Discoveries from Japan World Cinema

Adaptation of the classic masterpiece about the relationship between parents and their children.

Our heroine has been kidnapped and her two somewhat ditzy friends decided to save her in a war machine they found in her house. Unfortunately they have little idea of how it works so let the random destruction begin.

Sachiko Kokubu, the beautiful owner of a Tokyo design agency, finds her life disrupted when she receives paper scraps stitched together with piano wire with the message "I know you were meant to marry me." As further messages come she embarks on a nightmare investigation to uncover the identity of her tormentor.

ウマ娘 プリティーダービー 4th EVENT SPECIAL DREAMERS!! (Uma musume Pretty Derby 4th EVENT SPECIAL DREAMERS!!) is the 4th event, which is taking place in different locations: Musashino Forest Sport Plaza, Tokyo (March 5-6th, 2022) Pia Arena MM, Yokohama (May 4-5th, 2022) BELLUNA DOME, Tokyo (November 5-6th, 2022)

This is the story of a strange encounter brought about by the atomic bomb, based on the true story of Akihiko Ito, a journalist who lived in Nagasaki and traveled throughout Japan to collect the stories of atomic bomb survivors.

Featuring some of the finest swordsmen ever to grace the silver screen, this Toei classic tells the story of a battle between the evil sword style called ”Otonashi” (The Silent Form) and the proper way of swordsmanship as promoted by such historical stalwarts as Shimada Toranosuke, and the mysterious Honda Sakon, who face off against a group masquerading as the lord of Mito and his traveling bodyguards Suke-san and Kaku-san. The plot thickens as their leader unveils his secret plan to disrupt the stability of the nation. It is all in the name of swordsmanship, and as the title implies there are no stronger swordsmen!

Young Mariko is torn between two admirers, Natsukawa and Rikizo.

It's hard enough being a teenager, but being a 19 year old ninja with an impossible assignment is even worse! Unfortunately for Sora, she is and she's got one... impossible mission that is. As Japan is torn apart by warring factions, it falls ... Full Descriptionupon the master assassins to carry out the tasks at which even great armies have failed. There just aren't enough ninja to go around, so when a plot to eliminate a rising shaman becomes known, the ninja who gets dropped into the frying tempura batter is Sora. Sora may not know which end of a ninjaken to stick her sheath on, but she's young, willing and her skills at seduction are just fine! Famed AV girl Saki Ninomiya gives it all she's got in I WAS A TEENAGE NINJA!

A clothing manufacturer president tries to revitalize his company during a business downturn by securing new sales partners and chasing a deal with a world-renowned fashion designer.

A man, who moved to Tokyo to become a musician, returns to his hometown for the first time in 10 years. He sees the beautiful scenery of his childhood years and the kind people who supports him.

A truck driver arrives in Seoul to receive his dead sister's ashes. While there, he discovers the death may not have been an accident after all, and has something to do with international drug smuggling.

Mattsu and Yamma are two boys who live in Matsuyama. Their favourite pastime is looking for "the seven wonders of Matsuyama". One day, two men appear. What are the 7 hidden gems that they seek? Moburi, a high school girl who is like an older sister to the boys, also gets caught up in the adventure as this thriling story set in Matsuyama begins. Faced with all kinds of trouble, what will they choose for the future of their city?

In a strange outfit and full of youthful energy, the explosive Boss Kumatora raises hell like there's no tomorrow. The first movie of a new series starring Wakayama Tomisaburo as everybody's favorite character Boss Kumatora from the Red Peony Gambler series. Having made a fortune in the Russo-Japanese War, the Kumatora Family migrates to Kyushu to take on a military-related job. There they encounter the evil and malicious interference of the Chindai family of Kumamoto, and Boss Kumatora boldly fights back with the help of O'Ryu the Red Peony. A super entertaining film with non-stop comedy and action directed by Suzuki Norifumi.

A college student works a part time job at a bookstore, and meets an older patron wearing a long coat who tells her that "the young are beautiful, but the old moreso". Shortly afterwards, a friend tells her of a suspicious person who has been following her mother. When she gets home, she finds her mother watching a high school film from decades ago, featuring her mother and father, as well as another boy they both seemed to get along with. On the path to find her mother's stalker, our heroine arrives at a second floor detective's office with her friend. Together, they tail the suspect in a car, but...

Reika, a "female arranger" who introduces sex work to women who have no place to go in Kabukicho. She teams up with the yakuza Hiraiwa to scout Meg, a former underground idol and debt-ridden meg, to a high-class dating club, and gradually sinks her into hell while feeding her sweet food. What comes to her mind is when she steps into this dark world with her brother Hideto to take revenge on the "Night King" who once derailed their lives, and ends up confronting Hiraiwa while aiming for the top.

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

A young man from Kyushu,Adachi Futoshi had come to Tokyo to make a life. Adachi moved into a small room in a local boarding house, but he was unprepared for what life will throw at him. The room next to him boards a local gangster whose gang is a menace to the neighborhood, a bit further down lives a boy who dresses like a woman. And the old people managing the boarding house are quite peculiar too. Based on the manga by Leiji Matsumoto.

A historical chivalric drama with tears and laughter, telling the story of Jirocho Shimizu's family, his confrontation with Katsuzo Kurokoma's family, right up to the final battle on the Tenryu River to avenge Ishimatsu Mori.

Wataru, his woman Kotoe and daughter Shiori are ranchers and dairy farmers in Hokkaido in northern Japan. He is following in his father's footsteps. A visiting chef cooks an unforgettable meal with his ingredients, which prompts the family to open their own restaurant and reproduce the magic.

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Sanjuro" (1962).

Girls in the Orchard (1953) is about tension between the life of a family in a rural area with all the traditions (continuing family business, taking care of the land)-- and the modernity and lure of a life in the city.

1968 film

This film tells the story of a ronin's search for his parents, but primarily is a group portrait of life in a Tokugawa-era tenement. Considered a lost film.

The lives of three stunt pilots (Scott, Chuck, and Beth) are changed when they gain the ability to transform into three new Ultra-beings, and form the Ultra Force, to battle four giant Sorkin Monsters.

Saeki works with death-row convicts as a prison chaplain. He tries to instill the prisoners with a sense of morality and help them become a better person. He is a good communicator with the death-row convicts assigned to solitary cells. Saeki agonizes over whether his words really touches the prisoners and whether he is doing the right thing. Saeki also faces his past which he wants to forget. --asianwiki

Narumi, a man out for revenge with the powers he received and a bit of help from the one who saved his life, he creates the persona of Skull Soldier and attempts to discover who really killed his sister.

The story revolves around Ogino, who is in the last year of his medical studies. Between lectures, exams, on field training, his commitment as a pro-reformist militant and his girlfriend, Ogino is starting to wonder if he's really cut out to be a doctor.

Momoko, an elegant housewife, meticulously maintains her home and attends to her husband, but her devoted care masks an emotional rift between them that blurs the line between love and obsession.

After failing his university entrance exams, a young man is now living alone in an apartment in Tokyo. He thinks he has to study, but all the women in the city are attractive, and his thoughts are full of erotic fantasies.

A woman and her daughter are in love with the same man, a chef at the restaurant that the mother manages. He is slightly crippled from frostbite in his years in Siberian labor camps and considers himself 'already dead'.

A story about how Kuboshima Seiichiro overcomes various difficulties to open Mugonkan, an art museum in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, featuring artworks by students before they were sent to fight in WWII.

The final live stage event for the Kamen Rider W series, it takes place after the main TV series. In this stage event, Akiko accidentally becomes the Fuuto Dopant after meeting a Shinkurou Isaka from an another world.

Shinnosuke is introduced to Shizu as a prospective marriage partner, but he falls in love with her widowed sister Oyu. Convention forbids Oyu to marry because she has to raise her son as the head of her husband's family. Oyu convinces Shinnosuke and Shizu to marry so that she can remain close to Shinnosuke.

In the village, there was an old traditon of offering a virgin as a sacrifice to the Evil Spirits Orga once in a dozen years. This year, a striking beauty by the name of Alice Edingburgh was elected as a prey. She fell in love with a beautiful youngster Alphonce and engaged in an adultery. Losing her virginity and the qualification to be a sacrifice, she had to face the angered Evil Spirits Orga, who began torturing her in front of all the villagers looking on with suspicious wonder.

Features the arrival of the evil, pterodactyl-riding Black Baby, whom Ultra B fights with the aid of his cohorts Super Baby Robot and Muscle Bird.

A young man who aspires to become a big-shot businessman, finds himself in a twist of fate. Despite trying his hand at various jobs, success eludes him, and he unexpectedly ends up in Osaka's Shinimamiya district. With empty pockets, he stumbles upon an invitation to the 'Gokuraku Toruko' establishment, becoming a patron. Led by the enchanting Ibohachi, he becomes entangled with the charismatic hostesses, including the captivating Tama. This leads him to infiltrate Tama's apartment complex, Sakura-so. Within its walls reside a colorful cast of characters, from hostesses Chie, Akemi, Yukari, and Kayoko to the quirky parasites like Masao, Tetsuo, Arima, and more. Seeking a fresh start, He embarks on a journey as a 'parasite,' but things take unexpected turns...

Jidai-geki starring Kanjuro Arashi

Haruka is a promising athlete, but she gets into an accident and is left paralyzed from the waist down. Haruka becomes frustrated with her situation and closes her mind to others. By meeting people who view disabilities as individuality traits, she attains a new dream in the sport of paracanoe.

After over 50 years of wandering up and down Japan, finally in the 1970s, the rough-hewn blind shamisen player and folk-song collector named Takahashi Chikuzan became a musical sensation. This biographical drama chronicles his wanderings and his life, with a particular focus on his humble beginnings as a peasant on a remote and arid island.

Directed by Mikio Naruse. It is presumed to be lost.

A comedic retelling of the legend of the loyal 47 ronin.

The man known as Silver fights with demons from his past without knowning what they are. He lost his memory during some traumatic event, and was taken in by Ray. He now works with Ray to kill corrupt politicians and other powerful men. However, he has a very nihilistic outlook, believing he has nothing to live for, no matter how much Ray argues with him.

Authentic eroticism returns in part two of this much-anticipated sequel. Reveals the hearts and bodies of five young women who descend into a life of compromise for the sake of money...

A middle school teacher, Jinno, is friends with a young couple that is about to have a baby. But on the eve of the birth, the father, Kimura, disappears. Then, a hired private detective appears and ask Jinno's help to find Kimura.

A young outlaw racing through the streets of Yokohama. Will the love that slipped through his fingers like sand come back to him once again?

Amusing masterpiece from director Yoshimura Kazusabu divided in two parts taken from the newspaper serial novel of Shishiko Shishi. Like in "Warm Current", Shin Saburi, Mieko Takamine and Mitsuko Mito are appearing, but this is a fresh comedy very unusual for wartime.

A story of two people in search of a new life, who leave their birthplaces - traveling to a whole different world trying to find a place where they truly belong. Set in the fictional world of Euthania, a land rich in nature with various magical races based on South East Asian Mythology, which is connected to Japan via a warp gate.

A masterpiece of militant cinema of 1968, filmed on the actual barricades of Adachi's very own Nihon University during the period of social struggles. The film begins in a lengthy free-love session taking the form of a 'play' rape being enacted by a group of aimless, listless and political apathetic students. The subtext intended by Adachi informs the rest of the film – that there is a world of difference between direct action politics, and merely talking the talk.

Second of the three Awamori-kun movies.

Prisoner Katsuji must fend for himself and his prison mates in the fierce battle involving a family feud.

12th installment of the 16-film franchise.

Facing goodbyes and graduation, Naomi Nakashima, her childhood friend Satoshi Mochida, and their classmates, are clearing up after their last ever cultural festival, when horror buff class representative Ayumi Shinozaki decides to perform Sachiko Ever After so they will stay friends forever. Instead, they were whisked away to a haunted graduation ceremony for Heavenly Host Elementary School, forced to close after a series of gruesome murders. What fate awaits Naomi and her friends at the cursed school...?

The film depicts two girls who are wavering in their longing for the same sex.

When middle-aged salary man Tsubakiyama suddenly dies, he leaves his family high and dry. But suddenly he's given another chance: a few days in which to return to Earth and straighten things out. The thing is, he's come back in the form of a strikingly beautiful young woman.

In prewar Japan under the military regime, a bloody battle between the extremely oppressive Special Higher Police and villagers begins!