Shingo Yamashiro and Hiroki Matsukata.
The activities of feudal boss Jirocho and his underlings are depicted.
“Kai (Pulling an Oar),” 1985 drama, 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Directed by Hideo Gosha. Starring Ken Ogata, Yukiyo Toake and Yuko Natori.
Before her marriage to geisha agent Iwago, Kiwa was told by her mother, “You’ve got to be endlessly patient if you want to live together in happy union till parted by death.”
Kiwa struggles to come to terms with her life and persevere through the hardship that her marriage brings. Betrayal and tragedy are commonplace in this tale, which follows the life of Kiwa, whose strength and courage help her family to endure in even the worst of times.
“Kuchibue o Fuku Mushukumono (Whistling Drifter),” 1961 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Directed by Daisuke Yamazaki. Starring Kinya Kitaoji and Hiroki Matsukata.
Friendship between good samurais and aborigines in Hokkaido.
“Kusama no Hanjiro Kiri no Naka no Wataridori (Hanjiro of Kusama: Bird of Passage),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Kokichi Uchidate. Starring Hashizo Okawa and Ryunosuke Tsukigata.
Kindhearted wandering gambler Hanjiro rescues a village in crisis.
“Ooinaru Bakushin (Devotion to Railway),” 1960 action film, 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Directed by Hideo Sekikawa. Starring Katsuo Nakamura and Rentaro Mikuni.
A human drama of crew and passengers on a special express train, “Sakura.”
“Ooka Seidan Mazohen (Ooka Seidan: Devil Image),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 27 minutes.
Directed by Toshikazu Kono. Starring Utaemon Ichikawa and Tomisaburo Wakayama.
Magistrate Ooka and a samurai fight against evil.
“Otoko Dokyo de Shobu Suru (Nerves for Victory),” 1966 action film, 1 hour and 31 minutes.
Directed by Shinji Murayama. Starring Tatsuo Umemiya and Ryo Ikebe.
A young yakuza man who respects obligation and humanity must face cruel and heartless turf wars leading to a fight to the death with his own brother.
“Roningai no Kaoyaku (A Brave Ronin),” 1963 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Utaemon Ichikawa and Yataro Kurokawa.
A story of ronin living in the impoverished outskirts of Edo who come together to fight against the evil rich family Hannya.
“Silk Hat no Ooyabun (The Silk Hat Boss),” 1970 drama, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Suzuki Noribumi. Starring Tomisaburo Wakayama.
A spin-off movie series of the popular “Hibotan Bakuto,” featuring the yakuza Kumakichi, a man who lived with honor during the Russo-Japanese war period.
“Tenka no Igagoe Akatsuki no Kessen (Sanguine Battle),” 1959 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Utaemon Ichikawa, Taro Otomo, Hashizo Okawa and Kotaro Satomi.
A story of revenge between two samurai families on the Igagoe Road featuring an all-star cast.
“Umisuzume (The Book Peddler),” 2015 drama, 1 hour and 48
minutes.
Directed by Kenichi Omori. Starring Rina Takeda and Yutaka Kobayashi.
Uwajima is a picturesque city in Ehime Prefecture with a rich history.
Suzume provides one of the city’s most unique services — library book bicycle delivery. Suzume spends her days riding through town picking up and dropping off books to very grateful patrons. But when a book needed for the town’s 400th anniversary celebration goes missing, the library is thrown into chaos. The book in question has the design of a special kimono needed for the celebration parade. At the same time, the survival of the book delivery service is thrown into question. The book delivery team must pull out all the stops to save both the celebration and their jobs!
“Yagyu Bugeichou Yozakura Hiken (The Yagyu Military Art),” 1961 samurai/action film, 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Directed by Masahiko Izawa. Starring Kotaro Satomi, Konoe Juushiro, Hanazono Hiromi and Ryuji Kita.
When the Yagyu clan falls victim to rival Kasumi spies, Yagyu Jubei is called to action to protect them. But in performing his duty, he, himself, becomes the target of those who wish to destroy his clan.
“Yoshiwara Enjo (Tokyo Bordello),” 1983 drama, 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Directed by Hideo Gosha. Starring Yuko Natori and Sayoko Ninomiya.
In the famous Yoshiwara pleasure district in Tokyo, prostitution was legal for many hundreds of years. However, most of the district was destroyed by a fire in 1911.
A young girl is sold into prostitution by her destitute father to a brothel in the Yoshiwara district. The owners of the brothel have high hopes to make her the great new addition, which will attract only the richest of customers. But after several months of training, she tries to flee Yoshiwara when the time has come for her to take her first customer.
“Zoku Beranme Geisha (The Prickly Mouthed Geisha 2),” 1960 drama, 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Eiichi Koishi. Starring Hibari Misora and Ken Takakura.
Young geisha Kohana scrambles to realize her dream of bringing back her grandmother’s restaurant business.
“Zoku Kyodai Jingi (Code Between Brothers 2),” 1966 drama, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Kosaku Yamashita. Starring Saburo Kitajima and Kotaro Satomi.
The services of a wandering gambler, Seiji, are called upon to protect the turf of his loyal friend Risaburo.
