Japanese Jewels
Over 100 fine films from Japan which has a rich history (1948-2018) of thoughtful and provocative cinema. Movies after #85 are highly-rated suggestions I haven't seen yet.
Top 10 Directors
Masaki Kobayashi,
Shion Sono,
Takashi Miike,
Kiyoshi Kurosawa,
Akira Kurosawa,
Kenji Mizoguchi,
Mamoru Hosoda,
Makoto Shinkai,
Satoshi Kon,
Shunji Iwai
Following Four (4) Directors
Kaneto Shindô,
Hiroshi Teshigahara,
Yôji Yamada,
Isao Takahata
Almost Made It
Yasujirô Ozu,
Shôhei Imamura,
Hirokazu Koreeda
Hayao Miyazaki
Top 10 Directors
Masaki Kobayashi,
Shion Sono,
Takashi Miike,
Kiyoshi Kurosawa,
Akira Kurosawa,
Kenji Mizoguchi,
Mamoru Hosoda,
Makoto Shinkai,
Satoshi Kon,
Shunji Iwai
Following Four (4) Directors
Kaneto Shindô,
Hiroshi Teshigahara,
Yôji Yamada,
Isao Takahata
Almost Made It
Yasujirô Ozu,
Shôhei Imamura,
Hirokazu Koreeda
Hayao Miyazaki
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211 titles
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaChikage AwashimaA Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaKokinji KatsuraAs a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaTamao NakamuraHis ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira IshihamaShima IwashitaWhen a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsKeiko KishiTatsuya NakadaiSô YamamuraA dying businessman intends to will two hundred million yen to his three illegitimate children, but his associates scheme to take advantage of the situation.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaGô KatôThe mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsKô MishimaTorahiko HamadaKeiko KishiA group of rank-and-file Japanese soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a whole.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsKeiji SadaKeiko KishiMinoru ÔkiA talent scout moves sharply, dead-set on signing a promising athlete to his team.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsShin SaburiMayumi OgawaKeiko KishiA detailed look at a Tokyo business tycoon (played by Shin Saburi) given a diagnosis of terminal cancer who must now re-assess his life and values.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiKomaki KuriharaWakako SakaiThe story takes place in feudal Japan, when any commerce with the rest of the world was strictly prohibited. An idealist suddenly appears in an isolated inn (the one that the title refers to), the head-quarters of a group of smugglers, with stolen money intended to ransom his loved one who is forced to work in a brothel.Masaki Kobayashi
- DirectorSion SonoStarsMitsuru FukikoshiDendenAsuka KurosawaThe lives of a bored suburban couple are changed forever when a seemingly nice old man gives their daughter a job at his fish store, and soon his gruesome hobbies are brought to light.Shion Sono
- DirectorSion SonoStarsKazue FukiishiTsugumiYuriko YoshitakaA teenager called Noriko Shimabara runs away from her family in Tokoyama, to meet Kumiko, the leader of an Internet BBS, Haikyo.com. She becomes involved with Kumiko's "family circle", which grows darker after the mass suicide of 54 high school girls.Shion Sono
- DirectorSion SonoStarsMasumi MiyazakiIssei IshidaRie KuwanaThe erotic novelist Taeko is writing a morbid story of a family destroyed by incest, murder and abuse. Her assistant, Yuji, sets on a mission to uncover the reality of this story, but the reality might be too much to bear.Shion Sono
- DirectorSion SonoStarsJoe OdagiriJai WestMotoki FukamiFaced by a society of criminals, these three youths avenge their rights.Shion Sono
- DirectorSion SonoStarsMiki MizunoMakoto TogashiMegumi KagurazakaA grisly murder occurs in Maruyama-cho, Shibuya, Tokyo - a love hotel district - a woman was found dead in a derelict apartment. Kazuko (Miki Mizuno) is a police officer called to investigate on this case, she will discover the story of two women who, despite appearing respectable on the outside have all manner of darkness hidden away.Shion Sono
- DirectorSion SonoStarsReina TriendlMariko ShinodaErina ManoA girl's life cascades into chaos as everyone around her suffers a gruesome fate while she becomes less certain of who she is and her once-once normal life.Shion Sono
- DirectorSion SonoStarsAmi TomiteMariko TsutsuiFujikoJapan's oldest major movie studio asks a batch of venerable filmmakers to revive its high-brow soft-core Roman Porno series.Shion Sono
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsMasato HagiwaraKoji YakushoTsuyoshi UjikiA frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsKoji YakushoJun FubukiTsuyoshi KusanagiA psychic housewife and her husband become burdened with a kidnapped girl who escaped her assailant. Junko will not let her husband call the hospital or the police for purely selfish reasons. The girl dies while still in their house and her ghost begins to haunt not only Junko but also her husband, Sato (Koji Yakusho).Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsHaruhiko KatôKumiko AsôKoyukiTwo groups of people discover evidence that suggests spirits may be trying to invade the human world through the Internet.Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsJoe OdagiriTadanobu AsanoTatsuya FujiTwo young guys work in a plant that manufactures oshibori (those moist hand-towels found in some Japanese restaurants). Their weird bond is based on uncontrollable rage--something neither can articulate or control--and the strange jellyfish that they keep as a pet.Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsTeruyuki KagawaKyôko KoizumiYû KoyanagiAn ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- StarsKyôko KoizumiHazuki KimuraManatsu KimuraThe murder of a young girl is never solved. Her mother who is torn by grief puts a curse on the four of the girl's classmates. These four girls are forced into adulthood which eventually triggers a tragic chain of events.Kiyoshi Kurosawa (TV SERIES)
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.Akira Kurosawa
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraToshirô MifuneReizaburô YamamotoA drunken doctor with a hot temper and a violence-prone gangster with tuberculosis form a quicksilver bond.Akira Kurosawa
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.Akira Kurosawa
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTakashi ShimuraNobuo KanekoShin'ichi HimoriA bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.Akira Kurosawa
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsMaksim MunzukYuriy SolominMikhail BychkovThe Russian army sends an explorer on an expedition to the snowy Siberian wilderness where he makes friends with a seasoned local hunter.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaTsukie MatsuuraIchirô SugaiFollows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.Kenji Mizoguchi
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKazuo HasegawaKyôko KagawaEitarô ShindôIshun is a wealthy but unsympathetic master printer who has wrongly accused his wife and best employee of being lovers. To escape punishment, the accused run away together, but Ishun is certain to be ruined if word gets out.Kenji Mizoguchi
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaYoshiaki HanayagiKyôko KagawaIn medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.Kenji Mizoguchi
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKen'ichi EndôShungiku UchidaKazushi WatanabeA troubled and perverted family find their lives intruded by a mysterious stranger who seems to help find a balance in their disturbing natures.Takashi Miike
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShô AikawaAiko SatôKen'ichi EndôKatayama (Aikawa Sho) is on the way home to his wife and little daughter when he stumbles on a gang of punks beating up an innocent man. Katamaya decides to help the stranger and surprisingly wins the fight. This turns out to be a bad decision as his daughter is kidnapped and murdered by the leader of the same band of young thugs. Katayama seeks revenge and tries to trace the gangs location.Takashi Miike
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsNobuko OtowaJitsuko YoshimuraKei SatôTwo women kill samurai and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.Kaneto Shindô
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsKeiju KobayashiNobuko OtowaIchirô ZaitsuHaru, an aging scriptwriter, has isolated himself somewhere in the woods of Nagano to work on his first novel. As the last surviving member of his kin, he intends to chronicle the family he grew up in.Kaneto Shindô
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsNobuko OtowaTaiji TonoyamaShinji TanakaA family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.Kaneto Shindô
- DirectorMasayuki SuôStarsRyô KaseAsaka SetoKôji YamamotoA young man is falsely accused of molesting a high-school girl on a train. He is arrested and charged, and goes through endless court sessions, all the while insisting that he is innocent.Kaneto Shindô
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsEiji OkadaKyôko KishidaKôji MitsuiAn entomologist on vacation is trapped by local villagers into living with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.Hiroshi Teshigahara
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsHisashi IgawaSumie SasakiSen YanoA man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.Hiroshi Teshigahara
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsRentarô MikuniYoshiko MitaTsutomu YamazakiLegendary tea master Sen no Rikyu is faced with his warmongering lord's unrealistic pretensions.Hiroshi Teshigahara
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsTatsuya NakadaiMikijirô HiraKyôko KishidaA businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.Hiroshi Teshigahara
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsYû AoiAnne SuzukiShôko AidaAlice transfers to a new school, where students believe that one student per school year is cursed, whom they call Judas Iscariot. Alice is deemed the new Judas, but what happened to the former Judas?Shunji Iwai
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsAnne SuzukiYû AoiTomohiro KakuWhen two best friends develop a crush on the same boy, they develop a plan to trick him into dating them.Shunji Iwai
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsMiho NakayamaEtsushi ToyokawaBunjaku HanWhen exchanging letters two women discover new things about a man they knew.Shunji Iwai
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsAoi MiyazakiTakao OsawaHaru KurokiAfter her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident while hunting for food for their children, a young woman must find ways to raise the werewolf son and daughter that she had with him while keeping their trait hidden from society.Mamoru Hosoda
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRiisa NakaTakuya IshidaMitsutaka ItakuraA high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.Mamoru Hosoda
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRyunosuke KamikiNanami SakurabaMitsuki TanimuraA student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother's 90th birthday.Mamoru Hosoda
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsRebecca HallDaniel Dae KimJohn ChoA young boy encounters a magical garden which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras, with guidance by his younger sister from the future.Mamoru Hosoda
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsKoji YakushoAoi MiyazakiShôta SometaniWhen a young orphaned boy living on the streets of Shibuya stumbles upon a fantastic world of beasts, he's taken in by a gruff warrior beast looking for an apprentice.Mamoru Hosoda
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsRyunosuke KamikiMone KamishiraishiRyo NaritaTwo teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.Makoto Shinkai
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiYoshio SuzukiStarsHidetaka YoshiokaMasato HagiwaraYuka NanriIn an alternate postwar timeline, Japan is divided into the Union-controlled North and the US-controlled South.Makoto Shinkai
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsMiyu IrinoKana HanazawaFumi HiranoOn a rainy morning in Tokyo, 15-year-old Takao, an aspiring shoemaker, decides to skip class to sketch designs in a beautiful garden. This is where he meets Yukari, a beautiful yet mysterious woman. They strike an unlikely friendship.Makoto Shinkai (SHORT)
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsKenji MizuhashiYoshimi KondouSatomi HanamuraTold in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.Makoto Shinkai (SHORT)
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsMika ShinoharaMakoto ShinkaiSumi MutohThe love of Japanese high school students Mikako Nagamine and Noboru Tera is tested when Mikako is sent to fight aliens in a distant universe and voice mails to and from Earth become months to years in transmission.Makoto Shinkai (SHORT)
- DirectorSatoshi KonKô MatsuoStarsMiyoko ShôjiShôzô ÎzukaMami KoyamaA TV interviewer and his cameraman meet a former actress and travel through her memories and career.Satoshi Kon
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsJunko IwaoRica MatsumotoShinpachi TsujiA pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.Satoshi Kon
- DirectorShôgo FuruyaSatoshi KonStarsTôru EmoriYoshiaki UmegakiAya OkamotoOn Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.Satoshi Kon
- CreatorSatoshi KonStarsShôzô ÎzukaToshihiko SekiMamiko NotoSeemingly unconnected citizens of Tokyo are targeted for bludgeoning by a boy with a golden baseball bat. As detectives try to link the victims, they discover that following the assaults, the victims' lives have improved in some way.Satoshi Kon (TV SERIES)
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.Isao Takahata
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsChloë Grace MoretzJames CaanMary SteenburgenKaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.Isao Takahata
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHideaki AnnoHidetoshi NishijimaMiori TakimotoJiro Horikoshi studies assiduously to fulfill his aim of becoming an aeronautical engineer. As WWII begins, fighter aircraft designed by him end up getting used by the Japanese Empire against its foes.Hayao Miyazaki
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsChieko BaishôTakuya KimuraTatsuya GashûinWhen an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.Hayao Miyazaki
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.Hayao Miyazaki
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsKirsten DunstMinami TakayamaRei SakumaA young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.Hayao Miyazaki
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.Hayao Miyazaki
- DirectorKenji KamiyamaHiroyuki OkiuraStarsMichael DobsonYoshikazu FujikiSumi MutohA traumatized member of an elite para-military police force falls for the sister of a female terrorist courier who died in front of him on duty.
- DirectorYoshiaki KawajiriStarsAndrew PhilpotJohn Rafter LeePamela AdlonA legendary dhampir competes with a motley family of bounty hunters to return a young woman, who has been seemingly abducted by a vampire, to her family.
- DirectorTakahiro ÔmoriStarsKôki UchiyamaAyane SakuraShinpachi TsujiHotaru is rescued by a spirit when she gets lost in a forest as a child. The two become friends, despite the spirit revealing that he will disappear if he is ever touched by a human.
- DirectorSunao KatabuchiStarsNonAva PickardKenna PickardA spirited 18-year-old woman is married off to a man she barely knows as she combats the daily struggles of living in Hiroshima during World War II.
- DirectorYasuhiro YoshiuraStarsJun FukuyamaKenji NojimaRie TanakaIn a not too distant future, a young man's outlook on his home android begins to change after tracking the android's behavioral log to a mysterious cafe.
- DirectorTaichi IshidateNaoko YamadaStarsMiyu IrinoSaori HayamiAoi YûkiA young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsMasaharu FukuyamaMachiko OnoYôko MakiRyota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.Hirokazu Koreeda
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsKôki MaedaOshiro MaedaRyôga HayashiTwelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.Hirokazu Koreeda
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsLily FrankySakura AndôKirin KikiOn the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.Hirokazu Koreeda
- DirectorMasashi YamamotoStarsSora AoiHiroto KatôShô NishinoYoung journalist Ryo eavesdrops on neighbor Satsuki through thin walls, becoming obsessed. Satsuki receives disturbing calls. Their lives intersect, blurring reality and delusion, leading to an unthinkable event.
- DirectorYukihiko TsutsumiStarsMaho NonamiEiko KoikeMaki TsujimuraTwo actresses who have auditioned for one part, sharing the same apartment with opposite personalities equals a night which either neither of them will forget - if they survive!
- DirectorTen ShimoyamaStarsMegumi OkinaYôichirô SaitôKôji OhkuraA game designer, and his girlfriend Nami, drive out to a decrepit mansion she just inherited, to film backgrounds for a new video game called St. John's Wort.
- DirectorMika NinagawaStarsErika SawajiriNao ÔmoriShinobu TerajimaTop star Lilico undergoes multiple cosmetic surgeries to her entire body. As her surgeries show side effect.
- DirectorShugo FujiiStarsHirohito HondaYoshiko ShiraishiRumiYasu is a teenage wheelchair user. His grandmother and her granddaughter are truly cruel sadists, intent on subjecting trapped Yasu to the most violent treatment imaginable while the rest of his family is not around.
- DirectorNorihito IkiStarsYûji AkiyamaJunko FukaiTeruyoshi Henmi
- DirectorAnh Hung TranStarsKen'ichi MatsuyamaRinko KikuchiKiko MizuharaToru recalls his life in the 1960s, when his friend Kizuki killed himself and he grew close to Naoko, Kizuki's girlfriend, and another woman, the outgoing, lively Midori.
- DirectorShigemichi SugitaStarsKoji YakushoKôichi SatôNanami SakurabaAn army of loyal samurai plot to revenge their unjustly executed lord.
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsShioli KutsunaRyô NishikidoHitomi SatôAfter praying for a new job, a samurai is transported through time to today's Japan.
- DirectorShinobu YaguchiStarsMickey CurtisYuriko YoshitakaGaku HamadaWhen some technicians with no knowledge of robotics are ordered to quickly design an advanced robot, they concoct a madcap plan to save their jobs.
- DirectorLeos CaraxMichel GondryBong Joon HoStarsAyako FujitaniRyô KaseAyumi ItoA triptych examines the nature of one unforgettable city as it's shaped by the disparate people who live, work (and even run amok) inside one enormous, constantly evolving, densely populated megalopolis, the ravishing and inimitable Tokyo.
- DirectorYoshishige YoshidaStarsMariko OkadaToshiyuki HosokawaYûko KusunokiTwo interwoven stories. The first is a biography of anarchist Sakae Osugi which follows his relationship with three women in the 1920s. The second centers around two 1960s students researching Osugi's theories.
- DirectorRyûichi HirokiStarsShôta SometaniAtsuko MaedaRoy 5tionOver one day at this love hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo - where guests have the choice of staying for a short time or overnight - the dreams and desires of these characters intersect while aspiring for something greater.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHaruka AyaseMasami NagasawaKahoThree sisters who live in their grandmother's home invite their thirteen-year-old half sister, whom they have just met, to join them.
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsKirin KikiMasatoshi NagaseKyara UchidaBurdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsMaki HorikitaHidetaka YoshiokaShin'ichi TsutsumiLeaving her provincial home, teenage Mutsuko arrives in Tokyo by train to take a job in a major automotive company but finds that she is employed by a small auto repair shop owned by Norifumi Suzuki. Suzuki's hair-trigger temper is held somewhat in check by the motherly instincts of his wife, Tomoe, and his young son Ippei immediately bonds with Mutsuko as if she were his older sister. The Suzuki shop lies almost in the shadow of the Tokyo Tower as it rises steadily above the skyline during construction in 1958. Others in the neighborhood also are striving to better themselves as Japan continues to emerge from the shadow of war. Hiromi has just abandoned her shady life as a dancer to start a sake bar. Abandoned by his single mother, young Junnosuke is first handed off to Hiromi but she passes him off to Ryunosuke Chagawa, a struggling writer who runs a candy shop and only manages to sell adventure stories for boys as his serious novels continue to be rejected. Junnosuke is an avid reader of Chagawa's stories and begins to idolize him upon learning about his authorship. Junnosuke also writes stories, and makes friends with Ippei and others when they discover his tales that show Japan in the hi-tech future of the 21st century.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsTadanobu AsanoMayumi TanakaChieko BaishôBased on childhood days of Teruyo Nogami.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraChishû RyûChikage AwashimaA family chooses a match for their daughter Noriko, but she, surprisingly, has her own plans.Yasujirô Ozu
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsIsao HashizumeKazuko YoshiyukiMasahiko NishimuraIn this update of Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story", a retired schoolteacher and his wife visit their three working children in modern-day Tokyo.Yôji Yamada
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsHiroyuki SanadaRie MiyazawaNenji KobayashiAs the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.Yôji Yamada
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsMasatoshi NagaseTakako MatsuHidetaka YoshiokaA 19th Century samurai, held in low esteem due to an action by his late father, must resolve his history with a maid and with his close friend.Yôji Yamada
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsTakuya KimuraRei DanMitsugorô BandôA look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.Yôji Yamada
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsAkira EmotoKumiko AsôJacques GamblinAt the end of WWII, Japanese doctor Akagi searches for the cure for hepatitis in the prisoner-of-war camp.Shôhei Imamura
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsKen OgataSumiko SakamotoTonpei HidariIn a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman is reaching close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.Shôhei Imamura
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsKoji YakushoMisa ShimizuMitsuko BaishôA businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After the release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking almost to no one except an eel he befriended while in prison.Shôhei Imamura