Directed by Kunio Watanabe. Starring Hibari Misora and Ken Watanabe.
Veteran thief Tomizo teams up with Hanji, a former vassal turned criminal, to steal from the Shogun’s vault.
“Hana no Orizurugasa (The Paper Crane),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 46 minutes.
Directed by Toshikazu Kono. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Yukio Hashi and Hiroko Sakuramachi.
Wandering vagrant Hantaro risks his life to save a beautiful blind girl and her father from con artists.
“Hanakago Dochu (Flowers on the Road),” 1961 samurai film, 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Directed by Kudo Eiichi. Starring Hibari Misora, Azuma Chiyonosuke and Oka Satomi.
Yae and Kiku, daughters of Edo drapers, must travel to Kyoto on business for their sickly fathers. Ambushed by a group of bandits, they are rescued by good Samaritan Santaro. Santaro aids young samurai Sanshiro, who is on an official mission to deliver a message to a Kyoto noble but is pursued by assassins. When they learn of this, the women help Sanshiro in his mission.
“Isshin Tasuke Otoko no Naka no Otoko Ippiki (Isshin Tasuke: A Man of Men),” 1959 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Directed by Tadashi Sawashima. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura, Ryunosuke Tsukigata and Satomi Oka.
Feisty Edoite Tasuke encounters surprising troubles in his newlywed life.
“Isshukan Friends (One Week Friends),” 2017 drama, 2 hours and 1 minute.
Directed by Shosuke Murakami. Starring na Kawaguchi and Kento Yamazaki.
Yuki Hase tries to befriend introverted high-school peer Kaori Fujimiya, mustering the courage to talk to her. She warns, “I lose all memory of my friends at the end of each week.” Still eager to befriend her, Yuki approaches Kaori each Monday as her memory resets, begging her, “Please be friends with me!” They build up a friendship by exchanging a diary. But one day….
“Jinsei Gekijo Hishakaku (Life of Hishakaku),” 1963 drama, 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Directed by Tadashi Sawashima. Starring Koji Tsuruta, Yoshiko Sakuma and Ken Takakura.
Eloping with prostitute Otoyo, Hishakaku takes refuge in the Koganes’ turf. Indebted to Boss Kogane for his aid, Hishakaku swears to protect the Koganes in times of crisis. His quiet life changes when the Kogane family engages a rival in a fatal feud, and Hishakaku’s services are needed.
“Kairyu Daikessen (Dragon Showdown),” 1966 samurai/nijnja action film, 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Directed by Tetsuya Yamauchi. Starring Hiroki Matsukata, Ryutaro Otomo and Tomoko Ogawa.
In ancient Japan, a good lord is killed and his throne stolen by the treacherous Yuki Daijo and evil wizard Oroki-maru. But young prince Ikazuki-maru escapes, rescued by a magic bird. Ten years later, Ikazuki-maru, now a wizard himself, embarks on a quest for vengeance..
“Kenka Karate Kyokushinken (Champion of Death),” 1975 action film, 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi. Starring Sonny Chiba and Yumi Takigawa.
Champion Mas Oyama, real-life founder of Kyokushin karate, wants to leave competitive martial arts for a quiet life. But involved in the death of an underworld figure, he finds himself on the run from vengeful thugs.
“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 seeks to avenge the murder of his master.
“Nihatsume wa Jigoku Ikidaze (The Second Bullet is Marked),” 1960 action film, 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa. Starring Chiezo Kataoka and Ken Takakura.
Tsunokichi and Ken face off against a rival yakuza in Kyushu.
“Nihon Jokyoden Makka na Dokyobana (Bright Red Flower of Courage),” 1960 drama, 1 hour and 36 minutes.
Directed by Yasuo Furuhata. Starring Junko Fuji, Ken Takakura and Shingo Yamashiro.
Yuki, a young woman who moves to the undeveloped countryside of Hokkaido, carries out her long-alienated father’s will.
“Saigo no Bakuto (The Last True Yakuza),” 1985 action film, 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Directed by Kosaku Yamashita. Starring Hiroki Matsukata and Sonny Chiba.
A depiction of Japan’s most infamous and violent gang incident.
“Shinonomero Onna no Ran (In Blazing Love),” 1994 drama, 2 hours and 8 minutes.
Directed by Ikuo Sekimoto. Starring Keiko Saito, Rino Katase, Yoko Minamino and Masahiko Tsugawa.
Geisha Tsuru and Shizu co-manage the operations of Shinonomero as the proprietress and assistant. Moments of weakness with their lovers, however, trap them in a web of betrayal and debt. With the guilt of losing Shinonomero to Udo, a yakuza who loaned them money, young Shizu must redeem Tsuru’s honor and restore Shinonomero as their own.
“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.
This film follows the Shinsengumi, a special unit of ronin commissioned by the Tokugawa shogunate to counter anti-shogunate activities in Kyoto.
“Tabineko Report (Travelling Cat Chronicles),” 2018 drama, 1 hour and 58 minutes.
Directed by Koichiro Miki. Starring Sota Fukushi and Yuko Takeuchi.
After a traffic accident, former stray cat Nana is rescued by kind-hearted youth, Satoru, and becomes his happy pet for five years. Later, Satoru has no choice but to give up Nana. Satoru and Nana travel to find a new master for the cat, journeying to visit the people in Satoru’s life who were important to him, such as close friends, his first love, and others.
“Tekka Daimyo (Lord of Steel Heart),” 1961 samurai film, 1 hour and 33 minutes.
Directed by Kokichi Uchidee. Starring Utaemon Ichikawa and Jushiro Konoe.
The feisty Lord Matabe falls into a trap of the evil Sanzaemon, who, in a twist of fate, is a mentor to Matabe’s childhood friend Lord Nagamasa.
“Tonosama Yajikita Kaidan Dochu (Ghost Story on Passage),” 1958 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Directed by Tadashi Sawashima. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura and Katsuo Nakamura.
Two young lords travel the Tokaido highway pretending to be merchant-class townspeople and meet a ghost on their way.
“Toyama no Kinsan Gozonji Irezumi Hangan (Official with a Tattoo),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Chiezo Kataoka and Satomi Oka.
Kinnosuke of Toyama sets out on a private mission to clear his father’s name for a crime he did not commit.
“Umon Torimonocho Maboroshi Doro no Onna (Case of Umon: Woman of Magic Lantern),” 1961 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 21 minutes.
Directed by Eiichi Kudo. Starring Ryutaro Otomo, Kotaro Satomi and Satomi Oka.
Detective Umon’s services are called upon when ronin Yaichiro is killed with a peculiar weapon, a stone wrapped in a towel.
“Zang-e: Sundewa Ikenai Heya (The Inerasable),” 2016 horror film, 1 hour and 47 minutes.
Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura. Starring Yuko Takauchi and Ai Hashimoto.
Novelist Yumiko investigates a strante apartment, finding that past tenants were victims of an unknown force driving them to suicide or murder after they moved out. After thrilling incidents, she learns the shocking truth.
