Fusatarō Ishijima

Saburo and Keiko fall in love with each other but the tide of war separates them.  (more)

Junai Monogatari AKA Story of Pure Love is about two poor youths, Mitsuko and Kando, rebelling against society in various ways, who are desperately trying to be together despite tortuous circumstances. The film depicts their lives as thieves, menial laborers who ...  (more)

A group of Okinawan high school girls are drafted as nurses during the American invasion of the island. As the enemy army advances further, the situation for the girls becomes increasingly desperate as food and shelter run out and the number of injured climbs, ...  (more)

Three bank robbers, Eijima, Nojiri, and Takasugi, flee the police and escape into the mountains. At an inn high in the Japanese Alps, Eijima and Nojiri encounter a young woman and her father, as well as Honda, a mountaineer. The inn folk do not realize their guests ...  (more)

Koharu, a young geisha, is in love with Kenichi, an apprentice carpenter to her father Masagoro. Their love life comes to a sudden halt after an argument between their two fathers. Can their love survive in spite of the bitterness between their two families?  (more)

After World War II, their town was a pile of rubble. Gennosuke, the second-generation boss of the Kamizu Group was upholding yakuza chivalry by keeping black-market and illegal items out of their open-air market. Taking advantage of the mess, Iwasa and his gang ...  (more)

A touching story about a young boy, Genta, who bravely takes on life's challenges in hopes of finding a better life for himself and his sickly mother.  (more)

Describes the oppressed life of the crab fishermen and their final revolt which is bloodily suppressed by the Royal Navy. (Set in the 1920's)  (more)

Tora-San, an itinerant peddler who is thrown out of his father's house twenty years before but reconnects with his aunt, uncle and sister Sakura. Tora wreaks some havoc in their lives, like getting drunk and silly at a marriage meeting and ruining Sakura's chance ...  (more)

A poignant story about a young couple, Setsu and Chozo, who are torn apart to save Setsu's father's restaurant.  (more)

The lives of several Japanese families are shattered as the USA and the USSR move toward war, Japan finds itself caught in the middle, and Tokyo is ultimately evacuated as the two superpowers invoke the 'nuclear option'.  (more)

A human drama of crew and passengers on a special express train named “Sakura” from Tokyo to Nagasaki...  (more)

Kimie, a traveling guitarist, performs at various inns at help out her sickly mother. One night while out with her mother, Otoshi, Kimie unexpectedly sees her father, who had abandoned the family 20 years ago. Her hopes for a happy reunion are quickly dashed as her ...  (more)

A tale of two best friends in the WWII era Japan. Takao is a young man enthusiastic about joining the navy to fight for his country. He convinces his best friend Shinji to join him. As it turns out, however, Takao's poor health prevents him from entering the navy ...  (more)

A modern gang version of Chushingura, chronicling almost scene for scene the Brave 47 Ronin story, transposed from the Genroku Period to the Showa Era.  (more)

During the Warring States era, Hozoin Kakuzenbo and Yagyu Tajima-no-kami, being best friends, spend their days acquiring skills of the spear, sword and martial arts. Hozoin loses a series of matches with master swordsman Kozumi Ise-no-kami. Bitterly ashamed, Hozoin ...  (more)

Slice of life film centered on a couple of years in the life of a rural high school girl.  (more)

Five women classmates from a college in Tokyo are on the first stretch of a walking tour when one of them, Masako, falls ill at a railway station. Osen, a middle-aged maid from a nearby inn, takes her in and nurses her, assisted by Dr. Minami, a young physician who ...  (more)

Students in a small rural school love their poor but unconventional teacher Mr Matsukuma although he is misunderstood by most of the villagers and is forced to leave. After his departure there is great depression but there is a chance to rekindle the lantern of the ...  (more)

 (more)