In the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets which Read More »
Tag Archives: Japan
Anatahan (1953) Josef von Sternberg, Akemi Negishi, Tadashi Suganuma, Kisaburo Sawamura
In June 1944, twelve Japanese seaman are stranded on an abandoned-and-forgotten Read More »
Battlefield Baseball AKA Jigoku Kôshien (2003) Yudai Yamaguchi, Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Itô, Hideo Sakaki
Battlefield Baseball is a tough game–it doesn’t end until all the members on the opposing team are dead. Read More »
The Assassination of Ryoma AKA Ryoma ansatsu (1974) Kazuo Kuroki, Yoshio Harada, Renji Ishibashi, Rie Nakagawa
Story of the last three days in the life of Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), imperial loyalist Read More »
Hitokiri (1969) Hideo Gosha, Shintarô Katsu, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yukio Mishima
Izo Okada, a ronin (masterless samurai), desperately seeks a way out of his financial straits. Read More »
Appassionata AKA Jo no mai (1984) Sadao Nakajima, Mariko Okada, Yûko Natori, Morio Kazama, Kei Satô
Tsuya Shimamura, is born in Kyoto as the second daughter of a tea trader who dies before her birth. Read More »
Yellow Line AKA Ôsen chitai (1960) Teruo Ishii, Teruo Yoshida, Yôko Mihara, Shigeru Amachi
A criminal drama told in a semi-documentary fashion. The murder of the chief official of Kobe city’s Customs triggers Read More »
The Ballad of Narayama AKA Narayama bushikô (1983) Shôhei Imamura, Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari
In a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. Read More »
Sure Death! Brown, You Bounder! AKA Hissatsu! Buraun-kan no kaibutsutachi (1985) Joe Hirose, Makoto Fujita, Izumi Ayukawa, Masaki Kyômoto
Each member of a band of assassins has a cover. The leader, Mondo Nakamura, is an officer of the law who bumbles through his assignments. Read More »
Sex and Fury AKA Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô (1973) Norifumi Suzuki, Reiko Ike, Akemi Negishi, Ryôko Ema
Reiko Ike stars as Ocho, a gambler and pickpocket in Meiji Era Tokyo. Read More »