Sort by Number of Votes - Most Rated Movies and TV Shows With Nobuko Otowa
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1. Onibaba (1964)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
Two women kill samurai and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô, Jûkichi Uno
Votes: 21,842
2. Black Cat (1968)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Horror
Two women are raped and killed by samurai soldiers. Soon they reappear as vengeful ghosts who seduce and brutally murder the passing samurai.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kei Satô, Rokkô Toura
Votes: 8,571
3. The Naked Island (1960)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama
A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka, Masanori Horimoto
Votes: 6,176
4. Miss Oyu (1951)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Romance
Shinnosuke is introduced to Shizu as a prospective wife, but he falls in love with her widowed sister Oyu. Convention forbids Oyu to marry because she has to raise her son as the head of ... See full summary »
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Nobuko Otowa, Yûji Hori, Kiyoko Hirai
Votes: 1,889
5. Children of Hiroshima (1952)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, War
Post war Hiroshima: It's been four years since the last time she visited her hometown. Takako faces the after effects of the A-bomb when she travels around the city to call on old friends.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Osamu Takizawa, Masao Shimizu, Jûkichi Uno
Votes: 1,370
6. The Ceremony (1971)
123 min | Comedy, Drama
Upon receiving a shocking telegram from his cousin, a man recounts his early life, as a member of a broad family full of dark secrets that slowly reveal themselves through the clan ceremonies.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Kenzô Kawarasaki, Atsuko Kaku, Atsuo Nakamura, Kiyoshi Tsuchiya
Votes: 1,231
7. Rakuyôju (1986)
105 min | Drama
Haru, an aging scriptwriter, has isolated himself somewhere in the woods of Nagano to work on his first novel. As the last surviving member of his kin, he intends to chronicle the family he grew up in.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Keiju Kobayashi, Nobuko Otowa, Ichirô Zaitsu, Meiko Kaji
Votes: 1,083
8. Oshin (1983–1984)
Biography, Drama, Family
Tells the story of Oshin, a poor little girl who would someday become the owner of a big supermarket chain in Japan.
Stars: Toshi Shioya, Nobuko Otowa, Yûko Tanaka, Ayako Kobayashi
Votes: 1,022
9. Red Lion (1969)
115 min | Action, Comedy
Impersonating an Imperial Army officer by wearing a "red lion's mane", a poor servant returns to his village after 10 years of absence to end the village's suffering caused by corrupt officials and businessmen.
Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Shima Iwashita, Etsushi Takahashi, Minori Terada
Votes: 798
10. Immortal Love (1961)
103 min | Drama, Romance
A young woman is forced by circumstance into a loveless marriage while still in love with another. This episodic tale follows their story through three decades of bitter conflict which engulfs their children and those around them.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Keiji Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Nobuko Otowa
Votes: 624
11. Edo Porn (1981)
Not Rated | 119 min | Biography, Drama, History
The famous woodblock artist Hokusai (1760-1849), a widower in need of a steady income, lives with his daughter Oei in the house of his friend Bakin.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Ken Ogata, Toshiyuki Nishida, Yûko Tanaka, Kanako Higuchi
Votes: 464
12. The Three Treasures (1959)
112 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A prince, framed for murder and starved for affection from his father, is sent on a quest.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Akihiko Hirata, Kyôko Kagawa
Votes: 368
13. The Approach of Autumn (1960)
79 min | Drama
Single mum (father of child dead) from the country with 6th grade boy comes to Tokyo, leaves the boy to live with his uncle's family - wife, male, female teens, run a struggling greengrocer... See full synopsis »
Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Jun Fujimaki, Kamatari Fujiwara, Yôsuke Natsuki
Votes: 356
14. Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975)
132 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary film on the life and works of director Kenji Mizoguchi.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Takako Irie, Daisuke Itô, Kyôko Kagawa, Matsutarô Kawaguchi
Votes: 325
15. An Inn at Osaka (1954)
122 min | Drama
An Inn at Osaka, rarely seen outside Japan, follows the story of an insurance company executive from Tokyo, Mr. Mito, who is demoted to the Osaka office. He takes a room at a small inn and tries to rebuild his life.
Director: Heinosuke Gosho | Stars: Shûji Sano, Nobuko Otowa, Mitsuko Mito, Hiroko Kawasaki
Votes: 295
16. Yasha (1985)
127 min | Crime, Drama
Shuji was once a feared member of the Yakuza crime syndicate, but he's reformed his ways, abandoned his old life and left the city for a small coastal fishing town where he's become an honest fisherman.
Director: Yasuo Furuhata | Stars: Ken Takakura, Ayumi Ishida, Hisamitsu Nakamura, Kenichi Kobayashi
Votes: 279
17. Sekai daisensô (1961)
110 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
This Japanese film speculates on the events which lead the U.S. and the Soviet Union into a nuclear Armageddon.
Director: Shûe Matsubayashi | Stars: Furankî Sakai, Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Nobuko Otowa
Votes: 263
18. A Last Note (1995)
110 min | Drama
Yoko is a famous actress who goes to a mountain chalet for a few days rest. There, she learns a secret from her companion Toyoko.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Haruko Sugimura, Nobuko Otowa, Hideo Kanze, Kyôko Asagiri
Votes: 245
19. Human (1962)
117 min | Drama
The ship Kaijin Maru is left adrift after losing all means of navigation in a storm. The four people on the ship are becoming increasingly desperate as food and water run out.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Taiji Tonoyama, Nobuko Otowa, Kei Satô, Kei Yamamoto
Votes: 222
20. Wedding Ring (1950)
96 min | Drama
A jewelry store president begins to fall for the doctor treating her husband's illness.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Toshirô Mifune, Jûkichi Uno, Kenji Susukida
Votes: 214
21. Live Today, Die Tomorrow! (1970)
120 min | Drama
After leaving high school, Michio Yamada (Norio Nagayama in the real life incidents) becomes involved in the shudan shushoku, a post-war Japanese government work program which involves ... See full summary »
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Daijirô Harada, Nobuko Otowa, Keiko Torii, Kiwako Taichi
Votes: 197
22. The Go Masters (1982)
123 min | Drama, History, War
Ten years before the outbreak of the Second World War in Asia, a Japanese Go master and his Chinese rival meet in China to play a game of Go (loosely described as an Asian version of chess)... See full summary »
Directors: Ji-shun Duan, Jun'ya Satô, Shu'an Liu | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Misako Konno, Nobuko Otowa, Hideji Ôtaki
Votes: 196
23. The Strange Tale of Oyuki (1992)
116 min | Biography, Drama
The film tells the story of Japanese writer Kafu Nagai (1879-1959), a man about sixty with a huge reputation of seducer who falls madly in love for a young geisha named Oyuki. Meticulous ... See full summary »
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Masahiko Tsugawa, Yuki Sumida, Kazuyo Asari, Jun Hamamura
Votes: 180
24. The Island Closest to Heaven (1984)
102 min | Drama
A high school girl travels to the island of New Caledonia and has magical adventures.
Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Miyoko Akaza, Tomoyo Harada, Wakaba Irie, Shigeru Izumiya
Votes: 180
25. The Incident (1978)
138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The body of Sakai Hatsuko, a woman of 23 who has been slain with a knife, has been found in a forest. Some days later, Ueda Hiroshi, a 19-year-old shipyard worker, is arrested and charged ... See full summary »
Director: Yoshitarô Nomura | Stars: Keiko Matsuzaka, Shinobu Ôtake, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Tsunehiko Watase
Votes: 167
26. Genji monogatari (1951)
121 min | Drama
Based on the classic novel by Murasaki Shikibu, written over 1000 years ago. Genji, the son of the emperor, has gained renown among the nobility of Kyoto for his charm and good looks, yet ... See full summary »
Director: Kôzaburô Yoshimura | Stars: Kazuo Hasegawa, Michiyo Kogure, Machiko Kyô, Nobuko Otowa
Votes: 152
27. Rise Against the Sword (1966)
101 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During the Age of Warring States in feudal Japan, Kaga's Seven Clans of peasants unite to rebel against the local samurai warlords who oppress them.
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Nobuko Otowa, Makoto Satô, Ryô Tamura
Votes: 148
28. Mother (1963)
100 min | Drama
Tamiko is a divorced mother with a seriously ill son, struggling to save him and give both a sense of their existence. She lives with her mother and brother, but will marry a man older than... See full summary »
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Haruko Sugimura, Homizu Aratani, Kentarô Kaji
Votes: 146
29. Love Betrayed (1973)
90 min | Drama
The relationship between a rich young student and his lower class friend changes when they start to live both at a guest house. Both will be attracted towards Iko, the beautiful daughter of their landlady.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Anri, Noboru Matsuhashi, Kazunaga Tsuji
Votes: 142
30. Sanmon yakusha (2000)
126 min | Drama, Romance
Film inspired by the life of Japanese actor Taiji Tonoyama, with whom Kaneto Shindo had worked on many occasions, with the help of archive images and fragments of the most famous films of ... See full summary »
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Naoto Takenaka, Keiko Oginome, Hideko Yoshida, Nobuko Otowa
Votes: 127
31. Dobu (1954)
111 min | Drama
Postwar Tokyo. Pin (Jukichi Uno) and Toku (Taiji Tonoyama) live in the squatter area of Kappanuma. Pin and Toku are avid gamblers. They take in Tsuru (Nobuko Otowa), a slightly demented woman who has run away from a geisha house.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Ranko Akagi, Kamatari Fujiwara, Bokuzen Hidari, Noriko Honma
Votes: 120
32. Epitome (1953)
131 min | Drama
Shusei Tokuda's starkly realistic novel about a poor girl pressed into becoming a geisha was forcefully adapted by Kaneto Shindo (Onibaba). When Ginko (Nobuko Otowa, Shindo's wife) falls in... See full summary »
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Sumiko Hidaka, Isuzu Yamada, Sô Yamamura
Votes: 120
33. The Iron Crown (1972)
91 min | Drama
When her husband leaves her for a younger woman, a woman plots revenge against him.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Hideo Kanze, Meg Flower, Taiji Tonoyama
Votes: 118
34. Hymn (1972)
112 min | Drama
The story tells of the adoration of Sasuke for his mistress, the blind Shamisen teacher Shunkin, who treats him imperiously and subjects him to cruel beatings.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Tokuko Watanabe, Jiro Kawarazaki, Daijirô Harada
Votes: 117
35. Aisai monogatari (1951)
97 min | Drama, Romance
Shindo's directorial debut is the fictionalized account of the death of his first wife. Following the breakout of the Pacific War, the Japanese film industry was forcibly downsized. ... See full summary »
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Jûkichi Uno, Ichirô Sugai, Denjirô Ôkôchi
Votes: 113
36. Akutô (1965)
119 min | Drama, History
A morally-suspect and self-serving retainer rashly baits her high-ranking employer, a regional governor, with a salacious story of a former acquaintance and catastrophe ensues.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Kyôko Kishida, Eitarô Ozawa, Isao Kimura
Votes: 110
37. Chikuzan hitori tabi (1977)
119 min | Drama
After over 50 years of wandering up and down Japan, finally in the 1970s the rough-hewn blind shamisien player and folk-song collector named Chikuzan became a musical sensation. This ... See full summary »
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Ryûzô Hayashi, Nobuko Otowa, Mitsuko Baishô, Dai Kanai
Votes: 110
38. Ôkami (1955)
127 min | Drama
Time; a few years after the surrender of Japan in the Second World War. The country is in ruins, economy devastated, and the vulnerable masses deprived of work; let alone the basic ... See full summary »
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Sanae Takasugi, Taiji Tonoyama, Jun Hamamura
Votes: 110
39. Yagyû bugeichô: Sôryû hiken (1958)
105 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets which, if revealed, would cause revolution and disaster for the clan. The information is ... See full summary »
Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Kôji Tsuruta, Toshirô Mifune, Nobuko Otowa, Yoshiko Kuga
Votes: 108
40. Kôsatsu (1979)
116 min | Drama
The men who surround and torment the young protagonist (demanding teacher, owner of the company that rapes his own daughter, despotic and uncompromising father) are opposed to women (victims of men) as embodiment of salvation.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Kô Nishimura, Nobuko Otowa, Tsutomu Kariba, Akemi Negishi
Votes: 105
41. The Scent of Incense (1964)
88 min | Drama
After her mother runs away from home, Tomoko is raised to be a geisha. One day Tomoko meets her mother in a red-light district in Tokyo and her life deeply gets in trouble.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Mariko Okada, Takeshi Katô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Eiji Okada
Votes: 97
42. Lucky Dragon No. 5 (1959)
115 min | Drama
The story of a Japanese fishing boat whose crew were accidental victims of fallout from the Bikini hydrogen bomb tests.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Jûkichi Uno, Nobuko Otowa, Harold Conway, Torahiko Hamada
Votes: 92
43. The Three Undelivered Letters (1979)
130 min | Drama, Mystery
A young Japanese-American man arrives at his grandmother's old hometown in Yamaguchi, begins to stay at her family's elite but dysfunctional household, and gets entangled in a sinister plot of murder.
Director: Yoshitarô Nomura | Stars: Shin Saburi, Nobuko Otowa, Mayumi Ogawa, Komaki Kurihara
Votes: 65
44. The Twilight Story (1960)
120 min | Drama
A young woman goes to Toyko to work as a geisha to support her ailing mother. There she meets an impoverished school teacher and falls in love with him.
Director: Shirô Toyoda | Stars: Fujiko Yamamoto, Hiroshi Akutagawa, Michiyo Aratama, Nobuko Otowa
Votes: 63
45. Burakkubôdo (1986)
110 min | Drama
Black Board tells the story of middle school bullying taken to the point of homicide.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Terutake Tsuji, Nobuko Otowa, Kazuki Minabuchi, Leo Morimoto
Votes: 53
46. Ryôjû (1961)
98 min | Drama
A woman adopts the child of her husbands' ill mistress and raises her as her own.
Director: Heinosuke Gosho | Stars: Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada, Haruko Wanibuchi, Shin Saburi
Votes: 53
47. Lost in the Wilderness (1986)
G | 140 min | Adventure, Drama
Adventure-drama based on the life of Naomi Uemura (Nishida), the first Japanese mountain climber to scale most of the world's highest peaks and explore the arctic and Antarctic.
Director: Jun'ya Satô | Stars: Toshiyuki Nishida, Chieko Baishô, Masato Furuoya, Gô Wakabayashi
Votes: 45
48. A Room for Rent (1959)
112 min | Comedy, Drama
The story follows the various tenants living in a multi-room tenement on a hill overlooking the city of Osaka.
Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Furankî Sakai, Nobuko Otowa, Ikio Sawamura, Chikage Awashima
Votes: 43
49. Kôkotsu no hito (1973)
102 min | Drama
Story about a woman who looks after her father in law.
Director: Shirô Toyoda | Stars: Hisaya Morishige, Hideko Takamine, Takahiro Tamura, Nobuko Otowa
Votes: 41
50. Waga michi (1974)
130 min | Drama
Based on a true story, an elderly woman resiliently spends nine months attempting to retrieve her husband's dead body, fighting government bureaucracy and indifference all along the way.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Rokkô Toura, Dai Kanai
Votes: 40