The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
The last samurai who lead an army of 690 against an enemy of 50 thousand – In 1867, political power returned to the Emperor and 260 years of the Tokugawa…
Mifune: The Last Samurai
An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.
Lucky Adventurer Nobunaga Oda
Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) was a major daimyo during the Warring State period of Japanese history. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy military governor with land holdings…
Girls of the Night
In the late 1950’s prostitution was banned in Japan and if a woman was found exercising this profession they were sent to a reformatory. This is the story of Kuniko,…
After Life
On a cold Monday morning, a group of counselors clock in at an old-fashioned social services office. Their task is to interview the recently deceased, record their personal details, then,…
Madadayo
Based on the life of Hyakken Uchida, a Japanese author and academic. The film opens with Uchida resigning his job as a German professor at the onset of WWII. The…
Red Beard
Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic…
High and Low
In the midst of an attempt to take over his company, a powerhouse executive is hit with a huge ransom demand when his servant’s son is kidnapped.
Daredevil in the Castle
During the raging war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the swordsman Mohei (whose family has been completely decimated) is recruited by Toyotomi to overcome the seat of power, Osaka…
Mothra
Shipwreck survivors found on the presumably uninhabited Infant Island leads to a scientific expedition that discovers a surviving native population along with the Shobijin, tiny twin fairy priestesses of the…
The Bad Sleep Well
In this loose adaptation of “Hamlet,” illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At…
The Three Treasures
The legend of the birth of Shintoism. In Fourth Century Japan, the Emperor’s son Ouso expects to succeed his father on the throne, but Otomo, the Emperor’s vassal, prefers Ouso’s…
Sudden Rain
A husband and wife’s pet peeves and minor irritations escalate into major rifts and animosity.
Sansho the Bailiff
In medieval Japan, a woman and her children journey to find the family’s patriarch, who was exiled years before.
The Crucified Lovers
When the wife of a 17th century Kyoto scroll-maker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves falling for…
Tokyo Story
The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and…
Mother
A teenaged girl witnesses her widowed mother’s attempt to sustain her family.
Lightning
The story of Kiyoko, a young woman who has successfully managed to make a break with her dysfunctional family who have been trying to arrange a marriage for her with…
Ginza Cosmetics
A luckless geisha struggles to make a living for herself and her young son.