Nihon
by dudu_camelo | created - 18 Aug 2014 | updated - 28 Aug 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Harakiri (1962)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba
Votes: 68,757
2. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 367,009 | Gross: $0.27M
3. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Not Rated | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara
Votes: 42,271
4. Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945)
Not Rated | 83 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Sugata returns to prove his judo mastery in a match against Western opponents.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Denjirô Ôkôchi, Susumu Fujita, Ryûnosuke Tsukigata, Akitake Kôno
Votes: 2,707
5. To Live (1952)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama
A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka
Votes: 87,630 | Gross: $0.06M
6. Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Not Rated | 124 min | Drama
In medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa, Eitarô Shindô
Votes: 18,240
7. Ichi the Killer (2001)
R | 129 min | Action, Crime, Drama
As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Tadanobu Asano, Nao Ômori, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Paulyn Sun
Votes: 60,072 | Gross: $0.02M
8. Audition (1999)
R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
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: 89,297
9. Tokyo Tribe (2014)
R | 116 min | Action, Musical
In an alternate Japan, territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes. Merra, leader of the Wu-Ronz tribe of Bukuro crosses the line to conquer all of Tokyo. The war begins.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Ryohei Suzuki, Young Dais, Nana Seino, Shunsuke Daitô
Votes: 3,647
10. Love Exposure (2008)
Unrated | 237 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
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: 15,919
11. Suicide Club (2001)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A detective is trying to find the cause of a string of suicides.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Masatoshi Nagase, Mai Hosho, Tamao Satô
Votes: 22,229
12. Noriko's Dinner Table (2005)
Not Rated | 159 min | Drama, Horror
A teenager called Noriko Shimabara runs away from her family in Tokoyama, to meet Kumiko, the leader of an Internet BBS, Haikyo.com. She becomes involved with Kumiko's "family circle", ... See full summary »
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Kazue Fukiishi, Tsugumi, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Shirô Namiki
Votes: 4,993
13. Cold Fish (2010)
Not Rated | 146 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
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: 14,536
14. The World of Kanako (2014)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
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: 5,897 | Gross: $0.02M
15. Goemon (2009)
128 min | Action, Drama, History
Based on a Japanese folk legend that echoes the tale of Robin Hood, this ninja thriller follows the exploits of Goemon Ishikawa (Yôsuke Eguchi), who leaves his fighting clan after its chief... See full summary »
Director: Kazuaki Kiriya | Stars: Yôsuke Eguchi, Takao Osawa, Ryôko Hirosue, Jun Kaname
Votes: 5,551
16. Ichi (2008)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Ichi is a blind woman who roams about town with her shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese guitar), but she has exceptional sword skills with which she fights off yakuza and other villains.
Director: Fumihiko Sori | Stars: Haruka Ayase, Shidô Nakamura, Yôsuke Kubozuka, Takao Osawa
Votes: 3,979
17. Azumi (2003)
Not Rated | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Raised to deal in cold blooded death, the teenage assassin girl Azumi must defeat three evil warlords while also battling her own heart.
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura | Stars: Aya Ueto, Kenji Kohashi, Hiroki Narimiya, Takatoshi Kaneko
Votes: 15,160
18. The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
R | 100 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A photographer's obsessive pursuit of dark subject matter leads him into the path of a serial killer who stalks late night commuters, ultimately butchering them in the most gruesome ways.
Director: Ryûhei Kitamura | Stars: Vinnie Jones, Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields
Votes: 71,152 | Gross: $0.08M
19. 13 Assassins (2010)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Yûsuke Iseya, Ikki Sawamura
Votes: 68,636 | Gross: $0.80M
20. The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)
R | 116 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Yui Natsukawa, Michiyo Yasuda
Votes: 51,552 | Gross: $0.85M
21. Kikujiro (1999)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, Comedy
A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto, The Great Gidayû
Votes: 22,180 | Gross: $0.20M
22. Love and Honor (2006)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, History, Romance
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Takuya Kimura, Rei Dan, Mitsugorô Bandô, Takashi Sasano
Votes: 4,287 | Gross: $0.02M
23. The Steel Edge of Revenge (1969)
PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tetsurô Tanba, Yôko Tsukasa, Ruriko Asaoka
Votes: 2,618
24. When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2002)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama, History
A samurai goes to extraordinary lengths to provide for his family.
Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Kiichi Nakai, Kôichi Satô, Yui Natsukawa, Takehiro Murata
Votes: 5,360
25. Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama
A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Munetaka Aoki, Naoto Takenaka, Hikari Mitsushima
Votes: 9,159 | Gross: $0.08M
26. 13 Assassins (1963)
Not Rated | 125 min | Adventure, Action
A group of samurai plan to assassinate a sadistic feudal lord.
Director: Eiichi Kudô | Stars: Takayuki Akutagawa, Chiezô Kataoka, Kôtarô Satomi, Ryôhei Uchida
Votes: 1,045
27. Lady Snowblood (1973)
Not Rated | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
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: 16,314
28. Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)
Not Rated | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being used and betrayed by the detective she had fallen in love with, young Matsu is sent to a female prison full of sadistic guards and disobedient prisoners.
Director: Shun'ya Itô | Stars: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Yayoi Watanabe, Yôko Mihara
Votes: 4,875
29. Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After spending a year in solitary confinement, Matsu escapes from prison with six more convicts, followed by the guards led by the vengeful warden who wants her dead at all costs.
Director: Shun'ya Itô | Stars: Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Yukie Kagawa, Kayoko Shiraishi
Votes: 3,378
30. All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
Unrated | 146 min | Crime, Drama, Music
The problematic lives of teenager students for whom the singer Lily Chou-Chou's dreamy music is the only way to escape an alienating, violent and insensitive society.
Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Hayato Ichihara, Shûgo Oshinari, Ayumi Ito, Takao Osawa
Votes: 11,197 | Gross: $0.02M
31. Blue Spring (2001)
83 min | Drama
A group of a run-down Tokyo high school students face the struggles of growing up, growing apart from their friends and worrying about their future, while living in a highly violent environment.
Director: Toshiaki Toyoda | Stars: Ryûhei Matsuda, Hirofumi Arai, Sôsuke Takaoka, Yûsuke Ôshiba
Votes: 4,387
32. The Taste of Tea (2004)
143 min | Comedy, Fantasy
A spell of time of a rural family's slightly surreal life.
Director: Katsuhito Ishii | Stars: Maya Banno, Takahiro Satô, Tadanobu Asano, Satomi Tezuka
Votes: 7,199
33. 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
34. Fish Story (2009)
113 min | Action, Comedy, Music
Several seemingly unrelated but surprisingly intertwined tales reveal how a Japanese band that independently invented punk rock in 1975 is, 37 years later, connected to a comet that is about to destroy the world.
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura | Stars: Atsushi Itô, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Noriko Eguchi, Hidekazu Mashima
Votes: 3,433
35. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972)
Not Rated | 84 min | Action, Adventure
The story of a Ronin (i.e. a masterless samurai) who wanders the countryside of Japan with his small child, having various adventures.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Fumio Watanabe, Gô Katô, Tomoko Mayama
Votes: 8,884
36. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)
Not Rated | 81 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Trailed by a clan of female ninja, Ogami is paid to assassinate a clan traitor accompanied by three killers known as the Gods of Death.
Director: Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ôki, Akiji Kobayashi
Votes: 6,861
37. I Am a Hero (2015)
TV-MA | 126 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
A manga artist assistant is surprised by a zombie apocalypse.
Director: Shinsuke Sato | Stars: Yô Ôizumi, Kasumi Arimura, Masami Nagasawa, Hisashi Yoshizawa
Votes: 7,788
38. Himeanole (2016)
99 min | Crime, Thriller
Getting two stories in one, Himeanôru depicts the story of co-workers where one of them is gunning to make a cafe's waitress his. When the co-worker visits the said cafe to see the waitress... See full summary »
Director: Keisuke Yoshida | Stars: Gô Morita, Gaku Hamada, Aimi Satsukawa, Tsuyoshi Muro
Votes: 776
39. A Snake of June (2002)
R | 77 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A woman is being stalked by a stranger. His stalking turns to blackmail when he sends her copies of photos of her in an embarrassing position. Now he controls her and she has to do anything he says. Anything.
Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Asuka Kurosawa, Yûji Kôtari, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Yukino Asai
Votes: 5,269
40. Tokyo Fist (1995)
Not Rated | 87 min | Action, Drama, Horror
Suspecting that his childhood friend, a professional boxer, is having a love affair with his fiancée, a businessman starts training rigorously in order to take him down.
Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Kaori Fujii, Shin'ya Tsukamoto, Kôji Tsukamoto, Naomasa Musaka
Votes: 4,016
41. Swallowtail Butterfly (1996)
148 min | Crime, Drama
The struggles of a group of immigrant outcasts living in an alternative-future, xenophobic Japanese metropolis.
Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Hiroshi Mikami, Chara, Ayumi Ito, Yôsuke Eguchi
Votes: 4,423
42. Hana and Alice (2004)
135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When two best friends develop a crush on the same boy, they develop a plan to trick him into dating them.
Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Anne Suzuki, Yû Aoi, Tomohiro Kaku, Sei Hiraizumi
Votes: 4,912
43. 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: 11,011
44. 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
45. Confessions (2010)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
A psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 42,088
46. Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Not Rated | 94 min | Action, Drama
When poor peasants kidnap a magistrate's daughter to coerce him into reducing their unfair taxes, a wandering ronin decides to give them some help.
Director: Hideo Gosha | Stars: Tetsurô Tanba, Isamu Nagato, Mikijirô Hira, Miyuki Kuwano
Votes: 3,993
47. Tony Takitani (2004)
75 min | Drama
When technical illustrator Tony Takitani asks his wife to resist her all-consuming obsession for designer clothes, the consequences are tragic.
Director: Jun Ichikawa | Stars: Issei Ogata, Rie Miyazawa, Shinohara Takahumi, Hidetoshi Nishijima
Votes: 4,942
48. Shogun Assassin (1980)
R | 85 min | Action, Adventure
When the wife of the Shogun's Decapitator is murdered and he is ordered to commit suicide by the paranoid Shogun, he and his four-year-old son escape and become assassins for hire, embarking on a journey of blood and violent death.
Directors: Robert Houston, Kenji Misumi | Stars: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Minoru Ôki, Shôgen Nitta
Votes: 11,247
49. High and Low (1963)
Not Rated | 143 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An executive of a Yokohama shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yutaka Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyôko Kagawa
Votes: 53,257
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