Kazuko Shirakawa

On a cold Monday morning, a group of counselors clock in at an old-fashioned social services office. Their task is to interview the recently deceased, record their personal details, then, over the course of the week, assist them in choosing a single memory to keep ...  (more)

Shigematsu Shizuma, who lives with his family in a village near Fukuyama, was in Hiroshima with his wife and niece just after the devastating atomic bombing, a tragedy that cruelly took the lives of thousands of people and forever marked the harsh existence of the ...  (more)

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a ...  (more)

A sendup of the stereotypical Japanese family: dad is a salaryman jerk, unable to relate to anyone; mom is a hopeless housewife; the older son is a moderate academic success; but the younger son is a rebellious goof-off for whom a tutor must be hired. The tutor, ...  (more)

A thief, a murderer, and a charming lady-killer, Iwao Enokizu is on the run from the police.  (more)

Narumi Rokuheita and his wife Noriko spend their lives separated. Soon they start looking for love elsewhere.  (more)

Yukio is an ex-farmer working as a dump-truck driver in Kashima. Haunted by the drowning of his two young sons, whose names he has had tattooed on his back in penance, and locked in a sibling rivalry with his traditional but urbane younger brother who lives in ...  (more)

A 19-year-old newspaper delivery boy begins collecting information on the households in his neighborhood and keeping a journal of why he doesn't like them. Declaring himself a 'right-winger' and calling in bomb threats against the neighbors he doesn't like, the ...  (more)

Roman Porno from 1973.  (more)

A woman's husband’s infidelity drives her to sleep with both of her sisters’ lovers.  (more)

Death-row inmate Sudo (Pierre Taki) sends a letter to magazine reporter Fujii (Takayuki Yamada). In his letter, he states that a man named Kimura (Lily Franky), also known as "teacher," committed numerous murders for insurance money. While checking out the story, ...  (more)

Matsuoi and his wife Tsuya moved to Oshima City because of her unpredictable character. Even though Tsuya continues to have affairs, Matsuoi loves her and is a devoted husband. Tsuya is then diagnosed with a cancer and later goes into a coma. Matsuoi then thinks of ...  (more)

Koji Wakamatsu adapted the Kouhei Tsuka's play of the same name into a human comedy about the members of a traveling acting troupe.  (more)

Fifty elderly women are abandoned to die on a snow covered mountain, but instead wor together to build their own village named "Dendera." Some of the women wants to live their remaining days in peace, but others seek revenge against the villagers and their own ...  (more)

One day after school, Kaoru glances at Sonoko at the pool side. He falls in love with her at first sight and decides to join the swimming team even though he cannot swim.  (more)

Existential study on a misplaced workers and ex-prisoner who moves through the city and his influence on other characters' lives.  (more)

A film about family life in Osaka. Following the death of their father, three boys struggle to find their own identity with the help of their outgoing mother and weak-willed uncle.  (more)

Sayaka is a sexually frustrated housewife whose husband rarely talks and is always busy with work. But she soon finds an antidote to her loneliness and boredom in the form of a door-to-door salesman in this erotic drama.  (more)

Ichijo Sayuri, once the legendary queen of Osaka strippers, has retired to run a sushi shop. She is awaiting her day in court after having been arrested for indecency at her farewell performance. While she was active, she was both the rival and the model for many ...  (more)

Yukie is a young woman who works at her father's flower shop. She uses her job to hide from her problems including a marriage troubled by her sexual frigidity. Her husband and her best friend engage in an affair, and Yukie goes to her father for advice on how to ...  (more)