Takashi Kodaka

This Happy Life (1944)

A small community in wartime Japan learn how to make do with less. ...

Iemitsu and Hikoza (1941)

A sentimental tale of the filial love between shogun Iemitsu (matinee idol Hasegawa) and his loyal old retainer Hikoza (comedian Roppa, playing somewhat against type). ...

Kodakara fūfu (1941)

A Fond Face from the Past (1941)

A Fond Face from the Past is also set in a rural community, specifically a village outside Kameoka, near Kyoto. In some ways this short, thirty-six-minute film is Naruse's most moving negotiation of the militarist restrictions of the time, perhaps because ...

Oath on the Burning Sands (1940)

A Japanese army engineer (Hasegawa) on the mainland must put his personal feelings for a beautiful Chinese woman (Ri) aside if he is to succeed at building a highway through the "bandit"- (aka anti-Japanese militia-) infested hinterlands. ...

Rivals (1939)

Two hyper-competitive salarymen let their workplace rivalry spill over into their private lives, as both men try to one-up each other on a luxurious beach vacation neither's family can afford. ...