Kinema Junpo's Annual Top 10s

by mymovieslists | created - 11 Oct 2011 | updated - 08 Apr 2018 | Public

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Each year, Kinema Junpo magazine publishes a list of the top 10 Japanese films of the year.

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1. Ashi ni sawatta onna (1926)

77 min | Comedy

Based on novel "The Woman Who Touched Her Feet" by Nadematsu Sawada about Goheita Kita, an Osaka detective, and Saya Shiozawa, a pickpocket woman from Osaka, who go on vacation to Tokyo on an unusual journey.

Director: Yutaka Abe | Stars: Tokihiko Okada, YĂ´ko Umemura, KĂ´ji Shima, Kan'ichi Tani

3. Riku no ningyo (1926)

Set in the early summer of Karuizawa, this drama depicts the love conflicts between a cheerful young sportsman named Kitagawa, a wealthy man's daughter Toshiko, and poor Reiko with a sophisticated urban touch typical of Hollywood.

Director: Yutaka Abe | Stars: Komako Sunada, Kan'ichi Tani, Mineko Tsuji, YĂ´ko Umemura

4. A Page of Madness (1926)

Not Rated | 70 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

A man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.

Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Masuo Inoue, Ayako Iijima, Yoshie Nakagawa, Hiroshi Nemoto

Votes: 4,568

5. Karabotan (1926)

Comedy

A hard-working new employee at a trading company is promoted through the company president's business. However, he quarrels with his wife over something trivial, and her wife runs away from home, causing a fuss, but she returns to normal.

Director: HĂ´tei Nomura | Stars: Shin'ichi Akita, Jun Arai, Hideo Fujino, ChĂ´ko Iida

8. Chuji tabi nikki: Shinshu kessho hen (1927)

Action, Drama

Trilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 2. "Shinshu Blood Laughter"

Director: Daisuke Itô | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Enichiro Mikawa, Hideo Nakamura, Haruo Okazaki

Votes: 48

9. Son'nĂ´ jĂ´i (1927)

Action

About Ii Naosuke, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, the blood feud between followers of the principle of "Honor the Emperor, expel the barbarian" and the principle of "Open the door to the West".

Director: Tomiyasu Ikeda | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Tamitarô Onoe, Haruko Sawamura, Jûrô Tanizaki

10. Chuji tabi nikki: Koshu tate hen (1927)

Action

Trilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 1. "Koshu Swordfighting" - First film is lost

Director: Daisuke Itô | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Ichimaru Ichikawa, Chiyoko Kinoshita, Omatsuro Arashi

Votes: 28

11. Tricky Girl (1927)

70 min | Comedy

Beautiful girl who pretended to throw herself into the lake, won the heart of a traveling photographer, but the day after their wedding she ran away.

Director: Heinosuke Gosho | Stars: Kaoru Futaba, Hikaru Hoshi, ShĂ´ichi Kofujita, Soichi Kunijima

12. Jihi shinchĂ´ (1927)

2 min | Short

A dramatic rivalry between law students Shunsuke and Ryutaro, best friends since school and equally in love with Shizuko. Based on novel by Hiroshi Kikuchi.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kaichi Yamamoto, Eiji Nakano, Tokihiko Okada, Eiji Takagi

13. GerĂ´ (1927)

77 min

Chanbara (sword fighting film) about a servant who accompanies his master on a mission of revenge. Forerunner of trend-films glorifying nihilism and rebellious spirit as opposed to vassal loyalty of the Edo period.

Director: Daisuke ItĂ´ | Stars: Tetsuro Kaneko, GorĂ´ Kawabe, Jo Kume, Haruko Sawamura

14. Samurai Town Story Part I (1928)

225 min | Action, Drama

Chambara (sword fighting film) about four ronins trying to save the woman they love kidnapped by the notorious Hatamoto. 8 minutes of fragments of "Ronin Street Episode 1: Beautiful Prey" were discovered and released in 2009.

Director: Masahiro Makino | Stars: Kômei Minami, Jûrô Tanizaki, Tôichirô Negishi, Umeko Ôbayashi

Votes: 74

17. Sozenji Baba (1928)

31 min | Short, Drama

A story based on a real incident (revenge of two brothers for killing their younger brother) was turned into a rakugo (comic story) and a joruri (comic drama).

Director: Masahiro Makino | Stars: KĂ´mei Minami, Shinpei Takagi, TĂ´roku Makino, Tsukie Matsuura

Votes: 42

22. Crossroads (1928)

81 min | Drama

After falling in love with a courtesan, Rikiya is blinded by ash during a fight in a brothel. Believing the blindness permanent and his opponent dead, Rikiya goes back home to his sister. ... See full summary »

Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Akiko Chihaya, Junosuke BandĂ´, Yukiko Ogawa, Ippei SĂ´ma

Votes: 460

26. Zanjin zanbaken (1929)

125 min

In medieval Japan, a brutal and corrupt magistrate is planning to kill the child who is about to become the heir to the estate and position of the local lord and substitute his own "heir", ... See full summary »

Director: Daisuke Itô | Stars: Ryûnosuke Tsukigata, Hiroshi Kaneko, Misao Seki, Sôemon Wada

Votes: 47

28. Tokai kokyogaku (1929)

70 min

Leftist proletarian drama of a young woman who is assisted by a working class youth in finding justice and avenging her seduction by a rich man.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Isamu Kosugi, Eiji Takagi, Kaichi Yamamoto, Takako Irie

Votes: 12

29. Nani ga kanojo o sĂ´ saseta ka (1930)

85 min | Drama

A girl sets out on a lonely journey when a father decides it is best for his young daughter to go live with his brother and her uncle. The trek begins on a train, but has to continue on ... See full summary »

Directors: Shigeyoshi Suzuki, Yoneo Ota | Stars: Keiko Takatsu, RintarĂ´ Fujima, YĂ´yĂ´ Kojima, Hidekatsu Maki

Votes: 199

32. The Neighbor's Wife and Mine (1931)

64 min | Comedy, Drama

A writer struggles to finish his story against many distractions, but the jazz party next door proves to be too much.

Director: Heinosuke Gosho | Stars: Atsushi Watanabe, Kinuyo Tanaka, Mitsuko Ichimura, Satoko Date

Votes: 291

34. Tokyo Chorus (1931)

90 min | Comedy, Drama

A married Tokyo man faces unemployment after standing up for an older colleague.

Director: YasujirĂ´ Ozu | Stars: Tokihiko Okada, Emiko Yagumo, Hideo Sugawara, Hideko Takamine

Votes: 1,573

36. Adauchi senshu (1931)

140 min | Comedy, Drama

This film is a very funny comedy that makes fun of the moral code of the samurai Bushido, which has become obsolete and turned into an empty form during the period of feudalism.

Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Yutaka Mimasu, Isuzu Yamada, Midori Komatsu

39. I Was Born, But... (1932)

Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama

91 Metascore

Two young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.

Director: YasujirĂ´ Ozu | Stars: Tatsuo SaitĂ´, Tomio Aoki, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara

Votes: 6,211

42. The Greatest Man in the World (1932)

84 min | Comedy, Drama

The story of a master swordsman and a man who impersonates him.

Director: Mansaku Itami | Stars: Shûichirô Atsumi, Junzaburô Ban, Seinosuke Hayashi, Ryôsuke Kagawa

Votes: 28

46. Passing Fancy (1933)

100 min | Drama

Two Tokyo co-workers come across a destitute young lady in search of a place to live.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Takeshi Sakamoto, Nobuko Fushimi, Den Ôhinata, Chôko Iida

Votes: 1,477

47. The Water Magician (1933)

110 min | Drama

The tragic tale of a woman who despite doing good where she can gets punished by society.

Directors: Kenji Mizoguchi, Takuaki SeiryĂ´ | Stars: Tokihiko Okada, IchirĂ´ Sugai, BontarĂ´ Miake, Kumeko Urabe

Votes: 493

48. Every-Night Dreams (1933)

64 min | Drama

A single mother works tirelessly as a Ginza bar hostess to ensure a better life for her young son until--her long-lost husband returns.

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Sumiko Kurishima, Teruko Kojima, Jun Arai, Tatsuo SaitĂ´

Votes: 642

50. Apart from You (1933)

64 min | Drama

Two Geisha with a connection to a young man deal with life's hardships.

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Akio Isono, Sumiko Mizukubo, Reikichi Kawamura

Votes: 648

54. The Dancing Girl of Izu (1933)

94 min | Drama, Romance

In this adaptation from Kawabata, a young student becomes friends with a brother and sister in a troupe of travelling entertainers, who perform at a geisha house in mining country.

Director: Heinosuke Gosho | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Den Ôhinata, Tokuji Kobayashi, Kinuko Wakamizu

Votes: 120

55. Koina no Ginpei (1933)

Drama

The first half of the movie depicts a man's jealousy of his best friend and the woman he love. The second part depicts a hero who is ready to put the past behind him and risk his life for his friend.

Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Kazuo Hasegawa, Toshiko Iizuka, Jûshirô Kobayashi, Yasuro Shiga

56. A Story of Floating Weeds (1934)

Not Rated | 86 min | Drama

A kabuki actor's mistress hatches a jealous plot to bring down her lover's son.

Director: YasujirĂ´ Ozu | Stars: Takeshi Sakamoto, ChĂ´ko Iida, KĂ´ji Mitsui, Emiko Yagumo

Votes: 3,460

57. Tonari no Yae-chan (1934)

76 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Keitaro (Obinata Den) is a law student and Yaeko (Aizome Yumeko) is a high school girl. They are neighbors, and their friendship is starting to develop into something more romantic. Then, ... See full summary »

Director: Yasujirô Shimazu | Stars: Yumeko Aizome, Ryôtarô Mizushima, Den Ôhinata, Chôko Iida

Votes: 265

62. Muteki (1934)

93 min | Drama

Brooding late Japanese silent set in the Concession of Yokohama in the 1870s: An unrepentant US colonialist enslaves a local youth who has tried to rob him.

Director: Minoru Murata | Stars: Josuke Hara, Keiko Ichijo, Sawako Karamatsu, Nobuo Kosaka

Votes: 9

63. Wife! Be Like a Rose! (1935)

74 min | Drama

When she reaches adulthood, a precocious young woman sets out to find her biological father, who, as her mother tells her, abandoned them for another woman.

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Sachiko Chiba, Yuriko Hanabusa, Toshiko ItĂ´, Setsuko Horikoshi

Votes: 535

64. Shunkinsho: Okoto to Sasuke (1935)

100 min | Drama

Sasuke loves Okoto, a blind musician. When she befalls a terrible disfigurement Sasuke can't bare it which escalates into a shocking climax.

Director: YasujirĂ´ Shimazu | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, KĂ´kichi Takada, Tatsuo SaitĂ´, Hideo Fujino

Votes: 75

66. Burden of Life (1935)

66 min | Drama

An aging couple truffle to pay for their daughter's marriages while keeping their much younger son from feeling left out.

Director: Heinosuke Gosho | Stars: Tatsuo SaitĂ´, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Masao Hayama, Yoshiko Tsubouchi

Votes: 154

67. Kodakara sĂ´dĂ´ (1935)

33 min | Short, Comedy

The Fukudas are really poor. Poor with lots of children. They are soon to be blessed with their seventh bundle of joy. Problems with money leads to the series of funny, sometimes even grotesque events with anarchistic touch.

Director: TorajirĂ´ SaitĂ´ | Stars: Shigeru Ogura, Yaeko Izumo, ShĂ´tarĂ´ Fujimatsu, Akiko Nomura

Votes: 41

68. The Girl in the Rumor (1935)

54 min | Drama

The suitor rejects elder sister Kunie but likes Kimoko, the younger one. Their father and his mistress have separate shops. Kimiko suddenly learns that she is her mother. Business is bad. The police visit when business shortcuts are taken.

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Sachiko Chiba, Kamatari Fujiwara, Toshiko ItĂ´, KĂ´ Mihashi

Votes: 158

69. An Inn in Tokyo (1935)

80 min | Drama

Unemployed Kihachi and his two sons struggle to make ends meet. But that doesn't keep Kihachi from wooing single mother Otaka.

Director: YasujirĂ´ Ozu | Stars: Takeshi Sakamoto, Yoshiko Okada, ChĂ´ko Iida, Tomio Aoki

Votes: 1,648

71. Sisters of the Gion (1936)

95 min | Drama

Two geisha sisters lead a hard life in the Gion district of Kyoto. After one of them feels obliged to support a bankrupt businessman, the other sister sets up various schemes to get rid of him.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Isuzu Yamada, YĂ´ko Umemura, Benkei Shiganoya, Namiko Kawashima

Votes: 3,011

72. Jinsei gekijĂ´ (1936)

118 min | Drama

During the 20s in Japan, a romantic student at Tokyo's Waseda University is filled with noble sentiments absorbed from literature but his naive illusions will be shattered by the ruthless realities of money and power.

Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: YĂ´ko Benisawa, Hisao Furuya, Hajime Hikari, Hikaru Hoshi

Votes: 7

73. Osaka Elegy (1936)

90 min | Comedy, Drama

A young woman becomes a mistress of her boss in order to support her family.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Isuzu Yamada, Yôko Umemura, Chiyoko Ôkura, Kiyoko Ôkubo

Votes: 2,594

74. The Only Son (1936)

Not Rated | 87 min | Drama

A widow sends her only son away to receive a better education. Years later, she visits him, finding him a poor school teacher with a wife and son.

Director: YasujirĂ´ Ozu | Stars: ChĂ´ko Iida, Shin'ichi Himori, Masao Hayama, Yoshiko Tsubouchi

Votes: 4,038

75. Capricious Young Man (1936)

77 min | Comedy, Drama

Akanishi Kakita moved from the countryside to a big city. Although he comes from the samurai class, he now lives in poverty among the common people in times of rebellion, but the failed Kakita is not skilled in martial arts.

Director: Mansaku Itami | Stars: ChiezĂ´ Kataoka, ShĂ´saku Sugiyama, SĂ´jin Kamiyama, YĂ´ko Umemura

Votes: 124

80. The Straits of Love and Hate (1937)

108 min | Drama

A young couple of lovers want to travel to Tokio to work and form a family there, but the parents of him want his son to regent their hotel. Finally, he does what his parents want him to, and her finds herself abandoned in the big city.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: TaizĂ´ Fukami, Akira Harue, Kiyoshi KatĂ´, SeizaburĂ´ Kawazu

Votes: 230

81. Children in the Wind (1937)

88 min | Drama

Two young boys are usurped from being the head of their gang of children. Their father is fired and arrested for this, and they are sent to live with their uncle, only to spend their time thinking of ways to escape back home.

Director: Hiroshi Shimizu | Stars: Reikichi Kawamura, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Masao Hayama, Tomio Aoki

Votes: 317

82. Hadaka no machi (1937)

121 min

A man is cheated and rejected by the world.

Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: RyĂ´ Akaboshi, Mitsuru Date, Hisao Furutani, Haehiko Fuyuki

84. Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)

86 min | Drama

The lives of two slum neighbors, one of a happy-go-lucky gambler and the other of a poor ronin, converge when the two get involved with the affairs of a powerful samurai official and his gangsters.

Director: Sadao Yamanaka | Stars: Chôjûrô Kawarasaki, Kan'emon Nakamura, Tsuruzô Nakamura, Chôemon Bandô

Votes: 2,297

85. Shukujo wa nani o wasureta ka (1937)

71 min | Comedy, Drama

An affluent medical professor, Komiya, and his bossy wife, Tokio, are to look after Setsuko, their high-spirited niece from Osaka. Setsuko is a liberated woman who does what she wants, ... See full summary »

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Sumiko Kurishima, Tatsuo Saitô, Michiko Kuwano, Shûji Sano

Votes: 1,295

88. Five Scouts (1938)

73 min | Drama, War

A patrol of Japanese troops in China goes on a patrol into enemy territory in this realistic ,if propagandistic, war drama.

Director: Tomotaka Tasaka | Stars: Isamu Kosugi, BontarĂ´ Miake, IchirĂ´ Izawa, ShirĂ´ Izome

Votes: 79

90. Shanghai (1938)

81 min | Documentary

Documentary about the Japanese-occupied city that, as described by one contemporary source " boasts international settlements in which the nationals of a number of countries enjoy the ... See full summary »

Director: Fumio Kamei | Star: Suisei Matsui

91. Composition Class (1938)

87 min | Drama

Masako, the daughter of an impoverished itinerant tinsmith, wins a grammar school composition contest with an essay about her neighborhood. The much publicized essay ends up causing the ... See full summary »

Director: KajirĂ´ Yamamoto | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Musei Tokugawa, Nijiko Kiyokawa, Shiro Mizutani

Votes: 104

92. Uguisu (1938)

72 min | Drama

Episodic film about life in and around a rural police station, and the people in which it serves.

Director: ShirĂ´ Toyoda | Stars: Noboru Kiritachi, Masako Tsutsumi, Haruko Sugimura, YĂ´tarĂ´ Katsumi

Votes: 11

93. Nakimushi kozo (1938)

80 min | Drama

Story about a little boy who, after his widowed mother decides to remarry, is shuffled about, from relative to relative.

Director: ShirĂ´ Toyoda | Stars: Sumiko Kurishima, Haruyo Ichikawa, Mitsugu Fujii, Fumio Hayashi

Votes: 13

94. Abe ichizoku (1938)

105 min | Drama

Jidai-geki surprisingly critical of bushido codes and practice of seppuku (aka hara-kiri). Yaichiemon Abe, denied permission to commit ritual suicide with more than a dozen vassals to Lord ... See full summary »

Director: Hisatora Kumagai | Stars: Chôjûrô Kawarasaki, Kan'emon Nakamura, Shizue Yamagishi, Masako Tsutsumi

Votes: 26

97. Earth (1939)

142 min | Drama

The setting is that of a farming family in Ibaraki from where also the originating writers hailed. The film depicts the events of a year during the Meiji era and occurrences and actualities... See full summary »

Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Isamu Kosugi, Akiko Kazami, Donguriboya, Kaichi Yamamoto

Votes: 102

98. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)

Not Rated | 148 min | Drama, Romance

The adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: ShĂ´tarĂ´ Hanayagi, KĂ´kichi Takada, RyĂ´tarĂ´ Kawanami, Kinnosuke Takamatsu

Votes: 4,394

100. Ani to sono imĂ´to (1939)

101 min | Drama

A man who works late hours at a deadening job lives together with his wife and his younger sister. The younger sister is a modern girl who's starting to receive romantic attention from one of her co-workers.

Director: YasujirĂ´ Shimazu | Stars: Shin Saburi, Kuniko Miyake, Michiko Kuwano, Ken Uehara

Votes: 84



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