PROGRAMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
“Ochoyan,” Monday-Saturday at 7:15 p.m.; re-airs Sunday and Tuesday-Friday at 8:20 a.m. and 5:05 p.m.
Chiyo, born in a poor family in Meiji-era Osaka, is sent to a theater tea room as a servant when she is 9 years old. She is attracted by the world of theater comedy, growing up to be an actor, but the war breaks out and she must stay away from acting. However, when she comes back, her acting in a radio drama impresses many people, and she becomes one of the leading actors in western Japan.
“Sono Onna, Jilba (OLD JACK & ROSE),” Monday at 7:35 p.m. and 10:35 p.m.; re-airs Tuesday at 8:45 a.m.
Arata, a 40-year-old office worker with no boyfriend, no money and no guarantee of relief after retirement, wants marriage but isn’t blessed with a partner. She’s not young anymore and this makes her feel small at her workplace. Wanting a change, she takes the plunge, discovering powerful, gorgeous old ladies from their fifties to eighties at a retro bar, “OLD JACK & ROSE,” where she starts a new job.
“Ao no SP (School Cop),” Tuesday at 7:35 p.m. and 10:35 p.m.; repeats Wednesdays at 8:45 a.m.
Tokyo introduces a police system where a “school cop” will reside on campus at middle schools. Placed in an unruly public junior-high school, Detective Ryohei Shimada tries the hard-line way of approaching problems that he knows best, but he uncovers serious issues including drug use and secret shootings. He is confronted by skeptical, fiery teacher Ryoko, who opposes the school-cop system.
“Lupin no Musume 2 (Daughter of Lupin 2),” Wednesday at 7:35 p.m. and 10:35 p.m.; repeats Thursday at 8:45 a.m.
In this sequel to “Daughter of Lupin,” Hana and Kazuma enjoy a happy slice of newlywed life. But as a member of the family of thieves “L Clan,” Hana is supposed to be dead, forcing them to settle for a common-law marriage. Soon trouble comes to the neighborhood, putting the couple in a tight spot.
“Watashitachi wa Dokashiteiru (Cursed in Love),” Friday at 7:35 p.m. and 10:35 p.m.; repeats Saturday at 8:45 a.m.
Nao spends her childhood at Kogetsuan, a traditional Japanese confectionery shop, where her single mother works and where she and store heir Tsubaki are each other’s first love. When Tsubaki’s father is found covered in blood and Nao’s mother is arrested based on six-year-old Tsubaki’s testimony, Nao is kicked out. Fifteen years later, the former childhood sweethearts have a chance encounter at a sweets contest. Not knowing who she is, Tsubaki falls for Nao and proposes, but she hides her identity to prove her mother’s innocence.
“Iryu Sosa SP 8 and 9,” Saturday at 7:35 p.m.; repeats Sunday at 8:45 a.m.
The quirky detective Itomura is back! Under the Special Crime Management and Control Office of the Kyoto Police, he takes on new cases with challenges and difficulties. Can he investigate in his own way focusing on things that the victims always carried and treasured in order to solve the cases and bring closure to the family of victims?
NGN 3 MOVIE CHANNEL (Spectrum Digital Ch. 679/HD 1679)
Premiere titles air on Friday. “Special Programs” premiere on the first Saturday. Movies are shown at various times. Check your digital on–screen guide for movie schedules, using either the GUIDE or INFO buttons (up to one week ahead). Or call NGN, Mon. – Fri. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 538–1966 for inquiries or to request an e–mail of NGN 3 programming information. All movies are in the Japanese language with full English subtitles.
Movie of the Month
“Special Actors,” 2019 drama, 1 hour and 49 minutes.
Directed by Shinichiro Ueda. Starring Kazuto Osawa and Hiroki Kono.
Kazuto has long dreamed of becoming an actor but suffers from a nervous condition that makes him faint at the slightest stress. He runs one day into estranged brother Hiroki, who works for talent agency “Special Actors” that hires actors to portray a person’s friends or family members. His brother thinks of Kazuto for this job of playing a stand-in at weddings or funerals – low-stress acting jobs might be perfect for Kazuto’s skillset. After a test run, Kazuto is now assigned to the tricky operation of saving a family-run inn from being taken over by a fraudulent cult group. Will Kazuto accomplish this mission?
Movies in Alphabetical Order
“Chiisakobe (A Carpenter and Children),” 1962 samurai film, 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Directed by Tasaka Tomotaka. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura, Chiemi Eri, Chiyonosuke Azuma and Katsuo Nakamura.
A carpenter, Shigetsugu, learns a lesson of love and humanity from five orphaned children and an affectionate woman named Oritsu.
“Chikemuri Gasa (Mark of Blood),” 1962 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Hashizo Okawa and Kotaro Satomi.
Three young vigilantes, Fujitaro, Matsugoro and Kanjuro, travel the country fighting evil.
“Edokko Bugyo Tenka wo Kiru Otoko (An Edo Magistrate),” 1961 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura and Satomi Oka.
Young samurai returns home to honor and fulfill the duty left behind by his late father.
“Genji Kuro Sassoki Hiken Ageha no Cho (Tales of Young Genji Kuro Part 3),” 1962 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 39 minutes.
Directed by Daisuke Ito. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura, Tetsuro Tamba and Keiko Okawa.
Handsome swordsman Genji helps a vulnerable princess who searches for a missing scroll that belongs to the Shogun.
“Gokuaku Kenpo (The Karate Man and Spy),” 1974 action film, 1 hour and 19 minutes.
Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa. Starring Tsunehiko Watase and Tamayo Mitsukawa.
In 1914, at the start of World War I, Germany and Russia send many spies to Japan. Sakuragi, a famous karate master, gets hired by a military commander to eliminate them, and heads to Yokohama’s China Town to hunt a spy leader.
“Gokudo no Onnatachi (Yakuza Ladies),” 1986 drama, 2 hours.
Directed by Hideo Gosha. Starring Shima Iwashita, Rino Katase, Masanori Sera and Riki Takeuchi.
Tamaki has to lead the Awazu family when her husband, the family boss, is sent to prison. However, with the death of the head yakuza family’s patriarch, other powerful families conspire to take control over the entire organization. Caught in the middle of the ensuing battle for power, Tamaki must do what it takes to preserve the Awazu family.
“Hanagasa Wakashu (A Martial Crowd),” 1958 samurai film, 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Directed by Kiyoshi Sasaki. Starring Hibari Misora, Denjiro Okouchi and Hashizo Okawa
Due to a superstitious belief that twins bring bad luck to the family, newborn twin princesses are separated. Yukihime, sent away to be raised by a yakuza family in Edo, returns home after many years to settle an old score.
“Hibari Torimonocho Orizuru Kago (Paper Crane Palanquin),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Directed by Eiichi Endo. Starring Hibari Misora and Kotaro Satomi.
After the death of a samurai in a palanquin, girl detective Oshichi must take action and crush a plot to overthrow the Shogunate.
“Hibotan Bakuto Nidaime Shumei (The Valiant Red Peony 4),” 1969 drama, 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa. Starring Junko Fuji and Ken Takakura.
Oryu, a gambler in training, fights to protect her family’s construction business in Kumamoto.
“Kibou no Otome,” 1958 drama, 1 hour and 36 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Hibari Misora, Ken Takakura and Toru Ono.
Born to a simple life on a farm, young Sayuri moves to Tokyo to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a singer.
“Kogarashi Monjiro (Withered Tree),” 1972 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Directed by Tadao Wasashima. Starring Bunta Sugawara, Tsunehiko Watase and Goro Ibuki.
Wandering samurai Monjiro tries to clear his name of a murder he didn’t commit.
“Nijiiro Days (Rainbow Days),” 2018 drama, 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Directed by Ken Iizuka. Starring Ryusei Yokohama and Taishi Nakagawa.
Lovable, pure-hearted Natsuki; flirtatious playboy Tomoya; Tsuyoshi, an intelligent otaku who goes at his own pace; and seemingly cheerful Keiichi who harbors sadistic fetishes. With different personalities and hobbies, these four high-schoolers were best friends who loved to hang out together. Changes occur when the awkward Natsuki falls in love with his schoolmate Anna.
“Ninkyo Shimizu Minato (Port of Honor),” 1957 samurai film, 1 hour and 44 minutes.
Directed by Sadajutsu Matsuda. Starring Chiezou Kataoka and Kinnosuke Nakamura.
Jirocho, a good-hearted, honest gambling boss, tries to take revenge for a fellow boss. But other local bosses, to increase their own power, plot to dispose of him. When Ishimatsu, one of his most trusted henchman, is brutally murdered, Jirocho must set out on yet another path of revenge to fulfill his thirst for justice and thwart his enemies.
“Oedo Senryo Bayashi (Swordsman and the Actress),” 1955 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Hibari Misora, Chiyonosuke Azuma, Ryutaro Otomo.
Famous actress Koharu helps with the search for the Shogun’s treasure.
“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.”
“Otoko wa Tsuraiyo Watashi no Tora-san (Tora-san Loves an Artist),” 1973 drama, 1 hour and 47 minutes.
Directed by Yoji Yamada. Starring Kiyoshi Atsumi and Chieko Baisho.
Tora-san watches the shop in Shibamata while his family is away on a trip. But he falls in love with an unmarried painter, the younger sister of an old friend. He begins visiting her studio regularly but soon falls in love once more.
“Seishun no Mon Jiritsuhen (Gate of Youth Part 2),” 1982 drama, 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara. Starring Kaori Momo, Koichi Sato, Kaoru Sugita and Tsunehiko Watase.
Shinsuke enters Waseda University in 1954 and begins rigorous training as a boxer. During a night out in Shinjuku, he meets the prostitute Kaoru, who introduces to him a world unlike anything he has known.
“Tange Sazen Youtou Nuretsubame (Return of the One-Armed Swordsman),” 1960 samurai film, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Ryutaro Otomo, Satomi Oka, Kyoko Aoyama and Hiroko Sakuramachi.
The legendary one-eyed, one-armed swordsman Tange Sazen returns to aid a magistrate in his efforts to steal bribe money on its way to Edo for the benefit of poor farmers.
“Tekka Wakashu (The Metal Head Gang),” 1962 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Kotaro Ozawa, Ryutaro Otomo and Satomi Oka.
Young samurai Yanosuke avenges his father’s death.
“Tsuma yo Bara no You ni Kazoku wa Tsuraiyo III (What a Wonderful Family! 3: My Wife, My Life),” 2018 drama, 2 hours and 3 minutes.
Directed by Yoji Yamada. Starring Isao Hashizume and Kazuko Yoshiyuki.
Fumie lives in a household with her two growing sons, her husband Konosuke, and his parents. One afternoon, while she sleeps exhausted from her housework, a thief breaks in and steals money she kept hidden in the refrigerator! Konosuke berates Fumie, saying: “You saved up a nest egg from my earnings?!” His insensitive negation of her daily sets off an explosion of her pent-up frustration. She walks out on the family, leaving them to do everything for themselves!
“Wakasama Zamurai Torimonocho Benizuru Yashiki,” 1958 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Tadashi Sawashima. Starring Hashizo Okawa and Ryunosuke Tsukigata.
Young Lord investigates the death of a son disowned by his wealthy father.
“Yoshiwara Enjo (Tokyo Bordello),” 1983 drama, 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Directed by Hideo Gosha. Starring Yuko Natori and Sayoko Ninomiya.
A young girl is sold into legal prostitution by her destitute father at Tokyo’s Yoshiwara “pleasure” district. The brothel owners expect to make her the great new addition to draw rich customers. After several months of training, she tries to flee Yoshiwara when the time comes for her to take her first customer.
