Yoshio Harada

Someday (2011)

The annual kabuki show is the main attraction in a rural Japanese mountain town. However, Yoshi's life is thrown into disarray days before the performance when his estranged wife and former best friend arrive back in town... ...

I Wish (2011)

Twelve-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. ...

300 Million (2010)

Katagiri, a highly ambitious young detective, teams up with older detective Takiguchi, who is about to retire, to investigate a murder that took place by Sumida River. Katagiri is annoyed by Takiguchi's pushiness, but is surprised to hear that the victim w ...

Zatoichi: The Last (2010)

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

Golden Flower: What Is Hidden Is the True Flower, What Is Gone Is the Butterfly (2009)

Nursing home "Yuyoso". Many lonely old people live there, including botanist Taro Makiso, a physicist, an actor, a bar mom, and a chef. Maki has spent most of his life studying botany, and has lived without regard for entertainment, drinking, women, or eve ...

Fish of the Fire (2009)

Hi no Sakana (火の魚, Fish of the Fire) is a Japanese novel by Murō Saisei; it was first published in 1960, and was later adapted into a single episode TV drama that was broadcast on NHK Hiroshima in 2009. The story describes the interactions between ...

Bare Essence of Life (2009)

Yojin, an eccentric young farmer living in the countryside, falls in love for the first time in his life. Her name is Machiko, she teaches in a kindergarten and is from Tokyo. ...

Then Summer Came (2008)

A humorous wedding story fueled by a rather no-good father and son, disguised as the old and new "good guys." The father Nobuo, and his son Tamio, are unable to mature, unable to break the parent-child roles, have no sense of responsibility, and keep holdi ...

Tombstone of the Fireflies (2008)

Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City. ...

Still Walking (2008)

A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear. ...

Little DJ (2007)

Taro is a 12-year-old into baseball and radio, especially "Music Express," a song-request show. Sound quaint? But it is 1977 and a small town in Hokkaido, a more innocent, pure-hearted time and place, we are told. Taro, however, has a blood disease that la ...

The Invitation from Cinema Orion (2007)

Based on the short story from the best-selling collection "Poppoya" by Jiro Asada, "The Invitation from Cinema Orion" tells the story of a couple's undying love for the cinema and each other. ...

United Red Army (2007)

Two of the most radical student groups form the United Red Army (URA) and head into the mountains to conduct a training camp. Ideology devolves into despotism, and the URA's leaders begin to arbitrarily persecute their followers, a harrowing ordeal that cu ...

Dororo (2007)

Hyakkimaru, a warrior on a quest to reclaim 48 of his body parts which were each taken by a demon, is joined by Dororo, a thief on a quest to avenge the death of her parents. ...

Nightmare Detective (2007)

When a number of suicide victims slash themselves in their sleep, detective Keiko Kirishima is called to investigate. ...

The Bicycle Thief Was Bad (2006)

Steel-worker Saito Tetsuo, driven by an unexplained anxiety, steals bike after bike to move away from his hometown to Tokyo. Through snow-storms and empty landscapes, the breathtaking photography allows us to look deep into the mindscape of a man searching ...

What's a Director? (2006)

Works commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of Japan mapping Supervision Association ...

Hana (2006)

In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. Wh ...

Waters (2006)

Seven young Tokyoites get scammed into working as hosts for "Dog Days" bar. Will they be able to overcome their individual differences and keep the club open? ...

Drawing Restraint 9 (2006)

The film concerns the theme of self-imposed limitation and continues Matthew Barney's interest in religious rite, this time focusing on Shinto. ...

Aegis (2005)

The Isokaze, an Aegis-class escort vessel, sets sail on a routine training exercise, playing host to a platoon from the Fleet Training Group. No sooner is the Isokaze on open water, however, then the FTG reveal themselves to be terrorist stowaways who kill ...

Making of 9 Souls (2005)

A short documentary showing behind the scenes of Toshiaki Toyoda's '9 Souls'. ...

Chicken Is Barefoot (2004)

A disabled child of separated parents gets caught up in police espionage due to his uncanny ability to remember license plate numbers. ...

Izo (2004)

Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Her ...

The Face of Jizo (2004)

Based on a play by Hisashi Inoue, it focuses on the sufferings of the survivors of Hiroshima. The film takes place during 4 days in the summer of 1948, as the ghost of her father visits Mitsué (Rié Miyama). He had somehow learned that she has fallen in l ...

Heaven's Bookstore (2004)

Kenta, a young pianist who has just lost his job, is drowning his woes at a bar, when he meets a man in a Hawaiian shirt named Yamaki. He invites Kenta to work with him, and the next thing he knows, Kenta wakes up to find himself in a room he has never bee ...

Karaoke Terror (2003)

One of a gang of karaoke loving middle aged women is murdered by a young man. Her friends track him down and kill him. His friends track them down and kill the killer and it escalates! ...

9 Souls (2003)

After discovering a hole in their crowded cell, nine prisoners escape their confinement to track down the key of the universe, which a fellow prisoner known as the Counterfeit King said he had hidden. ...

Time Limit (2003)

Mizusawa (Takenouchi Yutaka), an explosives expert, is arrested and charged with a string of bank robberies. Because he is a flight risk, Detective Kayama (Ogata Ken) is assigned to transport Mizusawa to Shizuoka for questioning. On the way, Kayama receive ...

Azumi (2003)

In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an assassin. Her name is Azumi, the ultimate ...

Mike Yokohama: A Forest with No Name (2003)

Private detective Mike takes on an assignment to return a girl, who is set to marry into a prestigious family, from a mysterious commune in the forest. ...

A Boy's Summer in 1945 (2002)

Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Summer in 1945" (literally "A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima") is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan's surrender en ...

Madness in Bloom (2002)

Yamaguchi, Ichikawa and Kosuge dress in white military-style uniforms to "clean" the streets of Shibuya from bad elements. After rightist gang boss, Aota takes an interest in the three, the boys gradually become influenced by him, but start to go their di ...

KT (2002)

This movie is a political/espionage thriller, based on a real kidnapping incident of Korean politician, Kim Dae-Jung. ...

Pickpocket (2000)

Kaido is a professional pickpocket who works the Tokyo subway with his young foster-daughter, Rei: She lets herself be groped while Kaido relieves the groper of his wallet. More often than not they're observed by a middle-aged cop, who generally lets Kaido ...

PARTY7 (2000)

Seven characters, introduced at the start of the film, get thrown together into the same hotel room: a thief who's stolen a suitcase of money from the mob, his ex-girlfriend, her obsessive boyfriend, the mob soldier sent to retrieve the briefcase, another ...

The Whispered City (2000)

Director Jun Ichikawa spins this affectionate portrait of the people who populate Shimokitazawa, a bohemian corner of Tokyo filled with small theater companies and smoky coffeehouses. ...

Another Heaven (2000)

A pair of hard-boiled Tokyo cops are investigating a gruesome murder: after killing the victim, the murderer cut his skull open and cooked his brain in a stew. As they try to track down the killer, they discover that, quite literally, everybody is a suspec ...

The Story of PuPu (1998)

Fu and Suzu are two hedonist girls who decide to take to the road. They set off on a journey to visit the tomb of a small pig by name Pupu. On the way, they meet Suzu's ex-lover, a gay couple, and a golf player; always getting in trouble. But whenever trou ...

A Yakuza in Love (1997)

When an innocent young country girl falls for a low level yakuza, she enters a completely different world in which the line between good and evil are quickly blurred. Through great ups and downs their love will be tested, but the ultimate test lies in whet ...

Onibi: The Fire Within (1997)

After spending over half his life in prison, ex-hitman Kunihiro is determined to go straight. But the shortcomings of the new gangs mean that he is soon having to call on his old-school yakuza talents. And when he falls for Asako, a beautiful piano player, ...

Born to Be Baby (1997)

A detective, a mysterious beauty Ekin and other characters appear in the film. It creates a mysterious visual world that takes us one step further into the world of Ekin. This is the second art documentary film produced by the Museum of Art, Kochi, follow ...

Billiken (1996)

The main hero of this film is the spirit of the once very popular wooden statuette called Billiken. It's a small god with a pointed head, a fat belly and a characteristic smile. When the casket in which the statuette was found is broken, the spirit of Bill ...

Kagerô 2 (1996)

An entertainment drama depicting the conflict of yakuza, centering on the female torso and her sister's feud. ...

House of Sleeping Beauties (1995)

About an establishment where old men pay to sleep besides young girls that had been narcotized and happen to be naked, the sleeping beauties. The old men are expected to take sleeping pills and share the bed for a whole night with a girl without attempting ...

The Breath (1995)

Haida, once a famous private detective, is now down and out and running out of reasons to live. One day, while engaging in a group volunteer project to clean up a river, he loses what's left of his will to live and lets the water carry him away. He ends up ...

Ring (1995)

In different parts of Tokyo, four young and seemingly healthy people suddenly die of heart failure at exactly the same moment. Reporter Kazuyuki Asakawa decides to investigate the deaths, and discovers that the four had stayed at a rural inn together just ...

The Girl of Silence (1995)

14 year old Nakamura is sexually abused by her stepfather. She invents a friend who is coming to her rescue when she really needs it. ...

The Hunted (1995)

Paul Racine, a high-powered American business executive in Japan, is catapulted into a maze of danger and intrigue after he and his sexy companion are the targets of assassins hired by the ruthless Kinjo. To survive, Racine must join forces with a powerfu ...

The Mystery of Rampo (1994)

Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events jus ...

The Anthropology of a Fight Scene (1993)

A man must overcome many obstacles as he works his way through the dangerous crime world to the level of yakuza. ...

Singapore Sling (1993)

Tatsuya is on a honeymoon in Australia. A couple of unfortunate encounters land him in jail, where he's imprisoned without a chance of ever getting out again. His wife tries her best to launch an appeal, but it's Tatsuya's inmates who are his best chance o ...

Marriage (1993)

An omnibus featuring the work of three different filmmakers. ...

Sosuke Loses His Lover (1992)

Koji Wakamatsu adapted Kouhei Tsuka's play of the same name into a human comedy about the members of a traveling acting troupe. ...

The Triple Cross (1992)

Following the bloody aftermath of a heist, three robbers are double-crossed by a new accomplice, who is then tracked down amid escalating carnage and spectacular car chases. ...

Nowhere Man (1991)

Sukezo, a former manga comic artist, takes up the art rock business by setting up a shop in a shed by the river. He tries hard to be successful, but business does not go well and the family becomes progressively poorer. ...

Yumeji (1991)

Following the life of Japanese artist and poet Yumeji Takehisa through the imagining of an encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past. ...

The Last Frankenstein (1991)

Professor Sarusawa and his psychic daughter Mai live together after the suicide of the Professor's wife years earlier - which was caused by a suicide plague running rampant throughout the city. Dr. Aryo lives in a nearby castle with his wife, whom Dr. Aryo ...

Summer of the Lion Kings (1991)

Katsu, who belongs to the Murai group of the Sakagami Union, was frustrated by the distance from the yakuza world he had envisioned. At that time, Katsu, who met Osamu who belongs to the conflicting Dainippon Kyokushinkai, feels the real gangster scent of ...

Tekken (1990)

A directionless young man, recently released from prison, tries to make a new start in life as a boxer... ...

Ready to Shoot (1990)

A middle-aged man discovers an injured refugee woman trembling in the corner of his bar in Kabukicho. He quickly becomes aware that her life is in his hands when he learns she is hiding from the yakuza. ...

Ronin-gai (1990)

Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attempt to regain their honor by defending a brothel from a hostile militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes. ...

Evil Emblem (1990)

Aida, a daredevil detective who isn't afraid of power or challenges. The great evil has begun investigating a major corruption case involving a leading trade company and the nation. ...

Circus Boys (1989)

Two brothers, Jinta and Wataru, are raised in a travelling circus. After an accident, Jinta decides to leave the circus and travels the countryside working as a con-man. After a run-in with a local gang of yakuza, he is invited to join their ranks, where h ...

Knockout (1989)

A Japanese boxer stages a dramatic and dangerous comeback after suffering brain damage in the ring. ...

Business Trip (1989)

Dream Street (1989)

A comedy about the lives of people living in the shopping district of Osaka. ...

Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage (1989)

After his partner Ahiru is gunned down in the process of arresting criminal Bruce Sawamura, cop Joe "Joker" Kawamura goes rogue and tries to get revenge. Since Bruce's last coup was stealing 5 million dollars in donations from a church, he is joined in his ...

Firefly (1989)

A young outlaw racing through the streets of Yokohama. Will the love that slipped through his fingers like sand come back to him once again? ...

It's Easier Than Kissing (1989)

After the death of her mother a young woman wants to meet her real father ...

Tomorrow (1988)

On August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This film, based on a story by Mitsukaru Inoue, describes the daily life of people in Nagasaki the day before that fateful event. It presents the human drama of people's lives, and their ...

Flying (1988)

A young woman aspires to be a motorboat racing champion. ...

The Heartbreak Yakuza (1987)

A hardened gangster encounters by chance a woman he hasn't seen since childhood. They are both engulfed in the underground world of intergang warfare. ...

This Story of Love (1987)

Life and love stories of stunt men and women. ...

Paper Lantern (1987)

A new wave Yakuza film in which Takanori Jinnai plays a young Yakuza suffering from stomach cancer who has very little left to live. This film is based on the posthumous manuscript of Shoji Kaneko, the legendary director who died of cancer after completin ...

À la carte Company (1987)

The New Morning of Billy the Kid (1986)

All the protagonists move about in a Tokyo Bar that has an entire wall taken up with a black-and-white reproduction of a photo of Monument Valley. The action starts as Billy the Kid, in full living color, walks out of the photo and gets a job as a waiter. ...

Cabaret (1986)

A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thriller from Haruki Kadokawa. After a saxophonist starts playing at a particular nightspot, a thug from the Yakuza adopts him as a special friend for no greater ...

No More Comics! (1986)

Stuck doing show-biz schlock, an investigative reporter stumbles on a scheme to swindle pensions through an attractive gold futures scam, a potential news-story. ...

Let Him Rest in Peace (1985)

A man returns to his seaside roots to confront a yakuza boss. Along the way, he charms young men, softens a hard woman and busts a few heads. ...

Nuclear Gypsies (1985)

Barbara, a dancer, is coming home to Nagoya after a long absence. She lives above a bar in an area whose inhabitants are mainly from Okinawa. Upon her return, Barbara faces problems beyond her control. Her brother and two friends take one of their teachers ...

You Gotta Chance (1985)

The story of Tamikawa, a professionally and artistically burned out singer, who embarks on a search for a director named Goda. During the journey, the man not only experiences a lot of adventures, but also tries to find himself and answer the question whet ...

Out of Focus (1985)

A magazine publisher called Out Of Focus hires a new female camerawoman. This company is located in Tokyo. The new photographer moves from outside the city to Tokyo and upon arrival and on her first day is tasked with immediately snapping pictures. Her bos ...

Farewell to the Ark (1984)

A surreal, isolated village sees its inhabitants gradually leave behind their mutual traditions and superstitions as they leave for the city. Among them are two cousins who love each other and who get into a quarrel with other villagers. ...

The Miracle of Joe, the Petrel (1984)

In Okinawa, a Japanese-Filipino gangster named Joe kills an Okinawan mobster. Joe temporarily escapes the pursuing mob by fleeing to the Philippines, hoping to find there safety and perhaps to link up with his father. He meets Yoko, a saloon girl, who look ...

Sukanpin Walk (1984)

Yuji decides to run away from home to become an actor. Along the way, he meets Yoshio, an aspiring rock musician and Ami, an idol who, despite her success, is slowly losing popularity. All three of them begin to support each other in fulfilling their dream ...

A Bridge of Tears (1983)

Japanese drama film. ...

Manji (1983)

Kleptomaniac Sonoko and young, beautiful Mitsuko begin an unusual love affair which develops fast into a kinky sexual love triangle when Sonoko's husband gets involved. ...

Tattoo (1982)

An ardent culture-vulture youth, previously charged for the murder of a woman when he was young, plans to hold hostage a local bank. ...

A Pool Without Water (1982)

After saving a girl from rape, a bored rail worker finds out about a chemical that makes people sleep and gets carried away into a new, violent world of ideas. ...

Gone Without Saying Goodbye! (1981)

This TV drama special depicts the obsession of a sister and two detectives searching for her missing brother who witnessed the crimes of a political fixer. ...

Kagero-za (1981)

A 1920s playwright meets a beautiful woman who may be the ghost of his patron's deceased wife. ...

Play it, Boogie-Woogie (1981)

A runaway cat-loving girl begins a love triangle with a reckless older man and a young biker in high school. The film follows their subsequent chaotic relationships. ...

Mister, Missus, Miss Lonely (1980)

Two men and a woman plan to steal 1.5 Billion yen. ...

Disciples of Hippocrates (1980)

The story revolves around Ogino, who is in the last year of his medical studies. Between lectures, exams, on field training, his commitment as a pro-reformist militant and his girlfriend, Ogino is starting to wonder if he's really cut out to be a doctor. ...

Zigeunerweisen (1980)

A surreal period film following a university professor and his eerie nomad friend as they go through loose romantic triangles and face death in peculiar ways. ...

The Fang in the Hole (1979)

A police detective tries to investigate the mystery of a victim who was shot in the head, but no bullet was found. ...

Hunter in the Dark (1979)

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 b ...

Goodbye, Flickmania (1979)

Set at the height of the Japanese student rebellion in 1968, the film tells the story of the friendship between two very different men—a fortyish film maniac who spends nearly all his time at the movies and a 19-year-old going through the final rites of ...

At Noon (1978)

Tadao decides to comes back from Tokyo to live in his home town, in the countryside. He stays at his parents place and finds a job, repairing transistor and television. He catches up with his friend Tetsuji, the only that haven't left yet. But one night, T ...

Dog Whistle (1978)

In this crime thriller produced by Toshiro Mifune (who has a supporting role), hard-boiled Shiro Akitsu goes on a relentless search for his abducted 7-year old daughter, with the aid of an Ainu dog summoned by a whistle she gave him. ...

Lost Love (1978)

At a seaside city somewhere in the Tohoku area, the corpses of Nozomi, daughter of an affluent family, and Yamazaki, son of an engineer at the local nuclear power-plant, are found tied-to on a beach, as if they intended to commit double suicide. Nogami, a ...

Shogun's Samurai (1978)

Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his respect. Iemitsu and his brother Tadanaga bec ...

Ballad of Orin (1977)

A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world imposes change around her. ...

A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (1977)

A rookie golfer must cope with the stress of fame after a marketing executive transforms her into a sports celebrity. ...

Hangyaku no Tabi (1976)

Hiroshi Kakurai is an assassin who was thinking of retiring. He travels to an island in the Seto Inland Sea and begins to live peacefully with Shinobu, a woman he has fallen in love with, but the intensity of his love for her begins to drive him towards de ...

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. ...

Outlaw Cop (1976)

A bad cop is engaged in a violent chase to catch a yakuza boss. In his absence his wife runs away with another man, who turns out to be the very same man that her husband is hunting. Once he discovers this, he loses his nerve and turns in his badge. But th ...

Preparation for the Festival (1975)

Tateo, young and neurotic, wishes to leave the village his mother has raised him in. ...

Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974)

A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan. ...

The Assassination of Ryoma (1974)

Story of the last three days in the life of Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), the imperial loyalist who tried to unite the Choshu and Satsuma clans and prepared the way for the Meiji Restoration (1868). ...

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974)

Lady Snowblood is caught by the police and sentenced to death for her crimes. As she is sent to the gallows she is rescued by the secret police who offer her a deal to assassinate some revolutionaries. ...

Slaughter in the Snow (1973)

In feudal Japan, women are vulnerable, in need of protection, and capable of deception. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter, has not yet fully revenged the death of his wife and son. He searches for Kunisada Chuji, who in turn has hired the knife-throwing Windm ...

Did the Red Bird Escape? (1973)

A young outlaw can't escape his rebellious past despite connections to a well-to-do family. ...

The Fearless Avenger (1972)

Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed. Though now even more ...

The Trail of Blood (1972)

Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father's craft. After three y ...

Confessions Among Actresses (1971)

In this intricately layered Japanese film, the nature of actresses and what they gain from acting is explored. The lives of three actresses are laid bare, and scenes from their lives are woven in and out of interviews with each of them. Each of them has ex ...

Wet Sand in August (1971)

Several high-school friends spend their final summer together indulging in sex and leisure; their halcyon days are soon coming to an end. ...

Kanto Drifter (1971)

Young man returns from prison and sets out to destroy the gang that killed his friends and boss of his former gang. ...

Stray Cat Rock: Beat '71 (1971)

The series swansong, Beat '71, sees Kaji framed and sent to prison by her boyfriend's father and with the help of some hippies she strives to be re-united. ...

Step on the Gas! (1970)

Yūji, fresh out of prison on parole, meets a stranger named Nao that asks for his assistance... ...

Melody of Rebellion (1970)

The disbandment of the Tanno clan left gang member Tetsu to stray from the crime family's fold. He roamed the streets as a one man band, wearing a denim jacket and long hair with sunglasses to cover his piercing eyes. Befriending a like-minded lone wolf by ...

Song of Vengeance (1968)

Executive management of a major Tokyo construction company are getting bumped off one after another. It seems obvious that it is a former partner of the company with a long-standing grudge who is responsible, but he died in the first ten minutes of the mov ...