Kon Ichikawa

Ten Nights of Dreams (2007)

Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, t ...

Enlightenment: A Second Night of Dreams (2007)

A samurai suffers to achieve enlightenment while being forced by a Zen Buddhist. ...

Murder of the Inugami Clan (2006)

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, t ...

Musume no kekkon (2003)

TV remake of Ozu's 'Late Spring' ...

Kah-chan (2001)

Okatsu is a widow raising five children - adults but still mama-dependent - in mid-eighteenth century Edo, Japan. Her frugality attracts unflattering comment even amid national tough times (the region is in famine) What Okatsu tells no one is that she save ...

Dora-heita (2000)

A new magistrate in the town of Horisoto—widely reputed to be the most lawless township in Japan, uses guile and his opponents' own misperceptions and prejudices to defeat his enemies and uproot corruption. ...

Shinsengumi (2000)

Produced for Fuji TV in 2000, the film reinterprets the story of a special samurai force - the Shinsengumi - at the end of the Edo period. ...

The 8-Tomb Village (1996)

A band of samurai warriors places a curse on a family fortune thus frustrating the heir 4 centuries later. ...

Fusa (1995)

Period piece about a samurai who marries a mysterious beautiful young woman who claims to have lost her memory. ...

47 Ronin (1994)

Kon Ichikawa's retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai) dedicate their lives to avenging his death. ...

Kogarashi Monjirō Returns (1993)

Noh Mask Murders (1991)

The patriarch of a bickering family announces his retirement, stirring competition about who will succeed him as a leading practitioner of Noh theater, his granddaughter or grandson. ...

Crane (1988)

Based on the folk tales "Repayment from a crane". One snowy night a beautiful woman named Tsuru (Crane) visits poor peasant Taiju and says she will become his wife... ...

Princess from the Moon (1987)

Two poor, married farmers have recently lost their only child; after a freak visitation, they pry open an alien cocoon to greet their new daughter. ...

Actress (1987)

Story of famed Japanese actress Kinuyo Tanaka, with an emphasis on her working relationship with director Kenji Mizoguchi. ...

The Hall of the Crying Deer (1986)

The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1986)

When Milo the cat and Otis the dog are separated, they each set off on an adventurous and often perilous quest across mountains, plains, and snow-covered lands to reunite with one another. ...

The Burmese Harp (1985)

In the War's closing days, when a conscience-driven Japanese soldier fails to get his countrymen to surrender to overwhelming force, he adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk. ...

Ohan (1984)

A story of a shopkeeper and his ex-wife, lives full of tragedy. ...

The Makioka Sisters (1983)

This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between ...

Lonely Heart (1981)

A police procedural surrounding murder at a bookstore and the private lives of the cops trying to solve the case. ...

Koto: The Ancient City (1980)

Chieko (Momoe Yamaguchi) has been raised as the only child of parents who run a dry goods store. When Chieko was a middle-school student, she learned that her parents are not her biological parents. Cheiko's mother told her that she was stolen while sleepi ...

Galaxy Express 999: The Movie (1979)

In the future, one can achieve immortality by obtaining a mechanized body. Orphaned, young Tetsuro hitches a ride on the space train Galaxy Express 999 in the hope of obtaining a cyborg body to avenge his mother's death. Along the way, he meets Maetel, who ...

The House of Hanging (1979)

This time, Kousuke investigates a murder in a hospital. The murderer leaves misleading evidence to divert Kousuke's attention on the case. Suspicion and doubt clouds Kousuke's mind. ...

The Phoenix (1978)

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 ...

Queen Bee (1978)

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. ...

Island of Hell (1977)

A scruffy detective investigates the murders of three sisters on a small Japanese island in 1946. ...

Lullaby to Kill (1977)

Kôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police detective and they start to investigate an old unsolved murder. Then some murders happen. Kindaichi must find out about the past in order to reveal who the mu ...

The Inugami Family (1976)

When a tycoon passes away, he unexpectedly leaves the family fortune to outsider Tamayo on the condition that she marries one of the grandsons, pitting blood against blood. ...

Between Women and Wives (1976)

Depicts various relationships between four beautiful sisters, their husbands, and their second daughter's husband's mistress. ...

I Am a Cat (1975)

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 dis ...

Visions of Eight (1973)

Eight acclaimed filmmakers bring their unique and differing perspectives to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games held in Munich. The segments include Lelouch's take on Olympic losers and their struggle to remain dignified even in the face of bitter disappointment ...

The Wanderers (1973)

Follows the fluctuating fortunes of three ronin in feudal Japan who wander from castle to castle, selling their services to whichever lord will fill their rice bowls. Though they use the servants' entrance, they still feel themselves bound by the samurai c ...

To Love Again (1971)

A Japanese girl and a French boy make strides in overcoming the cultural barriers that prevent them from fully expressing the love they have for one another. ...

Dodes'ka-den (1970)

On a Tokyo dump's shantytown edge, interwoven vignettes follow residents scraping by: a boy who "drives" an imaginary trolley, a homeless father and son designing a dream house, a young woman brutalized at home, drunks, schemers, and saints of small kindne ...

Japan and the Japanese (1970)

A documentary Ichikawa made for the 1970 Osaka Expo, originally made for projection on eight split panels. ...

Kyoto (1969)

Documentary on the city of Kyoto, Japan. Topics include the Ryoanji Temple stone garden, a geisha residence, the Katsura Imperial Villa, and the Gion Festival. ...

Youth: The 50th National High School Baseball Tournament (1968)

Tokyo Olympiad director Kon Ichikawa documents the 50th anniversary of the Koshien games. ...

Topo Gigio and the Missile War (1967)

Film mixing live action with the famous animated Italian rubber mouse, Topo Gigio. ...

The Tale of Genji (1966)

An eroticized adaptation of Murasaki Shikibu's classic novel, written over 1000 years ago. Genji, the son of the emperor, has gained renown among the nobility of Kyoto for his charm and good looks, yet he cannot stop himself from pursuing the one object of ...

Tokyo Olympiad (1965)

This impressionistic portrait of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics pays as much attention to the crowds and workers as it does to the actual competitive events. Highlights include an epic pole-vaulting match between West Germany and America, and the final mar ...

The Money Dance (1964)

Machida (Shintaro Katsu) is in constant trouble because of his instincts to do right every time, even when it endangers his life. A gang hires him for his "forceful personality," and assigns him to kill evil people, a president of a loan company and a drug ...

Alone Across the Pacific (1963)

Kenichi Horie is determined to challenge his family, the law and the nature crossing the Pacific to America in a small sailboat. Despite his careful planning, many unforeseen events will test his determination. ...

An Actor's Revenge (1963)

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago. ...

Being Two Isn't Easy (1962)

The days leading up to a toddler's second birthday are seen alternately from the child's point of view as well as that of his parents. ...

The Broken Commandment (1962)

Ushimatsu's father told him never to reveal his lower-caste heritage; years later, he now contemplates confiding in an activist fighting against such discrimination. ...

Ten Dark Women (1961)

Kaze is a philandering TV producer. His wife and nine of his mistresses conspire to kill him. However each woman would rather keep him alive, as long as she was the only woman in his life. ...

Her Brother (1960)

Set in 1926 when Japanese tradition was much stronger, this drama looks at the inner workings of a small family, especially the relationship between a sister and brother. ...

The Woman Who Touched Legs (1960)

Detective Katahachi meets a young and beautiful pickpocket and doesn't arrest her because she was not in the act. Instead, he listens to the story about her parents who killed himself and died for overwork to feel sorry about her. ...

Bonchi (1960)

Kikuji is the scion of an Osaka merchant family whose traditional power is matrilineal. Instructed by his overbearing mother and grandmother to give them an heiress for the family business, he stands by helplessly as his wife is thrown out of the house for ...

A Woman's Testament (1960)

The first story concerns an attractive young woman who works in a Tokyo nightclub. Her plan for a solid financial future has a double whammy. In the second story, a beautiful young woman is employed by an unscrupulous real estate agent to convince male cli ...

Fires on the Plain (1959)

In the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier afflicted with tuberculosis is abandoned by his company and left to wander the Philippine island of Leyte. ...

Odd Obsession (1959)

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. ...

Goodbye, Hello (1959)

Kazuko and Umeko have been friends since college. They are modern businesswomen who have many obligations in life and are not ready for marriage. Their families think differently and strive to arrange their personal happiness. ...

Conflagration (1958)

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

Hole in One (1957)

A female reporter is fired for writing about police corruption; to make money while hiding from the press, she posts a bounty upon herself. ...

The Crowded Train (1957)

Tamio Moroi, a young university graduate, works at a large brewery where he is taught to do nothing but look busy. When his father goes insane, he is told to send money for medical research into the condition. This prompts him to pay his father a visit, le ...

Bridge of Japan (1956)

Ichikawa's 1956 adaptation of Nihonbashi was the first to take the work of Kyoka Izumi— until then regarded as a writer of common tragic melodramas—and re-evaluate it as a tanbi-ha work of decadence, aestheticism, and intrigue. Ichikawa's film present ...

Punishment Room (1956)

Shimada is a student of U College. When the college's baseball team wins the day, he and his friend Ito drug two girls they met at the game. ...

The Burmese Harp (1956)

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW. ...

The Heart (1955)

In the dying months of the Meiji era, a sympathetic student befriends a married couple, but soon realizes they share a curiously strained relationship stemming from an unknown incident in their past. ...

Ghost Story of Youth (1955)

A melodrama of the ups and downs of youth, based on Bunroku Shishi's popular novel. Chiharu, a ballerina, and Shinichi, a thorough rationalist and childhood friend. A woman named Tomi Funakoshi appears in front of the two, who are thinking of getting marri ...

A Billionaire (1954)

An ethical, young tax collector new to his area encounters increasingly absurd individuals and groups coping with their post-war woes. ...

The Lovers (1953)

Comedy about a 50-something movie director, his new bride, a classical dancer, and his adult son and daughter and their loves. ...

Youth of Heiji Senigata (1953)

The Blue Revolution (1953)

Mr. Pu (1953)

A math teacher loses his job while falling in love with a local girl. ...

This Way, That Way (1952)

An intellectual couple in a staid and tedious marriage are surprised when the wife's niece, who has run away from home, turns up unexpectedly to stay with them. Their mundane lives are sent into disarray by the emotional and energetic Ako. ...

The Woman Who Touched the Legs (1952)

A screwball tale of a suspected "lady thief" and the detective who is on her trail, following her from Osaka to her home village, where she is going to hold a memorial service for her father. Of course, the detective falls in love with his prey. ...

Forbidden Path (1952)

MAZAKI Shintaro is a teacher at a mission school, in a relationship with the English teacher Sumi HASHIMOTO. Young, single and handsome MAZAKI is popular among the women, One day, after reading somethiing unusual in the essay of a third... ...

Mr. Lucky (1952)

Wedding March (1951)

Melodrama by Kon Ichikawa ...

Bengawan Solo (1951)

War film by Kon Ichikawa ...

Stolen Love (1951)

Romantic melodrama ...

The Man Without a Nationality (1951)

Thriller drama by Kon Ichikawa ...

Koibito (1951)

A Japanese romance drama. ...

Nightshade Flower (1951)

Japanese "kayo" film based on the song "Ieraishan" by Yoshiko Yamaguchi. ...

Pursuit At Dawn (1950)

This little seen early work by Ichikawa was produced during the director's Shintoho period (1947-51). Written by Kaneto Shindô and featuring Ryô Ikebe as a young policeman it is part crime drama, part social study. Definitely not an undiscovered masterpi ...

Heat and Mud (1950)

With one million yen in stolen cash, Kurita plans his escape to Hokkaido with an unwilling bar girl named Katsumi. ...

Sanshiro of Ginza (1950)

An early film by Kon Ichikawa ...

Endless Passion (1949)

Comedy by Kon Ichikawa ...

Ningen moyo (1949)

A love triangle among a girl, her poor boyfriend, and a rich company president. ...

365 Nights (1948)

A young man rents an apartment in Tokyo and discover it was built by his father. He falls in love with the daughter of the mistress of the house and decides to marry her. Only to discover that his father is is in debt and wants him to marry Ranko so that s ...

A Flower Blooms (1948)

Machiko falls in love with a mysterious man, but her family wants something different for her. ...

A Thousand and One Nights with Toho (1947)

The debut film of Shin Toho Productions ...

A Girl At Dojo Temple (1946)

Kon Ichikawa's directorial debut. A puppet version of a well-known kabuki play, which was confiscated by occupying US forces for being excessively traditional. ...

World of Love (1943)

A sixteen-year-old who had been living on her own since her mother died, frequently gets in trouble with the police. She gets sent to an "institute" for young girls in the countryside. There the residents grow their own food, cook and clean for themselves ...

Hyoroku's Dream Tale (1943)

Enoken's Bow-Wow General (1940)

Enoken no wanwan taishô AKA Wanwan Taisho AKA Bowwow General directed by Nobuo Nakagawa ...

Old Songs (1939)

Set against the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion, two Osaka families navigate the radical social shifts of the early Meiji Era. As the merchant class ascends to economic prominence, the former samurai class faces a steady decline in status and traditional structure. ...

Fallen Blossoms (1938)

Set against the backdrop of an imperial victory in the civil war leading up to the Meiji Restoration, Fallen Blossoms tells the story of the sorrows of women in a geisha house in Kyoto by recounting the relationships of its inhabitants. ...

Shinsetsu Kachikachi Yama (1936)

An early, heavily Disney-inspired cartoon, written and directed by Kon Ichikawa. A bandit kidnaps a member of a concert audience as an act of revenge, and the concert's conductor, the Momotaro-esque Dangonosuke, goes to her rescue. ...

Cowardly samurai squad (1935)

The story of Dangonosuke, a boy samurai rescuing a woman from a villain, is told comically. ...

The Magic Hour (2008)

A hustler who gets in trouble with a gang boss in the port town of Sukago agrees to make good with the don by putting him in contact with a mysterious hitman — an assassin the hustler has no idea how to contact. Instead, he hires an actor to play the rol ...

The Kon Ichikawa Story (2006)

The life of iconic Japanese director Kon Ichikawa. ...

Kurosawa (2000)

Documentary on film maker Akira Kurosawa ...

Kon Ichikawa: My Life in Cinema (1999)

Interview with Japanese film director, conducted by film critic Yuki Mori for the Directors Guild of Japan in 1999. ...

Visions of Eight (1973)

Eight acclaimed filmmakers bring their unique and differing perspectives to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games held in Munich. The segments include Lelouch's take on Olympic losers and their struggle to remain dignified even in the face of bitter disappointment ...