**Japanese movies

by arrinna77 | created - 09 Aug 2015 | updated - 22 Oct 2019 | Public
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1. 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: Shôtarô Hanayagi, Kôkichi Takada, Ryôtarô Kawanami, Kinnosuke Takamatsu

Votes: 4,399

2. Tokyo Twilight (1957)

Not Rated | 140 min | Drama

87 Metascore

Two sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishû Ryû, Isuzu Yamada

Votes: 4,949

3. Equinox Flower (1958)

118 min | Comedy, Drama

83 Metascore

A businessman clashes with his elder daughter over her choice of a husband.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Shin Saburi, Kinuyo Tanaka, Ineko Arima, Yoshiko Kuga

Votes: 4,859

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: 1,893

5. Munekata shimai (1950)

112 min | Drama

Setsuko is unhappily married to Mimura, an engineer with no job and a drinking habit. She's always been in love with Hiroshi, but he left for France years ago without proposing. Now he is ... See full summary »

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Hideko Takamine, Ken Uehara, Sanae Takasugi

Votes: 1,179

6. Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)

Not Rated | 156 min | Drama

Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi forms an emotional bond with her pupils and teaches them various virtues, while at the same time worrying about their future.

Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Itsuo Watanabe, Makoto Miyagawa, Takeo Terashita

Votes: 2,832

7. Early Spring (1956)

145 min | Drama

84 Metascore

A young man and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he has an extramarital romance.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chikage Awashima, Ryô Ikebe, Teiji Takahashi, Keiko Kishi

Votes: 3,730

8. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

PG-13 | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

75 Metascore

On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

Directors: Shôgo Furuya, Satoshi Kon | Stars: Tôru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Shôzô Îzuka

Votes: 46,777 | Gross: $0.13M

9. My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)

PG | 104 min | Animation, Comedy, Family

75 Metascore

The life and misadventures of a family in contemporary Japan.

Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Yukiji Asaoka, Tôru Masuoka, Masako Araki, Hayato Isohata

Votes: 15,966

10. Only Yesterday (1991)

PG | 119 min | Animation, Drama, Romance

90 Metascore

A twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.

Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Miki Imai, Toshirô Yanagiba, Yoko Honna, Mayumi Izuka

Votes: 37,265 | Gross: $0.45M

11. Gauche the Cellist (1982)

60 min | Animation, Fantasy, Music

A cellist in a small orchestra receives help from animals to help him practice his music.

Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Hideki Sasaki, Masashi Amenomori, Keiko Yokozawa, Kôichi Hashimoto

Votes: 1,676

12. Audition (1999)

R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery

70 Metascore

A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.

Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura

Votes: 89,278

13. Late Chrysanthemums (1954)

101 min | Drama

What is the life of a Geisha like once her beauty has faded and she has retired? Kin has saved her money, and has become a wealthy money-lender, spending her days cold-heartedly collecting ... See full summary »

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Haruko Sugimura, Ken Uehara, Sadako Sawamura, Chikako Hosokawa

Votes: 1,194

14. One Wonderful Sunday (1947)

Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Romance

During a Sunday trip into war-ravaged Tokyo, despairing Yuzo and optimistic Masako look for work and lodging, as well as affordable entertainments to pass the time.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Isao Numasaki, Chieko Nakakita, Atsushi Watanabe, Zekô Nakamura

Votes: 3,680

15. Empire of Passion (1978)

R | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Romance

A married woman and her lover murder her husband and dump his body into a well. After a while, his ghost comes to haunt them while the local gossip grows stronger.

Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Tatsuya Fuji, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Takahiro Tamura, Takuzô Kawatani

Votes: 4,936

16. I Live in Fear (1955)

103 min | Drama

An aging Japanese industrialist becomes so fearful of nuclear war that it begins to take a toll on his life and family.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki, Eiko Miyoshi

Votes: 5,543

17. No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)

PG | 110 min | Drama

The daughter of a politically disgraced university professor struggles to find a place for herself in love and life, in the uncertain world of Japan leading into WWII.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Susumu Fujita, Denjirô Ôkôchi, Haruko Sugimura

Votes: 3,962

18. The Ballad of Narayama (1958)

Not Rated | 98 min | Drama

A kabuki theatre-inflected story about a poor village whose people have to be carried to a nearby mountain to die once they get old.

Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Teiji Takahashi, Yûko Mochizuki, Danko Ichikawa

Votes: 3,790

19. The End of Summer (1961)

103 min | Drama

84 Metascore

The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Ganjirô Nakamura, Setsuko Hara, Yôko Tsukasa, Michiyo Aratama

Votes: 4,504

20. Repast (1951)

97 min | Drama

Michiyo lives in a small home in Osaka and is not happy with her marriage; all she does is cook and clean for her husband.

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Ken Uehara, Setsuko Hara, Yukiko Shimazaki, Yôko Sugi

Votes: 1,815

21. The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959)

76 min | Horror

The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.

Director: Nobuo Nakagawa | Stars: Shigeru Amachi, Noriko Kitazawa, Katsuko Wakasugi, Shuntarô Emi

Votes: 1,818

22. The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (1941)

105 min | Drama

When the patriarch of the Toda family suddenly dies, his widow discovers that he has left her with nothing but debt and married children who are unwilling to support her--except for her most thoughtful son, just returned from China.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Mieko Takamine, Shin Saburi, Hideo Fujino, Ayako Katsuragi

Votes: 1,438

23. Sound of the Mountain (1954)

Approved | 95 min | Drama

An ingratiating bride develops warm ties to her father-in-law while her cold husband blithely slights her for another woman.

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Sô Yamamura, Ken Uehara, Yôko Sugi

Votes: 2,147

24. Floating Clouds (1955)

123 min | Drama, Romance

A tragic social drama set in post war Japan and concerns a lonely woman trying to find purpose and stability in a devastated Tokyo.

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Mariko Okada, Isao Yamagata

Votes: 3,148

25. Pale Flower (1964)

Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Crime

A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Ryô Ikebe, Mariko Kaga, Takashi Fujiki, Naoki Sugiura

Votes: 4,393

26. Pitfall (1962)

Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy

A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.

Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara | Stars: Hisashi Igawa, Sumie Sasaki, Sen Yano, Hideo Kanze

Votes: 4,332

27. Dreams (1990)

PG | 119 min | Drama, Fantasy

A collection of tales based upon eight of director Akira Kurosawa's recurring dreams.

Directors: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda | Stars: Akira Terao, Mitsuko Baishô, Toshie Negishi, Mieko Harada

Votes: 29,196 | Gross: $1.96M

28. The Little House (2014)

136 min | Drama, Romance

A woman looks back on her family's life in Tokyo before and during WWII. A maid arrives from the countryside to work for an upper middle class family. She fits in well, but everyone's emotions are stirred up with the arrival of a student.

Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Takako Matsu, Haru Kuroki, Isao Hashizume, Kazuko Yoshiyuki

Votes: 1,455

29. Amai yoru no hate (1961)

85 min | Crime, Drama

An opportunistic department store clerk gets involved with three women and attempts to manipulate them so he can move up the social ladder.

Director: Yoshishige Yoshida | Stars: Masahiko Tsugawa, Michiko Saga, Teruyo Yamagami, Sumiko Hidaka

Votes: 279

30. Sanshiro Sugata (1943)

Not Rated | 79 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Sugata, a young man, struggles to learn the nuance and meaning of judo, and in doing so comes to learn something of the meaning of life.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Susumu Fujita, Yukiko Todoroki, Ryûnosuke Tsukigata

Votes: 5,632

31. Daredevil in the Castle (1961)

95 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Mohei is a wandering swordsman. He arrives in the city of Osaka, where the Toyotomi clan accepts him and comes to depend upon his courage and his battlefield skills. Those skills are sorely... See full summary »

Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Kyôko Kagawa, Yuriko Hoshi, Yoshiko Kuga

Votes: 213

32. 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

33. Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji (1955)

Not Rated | 94 min | Adventure, Drama

A samurai travels to Edo with his two servants. On their way, they meet many people and encounter great injustice.

Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Chiezô Kataoka, Ryûnosuke Tsukigata, Chizuru Kitagawa, Yuriko Tashiro

Votes: 956

34. Samurai Saga (1959)

111 min | Action, Drama, Romance

Japanese version of 'Cyrano de Bergerac', a poet/swordsman with a huge nose who loves a woman who loves another. Ignoring his true feelings, he helps them get together.

Director: Hiroshi Inagaki | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Tsukasa, Akira Takarada, Keiko Awaji

Votes: 448

35. Ornamental Hairpin (1941)

70 min | Comedy, Drama

At a rural spa, a soldier accidentally cuts his foot on a hairpin. Soon enough he tracks down its lovely owner and finds himself smitten.

Director: Hiroshi Shimizu | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Hiroko Kawasaki, Tatsuo Saitô, Chishû Ryû

Votes: 810

36. The Fighter Pilot (2013)

144 min | Action, Drama, Mystery

A young woman and her brother explore the history of their grandfather, who died in WW2. They start contacting the men who flew with him, asking them about who he was.

Director: Takashi Yamazaki | Stars: Jun'ichi Okada, Haruma Miura, Mao Inoue, Gaku Hamada

Votes: 2,815

37. Tampopo (1985)

Not Rated | 114 min | Comedy

87 Metascore

A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.

Director: Jûzô Itami | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho

Votes: 22,579 | Gross: $0.22M

38. Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978)

130 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

After the Tokugawa shogun's death by poisoning, his sons Iemitsu and Tadanaga compete for the shogunate, dividing the land into warring factions. Iemitsu's mentor, betrays all to secure Iemitsu's power, leading to widespread conflict.

Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Shin'ichi Chiba, Hiroki Matsukata, Teruhiko Saigô

Votes: 1,668

39. The Red Angel (1966)

Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Romance, War

During the Sino-Japanese War, a young army nurse gives sympathy to her patients and falls in love with an impotent doctor who's addicted to morphine.

Director: Yasuzô Masumura | Stars: Ayako Wakao, Shinsuke Ashida, Yûsuke Kawazu, Ranko Akagi

Votes: 1,888

40. Rebirth (2011)

147 min | Drama

After the collapse of their relationship, Kiwako abducts the 6-month old child of a man she was having an affair with. Raising the child as her own, it is four years before the authorities catch up with her and the young child.

Director: Izuru Narushima | Stars: Hiromi Nagasaku, Mao Inoue, Eiko Koike, Konomi Watanabe

Votes: 885

41. The Sinners of Hell (1960)

Not Rated | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Horror

A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.

Director: Nobuo Nakagawa | Stars: Shigeru Amachi, Utako Mitsuya, Yôichi Numata, Hiroshi Hayashi

Votes: 4,575

42. The Inheritance (1962)

107 min | Drama

A dying businessman intends to will two hundred million yen to his three illegitimate children, but his associates scheme to take advantage of the situation.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Keiko Kishi, Tatsuya Nakadai, Sô Yamamura, Seiji Miyaguchi

Votes: 1,067

43. The Thick-Walled Room (1956)

110 min | Drama

A group of rank-and-file Japanese soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a whole.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Kô Mishima, Torahiko Hamada, Keiko Kishi, Toshiko Kobayashi

Votes: 642

44. Tokyo Drifter (1966)

Not Rated | 82 min | Action, Crime

After his gang disbands, a yakuza enforcer looks forward to life outside of organized crime but soon must become a drifter after his old rivals attempt to assassinate him.

Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Tetsuya Watari, Chieko Matsubara, Hideaki Nitani, Tamio Kawaji

Votes: 9,713

45. Anjô-ke no butôkai (1947)

89 min | Drama

After Japan's loss in the war, the wealthy, cultured, liberal Anjo family have to give up their mansion and their way of life. They hold one last ball at the house before leaving. The ... See full summary »

Director: Kôzaburô Yoshimura | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Yumeko Aizome, Osamu Takizawa, Masayuki Mori

Votes: 443

46. Cash Calls Hell (1966)

92 min | Action, Crime

Fresh out of prison, a broken man reluctantly takes a job to kill three men, but changes his mind when some gangsters target the same men. He then tries to find out why the men are being targeted in the first place.

Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Ichirô Nakatani, Hisashi Igawa, Kunie Tanaka

Votes: 385

47. The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

Not Rated | 130 min | Drama

In a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman is reaching close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.

Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Aki Takejô

Votes: 9,138

48. Ballad of Orin (1977)

109 min | Drama

A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed while she tours the country, even though the modern world imposes changes on people's behavior.

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Shima Iwashita, Yoshio Harada, Tomoko Naraoka, Kirin Kiki

Votes: 644

49. A Fugitive from the Past (1965)

183 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Three thieves escape from a heist, one of them killing the other two. He is sheltered by a prostitute and sought after by the police, but only after ten years his true motivation unravels.

Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Sachiko Hidari, Kôji Mitsui, Yoshi Katô

Votes: 1,298

50. The Makioka Sisters (1983)

Not Rated | 140 min | Drama, Romance

The orphaned Makioka sisters look for a husband for their third sister, Yukiko, as the rebellious youngest sister, Taeko, is kept waiting her turn.

Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Yoshiko Sakuma, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yûko Kotegawa, Jûzô Itami

Votes: 1,718

51. Being Two Isn't Easy (1962)

88 min | Comedy, Drama

Husband and wife Gorô and Chiyo, and their only offspring, an infant son named Tarô, go through the ups and downs of family life living in a cramped modern apartment building in suburban ... See full summary »

Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Fujiko Yamamoto, Hiroo Suzuki, Eiji Funakoshi, Kumeko Urabe

Votes: 485

52. Heroic Purgatory (1970)

Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy

An engineer's wife returns home with a lost teenager. A man posing as her dad tries to get her back, causing the engineer to recall his youth as a revolutionary, obscured by dreamlike disruptions of time and space, fantasy and reality.

Director: Yoshishige Yoshida | Stars: Mariko Okada, Kaizo Kamoda, Kazumi Tsutsui, Naho Kimura

Votes: 836

53. Bushido (1963)

122 min | Action, Drama

After a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he remembers his gruesome family history, which sees his ancestors sacrificing themselves for the sake of their cruel lords, and realizes that he's about to repeat their mistakes.

Director: Tadashi Imai | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Eijirô Tôno, Kyôko Kishida, Masayuki Mori

Votes: 507

54. Cold Fish (2010)

Not Rated | 146 min | Crime, Drama, Horror

66 Metascore

The lives of a bored suburban couple are changed forever when a seemingly nice old man gives their daughter a job at his fish store, and soon his gruesome hobbies are brought to light.

Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Denden, Asuka Kurosawa, Megumi Kagurazaka

Votes: 14,530

55. Love Letter (1995)

PG | 117 min | Drama, Romance

When exchanging letters two women discover new things about a man they knew.

Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Miho Nakayama, Etsushi Toyokawa, Bunjaku Han, Katsuyuki Shinohara

Votes: 11,009

56. Eureka (2000)

217 min | Drama

79 Metascore

The traumatized survivors of a murderous bus hijacking come together and take a road trip to attempt to overcome their damaged selves. Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose.

Director: Shinji Aoyama | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Masaru Miyazaki, Yôichirô Saitô

Votes: 4,343 | Gross: $0.05M

57. Mandei (2000)

100 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

A simple funeral turns a man's world topsy turvy.

Director: Sabu | Stars: Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Ren Ôsugi, Masanobu Andô

Votes: 2,393

58. Posutoman burûsu (1997)

110 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

A postman is mistaken for a dangerous criminal by the police.

Director: Sabu | Stars: Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Keisuke Horibe, Ren Ôsugi, Kyôko Tôyama

Votes: 1,890

59. Ima, ai ni yukimasu (2004)

119 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

A young woman returns from the dead to her guilt-ridden husband and son, but she cannot remember them.

Director: Nobuhiro Doi | Stars: Yûko Takeuchi, Shidô Nakamura, Akashi Takei, Karen Miyama

Votes: 5,022

60. Kiraware Matsuko no isshô (2006)

130 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical

When Matsuko is murdered, her nephew, Sho, gets to progressively unveil the many details of her mysterious past, discovering she wasn't just a forgotten outcast and had led an intriguing yet bizarre life.

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Miki Nakatani, Eita Nagayama, Yûsuke Iseya, Mikako Ichikawa

Votes: 8,746

61. Kamikaze Taxi (1995)

169 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A revenge-seeking man and his foolish friends plan to rob a yakuza gang.

Director: Masato Harada | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Kazuya Takahashi, Mickey Curtis, Reiko Kataoka

Votes: 723

62. Tokyo Family (2013)

146 min | Drama

In this update of Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story", a retired schoolteacher and his wife visit their three working children in modern-day Tokyo.

Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Isao Hashizume, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Masahiko Nishimura, Yui Natsukawa

Votes: 2,237

63. Key of Life (2012)

Not Rated | 128 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A failed actor switches identities with a stranger at a bath house thinking it is his way out of his life of misery but only to find himself filling the shoes of an elite assassin.

Director: Kenji Uchida | Stars: Masato Sakai, Teruyuki Kagawa, Ryôko Hirosue, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa

Votes: 2,903

64. Revenge (1964)

Not Rated | 104 min | Action, Drama

After killing a high-ranking officer in an illegal duel, a low-ranking samurai is declared insane and challenged to a fixed duel by the vengeful clan to which his dead opponent belonged to.

Director: Tadashi Imai | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Tetsurô Tanba, Yoshiko Mita, Takahiro Tamura

Votes: 519

65. The Great Killing (1964)

Not Rated | 118 min | Action, Drama

A Shogunate Elder connives to rule Japan by making his puppet, the Shogun's brother Tsunashige, the next Shogun. The best strategist in Japan, Yamaga, leads a plot to stop the Elder, but ... See full summary »

Director: Eiichi Kudô | Stars: Takayuki Akutagawa, Kôtarô Satomi, Chôichirô Kawarasaki, Mikijirô Hira

Votes: 395

66. Fort Graveyard (1965)

132 min | Drama, Music, War

In 1945, Japanese Army Sergeant Kosugi and a platoon of young green recruits must retake and defend a fort occupied by the Chinese forces.

Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Makoto Satô, Reiko Dan, Yûnosuke Itô

Votes: 300

67. A Certain Killer (1967)

82 min | Action, Crime

A former soldier, reduced to working at a restaurant post-war, becomes a contract killer for the yakuza gangs he's in contact with.

Director: Kazuo Mori | Stars: Raizô Ichikawa, Mikio Narita, Yumiko Nogawa, Asao Koike

Votes: 199

68. Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo (1935)

92 min | Comedy, Drama

A man gets rid of a cheap pot without knowing it contains a map to a treasure. As word spreads, many join in hunting it.

Director: Sadao Yamanaka | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Kiyozo, Kunitarô Sawamura, Reizaburô Yamamoto

Votes: 1,237

69. Adrift in Tokyo (2007)

101 min | Comedy

Takemura has no friends and no family. He's a law student but he doesn't have any particular ambitions. A thug offers to pay Takemura's considerable gambling debt if the student accompanies him on a trip across Tokyo.

Director: Satoshi Miki | Stars: Joe Odagiri, Tomokazu Miura, Kyôko Koizumi, Yuriko Yoshitaka

Votes: 3,089

70. Death Note (2006)

Not Rated | 126 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy

A battle between the world's two greatest minds begins when Light Yagami finds the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to rid the world of criminals.

Director: Shûsuke Kaneko | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Asaka Seto, Yû Kashii

Votes: 31,873

71. Death Note: The Last Name (2006)

Not Rated | 141 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama

Picking up where the first one leaves off, Light joins the task force searching for Kira in an effort to avert suspicion from himself---and get rid of L.

Director: Shûsuke Kaneko | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Erika Toda, Nana Katase

Votes: 17,621

72. Love Exposure (2008)

Unrated | 237 min | Action, Comedy, Drama

78 Metascore

A bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.

Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Sakura Andô, Yutaka Shimizu

Votes: 15,916

73. Rhapsody in August (1991)

PG | 98 min | Drama, War

Three generations' responses to the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Sachiko Murase, Richard Gere, Hisashi Igawa, Narumi Kayashima

Votes: 7,554 | Gross: $0.52M

74. Branded to Kill (1967)

Not Rated | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama

After a botched assignment, a rice-fetishizing hitman finds himself in conflict with his organization, and one mysterious, dangerous fellow-hitman in particular.

Director: Seijun Suzuki | Stars: Jô Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, Annu Mari, Kôji Nanbara

Votes: 10,211

75. Vengeance Is Mine (1979)

Not Rated | 139 min | Crime, Drama

85 Metascore

Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.

Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako, Mitsuko Baishô

Votes: 7,299

76. Air Doll (2009)

Unrated | 125 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

65 Metascore

A life-size blow-up doll develops a soul and falls in love with a video store clerk.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Bae Doona, Arata Iura, Itsuji Itao, Joe Odagiri

Votes: 8,138

77. 9 Souls (2003)

120 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime

Nine convicts escape from prison; most are convicted murderers. They commandeer a van from a strip club.

Director: Toshiaki Toyoda | Stars: Yoshio Harada, Ryûhei Matsuda, Michio Akiyama, Yû Fujiki

Votes: 1,913

78. A Taxing Woman (1987)

127 min | Comedy, Crime

If tax evasion is an art, wheeler-dealer Hideki Gondo is Rembrandt. And so, a determined taxing woman gets the tough assignment of trying to catch him.

Director: Jûzô Itami | Stars: Nobuko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Masahiko Tsugawa, Yasuo Daichi

Votes: 2,246

79. Bunny Drop (2011)

114 min | Comedy, Drama

A man adopts his six-year-old aunt and raises her as his own kid.

Director: Sabu | Stars: Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Karina, Mana Ashida, Mirei Kiritani

Votes: 1,802

80. Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974)

104 min | Drama, Fantasy

A young boys' coming of age tale set in a strange, carnivalesque village becomes the recreation of a memory that the director has twenty years later.

Director: Shûji Terayama | Stars: Kaoru Yachigusa, Keiko Niitaka, Masumi Harukawa, Kan Mikami

Votes: 2,411

81. 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: 359

82. Hunter in the Dark (1979)

Not Rated | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

An aging Yakuza boss in the the late 18th century runs a thriving lantern and silk dying business. However, he is also a Hunter in the Dark, an shady underworld figure who unravels a ... See full summary »

Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tetsurô Tanba, Yoshio Harada, Ayumi Ishida

Votes: 580

83. Our Little Sister (2015)

PG | 127 min | Drama, Family

75 Metascore

Three sisters who live in their grandmother's home invite their thirteen-year-old half sister, whom they have just met, to join them.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose

Votes: 16,903 | Gross: $0.46M

84. Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate (1957)

Not Rated | 110 min | Comedy, Drama

In the last days of the Shogunate, a resourceful grifter seeks to outwit competing prostitutes, rebellious samurai and other inhabitants of a brothel in order to survive the hardened times.

Director: Yûzô Kawashima | Stars: Furankî Sakai, Sachiko Hidari, Yôko Minamida, Yûjirô Ishihara

Votes: 1,326

85. Women of the Night (1948)

75 min | Drama

A mistress of a drug dealer in post-war Japan is shocked when she discovers that he is having an affair with her sister.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Sanae Takasugi, Tomie Tsunoda, Mitsuo Nagata

Votes: 1,500

86. 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: 4,575

87. Utamaro and His Five Women (1946)

106 min | Drama

Utamaro is a great artist who lives to create portraits of beautiful women, using the brothels of Tokyo to provide his models.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Minosuke Bandô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Kôtarô Bandô, Hiroko Kawasaki

Votes: 1,423

88. Anma to onna (1938)

66 min | Drama

Two blind masseurs travel to a mountain retreat. One of them falls for a visiting lady from Tokyo and investigates a series of thefts.

Director: Hiroshi Shimizu | Stars: Mieko Takamine, Shin Tokudaiji, Shin'ichi Himori, Jun Yokoyama

Votes: 814

89. Yôkihi (1955)

Not Rated | 98 min | Drama, History, Romance

In 8th-century China, the Emperor is grieving over the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their influence over the ... See full summary »

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Sô Yamamura, Eitarô Shindô

Votes: 2,062

90. The World of Kanako (2014)

Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

55 Metascore

As former detective Akikazu searches for his missing daughter, Kanako, he soon learns she has a mysterious secret life.

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Nana Komatsu, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Hiroya Shimizu

Votes: 5,896 | Gross: $0.02M

91. Lesson of the Evil (2012)

Unrated | 129 min | Horror, Thriller

A popular high school teacher concocts an extreme plan to deal with the rise of bullying and bad behavior among the student body.

Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Fumi Nikaidô, Takehiro Hira, Hideaki Itô, Shôta Sometani

Votes: 6,796

92. Lady Snowblood (1973)

Not Rated | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama

80 Metascore

A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.

Director: Toshiya Fujita | Stars: Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza

Votes: 16,309

93. Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, Thriller

To avoid a death sentence for her prior acts of bloodshed, the vengeful swordswoman Lady Snowblood is conscripted by the Japanese Secret Police to assassinate political dissidents.

Director: Toshiya Fujita | Stars: Meiko Kaji, Jûzô Itami, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Yoshio Harada

Votes: 4,216

94. Demons (1971)

134 min | Drama, Horror

After being robbed by a geisha, a ronin warrior carves a bloody path to seek revenge.

Director: Toshio Matsumoto | Stars: Katsuo Nakamura, Jûrô Kara, Yasuko Sanjo, Masao Imafuku

Votes: 2,862

95. Gan (1953)

104 min | Drama, Romance

A lowly divorcee is tricked into becoming the mistress of a despised moneylender but soon falls in love with a student.

Director: Shirô Toyoda | Stars: Hideko Takamine, Hiroshi Akutagawa, Jûkichi Uno, Eijirô Tôno

Votes: 325

96. Children of Hiroshima (1952)

Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, War

86 Metascore

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: 1,372

97. Snow Country (1957)

133 min | Drama, Romance

It's a man's world. Shimamura, an artist, comes to this snowbound town to rejuvenate himself. He connects with Komako, a geisha he met on a previous trip, and it seems like love. She's the ... See full summary »

Director: Shirô Toyoda | Stars: Ryô Ikebe, Keiko Kishi, Kaoru Yachigusa, Akira Kubo

Votes: 177

98. The Human Bullet (1968)

116 min | Drama, War

During World War II, a Japanese soldier finds himself assigned to a kamikaze mission against a U.S. battleship.

Director: Kihachi Okamoto | Stars: Minori Terada, Naoko Ôtani, Yûnosuke Itô, Shinsuke Achiwa

Votes: 478

99. Scattered Clouds (1967)

108 min | Drama, Romance

A man falls in love with the widow of a man he killed in a car accident. Eventually she falls in love with him in return.

Director: Mikio Naruse | Stars: Yûzô Kayama, Yôko Tsukasa, Mitsuko Kusabue, Mitsuko Mori

Votes: 1,341

100. Kiri no hata (1965)

111 min | Crime, Drama

Kiriko attempts to hire a well-known lawyer to defend her brother's murder case. The lawyer turns Kiriko down as she cannot afford him. Some time later, Kiriko encounters the lawyer again, but this time it is he who needs her help.

Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Chieko Baishô, Osamu Takizawa, Michiyo Aratama, Yûsuke Kawazu

Votes: 176



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