Toshio Hosokawa

A fictional account of the life of Japanese author Yukio Mishima, combining dramatizations of three of his novels and a depiction of the events of November 25th, 1970.

The descendant of the servant of a cruel and vicious samurai returns to the town where she was born, only to find that a cat who is possessed by the spirits of those murdered by the samurai is trying to kill her.

Dances of Flame

A fishing union depends on two brothers to make up the losses caused by the dishonest captains they replaced.

Horror film about a killer dwarf.

A young dockworker who owes his life to his boss becomes embroiled in union activity on the Yokohama waterfront. The rebel Saburo works as an errand boy for a shipping company and vents his frustrations by plucking on the guitar.

With the object of discovering the male accomplice of Hideko, a bad girl, Michiko, a police-woman, disguises herself and infiltrates a gang. Then in a reformatory, under the name of Suzuko, she finds a certain girl who is familiar with Hideko and from her she approaches a woman, named Keiko. One day, at a beer-hall, the police-woman meets Keiko who just finished a secret narcotics transaction and asks her about Hideko. However, with the sudden appearance of Saburo, one of the gang, her search fails, and an exciting pursuit begins. Later Keiko is found dead.

The year is 1937, and it has been six months since the Sendai Infantry left for Manchuria. The rotted corpse of a young woman is found at the bottom of a well, but her face and limbs are gone. The military police begin an investigation and search fervently for the person responsible, but they can't even determine the victim's identity, much less find any clues. However, the incident is made public when newspapers give wide coverage to the story, so Staff Sergeant Kosaka is dispatched from Tokyo to solve the case. Eventually, General Tsunekichi is taken into custody by local infantrymen because of the testimony of another unit, but the spirit of the dead woman appears before Staff Sergeant Kosaka, who continues to investigate on his own...

Boxing film directed by Teruo Ishii in his directorial debut.

Crime film distributed by Taiho.

An Inn at Osaka, rarely seen outside Japan, 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. Notable for its exquisite framing and cinematography, An Inn at Osaka allows its complicated plotlines to disappear behind the minutiae of penury and humiliation that Mito and others suffer during the post-war economic and social reconstruction.

One of Japanese folklore's most popular characters is brought to life on the silver screen in this terrific version of legendary Demon slaying Peach Boy.

Meiji Tenno portrays the buildup to the Russo-Japan War. In addition to showing the political events that led to war, it also shows the era from the story of a farm family in rural Japan that sends 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 its combatants often do not know what they are fighting for.

After surviving the double suicide pact she made with her lover, a woman gives birth to their child.

Japanese comedy film.

Yuri is looking forward to marrying her fiancé Minoru. However, a few days before the wedding she falls victim to his brother Takehiko, and against her will, she becomes Takehiko's wife. The day after the wedding, Yuri begins her silent revenge by not talking to her husband. She retains her love for Minoru and never gives herself to Takehiko's embrace again. She also contributes large sums of money from Takehiko's fortune to charity.

Japanese war film based on the true story of Yoshiko Kawashima, played by actress Miyuki Takakura in her film debut.

Japanese film about motorcycle racing.

On September 1, 1923, an unprecedented earthquake hit the Kanto region. The streets are filled with victims, and rumors are circulating around. The military seized the opportunity to round up and kill many socialists, anarchists, and Koreans, culminating in the arrest and murder of Sakae Osugi. His comrades and students are outraged by this atrocity. The young man Furukawa also becomes stronger in his determination to overthrow the military...

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.

Japanese war film.

Japanese mystery film marking Yuka Mizuhara's film debut.

影法師捕物帖

Japanese war 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.

Freelance reporter “Scoop” Machida is hot on the trail of a prostitution ring called the Black Line, when he is framed for the murder of a young woman. Forced to clear his own name, the handsome journalist sinks deeper into the Black Line’s rotten swamp of drugs, prostitution, and murder and finds unexpected help in Maya, a steamy female gambler familiar with the neon-lit streets, shadowy alleyways, and seedy nightclubs he must navigate. The closest film in the Line series to classic American film noir, Ishii’s Black Line is a pulpy assortment of crime film conventions including the starkly expressionistic black and white cinematography by Jûgyô Yoshida, a jazzy music score by Michiaki Watanabe, and a sleazy screenplay by Ishii and Ichirô Miyagawa.

Based on the manga of the same name. Originally published in the Japanese magazine Weekly Playboy. It follows Ippei Yasuda, son of a prominent family, who is immensely gifted in nearly everything he does.

It tells the story of a couple who fall into a trap set up by a sinister organization. One of them is a guy who is framed for the murder of his lover. The other is a woman pick-pocket who is entrapped by the organization's schemes involving their crimes. Fate places them together, and they start to investigate the prostitution ring run by the organization...

Japanese spy film.

A work with the motif of a legend that remains in the mountain villages of Shinshu and Hida. A white snake helped by a young man transfers to a girl's body, longing for him and burning in an endless passion.

An investigation into a drug smuggler who is assassinated in front of an insurance building sets two detectives, Sumikawa and Akine, into a sprawling investigation through Tokyo's underworld.

The son of an executioner and the assassin he loved yet murdered learns of his origins, leaving his foster parents to avenge his mother's death.

Early film directed by Kenji Misumi.

This Is a Man's World

A widow raises her sickly son to be strong enough to join the army and fight on the front lines.

A wealthy family will not allow the military to grow crops on their fields due to their superstitious beliefs about their son's illness.

A young man working as a cameraman in Tokyo is visited for three days by his parents from the countryside.

The year is 1945, months prior to Japan's ultimate defeat in WW2, and military lieutenant Sugawa is sent on a critical mission to deliver micro-fiche war plans to Tokyo from his base in Malaysia. But while flying over Chinese waters his plane is shot down and he is taken aboard a ship bound for Shanghai to deliver its merchandise - a ship filled with Female Slaves kidnapped from Japan. Will he abandon the women to pursue his main objective? Or will he fight foes, spies and pirates to save these women against all odds?

Melodrama about a talented singer who finally makes her debut

Rika, a manageress of a night club is about to be arrested on suspicion of smuggling. However, she escapes through the assistance rendered her by First Lieutenant Yokoyama of the Japanese Naval Commander's Office. After the end of war, Yokoyama plans to escape from riot-ridden Amoy and finally succeeds with the help of Rika to whom he gives a destroyer. Rika is actually the leader of a gang of pirates, and plans to rule the East China Sea by crushing Banryu, her rival.

Emperor & Empress Meiji and the Sino-Japanese War

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words use by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.

A remake of Kaidan Saga yashiki (1953).

From the pen of Yoshikawa Eiji comes this exciting story. The Naruto Strait separates Tokushima from the islands of Awaji and Honshu. On Tokushima the mad lord dreams of conquest and forges a bloody revolt against the Tokugawa shogunate. A mysterious swordsman named Noriyuki Gennojo has crossed Naruto’s waters to uncover the Awa clan’s secrets. He puts his life on the line after finding a testament of Awa’s secrets, written in blood by a dying man. Joining Noriyuki are a female ninja who loves him, and the beautiful daughter of an enemy who’s sworn to kill him. Awa’s defenders willl stop at nothing to prevent the blood-soaked letter from reaching the shogun.

Demonfire Palanquin

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

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.

This time around, Sashichi is investigating a case of serial murders believed to be perpetrated by a giant bear.

A businessman runs afoul of the law and commits suicide, leaving behind a wife and five children. The eldest son takes the family to Tokyo and labors to restore its name and fortune

Women endure hardship and struggle to keep away from prostitution in the immediate aftermath of WWII. The "Special Comfort Women Association" (RAA) creates a shelter for women to avoid falling into prostitution. Young Fumiko and Yuko will try their luck there.

1962 Japanese movie

A 1959 Yoshiaki Bansho adaptation of an Osaragi Jiro story.

Surging Waves

The Militarists

Coinciding with the LDP presidential election of the entire national public, a masterpiece depicting the reverse side of Showa political history released, superimposed cast, a group image of real politicians centered on Shigeru Yoshida and political history after the war.

Hanran

Tozai Electric president Minamoto (Yanagi) is about to be pursued by the public prosecutor's office and tries to bribe Manabe (Saburi), the man in charge, but fails. His daughter Naeko (Takamine) finds out and takes on the role herself. This is a love romance adapted from an original story by Seiichi Funabashi that appeared in the magazine "Romance.”

A boy aviator endures rigorous training and a sad fate, and grows into a strong man with his eyes set on becoming an eagle.

光速エスパー