former Vassal turned criminal, to steal the Shogun’s vault.
“Hana to Ryu (The Flower and the Dragon),” 1965, 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Directed by Kosaku Yamashita. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura and Yoshiko Sakuma.
A story of manly life and the beauty of conjugal love.
“Hatamoto Taikutsu Otoko (The Idle Vassal Tribute),” 1958 samurai film, 1 hour and 48 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Utaemon Ichikawa and Chiyonosuke Azuma.
Master swordsman and loyal vassal, Mondonosuke Saotome, is sent to investigate an intrigue centering on the Date Clan. Ichikawa Utaemon’s 300th movie. A must see for all samurai fans featuring Japan’s most celebrated samurai stars!
“Hibari no Hahakoi Guitar (Hibari the Traveling Performer),” 1962 drama, 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Directed by Kiyoshi Saeki. Starring Hibari Misora and Eitaro Shindo.
Kimie, a traveling guitarist, performs at various inns at help out her sickly mother. One night while out with her mother, Otoshi, Kimie unexpectedly sees her father, who had abandoned the family 20 years ago. Her hopes for a happy reunion are quickly dashed as her father, having married into a wealthy family, wants nothing to do with her. Will Kimie be able to regain her father’s love?
“Kagurame,” 2015 drama, 1 hour and 53 minutes.
Directed by Yasuo Okuaki. Starring Rina Takada and Ren Osugi.
Akine had lost her beloved mother at a very young age. On the day that her mother had passed, her father was nowhere to be seen, but rather out practicing the “Shishi Kagura,” a traditional Japanese dance. Since then, Akine has held a grudge against her father. As soon as she graduated from high school, Akine left her hometown. Five years later, Akine returns to her hometown on the 13th anniversary of her mother’s death. Her father is getting ready for a festival, which happens once every 60 years, to perform his last dance, but something goes wrong.
“Kami no Tsuki (Pale Moon),” 2014 drama, 2 hours and 6 minutes.
Directed by Daihachi Yoshida. Starring Rie Miyazawa and Sosuke Ikematsu.
Rika, an ordinary housewife, works as a contract employee for a bank. She receives favorable evaluations from her clients and boss because of her attentive work. Nevertheless, she feels a sense of emptiness from her husband who doesn’t seem interested in her.
One day, she meets a university student, Kota, and falls into an extramarital affair with him. The more she spends with him, the more she is tempted to dip into her clients’ money. As she splurges on expensive goods and consecutive nights in luxury hotel suites, her attitudes to money and her daily life become distorted, and it becomes a full-blown embezzlement.
“Kawachi Yukyoden (The Rickshaw Man’s Son),” 1967 action film, 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Directed by Tatsuichi Takamori. Starring Sonny Chiba.
A roughneck named Komakichi of Kawachi, Osaka, comes back from a three-year training course to become a chef, hoping to be with his crush Tamae, a daughter of a Japanese restaurant’s owner. His father is not happy because Komakichi has no intention to become a rickshaw man to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“Koken wa Orezu Tsukikage Ittoryu (Unperishable Sword),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 39 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Koji Tsuruta and Hibari Misora.
A self-reliant samurai is involved in a plot.
“Nihon no Don Kanketsu-hen (Japan’s Don Emerges),” 1978 action film,
2 hours and 11 minutes.
Directed by Sadao Nakajima. Starring Toshiro Mifune and Chiezo Kataoka.
Doublecrosses and backstabbings take place while the biggest yakuza bosses battle for the title of “Godfather of Japan” between eastern and western families. Violent story and an all-star cast, a must see!
“Ooshobu (Grand Contest),” 1965 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Directed by Umetsugu Inoue. Starring Chiezo Kataoka and Hashizo Okawa.
The story of an unusual friendship between a vagabond, masterless samurai and a magistrate.
“Shasou (Compnay Executive),” 1989 drama, 2 hours and 9 minutes.
Directed by Toshio Masuda. Starring Ken Ogata and Yukiyo Toake.
A fierce succession battle ignites at a newspaper company when the president passes away.
“Shimizuminato ni Kita Otoko (The Newcomer to Shimizu),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Directed by Masahiro Makino. Starring Hashizo Okawa and Satomi Oka.
A young samurai disguised as a gambler joins the famous Shimizu family to investigate where Jirocho’s loyalty lies.
“Shingo Nijuuban Shobu Kanketsu-hen (Shingo’s Challenge, Part 3),” 1963 samurai film, 1 hour and 33 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Hashizou Okawa, Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Ryutaro Otomo and Yumiko Hasegawa.
While on his sojourn through the countryside of Japan, Shingo encounters many people whose lives have been affected by his actions. Though the many duels he fought were intended to bring justice to those who sought to do evil, he is faced with the knowledge that his victories have also caused suffering among the family members of his victims — leading him to question his life’s philosophy.
“Shinsengumi (The Shogun’s Guard, Shinsengumi),” 1958 samurai film,
1 hour and 34 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Chiezo Kataoka, Isao Yamagata, Chiyonosuke Azuma, Kotaro Satomi and Ryutaro Otomo.
The Shinsengumi is a special unit of ronin commissioned by the Tokugawa shogunate to counter anti-shogunate activities in Kyoto. A sinister plot to overthrow the shogun is set in motion and Kondo Isami and his fellow samurai must answer the call and expose those behind it.
“Tsuri Baka Nisshi 9 (Free and Easy 9),” 1997 comedy/drama, 1 hour and 55 minutes.
Directed by Tomio Kuriyama. Starring Toshiyuki Nishida and Ren Mikuni.
Hama-chan’s sales department gets a new supervisor, a hard-working taskmaster that’s the very opposite of carefree, irresponsible Hama-chan. The veteran employee decides to find his boss, a divorced father, a new wife. The supervisor loves a bar hostess “mama-san,” but is unable to confess his true feelings until Hama-chan comes to his rescue.
“Umon Torimonocho Janomegasa no Onna (Woman Under the Umbrella),” 1963 jidaigeki,
1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Toshikazu Kono. Starring Ryutaro Otomo and Eitaro Shindo.
A mysterious woman with an umbrella interferes with Umon’s pursuit of Tomokichi, a fugitive known to have hidden stolen treasures.
“Utamatsuri Kanzashi Matoi (Girl with Fire Banner),” 1958 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 17 minutes.
Directed by Kinnosuke Fukada. Starring Hibari Misora and Chiyonosuke Azuma.
Fearless girl firefighter Oharu and skilled firefighter Shintaro battle against their evil rivals who threaten to take over Oharu’s family’s turf.