisha (Junko Ikeuchi) on the way to the tour, and he felt like a fool.

Convicted of killing the drug dealer who murdered her husband, Maria is blackmailed into serving as a covert assassin. She must do the government's bidding if she is ever to regain her freedom, or her son. With each completed mission, her sentenced is further re- duced. Yet, with every job she feels further away from her goal of a peaceful life.

A musical romance.

Comedy about three soldiers, two female reporters, six prostitutes, and the wife of an officer, all stranded on a South Seas island at the end of World War II.

The cunning detective Akeichi must foil a kidnapping plot orchestrated by the notorious jewel thief known as Black Lizard.

Not having the courage to love, Toru became an adult. One day, he meets his and old friend who happens to find a poem which changes will his fate. This will make Toru gain enough courage to face love once again. He meets a girl Nagi who is bond into his fate, though she has a particular secret

A thousand years after the war that stopped the robot uprising, a human-allied mech awakens to find the battle rages on in Brazil. In the new world, he and his fresh-faced human operator launch a plan to confront his old archnemesis and bring the age-old conflict to an end.

Takashi Omura was once a popular professional wrestler, but he isn't popular anymore. He now wears a cockroach mask and wrestles as a villain. He is married to Shiori and they have an elementary school aged son named Shota. Takashi and Shiori have not yet told their son what Takashi does for a living. One day, Shota finds out that Takashi is a professional wrestler and a villain with a cockroach mask. Shota is shocked and tells a lie to his classmate that his dad is a popular professional wrestler.

Set in 1932, amid the rise of militarism after the establishment of the Manchukuo colony in Northeast China, the story centers on a trio of karateka. Studying under their aging master in a small dojo in the woods of central Kyushu, Choei, Taikan and Giryu face a company of kempeitai military police come to requisition their dojo for use as a military base.

2 days until the “Last Graduation Ceremony” of high school, the building was to be demolished. Each student accepted their “farewell to youth” and moved forward with regret and hope in mind. One student visits the library to meet her secret admirer who is also her teacher, one calls her boyfriend with a strained relationship due to the distance of their colleges, one is trying to expose a secret that she hid for the last 3 years, and the last student, Manami, has to give a speech during the graduation ceremony but couldn’t overcome her pain.

Lone wolf detective with an enormous personal grievance seeks to connect the mysterious death of his daughter to an urban legend of a villain who terrorizes Japan by insinuating himself into people's dreams and the collective psyche of the Japanese people.

Third installment of the Deka Matsuri omnibus series. 11 films made under the conditions: "the main character must be a detective" "the length must not exceed 10 minutes" "at least five gags must be included"

A pair of blind masseurs, an enigmatic city woman, a lonely man and his ill-behaved nephew—The Masseurs and a Woman is made up of crisscrossing miniature studies of love and family at a remote resort in the mountains. With delicate and surprising humor, Hiroshi Shimizu paints a timeless portrait of loneliness and the human need to connect.

For the poor, Edo is Hell on Earth, starving under the rule of Tanuma Okitsugi, corrupt councilor to the shogun. But the courageous vagabond called “Kageboshi” (Shadow Avenger), will fight for the common folk, robbing the rich so the people will have rice. Tanuma’s henchmen will hire an evil swordsman to pose as Kageboshi, starting a wave of murder, kidnapping and robbery, searching for two antique sword-guards that will reveal the hiding place of a fortune in buried gold. But who will claim the gold? The poor of Edo, or the conniving Tanuma? Only Kageboshi’s flashing sword, tearing through Tanuma’s bloodthirsty minions, can forestall his wicked schemes.

In 2710, a boy named Shinichi is on a school field trip to a rebuilt 21st century version of the city Nara. When he wanders from his class, he spots a talking white deer and it steals his bag. Shinichi follows the deer and sees a strange girl named Toto and falls in love with her. She is being pursed by two brothers and they try to get away from them.

19-year old Reiko is a rich, arrogant, material girl, who refuses to admit her feelings for classmate Tetsuya Akimoto before it's almost too late.

Test driver Hayami loses control of his car and rolls over. His company then learns that he has kept secret that he is visually impaired, and he is fired. Without the prospect of returning to his old job he makes a plan to rob several jewelry stores. A few days later, Hayami escapes with stolen goods worth 80 million yen in a violin case on a Kyoto city bus. A wild chase ensues.

"Megazone 23 III" The Day of Liberation, a 1989 anime OVA, focuses on Eiji and Eve as they confront Bishop Won Dai and his "Project Heaven," a plan to reinhabit Earth. Eiji, a B-Level hacker, and Eve, a legendary figure, become entangled in a network war and the plot to re-inhabit Earth. The story centers on their efforts to stop Bishop Won Dai and Project Heaven.

Kenji is the youngest member of a team in charge of building a large shopping center. But, to create the new complex, an old dance floor must be destroyed, and every effort to tear down the building is boycotted by a mysterious power. In fact, there is a rumor that the place is cursed, and the construction team thought about hiring exorcists, but none of them seems to find the solution.

After Kensuke graduated from college, he began to work at a company. He didn't get along with his co-workers and six months later quit his job. Since that time he has stayed in his home for 5 years. One day, Kensuke learns about men who enjoy dressing up as women through the internet. At first he feels uncomfortable about them, but he becomes interested in those men. He begins to exchange emails with cross-dresser Karen who has a charismatic personality.

Based on Kazuo Taoka's autobiography, this film follows a Kobe gangster as he builds the small Yamaguchi-gumi into Japan's largest criminal clan.

Traditional Japanese pop singer Reiko (Muroi) decides to enter a well-known TV program for amateur singers along with a confused teenager (Ôtomo) and a 40-year-old father of four (Bito).

Kozue loves to stargaze and does so regularly. On a trip to view a meteorite, she happens to meet a boy named Ginga. He has a mysterious ability to discover more information about the stars, which he uses to help scientists with astronomical research. Unfortunately, his life is mostly dictated for him, and when carrying out missions, he must always wear a protective suit. Kozue helps Ginga to gradually take control of his life by encouraging him to make his own decisions.

One day, a mysterious event suddenly occurred. For some reason, Jibanyan's favorite sweet: Chocobars, and Komasan's favorite: soft-serve ice cream, began to disappear from this world one after another. Why? A mysterious Yo-kai appears and tells them, "The way to bring Chocobars and soft-serve ice cream back to this world is for Jibanyan and Komasan to fight." Meanwhile, Hovernyan and Komasan's sister, Komami, who is a spy, discover that there is a Yo-kai behind this incident. There was a great conspiracy hidden. In addition, the unprecedented crisis surrounding Lord Emma, the strongest being in the Yo-kai World, is revealed! Where is Jibanyan VS Komasan? And who is the mastermind behind the incident?

An ordinary and somewhat unpopular high school boy joins a surfing club in a nowhere near ocean Tochigi Prefecture, while being oblivious to the fact that him leading a peaceful, ordinary life equals world peace being preserved.

Daigo Asahina is Medaka Gumi #2's/Me Gumi's new rookie firefighter, and already he's done crazy things, like throwing people off of a rooftop to save them from an explosion. He had good intentions, but his deeds are starting to hurt the company's reputation. At Sengoku City's Concert Hall, a fire breaks, and the some Emergency Rescue Squad needs rescuing. Daigo will do all he can to keep his promise: Not to let anyone die on the job.

The second-generation president and his brother-in-law of the Toba clan, a don of the music world, are kidnapped. Singer Chiaki and pianist Yonosuke contact Chiaki's father, a detective, and police surround the island. The president's mother-in-law, who entered the island with the ransom money, is shot and injured, but the culprit who stole the money cannot be found. Chiaki begins to investigate the island on her own, and soon finds Kunihiko's body, a hunting rifle, and the ransom money in an island bomb shelter. This is a mystery that challenges the mystery of a bizarre kidnapping and murder involving the family of a prestigious president

Mutsuko has been living on an island to which her grandmother and mother have restricted her from leaving. To Mutsuko, the symbol of her freedom was Dreamland, an amusement park on the mainland, but she learns it will be closing permanently this year. Meanwhile, Wataru returns to the island after nine years due to a job transfer. A pupil of his deceased father pays him a visit and tells him about a side of his father he did not know about.

After losing her husband, a traditional puppet artisan has lived a life without love. However, her relationship with her daughter and the arrival of some dangerous acquaintances inevitably spark new curiosities in her mind and body.

Omijima is a part-time worker for job unemployed. One day, she happens to have a one-night relationship with a beautiful woman, Kana, who she visits during her moving part-time job. A few days later, Kana was the interviewer at the company's interview venue where Kijima went to take the job exam. Although he was confused, he was happy to become an employee, but he knew that his girlfriend Kana would be his boss.

Rei, whose undercover role is so guarded that there is no written record of her identity, is well known for her accuracy in completing missions and her willingness to get naked if the situation calls for it. When she's instructed to bust Kayama, who has been buying confiscated drugs from corrupt police officers, she finds herself in a sticky situation -- not only is she attracted to him, but Kayama, like Rei, does not officially exist.

Five experimental animals that looked like humans were collected in a room of an inorganic laboratory . They are mice , although they are human in appearance , and they claim to be human. The last experiment was euthanasia . This story is a record of a ruthless experiment conducted on them.

The story of the trials and tribulations of a lighthouse keeper and his wife.

A depressed widower, a bored housewife, and a gay lawyer all intersect in this triptych of love lost.

Kaoru has a sickness that hindered her to go out when the sun is up. Despite this sickness, she fell in love with a boy named Koji. If she decides to pursue her love, it will mean risking her life.

Six year old Momoko and Motoharu are turned suddenly into High school students. And more than that they have now psychic powers.

Teruo Ishii's West Side Story, done as a bloody, violent, sexploitative biker gang film. It's the Red Chilis versus the Black Cats, and the chick who just may heal the divide.

A woman frustrated by her fiancé's reluctance for premarital sex sends her on a round of boozing and remembrances of bad sexual encounters. Meanwhile someone is drugging young men late at night and doing unspeakable things to them.

In June 1941, Captain Kagawa (Ryutaro Tatsumi), who had just graduated from the military academy, was assigned as the captain of a sentry patrol in Beiman, which was located on the opposite side of the Heilongjiang River from the Semidomka region of the Soviet Union. His predecessor, Lieutenant Kishi (Kawamura Kenichiro), a mild-mannered middle-aged man, had earned the trust of his men and the villagers by relaxing his military duties. However, newly appointed Lieutenant Kagawa thinks that Kishi's way of doing things is sloppy and begins to train the soldiers furiously in order to teach them a lesson.

Kenichi, who lives like a stray dog among fellow gangsters, finds his love for the first time while the police are trying to catch him on suspicion of murder.