Junya Satō

Sakurada Gate Incident (2010)

Mito Domain Samurai Seki Tetsunosuke must pay the consequences for his role in the assassination of Great Elder Ii Naosuke. Based on true events. ...

Yamato (2005)

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, ...

The Peking Man (1997)

In 1929 the fossil of a 500,000 year old man is discovered in China. In 1941 the Japanese army confiscates this find, but during the war the remains disappear. Based on these factual events, this movie takes off with a science fiction story involving a spa ...

Psychic: Traveler to the Unknown (1994)

Hikaru, an ordinary man, discovers a way to unleash the supernatural powers hidden inside his soul, allowing him to cure others with his newfound "ki" healing power. ...

Hold Me and Kiss Me (1992)

Keiko's life is turned upside down when she discovers that she has been infected with HIV. As she struggles to cope with the situation and resist the infection, she finds new friendship and companionship with a journalist named Miyuki and a man named Akira ...

The Dream of Russia (1992)

Sumptuous filming of the journey of a shipwrecked Japanese expedition from the Pacific Ocean across Siberia to the court of Catherine the Great of Russia. A Russo-Japanese co-production of a unique event in history which was the hit of Cannes and other fil ...

The Silk Road (1988)

In 1026, students in western China are shanghaied into the forces of crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the length of the Silk Road. One student is Zhao Xingde, who becomes the favorite of his commander, Zhu Wangli. While sacking a for ...

Lost in the Wilderness (1986)

The life and travels of adventurer Naomi Uemura, who disappeared in Alaska in 1984. A member of the first Japanese expedition to reach the summit of Mt Everest in 1970, Uemura also accomplished several "firsts". He was the first man to reach the North Pole ...

Kukai (1984)

The life and times of Kûkai, a Japanese monk who studies Esoteric Buddhism in the far reaches of India, China and Tibet, then uses their combined influence to establish the Shingon school during the Heian period in early 9th Century AD. ...

Theater Of Life (1983)

Adaptation of Shiro Ozaki's novel. ...

The Go Masters (1982)

Ten years before the outbreak of the Second World War in Asia, a Japanese Go master and his Chinese rival meet in China to play a game of Go (loosely described as an Asian version of chess). It soon becomes evident that the Chinese master's son is the most ...

Drive for the Future (1980)

The Way to The Gold Medals (1980)

About Soviet and Japanese volley-ball players who are both rivals and friends. The events cover the period from the 1976 Montreal Olympics to the eve of XXII Olympics in Moscow. ...

Never Give Up (1978)

Special forces officer Ajisawa leaves his paramilitary group to take care of his newly-adopted daughter, Yoriko: the sole survival of a bloodbath for which he is responsible. Years later, Ajisawa is forced to return to the scene of the tragedy for his new ...

Proof of the Man (1977)

When an American is murdered in a Japanese inn, Tokyo police detective Munesue follows the trail of the killer to New York. There he is joined by a New York City detective named Shuftan and together they sort out the crime. ...

Manhunt (1976)

A tough prosecutor is falsely accused of theft and goes on the run to clear his name. He is assisted by the beautiful daughter of a rich man. ...

The Bullet Train (1975)

A Japanese bullet train is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers so the train crew can learn how to defuse the bomb. ...

Miracle on Lubang Island: Army Nakano School (1974)

In the spring of 1945, Murakami, an apprentice officer, was ordered by the General Staff Headquarters to be assigned to the secret 33rd Eastern Unit, known only to the upper ranks of the General Staff. This is where secret warriors, spies and guerrillas, a ...

Golgo 13 (1973)

Live-action adaptation of the hit manga. Golgo 13, also known by the pseudonym Duke Togo, is a professional assassin. His age and birthplace are unknown and there is no consensus in the worldwide intelligence community as to his true identity. Most of his ...

The Ando Gang Documentary Film (1973)

This biopic of notorious yakuza-turned-actor Noboru Ando focuses on the days leading to his arrest after the shooting of businessman Hideki Yokoi. ...

Fantasia (1973)

A 1973 musical film released by Toho-Towa, directed by Masanori Hata, Shôhei lImamura, Kei Kumai, Jun'ya Satô, Isao Takahata, Takeshi Kitano & Akira Kurosawa. A series of eight famous pieces of classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski and interpre ...

A True Story of the Private Ginza Police (1973)

Japan, 1946, just after the end of World War II. As the US occupation army patrols the dilapidated streets of Tokyo, a desperate and ambitious group of war veterans and gamblers struggle to take control of the Ginza district's underworld with the help of a ...

Quarreling with Yakuza (1973)

Set loose in a postwar world with no rules, an ex-juvenile delinquent begins building the most powerful gang in Tokyo's glittering Shibuya ward. ...

Yakuza Skirmishes (1972)

In the gaudy world of 1930s Shinjuku, a violent youth known as Bakudan Match tangles explosively with prostitutes, politicians and the police. ...

Gang Warfare (1972)

The Armed Organization (1971)

Violent Gang Re-Arms is a rousing tale of friction in yakuza and labor interactions with Koji Tsuruta as a yakuza supervising a dockworker's union. He finds himself between a rock and a hard place, at odds with both the dockworkers' leader (Tomisaburo Waka ...

The Gambler's Counterattack (1971)

Aiba is a gang boss who has just got out of jail, and finds everything has changed. His old gang has broken up, and only a few people still respect him. So he becomes a consultant to another gang who are about to be clobbered by a much larger gang moving i ...

The Last Kamikaze (1970)

With World War II is coming to its end and Japan nearing defeat, Japanese military leaders step up suicide attacks on Allied ships. Toei legend Koji Tsuruta stars as a Kamikaze squad leader who has second thoughts about suicide runs. He becomes torn betwee ...

The Japan Derby Race (1970)

A story about a man who stakes his life on horse racing. ...

Japan's Violent Gangs: The Boss and the Killers (1969)

An honorable yakuza syndicate deeply rooted in Kyoto fights for survival when a new breed of gangsters threaten their very existence. ...

The Private Police (1969)

After the war, Kijima (Bunta Sugawara) returns to Tokyo where he meets Ôba (Noboru Andô), an Ex-Kamikaze pilot, and the two ruffians gather hooligans to join their group. In Ginza, the Togawa gang have taken over Sakurada's territory. After several fight ...

Yakuza on Foot (1969)

An Osaka gangster Shimamura just got married. His new bride, Mineko is also involved in drug trafficking. When she goes to China to make a deal, things get botched pretty badly. Shimamura must travel to save her and recoup his employers' losses. ...

The Drifting Avenger (1968)

Ken, son of a former samurai settles with his family in the west from Japan. Soon his family is killed in front of him by stagecoach robbers, making him aim to get revenge. Marvin an experienced gunman befriends Ken and becomes his mentor. ...

Organized Violence II (1967)

Organized Violence (1967)

A war breaks out on the streets between rivaling Yakuza clans. ...

Thirst for Love (1966)

Natsuko, a Tokyo bar proprietress, and Yuki, a Kyoto Ryokan owner, vie for the affections of an advertising professional. ...

Raised in a Palace (1964)

Set in the pleasure district of Kyoto, Tamiko (Yoshiko Mita, in her first lead role) is a young girl attending high school by day and training as a geisha at night She sees her future as an entertainer, not a prostitute, & she expects a happy marriage wit ...

Wolves, Pigs & Men (1964)

Sabu and his pals hold a pauper's funeral for Sabu's mother. His brother Jiro arrives home, fresh out of jail, and Sabu pointedly states that Jiro is not invited. Jiro meanwhile is planning a big job - steal 40 million in cash and drugs, and he invites Sab ...

Zoku ôsho (1963)

Adaptation of novel. ...

Tale of Army Brutality (1963)

Director Jun'ya Satô's debut film focuses on the inhuman training of recruits, the brutal drill system that reigned in the Japanese army during World War II, where in the first two years of training, ordinary people were turned into inhuman killers. For h ...

The King (1962)

The film takes place at the junction of the two eras of Meiji and Taisho. Sakata Sankichi, an uneducated zori sandal maker, becomes a professional shogi player through his genius shogi skills and lives a fanatically devoted shogi game supported by the love ...

Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961)

Astronomer Shinichi Tachibana has a secret identity as the superhero "Iron Sharp" and is well beloved by children. When they are attacked by a group of metallic aliens, Iron Sharp drives the aliens away. The resourceful Tachibana helps develop an electric ...

Big Movie, Big Panic: Junya Sato on the Bullet Train (2016)

Interview with Japanese director Jun'ya Satô. ...