Tatsuya Nakadai

biography:
Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代 達矢, Nakadai Tatsuya; born Motohisa Nakadai; December 13, 1932 – November 8, 2025) was a Japanese actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Japanese cinema, he collaborated extensively with many of Japan's best-known and acclaimed directors. In his over seven decade career, he appeared in more than 160 films, and received numerous accolades. He was honored with a Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1996 and Japan's Order of Culture in 2015.

Nakadai rose to prominence starring in Masaki Kobayashi's films, with his breakthrough being the protagonist of the epic anti-war trilogy The Human Condition (1959–1961). He won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for his performance as the vengeful ronin in Harakiri (1962), a role he considered his finest. Nakadai collaborated on eleven films with Kobayashi—including Kwaidan (1964) and Samurai Rebellion (1967)—and five with Akira Kurosawa, most notably as the tragic warlord in Ran (1985), a performance that earned global acclaim. His other notable credits included Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961), The Sword of Doom (1966), The Face of Another (1966), Goyokin (1969), Kagemusha (1980), and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013).

A lifelong stage actor, he founded the Gendai Nohgaku-kai troupe in 1975 and continued performing on stage into his nineties.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Tatsuya Nakadai, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Shin Heike Monogatari

overview: Set at the end of the 12th century when several wars for control of Japan disrupted a long era of peace, this tale of "Heike" (another name for the Taira clan) focuses on Taira Kiyomori who fights alongside other members of his clan to at first successfully overcome the Minamoto clan and their bid for power. Battles and intrigue abound, as the puppet Emperor and Buddhist monks take sides in the power struggle. At issue is Kiyomori's parentage, not an unusual problem for the nobility in that era where clandestine liaisons among courtiers and the upper classes were common.

character: Taira no Kiyomori

original_name: 新・平家物語

original_language: ja

A Sinner's Lie

overview: Serious legal thriller starring Hideaki Ito which depicts the glory and the darkness of an infamous and highly paid lawyer.

character: Kenzo Haneda

original_name: 罪人の嘘

Samurai Banners

overview:
Fūrin Kazan was the 46th NHK Taiga drama beginning on January 7, 2007. It was aired throughout 2007.

The four characters from left to right are wind, woods, fire, and mountain. The title is a reference to the war banner used by Takeda Shingen, which in turn was taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. It means "Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain."

original_name: 風林火山

name: Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World

overview: "I thought I might be using a lifetime's happiness in a moment. I was that happy and she was that beautiful." A young boy stands on the red earth of Australia under its blue sky. It is 17-year-old Sakutaro Matsumoto. His time with the girl comes back to him. The colored sand runs through his hands and a tear appears on his cheek. He wakes up. It's 2004 and he is 34 years old and in Japan. He thinks "I have been in a world without her for 17 years." Returning home to see his old high school for the last time before it is demolished, Saku confronts anew the loss of the love of his life, Aki, to leukemia 17 years ago. Now a medical researcher at graduate school, he has been living as if half of him died with her since then.

character: Matsumoto Kentaro

original_name: 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ

嘱託刑事･小山田昭平　旅路の果て

original_name: 嘱託刑事･小山田昭平　旅路の果て

A Son of the Good Earth

original_name: 大地の子

ゴメスの名はゴメス

original_name: ゴメスの名はゴメス

Kinagashi Bugyō

overview: Koheita, a newly appointed magistrate, never shows his face in the magistrate's office, instead spending his time in the 'Horisoto', a den of evil where anything goes, from theft to prostitution to murder. However, this man is about to clean up the city in an unconventional way!

original_name: 着ながし奉行

Momi no Ki wa Nokotta: Ranshin

overview: A human drama based on the "Date Riots".

original_name: 樅ノ木は残った 乱心

Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell

overview: Nezu no Hamakichi used to be a renowned detective. He had lost his job and been banished from Edo after he was arrested for some reasons. Back in Edo for the first time in 5 years, he has just sold toys. This is a story that Hamakichi resolves difficult incidents.

original_name: 風車の浜吉捕物綴

Suna no Utsuwa

overview: Two police investigate the death of a corpse found in a train yard.

character: 今西栄太郎

original_name: 砂の器

Aoki Ookami Narukichiomoase no Shougai

overview: Tv special that follows the life of Genghis Khan. Adapted from a novel by Yasushi Inoue.

character: ナレーション

original_name: 蒼き狼 成吉思汗の生涯

original_language: en

The Human Condition

overview:
LOVE IS THE CONDITION FOR BEING HUMAN

The Human Condition is a Japanese epic film trilogy made between 1959 and 1961 The trilogy follows the life of Kaji, a Japanese pacifist and socialist, as he tries to survive in the totalitarian and oppressive world of World War II-era Japan.  Taken altogether as a single film, it is 9 hours and 47 minutes long, which includes intermissions, making it one of the longest narrative films ever made.

character: Kaji

original_name: 人間の條件

English

iso_639_1: en

iso_3166_1: US

english_name: English

Español

Tatsuya Nakadai

biography:
Tatsuya Nakadai (仲代達矢 Nakadai Tatsuya, n. Tokio, 13 de diciembre de 1932) es un actor japonés de cine, teatro y televisión.

Desde su descubrimiento en 1953, Nakadai ha aparecido en más de 120 películas. Es conocido por ser un actor habitual en la filmografía de Masaki Kobayashi, así como por sus papeles en varias películas de Akira Kurosawa de los años 1950 y 1960. Es uno de los actores japoneses vivos más reconocidos. En 1968 llegaría su única experiencia en el cine europeo, el spaghetti western italiano Ojo por ojo, dirigido por Tonino Cervi.

Deutsch

Tatsuya Nakadai

biography: Tatsuya Nakadai (geb. Motohisa Nakadai) war ein japanischer Schauspieler. Er gilt weithin als einer der größten Schauspieler der Filmgeschichte und arbeitete intensiv mit vielen der bekanntesten und gefeiertsten Regisseure Japans zusammen. In seiner über sieben Jahrzehnte währenden Karriere wirkte er in mehr als 160 Filmen mit und erhielt zahlreiche Auszeichnungen. 1996 wurde ihm die Medaille mit Purpurband und 1997 der Japanische Kulturorden verliehen.

iso_639_1: de

iso_3166_1: DE

english_name: German

Pусский

iso_639_1: ru

iso_3166_1: RU

english_name: Russian

Português

Tatsuya Nakadai

biography: Tatsuya Nakadai (Tóquio, 13 de dezembro de 1932) é um ator japonês. Desde que foi descoberto em 1953, Nakadai já atuou em mais de 120 filmes. É conhecido pelos seus papéis nos filmes de Akira Kurosawa nos anos 50 e 60, é seguramente o ator japonês vivo mais renomado daquele país. Ele se tornou o protagonista favorito do diretor aclamado internacionalmente Akira Kurosawa após uma discussão bem divulgada entre Kurosawa e o lendário Toshirō Mifune. A partir do final da década de 1950, ele trabalhou com vários dos cineastas mais conhecidos do Japão, estrelando ou co-estrelando cinco filmes de Kurosawa.

iso_639_1: pt

iso_3166_1: BR

english_name: Portuguese

普通话

iso_639_1: zh

iso_3166_1: CN

english_name: Mandarin

한국어/조선말

iso_639_1: ko

iso_3166_1: KR

english_name: Korean

日本語

仲代達矢

biography: 1952年、俳優座演劇研究所付属俳優養成所に4期生として入所。千田是也に師事し、シェイクスピア劇から日本の怪談ものまで多数の舞台に出演。映画界では、小林正樹監督に見いだされ、「人間の條件」6部作（59～61）や「切腹」（62）などで主演を務め、黒澤明監督の「影武者」（80）、「乱」（85）にも主演。成瀬巳喜男、岡本喜八、市川崑、五社英雄など日本を代表する監督の作品に多数出演し、日本映画界に欠かせない存在となる。75年に私塾「無名塾」を設立し、後進の俳優育成にも注力している。NHK大河ドラマ「新・平家物語」（72）や、「大地の子」（95）ほか多くのTVドラマにも出演した。芸術選奨文部大臣賞など数々の演劇賞を受賞。92年、仏シュバリエ芸術勲章、96年に紫綬褒章、03年に勲四等旭日小綬章、15年に文化勲章を受章した。

iso_639_1: ja

iso_3166_1: JP

english_name: Japanese

Český

iso_639_1: cs

iso_3166_1: CZ

english_name: Czech

Français

iso_639_1: fr

iso_3166_1: FR

english_name: French

Italiano

iso_639_1: it

iso_3166_1: IT

english_name: Italian

Português

iso_3166_1: PT

Український

iso_639_1: uk

iso_3166_1: UA

english_name: Ukrainian

普通话

iso_3166_1: HK

Slovenčina

iso_639_1: sk

iso_3166_1: SK

english_name: Slovak

also_known_as:
Тацуя Накадай
Tatsuya Nakadaki
تاتسویا ناکادای
Motohisa Nakadai
仲代 元久
仲代元久
仲代 達矢

title: Kwaidan

overview: Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

character: Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")

original_title: 怪談

title: Sanjuro

overview: In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

character: Hanbei Muroto

original_title: 椿三十郎

title: The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

overview: After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labour chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts and moves with his newlywed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.

original_title: 人間の條件　第１部純愛篇／第２部激怒篇

title: Ran

overview: Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

character: Lord Hidetora Ichimonji

original_title: 乱

title: Kagemusha

overview: Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

character: Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha

original_title: 影武者

title: Yojimbo

overview: A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

character: Unosuke, gunfighter

original_title: 用心棒

title: Hachiko

overview: The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.

character: Shujiro Ueno

original_title: ハチ公物語

title: Samurai Rebellion

overview: The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.

character: Tatewaki Asano

original_title: 上意討ち 拝領妻始末

title: High and Low

overview: A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

character: Chief Detective Tokura

original_title: 天国と地獄

title: Phoenix

overview: Emi Ikushima, a star actress in the Roses, is half-hearted, but she wasn't disappointed by the news of her father Enmy's sudden death, and she performed enthusiastically on the stage that night, attracting a crowded audience.

title: The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

overview: Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.

original_title: 人間の條件　第３部望郷篇／第４部戦雲篇

title: The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer

overview: After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his old life, he faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his men sneak behind enemy lines.

title: The Wolves

overview: After going to prison for killing the boss of the Kanno gang, Seji Iwahashi gets released early -- only to find that his former gang has merged with the Kannos. But with bitter resentments lingering on both sides, how long will it be before the bloodshed begins anew?

title: Harakiri

overview: Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

title: The Face of Another

overview: A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his new doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality and causing him to question his identity.

title: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

overview: Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.

title: Tenchu!

overview: A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.

title: Odd Obsession

overview: A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.

title: 13 Assassins

overview: Gathering a band of 13, Inspector General Shmada Shinzaemon sets out on a death-defying journey to cut down the shogun’s half-brother, Matsudaira Naritsugu.

title: Hunter in the Dark

overview: Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.

title: Henkan kōshōjin: Itsuka, Okinawa o torimodosu

overview: In 2010, while covering the issue of the "secret agreement" at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the author came across diplomatic documents relating to the reversion of Okinawa and was particularly impressed by the handwritten documents of Kazuo Chiba, then Director of the North American First Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which, unlike ordinary bureaucrats, "stood out from the crowd and seemed unique". The name of Chiba subsequently appeared in a number of documents left by former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato's secretary, and the author became interested in finding out what kind of person he was.

original_title: 返還交渉人 -いつか、沖縄を取り戻す-

title: Kill!

overview: A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.

title: Magistrate of the Floating World

overview: Kodaira Mochizuki has come from Edo to keep Horisoto secure.

title: Wish Upon a Star

original_title: 星に願いを ～七畳間で生まれた410万の星～

title: Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!

overview: A man, released after a jail term for a crime he did not commit, raises a gang to go after the man who framed him.

title: Goyokin

overview: A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.

title: Illusion of Blood

overview: The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.

title: Final Yamato

overview: The Galman Empire is destroyed but the planet Galmania is not, by a chance collision of galaxies. The Bolar Federation worlds including Planet Bolar are destroyed. The Yamato, back under the command of Captain Okita, encounters the planet Denguil too late to save its humanoid civilization from being flooded by the water planet Aquarius. The surviving Denguil, a warrior race who believe only the strong should survive, plan to use Aquarius to flood Earth and destroy humanity, in order to create a new home for their race.

title: Ant Hell War

overview: The sixth film of the desperado outpost series directed by Takashi Tsuboshima

title: Wicked City

overview: A peace treaty between the Earth and the Black World, a parallel universe of demons, is coming to an end. Two cops, Taki, a human male, and Maki, a female demon, are assigned to protect a diplomat who will help secure another treaty. A radical group of demons from the Black World are out to assassinate the diplomat and prevent the treaty; only the bond that forms between the two cops can save the Earth from destruction.

title: The Sword of Doom

overview: Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.

title: Portrait of Hell

overview: The story, set in the Heian era, depicts the conflict between Korean painter Yoshihide (Nakadai) and his Japanese patron, the cruel and egotistical daimyo Horikawa (Nakamura).  It is based on the 1918 short story Hell Screen by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

title: Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival

overview: The blind masseuse is targeted by the leader of a powerful yakuza group while also fending off a jealous husband bent on revenge. Zatoichi tours Edo's underground via a rousing onsen fight scene, gambling houses and the gender-bending character of Umeji, before a final, flame-filled conflagration.

title: Daughters, Wives and a Mother

overview: Sanae is left a widow after her prestigious husband dies, but holds the proceeds of a million yen insurance policy. Being childless, her former in-laws have no objection to her return to her own family.

title: Kurosawa

overview: Documentary on film maker Akira Kurosawa

title: Return from the River Kwai

overview: A group of war prisoners has spilt blood, sweat and tears to construct a bridge over the river Kwai in Thailand. Just when the bridge is ready, an American bomber arrives and destroys it. Camp commander Tanaka wants to set an example and orders that some of the prisoners must be executed. Just in time major Harada arrives with orders that the healthiest prisoners must be transported to Japan by train and boat. A treacherous journey since the allied forces keep a close eye on railroads and practically own the seas.

title: Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen

overview:
Ushinosuke returns to his hometown to become a farmer.
 Part three (of four) of the film adaptation of Bunroku Shishi’s novel, Oban.

title: Oban kanketsu hen

overview:
Ushinosuke returns to Tokyo with new ambitions.
 Fourth and final part of the film adaptation of Bunroku Shishi’s novel, Oban.

title: Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron

overview: Kumokiri Nizaemon, a former samurai warrior, has abandoned his class to become the leader of a gang of thieves. He leads his outlaws in an attempt to rob the castle of his former clan.

title: Ôban

overview: A young country boy leaves his village for Tokyo, where he begins to work as a stock trader. First part (of four) of the film adaptation of  Bunroku Shishi's novel, Oban.

title: Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen

overview:
Ushinosuke returns broke to his hometown, where everyone believes he's rich and successful.
 Part two (of four) of the film adaptation of Bunroku Shishi's novel, Oban.

title: Conflagration

overview: Learning of his family's collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.

title: Inn of Evil

overview: In feudal Japan, when any commerce with the rest of the world is strictly prohibited, an idealist appears at an isolated inn, headquarters of smugglers with stolen money intended to ransom his loved one forced to work in a brothel.

title: Black River

overview: A love triangle develops between a benevolent student, his innocent girlfriend, and a cruel petty criminal, all as a point of diagnosis of a social disease that had Japan slowly succumbing to lawlessness during the post-War era.

title: Haru's Journey

overview: Stuck in a fishing village in Hokkaido, Tadao's grand-daughter Haru is desperate to visit Tokyo, a trip Tadao is reluctant to make.

title: Blood End

overview: Sentaro is been severely beaten for his defiance of the government and the high taxes during a time of famine. He is befriended by Kada Gentaro, a leader in the Mito Tengu group, which plans to overthrow the shogunate.

title: The Human Bullet

overview: A soldier has been in the Japanese military for the entirety of WWII, and in that time, his dedication to the army has never faltered. However, as the war draws to a close, his commanding officers become increasingly desperate and push their men to ever more absurd extremes. The ridiculousness of the orders from above peak when the hero of the story is assigned to drive a one-man submarine straight into the hull of an enemy battleship.

title: Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather

overview: Onimasa is the egocentric boss of a small yakuza clan on Shikoku Island, whose criminal duties conflict with his self-image as a chivalrous samurai. His struggles with his boss, the Shikoku Godfather, and the tumultuous life of his adopted daughter, Matsue, form the backdrop of this epic tale of justice, obedience, and bloody vengeance.

title: Immortal Love

overview: A young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. This episodic tale follows their story through three decades of bitter conflict which engulfs their children and those around them.

title: Battle of the Japan Sea

overview: Japan and Russia clash in what comes to be known as the Russo-Japanese War. An attempt by the Japanese fleet and army to take Port Arthur fails, and a Russian fleet bears down on the Sea of Japan. Admiral Heihachiro Togo sends his fleet to confront the Russians, with results which stun both nations. Meanwhile, Major Genjiro Akashi makes secret negotiations with the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia, negotiations that have repercussions far beyond the conflict at hand.

title: Like Asura

overview: The four Takezawa sisters discover that their father has an illegitimate child so they hire a private detective to investigate.

title: Japan's Tragedy

overview: In 2010, 31,560 people ended their own lives and about 20,000 people died or went missing with the earthquake. Unemployed widower Fujio Murai’s family tragedy contains instances of both; diagnosed with lung cancer, Fujio refuses surgery and returns home with his son Yoshio.

title: East Meets West

overview: A disgraced warrior planning the murder of a Japanese diplomat, and a ninja in the employ of a navy official are about to land in San Francisco when a band of thieves steal the money the diplomats are carrying. The two set off on a chase across the American west to catch the robbers.

title: Great evil does not go to sleep: The counterattack of the special investigation unit prosecutor

overview: Shinichi Tominaga is a prosecutor, newly appointed to the special investigation division for the Tokyo district prosecutors' office. He is currently busy with a case involving suspicious donations to powerful politician Yohei Tachibana. Shinichi then receives a mysterious message from his friend Samon Kondo. His friend is in charge of space development at The The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The message talks about a scandal related to space development. Samon soon goes missing after sending the message. Shinichi begins to see a connection between the two cases.

original_title: 巨悪は眠らせない 特捜検事の逆襲

title: Heat Wave

overview: Rin Jyoshima lost her father to death-by-gambling; years later, she's grown up in the Kosugi household and has fallen victim to gambling herself.

title: I Am a Cat

overview: Nakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He’s put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will appreciate how the actor comically rants about here. His home life is almost disastrous, with a ditzy (but attractive) wife, three young children, a loud school nearby that’s controlled by a corrupt businessman he loathes, and frequent visits from layabout friends. And the grey-furred, green-eyed cat!

title: The Battle of Okinawa

overview: The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.

title: Kurosawa: The Last Emperor

overview: A profile and history of film director Akira Kurosawa.

title: The Inheritance

overview: A dying businessman intends to will ¥200 million to his three illegitimate children, but his associates scheme to take advantage of the situation.

title: Another Way: D-Kikan-Joho

original_title: アナザーウェイ　Ｄ機関情報

title: Battle Cry

overview: During the military phase of the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Sentaro joins a local militia loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate in order to fight Imperial troops. But Sentaro's friendship with a pickpocket, who switches sides whenever it suits his needs, leads to complications that could cost Sentaro his life as they infiltrate enemy lines.

title: Kin chan no Cinema Jack

overview: Kin chan no Cinema Jack is an anthology film starring Yuen Biao and produced by Jackie Chan

original_title: 第1回欽ちゃんのシネマジャック

title: The Age of Assassins

overview: A nerdy young college instructor named Shinji Kikyo returns home one day to find himself the target of a mad assassin. Surviving somewhat miraculously, he fends off other assassins and with the help of reporter Keiko Tsurumaki and car mechanic Bill Otomo, eventually discovering that a "population control" association is really an assassination squad led by Shogo Mizorogi, who has been training patients of a mental asylum to become killers.

title: The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan

overview: An outlaw pushes the residents of Edo's red light district to rebel against a growing number of stifling, moralistic laws.

title: The Law of Hell

overview: At a restaurant called Anrakutei on an island is a wasteland surrounded by moat and swamp. The owner Ikuzo manages the restaurant with his daughter. It’s customers who have a dark past have utmost respect for Ikuzo. One day, a half-dead man Tomijiro comes to the restaurant. This is the beginning of Ikuzo’s terrible fight.

title: The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa

overview: A biographical drama depicting the life full of love and suffering of the writer and poet Kenji Miyazawa, who celebrated his 100th birthday in 1996.

title: Duel at Fort Ezo

overview: 1864. Samurai Shinbei is sent in a secret mission to Ezo, in the North of Japan, to stop riots of villagers commanded by Jirozaemon. A Russian count's daughter, the village leader's daughter and a secret treasure add up to the adventure.

title: Love Under the Crucifix

overview: A tea master and his daughter Ogin are both Christians in feudal Japan. Ogin falls in love with a married feudal prince who shares her faith. When the Shogun bans Christianity, the situation worsens.

title: Vengeance for Sale

overview: In a world where vendettas are officially sanctioned, the people sometimes needed help in carrying out their vengeance. Sanada Hiroyuki stars as Sukeroku the Helper, a ‘cool and rambling yakuza’ that has made a business out of helping victims carry out their revenge. When he returns to his hometown to pay a visit to his mother’s grave he meets a deadly ronin who carries a secret which eventually leads him into a vendetta of his own.

title: After the Rain

overview: A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst the trapped travelers.

title: Rise, Fair Sun

overview: A pioneer farmer's stubborn dream of building Japan's greatest ranch is put to the test when a leisure resort company sets its sights on his village's land.

title: Until the Break of Dawn

overview: High school student Ayumi is trained by his grandmother to act as a "tsunagu," an intermediary for people who want to reach the dead.

title: A Dangerous Hero

title: ふたりの死刑囚

title: Murder of the Inugami Clan

overview: Inugami Sahei, who built up the wealth of the Inugami Clan, passes away, leaving a will with Furudate, his legal adviser, for his daughters Matsuko, Takeko and Umeko, all of whom have different mothers, and for their sons, as well as for Nonomiya Tamayo, the granddaughter of a person to whom Sahei feels heavily indebted. The will states that all his assets are inherited by Tamayo alone, on the condition that she marries one of the sons of the daughters. Furudate's assistant learns the content of the will, and seeks advice from Kindaichi Kosuke, a private detective, as he senses the air of unease. Shortly afterwards, murders start to occur one after another in the clan.

title: A Boy and Three Mothers

title: Battle Anthem

overview: The story of Japan's victory in the battle of Tsushima Strait.

title: Fireflies in the North

overview: Set in the icy wilderness of Hokkaido during the early days of the Meiji era, where the brutal warden of Kabato Prison terrorizes convicts sentenced to forced labor to build the roads needed to open up the territory.

title: The Empty Table

overview: One year after the Kidojis' eldest son Otohiko was arrested for his part in a terrorist kidnapping, which resulted in multiple deaths, all the other perpetrators' parents have either resigned from their professional positions or taken their own lives, Nobuyuki Kidoji remains adamant that he is not responsible for his son's actions.

title: Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS

overview: A Japanese film that tells the tale of the birth of VHS. It follows Kagatani Shizuo, an electronics employee who rallies his coworkers to save their jobs by increasing sales. They do this by developing the VHS standard. They battle with Sony and their standard and ultimately prevail.

title: Giovanni's Island

overview: In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.

title: Safari 5000

overview: A Japanese racing driver for Nissan named Godai (Yujiro Ishihara) have a  rivalry with a French driver named Pierre (Jean-Claude Drouot). Godai is enlisted to race in an annual endurance race, The East African Safari Rally. Peripheral to this is the story concerning Godai's former lover Yuko (Ruriko Asaoka), a fashion designer, and her friend Anna (Emmanuel Riva), who happens to be Pierre's wife.

title: Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya

overview: For his first film in fourteen years, animation director Isao Takahata embarked on a visually sumptuous adaptation of The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter. A dream project for the director that would hopefully establish the recently formed Ghibli Studio 7, created to meet the demands of a new type of modern animation process. But, almost immediately, the epic production is faced with difficulties and falls dramatically behind schedule. In this compelling and insightful documentary, we follow Isao Takahata and his dedicated team of artists as they frantically strive against adversity to make their vision a reality and bring Studio Ghibli into a new era.

original_title: 高畑勲、『かぐや姫の物語』をつくる。〜ジブリ第7スタジオ、933日の伝説〜

title: Listen to My Heart

overview: A radio DJ, Mai starts a new program called, "Love Letters from the Drawer" to assist people who need an extra push to send out their simple yet very important message for their loved ones. The show was inspired by her own experience after reading a letter from her father after he died. Through her radio show, various characters come to light as everyone awaits for a miracle to happen. A miracle which can occur only by them expressing their true feelings...  The movie is full of emotions and music plays an important part of it. It has a great cast that represent the many faces of love. Parents, sons, lovers, and friends. The movie takes you to several locations within Japan, you can get a look at the beautiful coast and shrine, as well as the city sights

original_title: 引き出しの中のラブレター

title: Untamed Woman

overview: A woman marries, gives birth to a stillborn child, and divorces, falls in love with a hotel-keeper, only to find herself subordinated to his drive for success, takes up with a tailor who cannot console himself with her strong personality.

title: Basara: The Princess Goh

overview: Furuta Oribe is ordered to become tea master under Toyotomi Hideyoshi after his teacher Sen no Rikyū, the former tea master, was ordered to commit suicide. Princess Goh, daughter of the lord but adopted by Hideyoshi, is outraged when Rikyū's severed head is thrown in the Nijo River. She sends Usu, Oribe's servant, to retrieve the head and deliver it to Rikyū's adopted daughter.

title: Belladonna of Sadness

overview: An evil feudal lord rapes a village girl on her wedding night and proceeds to ruin her and her husband's lives. After she's eventually banished from her village, the girl makes a pact with the devil to gain magical ability and take revenge.

title: The Gate of Youth

overview: Mainly the story of Shinsuke and his stepmother, ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens. Coal workers and the mines dominate nearly every aspect of the life of the characters. Shinsuke's father dies while bravely using dynamite to rescue a group of trapped Korean miners. Several older men attempt to help he and his mother cope, including a kind Korean and a Harley-riding yakuza.

title: Life Work of Akira Kurosawa

overview: Acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa has been misunderstood. Despite his public perception an a perfectionist who would clash with anyone in his way, the real Kurosawa was actually a very gentle and soft-spoken director. This documentary depicts the human being Akira Kurosawa on the set of his masterpiece "Ran".

title: Seven Samurai

overview: A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

character: Samurai Wandering through Town (uncredited)

title: Making of Ran

overview: Behind the scenes of Akira Kurosawa's Ran, produced by Kurosawa Productions.

title: The Fir Trees Remain

overview: 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...

title: Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict

overview: A noble samurai serving the Shogun as 'Kogi Kaishaku-nin' (Official Executioner) is the target of a plot by the evil Yagyu Clan to take away his position and replace him with a member of their own family.  When his wife is murdered and evidence is produced that he was plotting against the Shogun the Code of Bushido calls for him and his son to commit sepuku. Instead he defies the Shogun's orders and takes up arms against his enemies, becoming an assassin for hire.

original_title: 子連れ狼 その小さき手に

title: The Family

overview: Set in the post-World War II climate of the 1960s in Kobe, the movie explores the struggle for power within the powerful Manpyo family.

title: Fort Graveyard

overview: Charged with insubordination for punching a superior, Sergeant Kosugi is shipped to China in the last desperate days of the Second World War. His commander, Captain Sakuma, is vicious and dictatorial. Sakuma places Kosugi in charge of training for combat what once was the military band. Kosugi must somehow prepare his inept soldiers for the rigors of combat.

title: Queen Bee

overview: To solve the mystery of a murder of an old governess which takes place at a wealthy Daidoji family's country estate, family secrets and lies dating back several generations must be sorted out once and for all.

title: Will to Conquer

overview: The struggles of a low-ranking samurai (Nakamura) coming to terms with the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the end of Japan's feudal age with the 1868 Restoration.

original_title: 商魂一代　天下の暴れん坊

title: Gaku

title: Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell

title: Port Arthur

overview: Depicts the bloody siege of the fortress of Port Arthur, one of the most strongly fortified positions in the world, during the Russo-Japanese War of (1904 - 1905). In the story dominated the character Lt Takeshi Kogyo (Teruhiko Aoi), teachers, and a reserve officer who became commander of the platoon and later company. At the same time monitors the conduct of the army commander general Nogi (Tatsuya Nakadai), which was commissioned of the emperor Matsuhito (Toshirô Mifune) to the conquest of the fort.

title: Blood Type: Blue

overview: UFOs appear on Earth, and people who actually see them suddenly find that their blood has turned blue. Soon panic and hysteria result in the new "blue-bloods" being persecuted by the rest of mankind, and eventually certain all-too-familiar measures begin to be taken against them.

title: Shadow Hunters

overview: The government in Edo era is suffering from a financial crisis. It hires "Kage" to provoke the collapse of small hans (prefectures). "Kagekari" are people who were hired by Daimyos (mayors of local governments) to resist kage. The young mayor of Suwa Takashiwa, Tadamaru was assaulted by a kage on his way to Edo. Zyubei and Gennnosuke, the Kagekaris, try to carry injured Tadamaru to Edo.

title: The Ambitious

overview: The story of Ryoma Sakamoto, considered to be the architect behind the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was considered an outlaw by his own clan, hunted by his government, and was despised by supporters of the Shogun as well as the Loyalists for desiring the opening of Japan to the West in order to learn its technology, in the hopes of one day defeating the West with a modern army and navy.

title: Cash Calls Hell

overview: Before leaving prison, Oida uncomfortably enters into an agreement with his cell mate: in exchange for a half-share of 30,000,000 yen, he is to assassinate three strangers given to him on a list. However, upon meeting his first potential victim, Oida has second thoughts. Yet, even as he tries to back out, the body count starts climbing. Oida must now try to alert the people on his list of their impending danger, and find out why they are being targeted in the first place.

title: The Human Trust

overview: A professional scammer is hired by a wealthy young businessman to find a hidden treasure looted from the Bank of Japan and supposedly stashed away by a group of men after WWII in various locations around the globe. Eventually an assassin is put on their trail.

title: Three Yakuza

overview: A tale of three Yakuza gamblers who traveled Japan during the samurai era living by their wits and sword skills. Told in 3 separate vignettes, each part tells the story of a different drifter’s life. Part 1: A man is on the run after killing two Hasshu Officials to avenge his Boss. He must make a life or death decision as he is asked to protect a gang from attack.  Part 2: A pair of gamblers chased out of a crooked game must fight not only their pursuers, but the ghosts of their pasts as well.  Part 3: A wanderer who wants to live according to the Yakuza Code, but is not sure that he can do so when asked to save a town from an evil official.

title: The Phoenix

overview: This extraordinarily complex film is not only a send-up of every samurai film ever made, it is also an extrapolation of the value of life. The Yamatai, represented by Prince Susano-O and elderly advisor Sumuke, hire Yumihiko of Matsuro to hunt the phoenix so that Queen Himiko, sister of Susano-O can have eteranal life.

character: Jingi the Conqueror, leader of the Takamagahara

title: Solar Eclipse

overview: When bribe money from a rigged election funnels into a dam construction project, collusion, lust, greed and even murder are on the ballot.

character: Yasuo Hoshino, the Chief Cabinet Secretary

title: A. K.

overview: An intimate chronicle of the shooting of Ran (1985), a film directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

title: Through the Mist

overview: A biopic of the late musician Dédé Fortin, the singer, songwriter, and founder of a very popular Québécois band called "Les Colocs".

title: A Woman's Life

overview: A woman remembers her own marriage when dealing with the love life of her son.

title: The Other Woman

overview: The real mother of the two children of a respectable university professor is not his wife, but his mistress, the hostess of a Ginza bar the family frequents.

title: Jubaku: Spellbound

overview: When a major bank is caught paying off a corporate extortionist, the media and prosecutors begin to dig, breaking open a money-and-favours scandal that threatens to rock the entire structure of business and government to its core. While the bank's top executives continue to vacillate, a quartet of middle-management reformers, led by straight-arrow Kitano (Koji Yakusho), decide to stage a boardroom coup and install a new, clean management team. With the aid of a hotshot news anchor (Mayumi Wakamura) and a hard-nosed prosecutor (Kenichi Endo), heads begin to roll.

title: Love on Rainbow Island

overview: Japanese counterpart to Romeo and Juliet

title: Atami Murder Case

overview: Chief Detective KIMURA Denbei, fondly referred to as Smoky Denbei, is a legendary figure at the Metropolitan Police Department. Transferred to Denbei's Criminal Investigation Division 1, Detective KUMADA Tomekichi arrives from the Toyama Prefectural Police. KUMADA is disconcerted by Denbei's position that murderers nowadays do not need a plausible motive, but gradually adapts to Denbei's unusual methods of investigation.

title: The Corporation

overview: 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.

title: Lear on the Shore

overview: Chokichi Kuwahata was once a leading actor, but he is ravaged by dementia and old age now. His daughter and the men in her life go against his wishes and place him in a retirement home. He slips away one day and meets another offspring from a different union.

title: Human Revolution II

overview: Dramatic story of one man trying to make a difference.

title: The Blue Beast

overview: The ruthless and ambitious Yasuhiko uses his charm to manipulate and exploit those around him to climb the corporate social ladder. After securing a position at a prestigious firm through deceit, he callously discards the women who helped him and embezzles company funds to further his personal gain. His cold-blooded ascent eventually leads to a web of blackmail and moral decay as his past actions begin to catch up with him.

title: Farm Girls

title: Four Days of Snow and Blood

overview: Based on the "2.26 Incident", an attempted coup d'état in Japan 1936, launched by radical ultra-nationalist parts of the military. Several leading politicians were killed and the center of Tokyo was briefly held by the insurgents before the coup was suppressed.

title: Oración

overview: Set on a quiet ranch in Hokkaido. One day, a colt is born from a legendary bloodline. It is given the name Oracion or "prayer". When Oracion is grown, a factory owner buys the horse. Will he be the key to solving the man's problems? Based on the novel by Teru Miyamoto.

title: As the Clouds Scatter

overview: A provincial bus driver plans to marry his conductress, but one night he glimpses the woman he once loved, which throws him into turmoil.

title: Kojiro

overview: Sasaki Kojiro tells the story of the genius who staked his love, glory, and life on a duel with the supreme master of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi (Tatsuya Nakadai). Oscar winning Hiroshi Inagaki directs this epic motion picture based on Genzo Murakami’s fascinating story. Despite his humble birth, the orphan Sasaki Kojiro (Onoe Kikunosuke) is determined to become the foremost swordsman in all Japan, a title that traditionally belongs to a nobleman. At fencing school, young Kojiro receives the contempt of his classmates because of his superior swordsmanship. When rumors of the upcoming civil war between Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans spread, Kojiro leaves the school and sets out, seizing every opportunity to realize his dream.

title: Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Kagemusha'

overview: Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Kagemusha" (1980).

original_title: 黒澤明～創ると云う事は素晴らしい～影武者

title: Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Yojimbo'

overview: Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Yojimbo" (1961).

original_title: 黒澤明～創ると云う事は素晴らしい～用心棒

title: Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'Sanjuro'

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

original_title: 黒澤明～創ると云う事は素晴らしい～椿三十郎

title: Akira Kurosawa: It Is Wonderful to Create: 'High and Low'

overview: Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "High and Low" (1963).

original_title: 黒澤明～創ると云う事は素晴らしい～天国と地獄

title: The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

overview: Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

title: The Last Judgment

overview: Driven by greed and a desire for his cousin's wife, Jiro orchestrates a complex frame-up to have his cousin arrested for murder.

title: Pressure of Guilt

overview: A seasoned prosecutor uncovers the perfect crime committed by a young lawyer.

title: The Naked Sun

overview: A young, struggling couple are making every sacrifice so they will one day in the not-too-distant-future, have enough money to get married. As they have agreed on this procedure, it comes as a shock to the young woman to find out from her husband-to-be that he just loaned all the money they had saved to a friend. She is understandably miffed, and a big disagreement results. But after some time goes by, she discovers why the friend needed the money so badly, and the couple are back on solid footing again.

title: The Beast Shall Die

overview: A promising post-graduate literature student is transformed into a psychotic killer following the suicide of his father and a sleazy affair by his mother with a younger man.

title: Get 'em All

overview: Gang of robbers quarrel about the loot, but when one of them gets killed, his younger brother seeks them out to ice them one by one.

original_title: 「みな殺しの歌」より　拳銃よさらば

title: Tange Sazen: The Million Ryo Pot

overview: Seeking revenge after a brutal attack that left him disfigured, a former assassin gets drawn into a high-stakes conflict over a valuable treasure.

original_title: 丹下左膳 剣風!百万両の壺

title: Journey

title: Admiral Yamamoto

overview: As Japan joins in a political pact with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is appointed supreme commander of the Japanese fleet. With Japan headed inexorably toward war, Yamamoto, despite his misgivings, believes the only possible victory lies in destroying the American fleet by surprise at Pearl Harbor. The attack succeeds, but fails to sink the American carrier fleet. Thus Yamamoto must lead the Japanese navy into war with ever-diminishing likelihood of success.

original_title: 連合艦隊司令長官 山本五十六

title: A Duel Tale

overview: Nakadai Tatsuya, Japan’s greatest living actor, gives the performance of a lifetime as Shoji Sanosuke, and elderly samurai forced to pick up his sword to protect those he loves in this adaptation of a Fujisawa Shuhei novel. As a ”Heya-zumi” (essentially a freeloader living off his family) Sanosuke has one last chance to help his grandniece escape from the cruel samurai of an arranged marriage. Nakadai proves he ”still has it,” when fate forces him into a deadly duel. This award winning samurai drama from the pen of noted author Fujisawa Shuhei is a tribute to one of the greatest actors to ever grace the silver screen!

title: Taikoki

overview: Rising from the lowliest of country samurai to the heights of power as Taiko, Toyotomi Hideyoshi is one of the pivotal figures of the Sengoku period.

title: Before The Leaves Fall

overview: An elderly woman sets out to see in person a painting by a famous artist.She believes she was the inspiration for the painting.

title: Legacy of the 500,000

overview: During World War II, Japan sends gold to the Phillipines. After the war, the gold is lost in the bay of Manille. Former soldier Takeichi Matsuo is now working as a business executive. He meets Mintsura Gunji, the boss of a large company, who offers him to go to the Philippines and bring back the gold.

title: Tatsuya Nakadai on 'The Human Condition'

overview: In this new video interview with Tatsuya Nakadai, conducted in 2009, the screen legend discusses his landmark role as Kaji in THE HUMAN CONDITION.

original_title: Tatsuya Nakadai on 'The Human Condition'

title: The Daphne

overview: Four sisters are all named after flowers. While the two youngest are married, the eldest two remain single, much to the annoyance of their long-suffering mother. The mother and her brother try various schemes to find husbands for them.

title: The Return

overview: Tatsuya Nakadai, the world’s greatest living actor, returns to the screen in a brilliant adaptation of a story by novelist Shuhei Fujisawa. A traveling gambler known as “Funeral Uno” he is now 86 years old and returning to his hometown for the first time in 30 years. Partly told in flashbacks, he is forced to face his lifelong nemesis, Boss Kyuzo, a vile yakuza portrayed by another superstar of samurai cinema, Atsuo Nakamura! Before the two old gamblers can settle a 30-year-old score they must put their lives on the line in a game of dice that can only lead to a bloody sword duel the likes of which has never before been seen! Superb performances all around in a film loaded with surprises and exciting swordplay!

title: Zatoichi: The Last

overview: A blind master swordsman attempts to lead a quiet life with his wife but he is provoked back into battle.

title: Willful Murder

overview: The president of the Japanese National Railways is found dead during a period in which train service is plagued by numerous layoffs, strikes and shutdowns. The government says that the president was murdered; the police claim it was a suicide. A quizzical reporter follows the case for years, but the basic question remains unanswered: was the victim killed by members of the burgeoning Communist movement in Japan, or was the death stage-managed by the authorities in hopes of discrediting the Communists?

original_title: 日本の熱い日々 謀殺・下山事件

title: Faraway Sunset

overview: Faraway Sunset tells the story of the famed bacteriologist who is known to have discovered the agent that cause syphilis, and for his relentless search for a cure to yellow fever. As a toddler, his mother's neglect had caused an accident to his left hand, fusing together all the fingers in a bizarre twist of fate. Naturally extremely remorseful for being the cause of her son's handicap, she does everything she could to ensure that he gets to lead a normal life, despite having to fend off bullies and unfair prejudices.

title: All About Marriage

overview: Ultra-perky model likes single freedom but feels ryosai kenbo ("good wife, wise mother") pressure, exemplified by her bored-to-tears sister.

title: Michi

overview: A married long-distance truck driver falls for a significantly younger waitress at a roadside diner. Their affair brings tragedy to themselves and those around them.

title: The Legend of Sayo

overview: Sayo has just celebrated her sixteenth birthday when she attends a temple festival. On her way back she sees a large cherry tree which is infamous for the legend of dead white horse. When her fiancé returns from war and visits her he comes across a white horse which he takes in. The man also does not see himself engaged anymore as his family has lost its wealth.

title: To Dance with the White Dog

title: Sazae-san

overview: An adaptation of the popular Sazae-san comic strip. The first entry in Toho's Sazae-san series.

title: Teenage Sazae

overview: Adaptation of the popular Sazae-San comic strip. The first entry in the series shot in color.

title: Yamato

overview: Directed by Junya Sato and based on a book by Jun Henmi, "Yamato" has a framing story set in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato. The film was never released in the United States, where reviewers who have seen it have compared the military epic to "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan."

original_title: 男たちの大和／YAMATO

title: Pilgrimage at Night

overview: Adapted by Yasumi Toshio and directed by Toyoda Shiro, this is a literary work based on a full-length novel of the same name published by Shiga Naoya of the Shirakaba School.

title: Sugata Sanshiro

overview: The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who wants to learn the new art of judo. A wise teacher reveals to Sanshiro that judo is not merely a means of combat nor a demonstration of physical skill, but an art which reveals the artist to himself.

title: A Town and a Tall Chimney

overview: Japan in 1910, industrialization is unstoppable and devastating entire areas in the name of progress. In X, a farming village in Ibaraki Prefecture, the environment is so polluted that the plants in the fields die and the air, which is laden with toxic smoke, can no longer be breathed. But Saburo, the grandson of the village elder, can no longer put up with this and forms the resistance of the villagers. In Junpei, the idealistic employee of Hitachi, he finds an unexpected ally, and together they fight for a way to save the village.

title: The Human Revolution

title: The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai

overview: In the turbulent last days of the Edo period, Kawai Tsugunosuke, a Japanese samurai serving the Makino clan of Nagaoka, dreamt of independence from the restraints of vassalship. Despite his progressive views and his desire for his estate to remain neutral during the Boshin Civil War, he was bound by loyalty and duty to the clan and was compelled to choose sides.

title: Japan's Longest Day

overview: Following the detonation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese military and the government clash over the demand from the Allies for unconditional surrender. Minister of the Army Anami leads the military officers who propose to fight on, even to the death of every Japanese citizen. Emperor Hirohito, however, joins with his ministers in asking the unthinkable, the peaceful surrender of Japan. When the military plots a coup to overthrow the Emperor's civilian government, Anami must face the choice between his desires and loyalty to his Emperor.

title: Sleeping Village

overview: In 1961, a spectacular criminal case shocks Japan: at what became known as the “Nabari Poison Wine” incident, five people lose their lives at a village social gathering. One of the attendants, Masaru OKUNISHI, is made out as the main suspect. Rumor has it that he wanted to kill his wife and his lover in order to end his extra-marital affair. After being questioned by the police for days, he signs a confession, only to withdraw it soon afterwards. Nonetheless, he is sentenced to death and all pleas for a retrial are denied.

title: Promise: The Nabari Poisoned Wine Case, The Life of a Death-row Inmate

overview: Masaru Okunishi is a prisoner who has been on death-row for over 40 years. In 1961, 5 women died from drinking poisoned wine in a small village gathering in Nabari City in Mie Prefecture. After his arrest, he appealed his innocence on the grounds that the police coerced his confession. He was found not guilty in the first trial. However, it was overturned and he received a death sentence in the second trial, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1972. Since then, Okunishi has continuously appealed for retrial, fighting against the horror of capital punishment.  This TV dramatization of the Nabari Poisoned Wine Case depicts Okunishi in an isolated cell, his mother’s unwavering belief in his innocence, and the effort of people who have rallied to Okunishi’s defense.

original_title: 約束 名張毒ぶどう酒事件 死刑囚の生涯

title: NORINTEN 稲塚権次郎物語

overview: It is a breeding person of "agriculture and forestry No.10 (norin ten)" based on more than 70% of the world's wheat, and rescues the global food crisis after World War II, and draws the half life of gonjiro inzuka called "the God of agriculture" by starring Tatsuya nakashiro.

title: Let Him Rest in Peace

overview: This TV dramatization of Kitakata Kenzo's hard-boiled novel depicts a man who fights a deadly battle with a group of corrupt bosses who control the hot spring town. Sakaguchi, the owner of a long-established inn in a seaside hot spring town, rebels against the Shimoyama Tourism company that dominates the town, and is arrested by the police for a minor assault. One day, Sakaguchi's old best friend Shindo shows up and tells Sakaguchi's son that he will definitely get his father out of the police.  (TV film adaptation of the novel, separate from the 1985 Yoichi Sai-directed film)

title: Diary of an Elegant Hot Spring

overview: At a coastal hot spring inn, a group of women navigate work, personal struggles, and unexpected scandals. When a guest threatens to expose one maid's past, she must decide whether to run or face it—with help from a kind local officer.

title: Floating Weeds Diary

overview: A travelling theater troupe, led by Umagoro Ichikawa, comes to play in a mining town, and manages to sell every seat. Before the play begins, however, a miners' strike is announced, creating an uproar. In addition, the players find they have been cheated out of their profits by a crooked impresario.

title: Gomez's Name is Gomez

overview: Company engineer sakamoto (tatsuya nakadai) is returning home after two years in the desert and visit his friend katori (mikijiro hara) in hong kong but suddenly katori disappeared?

title: Summer of the Moonlight Sonata

overview: Two soon-to-be kamikaze pilots stop by a local school near their base to play the piano one last time, leaving a deep impression on a teacher.  Years later, she seeks out the relatives of the pilots when the piano is old and about to be discarded.

title: The Shadow Daughter

overview: Fusako, a girl raised in a geisha house, tries to escape her dark past and faces repeated heartbreaks. After an unexpected pregnancy, she has an abortion and decides to start a new life away from the geisha world.

title: The Mandarin Room

overview: After running away from her mother, Ashiko works as a maid at an inn and changes her name, but she finds herself torn between her past and a new relationship with a lonely trader on the beach of Atami.

title: Skin-Colored Moon

overview: After the heartbreak of losing a close colleague, a television star vanishes, presumed to have drowned in Lake Izu. A mysterious empty boat, a forged suicide note, and sleeping pills spark suspicion. As her family—an estranged husband, a troubled son, and a secretive ex—grapple with grief and confusion, layers of hidden pain and deception begin to unravel. What seems like a tragic suicide slowly turns into a web of lies, guilt, and emotional collapse… until the final, devastating truth surfaces

title: Go and Get It

overview: Matsuki, a former war photojournalist, returns home and starts a modest life with his wife, Komiko. Driven by his passion for capturing the truth, he takes on daring assignments that impress many, though his risky work worries his wife. Through his lens, he experiences deeply moving moments that give him a new perspective on the meaning of his profession. As he struggles to balance his career and family life, new challenges force him to reconsider his priorities.

title: Kampai! Miai Kekkon

overview: Emiko, a shy girl, feels anxious as her classmates celebrate their upcoming weddings, realizing she’s the only one still single. She finds herself drawn to her quiet classmate Sasada, who rarely expresses his feelings. Through a series of events that reveal the characters’ struggles with love and loneliness, Emiko travels to Osaka in search of him. In the end, she discovers his true feelings, and the two share a silent, comforting moment during a poetic wedding scene.

title: The Gion Tempest

overview: The story follows Keiko, a dancer in the "Maiko Odori" theater in Kyoto, who tries to climb the social ladder in a world driven by money and self-interest. She becomes involved with wealthy men to pursue her ambitions but faces betrayal, exploitation, and is even accused of embezzlement. As she struggles to survive, her close friend dies from a heart condition, and her plan to marry a rich man fails. In the end, Keiko realizes the harshness of reality and decides to keep dancing despite the sorrow.

title: Miren

overview: The story follows Tomoko, a writer who becomes involved in a strange and distant relationship with Shingo, a married novelist. Though they haven't seen each other in years, an unexpected connection forms. However, tensions rise, especially when Ryota, Tomoko’s ex-boyfriend, reappears in her life. As complications grow, Tomoko realizes she no longer loves Shingo and chooses to break away, despite the loneliness. Eventually, she decides to live independently, also leaving Ryota, and starts anew by the end of summer.

title: Madame Aki

title: Mr. Giant's Victory Flag

overview: Apparently a baseball drama starring real-life stars Nagashima (The Babe Ruth of Japanese Baseball) and teammate Oh-known collectively as ON-from the Yomiuri Giants. Nagashima nickname was 'Mr. Giants.

original_title: ミスター・ジャイアンツ　勝利の旗

title: Challenge at Dawn

overview: Set in Kawasaki in 1925, Challenge at Dawn is based on the Tsurumi Riot Incident, which actually ocurred in Yokohama that year and was sparked by corruption and yakuza involvement in the construction industry.

title: The King

title: Elegy

overview: In Hokkaido, Kunigama. Reiko (Akagi) met Katsura, on a quiet and lonely late autumn evening, before the harsh and fierce winter was to come. Reiko was 21 years old, working for a small mobile theater troupe. She knew from the beginning that Katsura had a wife and children. Katsura's relationship with Reiko, half openly and half secretly, was partly due to and partly an excuse for his wife, Akiko (Kusabi),'s infidelity. Reiko was always honest with her heart. She became friends with Katsura's daughter and even made friends with Akiko.

title: Trinacria: Porsche 959

overview: A film director plans to make a film about a man who embarks on a journey to find a missing musician, who has disappeared after becoming obsessed with the sound of a Porsche engine.

title: Florence My Love

overview: Set in Kamakura and Florence, this love story depicts the heroine wavering between two men.

original_title: フィレンツェの風に抱かれて

title: The Limit

overview: In 1961, in the quiet village of Kuzuo, five women died after drinking wine at a community gathering. Masaru Okunishi, then 35, was arrested. He was first found not guilty, but later sentenced to death based only on a written confession taken under suspicious circumstances—despite no physical evidence. Okunishi insisted on his innocence until his death in prison at 89. His sister, Miyoko Oka, now 94, has spent her life trying to prove it, submitting ten appeals with new evidence—all denied. Under Japanese law, only close family can request a retrial. With limited time left, she continues to fight for the truth.

title: The Taika Reforms

overview: A drama introduces the well known coup in the 7th Century Japan followed by the Taika reform which marks the start of the nation by portraying the friendship and betrayal between two young men, Nakatomi no Kamatari and Soga no Iruka.

title: Gun Woman

overview: A brilliant doctor on a quest for revenge buys a young woman and trains her to be the ultimate assassin, implanting gun parts in her body that she must later assemble and use to kill her target before she bleeds to death.

original_title: 女体銃 ガン・ウーマン GUN WOMAN

title: The Thick-Walled Room

overview: A group of rank-and-file soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a whole.

title: How the Bell of Liberty Rings

overview: Set during Japan's Bakumatsu period, the film follows Fukuzawa Yukichi, a poor samurai's son who defies societal norms to study Dutch and English. Despite facing opposition from his family and nationalist factions, he founds Keio University, becoming a key figure in Japan's modernization amid political turmoil.

title: Three Dolls in Ginza

title: Nakadai Tatsuya: to Live for Acting

overview: Founded in 1975 by Nakadai Tatsuya and his late wife Miyazaki Yasuko, the actor training school Mumeijuku has shaped generations of performers. Nakadai personally leads rigorous training, instilling discipline and humanity. Filmed over a year, this documentary follows the octogenarian actor as he continues to stand on stage, living for his craft and passing his unwavering devotion to the next generation.

original_title: 仲代達矢　「役者」を生きる

title: The Fox Dancing in the Dusk

overview: A heartfelt period drama that delicately portrays the joys and sorrows of a thief and the people living on the margins of society. Ihei, played by Tatsuya Nakadai, works as a painter by day. In reality, however, he is a skilled thief. To target the home of a moneylender’s mistress, he recruits a group of amateurs to join him. Men in need of large sums of money for various reasons begin to gather around Ihei, but…

title: Kwaidan

title: Sanjuro

title: The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

original_title: 人間の條件　第１部純愛篇／第２部激怒篇

title: Ran

title: Kagemusha

title: Yojimbo

title: Hachiko

title: Samurai Rebellion

title: High and Low

title: Phoenix

original_title: 人間の條件　第３部望郷篇／第４部戦雲篇

title: The Wolves

title: Harakiri

title: The Face of Another

title: When a Woman Ascends the Stairs

title: Tenchu!

title: Odd Obsession

title: 13 Assassins

title: Hunter in the Dark

original_title: 返還交渉人 -いつか、沖縄を取り戻す-

title: Kill!

title: Magistrate of the Floating World

title: Wish Upon a Star

original_title: 星に願いを ～七畳間で生まれた410万の星～

title: Today We Kill, Tomorrow We Die!

title: Goyokin

title: Illusion of Blood

title: Final Yamato

title: Ant Hell War

title: Wicked City

title: The Sword of Doom

title: Portrait of Hell

title: Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival

title: Daughters, Wives and a Mother

title: Kurosawa

title: Return from the River Kwai

title: Zokuzoku Ôban: Dotô hen

title: Oban kanketsu hen

title: Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron

title: Ôban

title: Zoku Ôban: Fûun hen

title: Conflagration

title: Inn of Evil

title: Black River

title: Haru's Journey

title: Blood End

title: The Human Bullet

title: Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather

title: Immortal Love

title: Battle of the Japan Sea

title: Like Asura

title: Japan's Tragedy

title: East Meets West

original_title: 巨悪は眠らせない 特捜検事の逆襲

title: Heat Wave

title: I Am a Cat

title: The Battle of Okinawa

title: Kurosawa: The Last Emperor

title: The Inheritance

title: Another Way: D-Kikan-Joho

original_title: アナザーウェイ　Ｄ機関情報

title: Battle Cry

title: Kin chan no Cinema Jack

original_title: 第1回欽ちゃんのシネマジャック

title: The Age of Assassins

title: The Scandalous Adventures of Buraikan

title: The Law of Hell

title: The Life and Love of Kenji Miyazawa

title: Duel at Fort Ezo

title: Love Under the Crucifix

title: Vengeance for Sale

title: After the Rain

title: Rise, Fair Sun

title: Until the Break of Dawn

title: A Dangerous Hero

title: ふたりの死刑囚

title: Murder of the Inugami Clan

title: A Boy and Three Mothers

title: Battle Anthem

title: Fireflies in the North

title: The Empty Table

title: Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS

title: Giovanni's Island

title: Safari 5000

original_title: 高畑勲、『かぐや姫の物語』をつくる。〜ジブリ第7スタジオ、933日の伝説〜

title: Listen to My Heart

original_title: 引き出しの中のラブレター

title: Untamed Woman

title: Basara: The Princess Goh

title: Belladonna of Sadness

title: The Gate of Youth

title: Life Work of Akira Kurosawa

title: Seven Samurai

title: Making of Ran

title: The Fir Trees Remain

title: Lone Wolf and Cub: The Final Conflict

original_title: 子連れ狼 その小さき手に

title: The Family

title: Fort Graveyard

title: Queen Bee

title: Will to Conquer

original_title: 商魂一代　天下の暴れん坊

title: Gaku

title: Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell

title: Port Arthur

title: Blood Type: Blue

title: Shadow Hunters

title: The Ambitious

title: Cash Calls Hell

title: The Human Trust

title: Three Yakuza

title: The Phoenix

title: Solar Eclipse

title: A. K.

title: Through the Mist

title: A Woman's Life

title: The Other Woman

title: Jubaku: Spellbound

title: Love on Rainbow Island

title: Atami Murder Case

title: The Corporation

title: Lear on the Shore

title: Human Revolution II

title: The Blue Beast

title: Farm Girls

title: Four Days of Snow and Blood

title: Oración

title: As the Clouds Scatter

title: Kojiro

original_title: 黒澤明～創ると云う事は素晴らしい～影武者

original_title: 黒澤明～創ると云う事は素晴らしい～用心棒

original_title: 黒澤明～創ると云う事は素晴らしい～椿三十郎

original_title: 黒澤明～創ると云う事は素晴らしい～天国と地獄

title: The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

title: The Last Judgment

title: Pressure of Guilt

title: The Naked Sun

title: The Beast Shall Die

title: Get 'em All

original_title: 「みな殺しの歌」より　拳銃よさらば

title: Tange Sazen: The Million Ryo Pot

original_title: 丹下左膳 剣風!百万両の壺

title: Journey

title: Admiral Yamamoto

original_title: 連合艦隊司令長官 山本五十六

title: A Duel Tale

title: Taikoki

title: Before The Leaves Fall

title: Legacy of the 500,000

title: The Daphne

title: The Return

title: Zatoichi: The Last

title: Willful Murder

original_title: 日本の熱い日々 謀殺・下山事件

title: Faraway Sunset

title: All About Marriage

title: Michi

title: The Legend of Sayo

title: To Dance with the White Dog

title: Sazae-san

title: Teenage Sazae

title: Yamato

original_title: 男たちの大和／YAMATO

title: Pilgrimage at Night

title: Sugata Sanshiro

title: A Town and a Tall Chimney

title: The Human Revolution

title: The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai

title: Japan's Longest Day

title: Sleeping Village

original_title: 約束 名張毒ぶどう酒事件 死刑囚の生涯

title: NORINTEN 稲塚権次郎物語

title: Let Him Rest in Peace

title: Diary of an Elegant Hot Spring

title: Floating Weeds Diary

title: Gomez's Name is Gomez

title: Summer of the Moonlight Sonata

title: The Shadow Daughter

title: The Mandarin Room

title: Skin-Colored Moon

title: Go and Get It

title: Kampai! Miai Kekkon

title: The Gion Tempest

title: Miren

title: Madame Aki

title: Mr. Giant's Victory Flag

original_title: ミスター・ジャイアンツ　勝利の旗

title: Challenge at Dawn

title: The King

title: Elegy

title: Trinacria: Porsche 959

title: Florence My Love

original_title: フィレンツェの風に抱かれて

title: The Limit

title: The Taika Reforms

title: Gun Woman

original_title: 女体銃 ガン・ウーマン GUN WOMAN

title: The Thick-Walled Room

title: How the Bell of Liberty Rings

title: Three Dolls in Ginza

title: Nakadai Tatsuya: to Live for Acting

original_title: 仲代達矢　「役者」を生きる

title: The Fox Dancing in the Dusk

original_name: 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ

嘱託刑事･小山田昭平　旅路の果て

original_name: 嘱託刑事･小山田昭平　旅路の果て