“Gekido no 1750-nichi (1,750 Days of Turbulence),” 1990, 1 hour and 55 minutes.
Directed by Sadao Nakajima. Starring Kiichi Nakai, and Masaya Kato.
The depiction of a 1,750-day long gang war.
“Gokuchu no Kaoyaku (Prison Boss),” 1968 action film, 1 hour and 30
minutes.
Directed by Yasuo Huruhata. Starring Ken Takakura and Junko Fuji.
Rival gangs fight over ownership of bicycle race track.
“Gozonji Kaiketsu Kurozukin Dai-niwa Shinsengumi Tsuigeki (The Black Hooded Man 2),” 1955 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Koukichi Uchida. Starring Ryurato Otomo and Shinobu Chihara.
The mysterious black hooded man, Kurozukin, helps transport funds raised to fight against the government.
“Hatamoto Taikutsu Otoko Nazo no Nanairo Goten (The Cape of the Vampire Bats),” 1970 samurai film, 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Utaemon Ichikawa and Shingo Yamashiro.
Mondonosuke finds out a secret regarding the Tokugawa family.
“Hibari Chiemi no Yajikita Douchu (Travels of Hibari and Chiemi),” 1962 drama, 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Directed by Tadashi Sawashima. Starring Hibari Misora,Chemi Eri and Chiyonosuke Azuma.
Playhouse employees Okimi and Otoshi become involved in an undercover officer’s investigation of a gang when they accidentally walk in on a drug deal taking place at their theater.
“Hibari Ohako Benten Kozo (Hibari’s Favorite),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 14 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Hibari Misora, Kotaro Satomi and Tomisaburo Wakayama.
Kikunosuke, a young temple servant, turns to his mother, Ofuji, for protection after being wrongly accused of murder. However Ofuji decides to turn her son into the police to collect a monetary reward. Devastated by this betrayal, Kikunosuke escapes to Edo in hopes of starting over. Once there, he takes on the name, “Benten Kozo” and soon joins a gang led by Nihon Daemon which will later be known as Shiranami Goninotoko.
“Hokuriku Dairi Senso (The Shadow War of the Yakuza),” 1977 action film, 1 hour and 38 minutes.
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Starring Hiroki Matsukata and Sonny Chiba.
The fight between a small local gang and the biggest yakuza family. In the setting of the Hokuriku region, where the snow and cold winds rage, battles among yakuza, who value land over tradition are shown. Noboru Kawada uses any measure for survival, disregarding parents, brothers, and tradition.
“Kagurame,” 2015 drama, 1 hour and 53 minutes.
Directed by Yasuo Okuaki. Starring Rina Takada and Ren Osugi.
Akine lost her 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.
“Kakekomi Onna to Kekedashi Otoko (KAKEKOMI),” 2015 jidaigeki drama, 2 hours and 23 minutes.
Directed by Masato Harada. Starring Yo Oizumi and Erika Toda.
Set in the Edo period during a time when the divorce rate was actually much higher than the present day.
A thrift ordinance has been announced by the government and the lives of common people get worse. During this time, a nunnery called Tökei-ji in Kamakura becomes known for offering refuge to women while they’re in the process of divorcing their husbands or are otherwise trapped in bad situations. Many are being abused by their husbands. Shinjiro is a doctor and wants to be a literary writer. He stays at a Kashiwaya Inn located at Tökei-ji to get ideas for a book he plans to write about various situations and tactics involved in divorce arbitration. While there, he attempts to offer friendly advice to several of the women regarding their new lives, but winds up getting dragged into their troubles in the process.
“Ma no Toki (Moment of Demon),” 1985 drama, 1 hour and 51 minutes.
Directed by Yasuo Furuhata. Starring Shima Iwashita, and Shinobu Sakagami.
A mother who loves her son too much commits incest.
“Nihon Jokyoden Ketto Midarebana (Bloodiest Flower),” 1971 drama,
1 hour and 47 minutes.
Directed by Kosaku Yamashita. Starring Junko Fuji, Ken Takakura and Masahiko Tsugawa.
The story of Tei, a female coal mine operator, who risks her life to protect the business that was passed on by late husband.
“Osome Hisamatsu Soyokaze Higasa,” 1959 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 32
minutes.
Directed by Tadashi Sawashima. Starring Hibari Misora and Kotaro Satomi.
Young feisty woman Osome searches for her true love in the midst of a family crisis.
“Shingo Juban Shobu Dai Ichibu/Dai Nibu (Shingo’s Original Challenge, Parts 1 & 2),” 1959 samurai film, 1 hour and 44 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Ryutaro Otomo and Ryunosuke Tsukigata.
The first episode of the popular series “Shino’s Challenge.” A young samurai, Aoi Shingo learns that he is, in fact, the illegitimate son of the Shogun. Hoping to reunite with is birth father, Lord Yoshimune, he heads to the castle. However, the reunion never takes place as Shingo finds himself the target of a conspiracy. Will he ever be able to meet his father?
“Shiranui Kozo Hyobanki Naruto Hikyaku (The Envoy),” 1958 jidaigeki,
1 hour and 27 minutes.
Directed by Kinnosuke Fukada. Starring Hashizo Okawa and Hiromi Hanazono.
Nifty Shiranui Kozo’s racy travel journal on Tokaido.
“Shudan Sasen (Lifetime Insecurity),” 1994 drama, 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Directed by Shunichi Kajima. Starring Kyohei Shibata, Atsuo Nakamura and Reiko Takashima.
In the midst of a bad economy, Yokoyama, the vice president of Taiyo Real Estate, launches a plan to cut back on his labor force. Fifty employees are segregated into a special assignment division and given an ultimatum: meet a sales goal of 1.5 billion yen within three months or be fired. Spiteful of their unjust treatment, two men, Shinoda and Takigawa, take up the battle against the ruthless Yokoyama.
“Toyama no Kinsan Hayabusa Bugyo,” 1957 samurai film, 1 hour and 33 minutes.
Directed by Kinnosuke Fukada. Starring Chiezo Kataoka, Hashizo Okawa and Shinobu Chihara.
Toyama Kinshiro, a commissioner from northern Edo, goes undercover to unravel the mystery behind a series of murders. Kinshiro, played by Kataoka Chiezo, is most famous for the cherry blossom tattoos on his shoulder, which he reveals at the moment of judgment.
“Wakakihino Jirocho Tokaiichi no Wakaoyabun (Young Master of Tokai),” 1961 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Directed by Masahiro Makino. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura and Michitaro Mizushima.
Jirocho’s plan to settle down with Ocho and live a quiet life is short lived as he steps in to prevent an illegal prostitution business from being introduced on his turf.
