Discoveries from Japan World Cinema

Teruo Ishii portrays the bitter conflict over the right to develop land in a gripping and humorous way. Nakagami, the head of the Kanto Joseikai, is ordered to acquire the rights to work to level the reclaimed land and prevent the Doshikai from expanding from Kansai into Tokyo, but the interference of the Koda-gumi, associated with the Kansai Doshikai, intensifies. Nakagami's younger brother Hayami, unhappy that the situation is moving slowly, tries to blackmail the mayor into moving forward, but... A true Toei gangster film with an all-star cast including Koji Tsuruta and Ken Takakura!

An archaeological expedition finds the mummified bodies of Genghis Khan and his army somewhere in Mongolia. Unaware that the location is cursed, the explorers wake up the former ruler of the Mongolian empire. He warns the intruders that a large calamity will befall the world in one thousand days. The only ones who can prevent this from happening are three persons who bear wolf-shaped arrow scars. They must join forces and kill the "three emperors" so that the Khan's soul can once again sleep for a thousand years.

Seven people who committed the seven deadly sins : lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride are locked up in a sealed space by someone. These seven people must play a game which is a matter of life or death.

Follows the story of an insurance company executive from Tokyo, Mr. Mito, who is demoted to the Osaka office. He takes a room at a small inn and tries to rebuild his life.

Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours 6th LoveLive! ~KU-RU-KU-RU Rock 'n' Roll TOUR~ (ラブライブ！サンシャイン!! Aqours 6th LoveLive! ～KU-RU-KU-RU Rock ‘n’ Roll TOUR～) (formerly Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours 6th LoveLive! DOME TOUR 2020) is Aqours' sixth solo live concert tour that took place in the following locations: Belluna Dome (formerly MetLife Dome) in Saitama on March 5 & 6, 2022 (SUNNY STAGE)

Every year, Nana Sasaki and her former classmates hold a reunion of their high school music club. This year, the reunion is being held online. However, one of them, Ayumi, doesn't show up. When the others voice their concern, Yuki and Suzu reluctantly tell them about the Samejima Incident, an urban legend which circulated on the internet 20 years earlier. Those who find the truth about it become cursed and die. As Nana and the others start to panic, the real horror begins.

Makoto Nakazono is a high school student with a small dark secret. Since he was little, he has had the mysterious power to see "black entities" that steal souls. One day, he is suddenly interrogated by one of the "black entities," Akira Seno: "Will you get in our way?" But Makoto replies with an air of resignation, "There's nothing I can do anyway, so I won't." At that moment, Makoto didn't notice the threatening shadow approaching his childhood friend Hazuki...

Fictionalised account of the story of the he Chōshū Five (長州五傑 Chōshū Goketsu) who travelled to and studied in Britain in 1863 while Japan was still under sakoku (鎖国 "locked country").

Tamura Masakazu plays Shohei Yamauchi, a freelance reporter obsessed with finding out the truth about a traffic accident in which his beloved daughter died. Judging by the photo of the accident, which appeared in the news described by photojournalists as "one coincidence in a hundred thousand", and the survivor's testimony that "I saw a red fireball" immediately before the accident, the circumstances of the accident are questionable. The film is based on a late masterpiece by Seicho Matsumoto.

Eighth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Anpanman's friends go see a bubble show performed by Shabondama-hime and her Shabondama Girls, who make exquisite bubbles by playing their flutes. One of the girls, Purun, can't make big bubbles no matter how much she rehearses. She feels inadequate as she goes to retrieve her lost flute, which Creampanda finds and goes to return. Meanwhile Baikinman takes over Shabondama-hime's castle and steals the flutes, using their power to create evil bubbles, and Purun must realize her own importance and save the day with Anpanman's help.

A story of young students trained to become Kamikaze pilots in World War II.

In 1944 on Peleliu, Tamaru writes fake heroic tales of Japanese soldiers' deaths to families. In the hell of bombs, hunger, thirst and disease, he bonds with Yoshiki. Together they cling to life in this atrocious war of attrition. Only 34 survive. What do these two young men witness in the madness?

Sayuri, a young woman born to a simple life on a farm, moves to Tokyo to pursue a life long dream of becoming a singer. Through dance, music, and songs, this story shows how a girl raised on a farm was able to make her dream a reality, with the love of those around her.

The gag ova depicts the everyday life of the demon Memumemu-chan, who appears before the high school student Hyouta one day. She's come to seduce men and steal their souls, however, has neither the motivation nor the ability to carry out her duty. The story revolves around Memumemu, Hyouta, who is often misunderstood as a lolicon due to Memumemu, and the super sexy mother-daughter duo who manages the apartment Hyouta resides in.

Sachie Kitahara is a housewife and she has devoted her life to her family. Mako Goda is a wealthy woman who runs a business. They are both diagnosed with terminal illnesses and are told they only have a short time left to live. These two women from completely different walks of life meet at the hospital. They both feel emptiness in their lives. They happen to get a 12-year-old's written bucket list. Sachie Kitahara and Mako Goda decide to carry out the girl's wish list and they begin to feel happiness entering their lives.

An OVA based on the work of Kawaguchi Kaiji consisting of nine independent stories, each animated by a different director. With Beatles music involved, somewhere.

US Navy medical officer Jake Fuller is assigned to a goodwill visit aboard a Russian submarine. But he and his companion, Lt. Swain, end up alone among terrorists, who have taken over the submarine and threaten to fire its nuclear weapons.

Teenager Kanemori Kousuke is a secret agent for the international VN spy network. Using his computer hacking skills, he tracks international criminals. Later he goes after Neo-Nazis to the Arctic were they try to raise a U-boat with a sinister secret.

In a strange alienated world there is a secret hotel in a shabby diner called the Venus Café, harboring some unusual people where compelling secrets lie in each resident's heart. Torturing secrets that have broken their emotional boundaries in the past. In this bittersweet, heart-wrenching story, there lives a man by the name of Chonan (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) who lives in the attic and works as a waiter or handyman at the hotel. Room 1 is shared by two residents; an incapable alcoholic and an illegal doctor named Doctor (Teruyuki Kagawa) and Wife (Miki Nakatani) who used to be a nurse but now works as a hostess living in the hopes of Doctor's recuperation. In Room 3 lives a bubbly girl by the name of Soda (Jo Eun Ji), who came from a deserted town where no one flowers flourished and has a dream to open her own flower shop. Finally, Room 4, occupied by a challenging young boy by the name of Boy (Lee Joon Gi), who carries around a gun longing to become a strong man and wishes to some day.

This is the story of a blind masseur who tricks people, steals, and kills; he is the anti-Zatoichi.

The life of entertainers in Asakusa’s pleasure quarters. An exciting yakuza story with superb action.

Monk Seigen saves Misako the daughter of an area Yakuza boss from some tough guys. The two become a couple and find themselves being pursued by some criminals. Seigen plunges deeper into a life of crime and sin.

Shelter tells the story of Rin, a 17-year-old girl who lives her life inside of a futuristic simulation completely by herself in infinite, beautiful loneliness. Each day, Rin awakens in virtual reality and uses a tablet which controls the simulation to create a new, different, beautiful world for herself. Until one day, everything changes, and Rin comes to learn the true origins behind her life inside a simulation.

A young offender who is already guilty of many crimes is sentenced again for rape. Upon his release from prison, a year later, the victim waits to kill him.

Tadashi Iki returns to Japan from a Soviet gulag 11 years after being captured during the invasion of Manchuria. He is offered a position in the expansive Kinki Corporation, but rival corporations are competing for a government contract to produce fighter planes.

Shio Asami (Stephanie) was brought up in a wealthy family whose mother is a prominent opera singer. However, the bankruptcy of her father’s business forced her to give up becoming an opera singer. Moe Midorikawa (Hikari Mitsushima) entrapped Shio and claimed a victory in an opera contest. A competition of two heroines ensues, placing their pride on the line.

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

Jun Wataguchi lives a lazy, half-hearted life, not going to school, hanging out with half-witted delinquents, and begging money from his friends. His parents, who run a shipping business transporting earth and sand for reclamation by boat, manage to get by, despite the dwindling number of jobs and lack of successors over time. Jun showed no interest in his parents' business, and the father and son hardly ever spoke to each other. One day, one of Jun's friends is attacked by someone and an unexpected person emerges as the culprit.

A live show that was performed across Japan in March and April of 2010, acting as a final farewell for the cast. It comprises two parts: a scripted show part, and a talk show with the cast. The Goseigers also appear.

Sato's re-imagining of In a Grove, on which Rashomon was based. In this version, instead of a web of lies and agendas, we get a web of desires, perversions like incest, and occult phenomenon like an oracle-demon, hallucinations, and human sacrifice. Once again, the story starts with a detective trying to unravel the story of a man and a woman encountering a bandit-rapist in the woods, but the real story keeps turning out to be unfathomable as layer upon layer of strange motives and events keep turning up.

A teenage girl makes a new friend at her school who tells her that she has the ability to travel between worlds.

Saneo is a virgin working as a cleaner at a seaside love hotel. He has a crush on the owner's only daughter, Saya, and spends his days obsessing over her every night in his favorite "time-stopping" porno...until a chance encounter leads him to a pocket watch that was used as a time-stopping item in the porno. When Saneo jokingly moves the watch, he finds Saya standing motionless in front of him, frozen in time!　When his long-held fantasy becomes a reality, what is the once-in-a-lifetime decision that the loser virgin makes?

A young foot soldier in the yakuza seeks revenge when his prostitute girlfriend dies after a session with a high-ranking Japanese politician with a taste for torture. He sets out on a 'kamikaze' mission to kill his bosses and the politician; along the way, he acquires the aid of a taxi driver who has recently returned to Japan after living in South America for several decades and is struggling to cope with poverty and the prejudices of native-born Japanese.

Movie based on the Odekake Kozame manga and sequel to the 2023 anime that follows the nostalgic everyday adventures of a young shark.

The 21-year-old feudal on Sendai, Tsunamune Date, was prohibited to go out in the daytime for his misbehavior during his short stay in Edo. On the next day, his 4 attendants were killed one after another. Sakai Utanokamike, the Rozyu, is turned out to be involved in this scheme, and the aim is to destroy the Date family. Tsunamune's brother Munekatsu Date who is willing to take over the family doesn't know the real purpose of Utanokami and helps him. Munesuku Harada gets to know the whole picture of the incident and takes action alone for the sake of protecting the Date family, leaving his own family. His lonely fight continues for 10 years and he got in danger in Utanokamike's house, and...

A fugitive christian "saint" (female, of course!) and a sadistic drug-addled princess both have their eye on Kyoshiro. The fact that a bunch of ruthless smugglers also want him dead is the least of his problems!

In 1880s Japan, women's struggle for equality rages on. Eiko Hirayama leaves Okayama for Tokyo, where she helps the fledgling Liberal Party and falls in love with its leader Kentaro Omoi, just as the party is being disbanded by the government.

A thorough account of the process to make Weathering with You. The crew appears to have been given unfettered access to the production allowing for a great walk through something we rarely see, production of an anime feature. From first audition of the voice actors, to cast and crew working with the director, to the animation process like compositing, background, temp work, 3D modelling, computer animation, to production meetings, to working on the songs with RADWIMPS, to finally the promotional tour of the final film this documentary covers every step.

"After leaving the Yakuza, Oman embraces a quiet normal life - only to be dragged back into a world of violence, when seeking revenge for the brutal murder of those close to her." - Adapted from the late October 1972 issue of Kinema Junpo

Anthology film. "What's Wrong with Eating?" Numayama Kazuki is always complaining about his wife's, Atsugi Shizuka, body shape. Because of that Shizuka tries her best to restrict her diet and please Kazuki. "It's So Far Away!" Karuma Sae is an office lady who works in the city center but lives with her family in a house far away from her work. Because she is always rushing to catch the last train, she can never enjoy a decent date with her boyfriend, Oishi Mamoru. Her father is also always interfering in her life, so she can't appreciate the city life and isn't happy. "Get Ready to Drive!" Masuko is a new taxi driver in Tokyo who is very stressed from dealing with the behavior of some passengers. One night he drives a very beautiful drunk hostess home. "What Is English?" Kosaka Shigeru, a businessman, was transferred to a Chicago branch factory. He tried hard to learn English, practicing day and night, but couldn't improve as much as he expected.

In 1943, critical developments in the Pacific War have placed Japan at a disadvantage, although the fiery breaths of war hadn't yet reached Okinawa Normal School for women. Nothing seemed the least bit out of the ordinary, as Kazuko and her friends enjoyed a day of sports. A year later the war takes a devastating turn, as US forces plan an amphibious attack known as "Operation Iceberg" on the Ryukyu island.

Lord Tokugawa Tsunatoyo, bound for Edo to be sworn in as the next shogun, is the target of merciless ninja assassins hired by corrupt officials hoping to put their own candidate in his place. His only hope is the “Oniwaban,” the shogunate’s secret ninja force, sworn to throw their lives down recklessly to prevent this coup. But will they stand a chance of getting the lord to his ceremony in time? A perilous chase, betrayal after betrayal, and a final bloodbath await them as ninja battle ninja in one last, desperate struggle.

A family drama in which popular sexy actresses Shizuka Kanno and Yuko Shiraki co-starred. The mother, who was said to be a guardian, passed away, and the three brothers and sisters fought for bones and flesh over the whereabouts of the heritage. Tetsuya Takehora, a veteran director of a pink movie known for "Junjo nurashi, Ai Seikatsu" and "Psycho Nobakayarou," picked up the megaphone.

Kota hears about an impending 1.5 billion yen gold bar heist from his friend Kitagawa, a former college classmate, and decides to take part. The gold bar sits in the basement of the HQ of Sumita Bank. Helping Kota and Kitagawa are bank security employee Noda, a North Korean spy pretending to be a college student, Kitagawa's younger brother Haruki and a former elevator engineer. These 6 men are about to carry the boldest of schemes to bypass the bank's high-tech defense system.

When a Babylonian vampire comes to old Japan, an army of Japanese demons and ghosts gather and battle him.

This collection of short stories was released along with "Crayon Shin-chan: Explosion! The Hot Spring's Feel Good Final Battle."

First-grader Masaya is a crybaby despite his large stature, so he can't walk by himself on the dark path to school. The one who holds his hand is Akiyo, a tiny but capable second-grader. Masaya wants to be strong like Akiyo and admires her, but one day, something happens that leaves Akiyo in tears. To lift Akiyo's spirits, Masaya goes trekking to the distant Ipponsugi forest to find the spotted bellflowers that Akiyo loves.

A magazine editor loses his wife to cancer and he keeps her ashes in a jar. When he begins dating her sister, he becomes overwhelmed with guilt.

In a sci-fi adaptation of the Chinese novel Journey to the West, Princess Aurora and her cyborg companions Kugo, Djorgo, and Hakka must travel to the planet of the Great King in order to restore the Galaxy Energy and return peace to the universe. On their journey, they encounter a planet decimated from attacks by space monsters, against whom the last survivors now seek vengeance.

A Tokyo family running a liquor store overcome impotence and dysfunction as they induce an understanding through each other of how to deal with their individual problems.

Jackie ate everyone's sweets all by himself. He was scolded by his older brothers and ran away, only to meet Mindy, an apprentice pastry chef. Jackie, who loves sweets, decided to train as a pastry chef alongside Mindy at "Sweets Land," a sweets shop run by Mindy's grandmother. However, the village chief was plotting to take over "Sweets Land"...

It chronicles the experiences of a neighbourhood doctor, whose taste for tonkatsu (a popular Japanese dish, similar to a pork schnitzel) earns him the nickname ‘the pork cutlet prince’ (‘Tonkatsu Taisho’, the film’s Japanese title) from the affectionate residents of the tenement in which he lives. When a local hospital, run by a female doctor, plans to expand, the future of the tenement is called into question.

This epic depicts the battle between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen. The focus of the story is the struggle by the unit leader in charge of the main supply wagons and the supply troops to transport materiel to the Uesugi army. To this are added episodes involving an itinerant woman.

Yukie, Koichi and Akira are rogues looking for a place to crash. They move into a house which Etsuko (Kaori Momoi) inherited from her parents. Soon after getting settled, the hippies slip into a communal lifestyle. They eat, have sex, and generally share everything together.

Deep in the mountains of feudal Japan, a group of children endure cruel and unorthodox training in order to become the Shogunate's most secret and deadly weapons - the Demon Spies! Their true identities are hidden - even from each other. Behind their demon masks, they are educated in the deadly arts of infiltration, espionage, assassination - and seduction! If they survive to become strong enough to kill their teachers, they will become - the Demon Spies! Sent on a suicide mission to uncover a deadly conspiracy, five inexperienced Demon Spies must infiltrate a powerful fief, discover the location of its secret arsenal, and destroy it. But Lord Shogen, the Demon Hunter, plans to brutally interrogate, ingeniously torture, and cruelly execute - the Demon Spies!

Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Released in 2 parts. His only release of 1931. Considered a lost film.

After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.

The Naito Shinjuku Family, a hereditary organization where only those of the Washio bloodline can inherit leadership. Under a calculated scheme, Wakagashira Yuki Kanemaru eliminates the 12th-generation leader, Gunji Washio (Hitoshi Ozawa), in a bid to fulfill his fateful mission of establishing Washio Kiyoharu (Kazuyoshi Ozawa), Gunji’s long-buried sworn brother, as the rightful 12th leader. In a shocking turn, Kanemaru engulfs the Naito Shinjuku Family in flames and meets his end through self-immolation. As Shateigashira Hosa (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi) pushes to restore order by advocating for Taiga Washio (Haruto Ochiai) as the 13th leader, the situation spirals further out of control with the release of Shuyu Ohgami (Norimasa Tomie), a former Naito Shinjuku Family member, from prison...!

Kaido is a professional pickpocket who works the Tokyo subway with his young foster-daughter, Rei: She lets herself be groped while Kaido relieves the groper of his wallet. More often than not they're observed by a middle-aged cop, who generally lets Kaido go free. Rei is unsettled when Kaido takes on a young street punk, Kazuki, as an apprentice -- with instructions to make Kaido stop drinking. Kazuki, however, would like to go into business with Rei.