Kanji Kawara

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Uta’s mother died when she was six years old; her father she never met. She was forced to adopt a traveller’s life when her grandmother died, and now she is a dancer and part of a family of actors who travel from town to town, setting up street performances. A way of escape from this marginal existence arises when she gets the chance to move to tea merchant Hiramatsu’s place, where she is asked to teach his daughter to dance.

A passionate young man who risks his life for love and judo and the innocent young woman who adores him face off against an evil judoka at Chidorigafuchi.

A romance between a young koto prodigy and the head of a koto school’s daughter.

One night, a college student is found dead, his body charred black. The victim’s girlfriend, Nobuko, vanishes right before the eyes of the authorities’ search team.

The story contrasts the life of two doctors, former classmates and now both assistant professors at Naniwa University Hospital in Osaka. The brilliant and ambitious surgeon Goro Zaizen stops at nothing to rise to a position of eminence and authority, while the friendly Shuji Satomi busies himself with his patients and research.

Shuhei Horikawa, a poor schoolteacher, struggles to raise his son Ryohei by himself, despite neither money nor prospects.

Keita, who had been taken along as a cover for his father-in-law’s affair, was discovered by his new wife when she unexpectedly showed up while he was sharing a room with a geisha.

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A heartwarming tale of romance and thrills featuring an aging groom who discovers the potential of an exceptional racehorse hidden within an ordinary bloodline and dedicates his life to that horse, and an up-and-coming jockey, set against the backdrop of a thrilling steeplechase race.

Centered on a young college student who puts his youthful passion into developing true judo and the fiery mentor he admires and studies under.

After helping a woman recover her wallet, which had been stolen by a pickpocket, a rough-around-the-edges young man who is a sixth-dan judo practitioner falls in love with a beautiful teacher of traditional folk songs.

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Set in the midst of the Satsuma Rebellion, this story depicts the sadness of a woman’s heart. Though she hates the Imperial Army captain who violated her, she cannot bring herself to hate him completely.

A beautiful dancer who lost her mother and was raised abroad searches for her long-lost father in the homeland she has always longed for.

A story about a young woman who has been rehabilitated at a juvenile detention center for girls and released into society, but finds herself on the verge of falling back into a life of crime.

In Depression-era Japan, a courteous bus driver carries an eclectic group of passengers from the mountainous Izu to Tokyo.

A moving story depicting the spirit of a young marathon runner who set a new world record in Boston, encouraged by the love of his family, a young woman’s prayers, and warm friendship.

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A passionate singer who’s rough around the edges but has a warm heart; a kind-hearted, impoverished painter who devotes himself wholeheartedly; and a beautiful opera singer loved by both of them—the joys and sorrows of Asakusa during the golden age of opera.

A kind-hearted medical student, an ill-fated young woman, an innocent young lady in a school uniform, and a medical student whose rational beauty conceals her true feelings… The stories of love and friendship that unfold in a poor town shrouded in fog.

The eldest daughter of a rural family Mon returns home from Tokyo pregnant after an affair with a college student Kobata, which causes a scandal that will threaten the marriage prospects of the younger sister San, in her cash-strapped family. The ill-tempered eldest brother Inokichi decides to take on the role of disciplinarian, with harrowing results.

A romantic tale depicting the beautiful and tragic love between a young man and woman from aristocratic families who are caught in the crossfire of the February 26 Incident.

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Large star-shaped aliens travel to earth in hopes of warning them about an oncoming catastrophe. To prevent panic about their appearance, one alien takes the form of a popular singer.

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A traditional bar mistress in Kyoto clashes with her Tokyo rival.

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A sweet and melancholy melodrama set against the backdrop of the beautiful Seto Inland Sea, in which a pair of twin sisters, one a young lady of high birth, the other a maid, are manipulated by the threads of fate as they vie for the affection of the same young man.

Deep down, a dark shadow always lingered in the heart of Ushio, a young prosecutor who had made a name for himself by cracking down on organized crime. In the bribery case involving his old college friend Ayao, he had sought a two-year prison sentence in accordance with the law. Ayao took his own life, and his family was torn apart by the world’s persecution.

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Released on the same date as Shochiku's version.

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A realistic film that sharply portrays a cross-section of postwar society.

A Japanese mountain inn patron's foot is cut by an ornamental hairpin accidentally left behind by a former patron, leading to much curiosity among the other patrons regarding her identity.

On vacation's eve, a boy is sent to the countryside to live with his uncle after his father is imprisoned and accused of embezzlement.

Raucous small-time thief Kenji falls in love with sweet and simple Yazue, but when she finds out what kind of guy he really is, she leaves him until he proves to be honest. Kenji soon finds it's not so easy to get rid of one's past.

A young man who followed his father's wishes and became a travel actor causes a big commotion with his fellow members of the Gurentai group during their travel destination! Innocent to cute girls and reckless to bad guys! Exciting entertainment!

The sweet but naive denizens of a charming port town are hoodwinked by a couple of con men at the outset of World War II. But the hustlers’ plan backfires when they come down with severe cases of conscience. Keisuke Kinoshita’s directorial debut is a breezy, warmhearted, and often very funny crowd-pleaser that’s a testament to the filmmaker’s faith in people.

Heitaro, who had served his firm loyally for 30 years, reaches the retirement age. He has four unmarried daughters and decides to split his retirement allowance he has received from his firm into 500,000 yen for each daughter as a wedding dowry. He considers them all old enough to handle the money, and gives them a free hand to use it as they wish.

A young offender who is already guilty of many crimes is sentenced again for rape. Upon his release from prison, a year later, the victim waits to kill him.

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A comedy directed by Koji Shima about a men's game. Reckless and exciting, definitely worth watching! Miyoshi Oki was born in Hokkaido and grew up in a dirty carriage that his father owned. His dream was to have a horse with a good coat that costs 10 million yen and he set a goal for it. At the invitation of Otaki-gumi executive Iwasa, he joined Otaki-gumi while the leader Sozaburo was sick. Miyoshi's method is not to deal with the yakuza's morale and slashing, but to handle things mentally....

An attempt is made to suppress a journalist's investigation of collusion between a rural police chief and the local gangster bosses.

Hayase, a schoolteacher, assists Sakai in editing a German-Japanese dictionary. Hayase owes much to Sakai, as Sakai raised him for 13 years after Hayase lost his parents in a war. Hayase has been secretly married to Otsuta, a former geisha, and has been unable to tell Sakai of the marriage, aware as he is that Sakai wants him to marry his daughter, Taeko. Otsuta wants Hayase to tell Sakai about her, but understands the difficulty of his position. At a festival, Otsuta is mistaken for a pickpocket and taken to the police. Because of her background as a geisha, newspaper reporters eagerly delve into her past and report that she has been married to Hayase. Unaware of what has been printed in the papers, Hayase decides to tell Sakai about his marriage. Sakai shows the newspaper to him and orders Hayase to part with Otsuta. Given no chance to explain, Hayase accepts Sakai's order.

Kinichi and Akiko meet when they visit their fathers in prison. After successfully gambling on a bicycle race, they spend an enjoyable day together at the beach.

Toramatsu is a very enthusiastic policeman. Believing that the police should help others he is dismissed the force when his pistol is stolen while doing one of his good deeds. He saves a child from drowning, restores it to his mother, then finds that someone has run off with his gun and later uses it to kill. Then he breaks up a group of hoodlums attacking a young girl named Mieko, and the police, his former friends, deciding he has gone too far, decide to sue him. On top of this the girl gets hurt and, consequently, a child from the kindergarten where Mieko teaches is kidnapped on his way home. Impersonating a policeman he tracks down the gangsters and rescues the boy. Due to this he also uncovers a scandal which allows the police to make a long due clean up in the political world. As a reward for all of this he wins the regard of the girl but now faces a stiff prison sentence for impersonating the policeman he had been and which, at heart, he truly remains.

During the Depression, a young man struggles to provide for his family after he is sacked for defending an older colleague.

Three couples connected to rival business and theatrical families navigate complicated romances, workplace disputes, and family opposition.

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An actress returns to Tokyo after a successful stint in Hollywood to reclaim—with the help of her gangster brother—the daughter she abandoned years before.

A blacksmith is chased out of the village by the sinister village chief and forced to move to the forest with his wife and two sons. The blacksmith's younger son is disabled, and the other children in the village tease him. The older son aspires to become a doctor in order to fix his brother's leg. The film depicts the bond between a father and his sons. Only 18 minutes survive.

Chairman of the Shin Nihon Kaihatsu company Fukazawa, using clever ways to circumvent the law, rose to the top of the economic backstage. Three people are sacrificed to his greed. The president of a small company who committed suicide, a Yakuza who died during the destruction of his territory, and a former viscount whose wife and property were stolen by Fukazawa. Their sons vowed to hunt down Fukazawa and take revenge.

The inventor of a ground-breaking glue, Sanada, becomes rich thanks to his discovery a high executive in his company. Because of this promotion, his world is changing completely : his wife behaves like never before, considering she's now rich and has the right to do whatever she wants, even having an affair. (Also occasionally known in English as “Overflow”)

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A fishing village is terrorized by a giant whale, and the fishermen are determined to kill it.

Kosaka drops to death while ice climbing with his friend Uozu to see the sunrise on the New Year’s Day. The investigators try to find the cause of the death, then discover that the cut rope was made in the factory for which Uozu’s brother works.

The three-hour Ai yo jinrui to tomo ni are / Love, Be with Humanity (1931) starts as a satire of alienation in the world of money, develops into a lumberland epic with a forest fire on Sakhalin Island, turns into a tragedy of King Lear dimensions, and manages to amaze the blasé audience with a happy end in the Wild West.

Jyuta, an honest owner of a taxi company, has a younger half-brother who is involved in the yakuza world and doesn’t get along well with his mother. Jyuta tries to correct him…

Adaptation of Kishida Kunio's novel. Set against the backdrop of a power struggle within a hospital, depicts the love lives of the director's daughter, the administrative director, a doctor, and a nurse.

Adaptation of Seicho Matsumoto's novel of the same name.

The three-hour Ai yo jinrui to tomo ni are / Love, Be with Humanity (1931) starts as a satire of alienation in the world of money, develops into a lumberland epic with a forest fire on Sakhalin Island, turns into a tragedy of King Lear dimensions, and manages to amaze the blasé audience with a happy end in the Wild West.

A youth movie depicting the love between college students.

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A modern girl suddenly intrudes into a widower's family home.

Approaching their graduation ceremony, Saegusa, Sanae, and their classmates go on an overnight trip to Hakone with their teacher Ms. Kawahara, who will soon leave school. They thank her doing so and go on their respective paths, ending soon their student life.

Japanese propaganda film about the Normanton Incident.

1960 Japanese movie

The movie follows a young woman (Kinuyo Tanaka), a daughter of a high-ranking businessman and his neglected mistress, as she struggles to ease her mother's loneliness, while also having an affair with her father's subordinate.

1962 Japanese movie

Pre-war Asakusa was a riotous district of cabarets, dance-halls and brothels - a striking backdrop for Shimazu's story of innocence and experience. Pretty, young Reiko is the new dancer in an infamous theatre troupe, and her fellow performers try to protect her virtue in a land of vice. Meanwhile, an ageing actor wants to be a hero off stage as well as on, and the troupe matriarch Marie has to keep them all together.

The film depicts a group of boys and girls who graduate from a local junior high school and head to Tokyo to find employment, and the teachers who watch over them. Co-written by newcomer Shigeki Chiba and Kaneto Shindo, the film was directed by Kozaburo Yoshimura.

A reformatory in the remote countryside houses 200 delinquents and problem children. The teachers and caretakers face much trouble. The school is often short on water, and one day, the well runs dry.

Two criminal brothers try to go straight but face opposition from one of their criminal cohorts. Considered to be a lost film.

Following a young man through his childhood ambition to follow his father into the military to losing his life in combat in China.

A melodrama about an orphan and her mother who are separated and lose contact, but are later reunited.

An older sister and brother (Mieko Takamine and Masayoshi Otsuka) come to visit their grandfather (Takeshi Sakamoto) who lives deep in the mountains. As for their parents, father was serving in the South Seas and mother died of illness on her way home. So, the brother, who is still young, will live alone with his grandfather whilst the sister goes away to study to become a teacher.

A man and his girlfriend work for a cosmetics company, but would like to open their own store. The company is planning to send someone to Paris for special training and the man tries to get the general manager to send his girlfriend since this training would help them to start their own business. The general manager selects another woman and the trouble begins.

While working in an education center for lonely children, a mother seeks her missing son.

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