PROGRAMS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
NEW PROGRAMMING
“Saiai (Dearest),” premiering Tuesday, March 8 at 7:35 p.m.
Leading female industrialist, Rio, has been named a key person of interest in a serial murder case investigated by Detective Daiki. The two were once in love with each other in their youth. Rio’s legal advisor, Kenichiro, will do anything for her. Caught in a love triangle and a criminal investigation, Rio and Daiki’s forbidden romance seems doomed by a missing person incident 15 years ago and its possible links to a current serial murder case. Is Rio complicit? This suspenseful romance evokes uncompromising passion, struggle, and redemption of true love. Fully subtitled in English.
“Nyokei Kazoku,” premiering Friday, March 18 at 7:35 p.m.
The Yajimas run Yajima Shoten, a cotton wholesale business of long standing in Semba, Osaka. Generations of women in the family have kept the business going. When the fourth generation owner Yoshizo (Koji Yakusho) passes away, leaving an estate worth several billion yen, his will reveals that his mistress Fumino will also have a share of the inheritance. The sisters dispute the will but the situation becomes trickier when Fumino declares she is carrying Yoshizo’s child. Fully subtitled in English.
“Fight Song,” premiering Wednesday, March 23 at 7:35 p.m.
Hanae dreamed of representing Japan in the art form of karate until misfortune deprived her of everything. She mopes about until she meets Haruki, a composer of a song that once motivated her before her karate matches. Romance blooms but is complicated by Shingo, a flashy childhood friend who’s in love with Hanae. Meanwhile, Hanae harbors a “secret” that she can’t tell anybody and determines to experience “the last romance of her life.” Will this slightly awkward but unclouded heroine get her wish? Fully subtitled in English.
“Kazoku no Shashin (Smile for the Camera!),” premiering Monday, March 28 at 7:35 p.m.
Miharu, a photographer in Tokyo, received a lot of attention after she won an award at a photography exhibition, but it didn’t last long. One day, she learns her father can no longer run his photography studio due to his deteriorating eyesight. After she comes home to Toyohashi, she sees her father and flares up, but he pays no attention. While she’s in Toyohashi, her friends ask her to take pictures that capture the charm of their hometown for a photography exhibition. Miharu eagerly accepts their request, thinking that this will be a good opportunity. However, an unexpected development evolves into a situation that will influence her life. Fully subtitled in English.
NGN 3 MOVIE CHANNEL (Spectrum Digital Ch. 679/HD 1679)
Premiere titles air on Friday. “Movie of the Month” premieres 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 (808) 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
“Tokyo Wind Orchestra (Any Way the Wind Blows),” 2017 drama, 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Directed by Yuichiro Sakashita. Starring Miho Nakanishi and Mantaro Koichi.
Town hall employee Shiori mistakenly invites an amateur orchestra to Yakushima Island instead of the famous Tokyo Wind Orchestra. The members try to flee the island, but Shiori wants to cover up her error and arm-twists them into pretending like they’re the real deal.
MOVIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
“Abarenbo Kyodai (Unwieldly Brothers),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Directed by Tadashi Sawashima. Starring Azuma Chiyonosuke, Nakamura Katsuo and Nakamura Kinnosuke.
Taisuke is kind-hearted but overall lacks ambition. Taizo is smarter, but gives in to fits of emotion and impulsive violence. The samurai brothers fight against corruption in a castle.
“Bakuto Gaijin Butai (Foreign Gambling Corps),” 1971 action film, 1 hour and 33 minutes.
Directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Starring Koji Tsuruta and Hideo Murota.
A gangster gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo and carves out a new niche in Okinawa.
“Bakuto Ikka (House of Gamblers),” 1970 drama, 1 hour and 56 minutes.
Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa. Starring Ken Takakura and Junko Fuji.
Depiction of the fierce turf war between the two prominent families in the midst of a gambling ban during the Meiji Era.
“Beranme Tantei Musume (Tokyo Girl Detective),” 1959 drama, 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Kiyoshi Saeki. Starring Hibari Misora and Isao Kimura.
Woman private eye Emiko goes undercover to reveal the truth of a murder case.
“Hana to Ryu (The Flower and the Dragon),” 1965 drama, 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Directed by Kosaku Yamashita. Starring Kinnosuke Nakamura and Yoshiko Sakuma.
A story of the life and the beauty of conjugal love.
“Hatamoto Taikutsu Otoko Nazo no Nanbandaiko (The Acrobats of Death)” 1959 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 28 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Utaemon Ichikawa, Yoshiko Sakuma and Kinya Kitaoji.
Saotome, a sword master and guard of the Shogunate, pursues the mystery of a deadly aerial weapon that is responsible for the multiple deaths in town.
“Hoero Tekken (Roaring Fire),” 1981 action film, 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Directed by Norifumi Suzuki. Starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Etsuko Shihomi.
Joji learns a dark secret from his dying father; he learns he has a twin brother and a sister. He travels to find his brother and finds he has been murdered in mysterious circumstances. While staying with his sister he overhears his Uncle’s plans to find a 130 karat diamond (named the Queen of Sheba) and soon learns he may be behind other sinister schemes.
“Hokkai Yukyoden (North Sea Chivalry)” 1967 drama, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Ryuichi Takamori. Starring Saburo Kitajima, Shinichi Chiba and Hideo Murata.
Inosuke, a former gangster, and his friends struggle to make a living as simple fishermen in this tale of chivalry and friendship among yakuza in the northern regions.
“Irezumi Hantaro (Tattoo of Love),” 1963 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Masahiro Makino. Starring Hashizo Okawa and Satomi Oka.
Gambler Hantaro risks his life and reputation to save young Onaka from the shady lifestyle.
“Jirocho Sangokushi Dai-sanbu (The Kingdom of Jirocho 3),” 1964 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 34 minutes.
Directed by Masahiro Makino. Starring Koji Tsuruta and Shingo Yamashiro.
A third part of the story of feudal boss Jirocho and his underlings.
“Jun’ai Monogatari (Story of Pure Love),” 1957 drama, 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Directed by Tadashi Imai. Starring Shinjiro Ebara, Hitomi Nakahara, Kaoru Kusuda, Eiji Okada and Kunie Tanaka.
A tragic love story between an atomic bomb victim, Mitsuko, and her lover, Kantaro, who struggle to survive during the post war period.
“Musume no Naka no Musume (Sister with Sister),” 1958 drama, 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Directed by Kiyosi Saeki. Starring Hibari Misora, Ken Takakura and So Yamamura.
Yoshiko finds new life and love interests when she takes a new job as an office worker.
“Nihon Yakuzaden Socho e no Michi (The Sword of Justice),” 1971 action film, 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Directed by Masahiro Makino. Starring Ken Takakura and Tomisaburo Wakayama.
When the aging leader of the yakuza gang Maeda-gumi decides to retire, many of the gang members have no confidence in the young man he has chosen to replace him. A fight for the succession begins.
“Oedo Kenka Matoi (Cantankerous Edo),” 1957 jidaigeki, 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Starring Ryutaro Otomo and Hibari Misora.
A former samurai becomes the town fire chief.
“Ronin Ichiba Asayake Tengu (The Samurai Markets),” 1960 jidaigeki,
1 hour and 28 minutes.
Directed by Shoji Matsumura. Starring Ichikawa Utaemon and Konoe Jushiro.
The success story of a group of ronin who fight against traffickers during the Edo Tenpo period.
“Seizoroi Kanhasshu (Keepers of Order),” 1962 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Chiezo Kataoka and Kinya Kotaoji.
While fighting against evil officials, Chuji and his family become the primary target of gangs in Nikko.
“Shingo Juban Shobu Dai-sanbu (Shingo’s Original Challenge Part 3),” 1960 samurai film, 1 hour and 24 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Ryutaro Otomo, Ryunosuke Tsukigata, Yumiko Hasegawa and Yoshiko Sakuma.
The adventures of Aoi Shingo continue. Shingo is finally given permission to officially meet his father, the Shogun. However his journey home is disturbed by those who wish to claim his life.
“Silk Hat no Ooyabun Chobihige no Kuma (The Silk Hat Boss 2),” 1970 drama, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Noribumi Suzuki. Starring Tomizaburo Wakayama and Goro Ibuki.
The Silk Hat Boss becomes involved in a car imports business during his trip to Atami.
“Special Actors,” 2019 drama, 1 hour and 49 minutes.
Directed by Shinichiro Ueda. Starring Kazuto Osawa and Hiroki Kono.
Kazuto has a lifelong dream of becoming an actor but suffers from a nervous condition that makes him faint at the slightest sign of stress. One day, he runs into his estranged brother Hiroki, who works for a talent agency called SPECIAL ACTORS with actors who are hired to act as friends or family members and he thinks Kazuto would be perfect. Being a stand-in at weddings or funerals – low-stress acting jobs perfect for Kazuto’s skillset. After accomplishing some tasks, he is now assigned to a tricky operation, which is to save a family-run inn from being taken over by a fraudulent cult group. Would Kazuto be able to accomplish this mission!?
“Suzuki-ke no Uso (Lying to Mom),” 2019 drama, 2 hours and 13 minutes.
Directed by Katsumi Nojiri. Starring Ittoku Kishibe and Hideko Hara.
Koichi is a son in the Suzuki family. He is a stay-at-home shut-in and decides one day to take his own life in his room and dies suddenly. The rest of Suzuki’s, father Yukio, mother Yuko and daughter Fumi, fall into confusion. The mother Yuko is shocked by her son’s death and loses her memory. Fumi lies to her mother and tells her “Koichi stopped being a stay-at-home shut-in and now works in Argentina.” But how long can father and daughter continue to deceive Yuko? What lies behind the brother’s suicide…?
“Tsuri Baka Nisshi 10 (Free and Easy 10),” 1998 drama, 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Directed by Tomio Kuriyama. Starring Toshiyuki Nishida and Rentaro Mikuni.
Getting fed up with corporate life, Su-san suddenly resigns as president of the company and runs away. Hama-chan looks for him and finally finds him at the office building where Hama-chan used to work. Su-san now is a caretaker of the building…
“Wakasama Zamurai Torimonocho Jigoku no Sarayashiki (Case of A Young Lord),” 1956 jidaigeki, 57 minutes.
Directed by Kinnosuke Fukada. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Yumiko Hasegawa and Michiko Hoshi.
A master swordsman guards a mercer’s heirloom, a precious plate given by the Shogun, against bandits.
