Eitarô Shindô

In mediaeval Japan a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him... (imdb)

The tale of a 17th century samurai's daughter. (imdb)

In the post-war Gion district of Kyoto, the geisha Miyoharu agrees to apprentice the 16 year-old Eiko... (imdb)

In 17th century Kyoto, Osan is married to Ishun, a wealthy miserly scroll-maker. When Osan is falsely accused of having an affair with the best worker... (imdb)

After a battle with rival criminals, a small-time gangster is treated by an alcoholic doctor in post-war Japan. The doctor diagnoses the young gangster's tuberculosis, and convinces him to begin treatment for it. The two enjoy an uneasy friendship until the gangster's former boss is released from prison and seeks to take over his gang once again. The ailing young man loses his status as gang boss and becomes ostracised, and eventually confronts his former boss in a battle to the death. (imdb)

Ayako becomes the mistress of her boss, Mr. Asai, so she can pay her father's debt, and prevent him from going to prison for embezzlement. She also sends money to her brother Hiroshi to pay his university tuition, but her father intercepts it. She tricks Mr. Fujino into giving her money so that she can marry her boyfriend Nishimura, but Fujino calls in the police. (imdb)

In eighth 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 court. General An Lushan finds a distant relative working in their kitchen whom they groom to present to the Emperor... (imdb)

Five prostitutes work at Dreamland, in Tokyo's Yoshiwara district. As the Diet considers a ban on prostitution, the women's daily dramas play out... (imdb)

Shinnosuke is introduced to Shizu as a prospective marriage partner, 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 her husband's family. Oyu convinces Shinnosuke and Shizu to marry so that she can remain close to Shinnosuke. (imdb)

After an attempted suicide attempt, Yukiko (Kuga) spends some time recovering at Kyoto with her mother, Hatsuko (Tanaka). However, their familial home is in fact a geisha house, and Hatsuko is the strong-willed Madame of this institute. Through this mother-daughter relationship, and the romantic entanglements that arise when both find themselves in love with Dr. Matoba (Otani), Mizoguchi explores generational conflicts and social mores whilst paying an effective tribute to the resilience of femininity in contemporary Japan.

Umekichi, a geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto, feels obliged to help her lover Furusawa when he asks to stay with her after becoming bankrupt and leaving his wife. However her younger sister Omocha tells her she is wasting her time and money on a loser. She thinks that they should both find wealthy patrons to support them. Omocha therefore tries various schemes to get rid of Furusawa, and set themselves up with better patrons. (imdb)

About a woman trapped into upholding the family tradition and moral values just after the end of WW2.

a subversive twist on the samurai genre that begins with a controlled, formally brilliant sequence evoking 17th-century travelers on their way to imperial Edo and climaxes with a chaotic explosion of long-delayed violence. (nytimes)

When the Tokugawa Shogunate ruled the land, Tatsuno castle in Wakisaka Clan's home of Harima held an established custom: an inspection of the arms warehouse. During one of these inspections, government inspector Magodayu Okuno finds a slight bit of dirt on the tip of a spear, which sparks an argument with a low-ranking member of the Wakisaka Clan.

Set in the Osaka theater world, the story is dominated by a self-righteous troupe leader (Roppa Furukawa) who bravely risks his popularity by selecting only plays that support the Japanese military cause, and who decides to break up the love affair between his star actor (Kazuo Hasegawa) and a shamisen player (Isuzu Yamada) in order to purify the actor's commitment to his craft. (Dan Sallitt)

Based on an original story by Ishizaka Yojiro, the film has a reflexive element by which it comments on its own process of taking the materials of everyday life and transforming them into narrative. This realist conceit is enhanced by the rural setting, which is photographed with some care, including the mountainous landscapes and the farmhouse interiors. (Catherine Russell)

Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka (1959) places Chikamatsu, the author of the original play, as a character in the drama. Relatively classical at first, the film grows increasingly self-conscious as it proceeds. Chikamatsu, initially an observer taking inspiration for his writing from the events he views, begins eventually to intervene in events, saving the heroine from suicide, substituting a gentler ending for the tragedy which seems likely. (Sense of Cinema)

In 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi concerted with Tokugawa Ieyasu and attacked the army of the Hojo Clan. Confronted as such, the Hojo army focused their clan at Odawara Castle, and posted an attacking force along the mountains of Hakone. Against this backdrop is one of the best movies to come out of Toei Studios during the Golden Age. A lone swordsman named Mayadono Kyonosuke sets out to right an injustice from 5 years before. (kurotokagi)

Two hostile clans had reached an artificial reconciliation which involves the marriage of a person from each family. The boy's father is away to serve the emperor, and his highly despotic mother has the absolute power. Typical of the atmosphere are the boy's words to her: "If mother was not my mother I would hate her." "If father was not my father I would hate him." The boy eventually finds a poor peasant girl and has a beautiful love affair. (imdb)

Omnibus of love stories from 1947 directed by famous directors, featuring big stars. (The Movie Database)

The story of Yoshinaka and the three women who love him. (The Movie Database)

A clumsy young Japanese aristocrat proves his worth by rescuing kidnapped heiresses. None of the fickle women want to marry the man until they are kidnapped a second time. (google)

Toei's 10th anniversary film, featuring an all-star cast from the golden movie era of the 1960s. A famous story of the 47 loyal samurai. When Lord Asano is unjustly executed, his loyal retainers strike back for revenge. (The Movie Database)

It was supposed to be about a love story, but it was and was not. An aircraft mechanic working for the government is matched by his boss with the latter man's daughter (Setsuko Hara) who is both beautiful and aggressive. Yet, he picks a woman who is less assertive as his bride. (imdb)

Two British brothers who are making money for their homeland are meeting buyers for opium in China. There is a police force to counter the dealers, but is not only ineffectual, but also corrupt and dealing in narcotics itself. Confronting the situation the government assigns an incognito bureaucrat to the issue. He confronts and arrests the police, but the bulk of the drugs is with the Britons. (imdb)

In a village subsisting on it herring fishery, a one-eyed criminal named Jakoman terrorizes the inhabitants. One of them, the son of the head of one of the fish companies by the name of Tetsu, decides to overthrow Jakoman and his cohorts. (imdb)

A family of weavers deals with an uncertain future after the father commits suicide. (imdb)

Framed by his enemies, Manbe finds himself imprisoned for a murder he didn't commit. His only hope lies with his daughter Yuki who takes it upon herself to clear his name. A Great story, and a marvelous performance (as always!) by screen legend, Misora Hibari. (themoviedb)

Umon goes on an investigation to unveil the murderer known as Red Lizard. (themoviedb)

Detective Umon's services are called upon when ronin Yaichiro is killed with a peculiar weapon, a stone wrapped in a towel. (themoviedb)

Story of a beautiful blind daughter of a wealthy businessman who falls in love with a servant.

A pair of sisters make a go at life in post-WWII Kyoto; one as a geisha, the other as an office worker.

All is not well in a small fishing village not far from Edo. Mysterious goings-on is happening at Echigoya's Red Crane Mansion, and when Young Lord comes to relax he finds no peace until he can unravel the mystery rooted in the past when a beautiful samurai princess prayed for a handsome bridegroom to take her away. When a body turns up on the riverbank it is high time for Young Lord to delve into the case, while avoiding dangerous gangsters who have taken over the town...

One of Japan's most enduring stories is the true-life yakuza boss Jirocho of Shimizu and his gang as they took over the Tokaido Highroad and went on to everlasting fame. Many of the gang members have become household names although their backgrounds and how they came to join the group are mostly lost in the mists of a time gone by. This is the tale of Masa, who arrived in Shimizu Port hungry and down on his luck.

Based on the book Heaven and Maiko by Yoshiya Nobuko, it is the story of two girls of different family backgrounds in Osaka.

One month has passed since Japan plunged into the Pacific War, but it has not yet touched the suburban life. The state of the suburbs where you can see from the train window is relaxing. It is not much different from now. Ms. Takamine, a female student, goes hiking with some of her colleagues in the suburbs.

It's the waterfront in Osaka, ten years after the Meiji Restoration. Some people have made fortunes in new technologies like petroleum and steam boats. Now, however, some people are losing fortunes. The individuals will survive, but will they lead decent lives, or will they go the way of the samurai, who were trying their last rebellion against the Tokyo government at this time?

During the Russian Civil War, Grigori Sajapin is an opera singer in a name-disguised Harbin. He has an adopted daughter, Shirley Yamaguchi. whose real father has been looking for her.... but she knows no father save Sajapan. Because of the association of opera with the old Russia, Sajapin goes through some hard times, but Miss Yamaguchi won't even think of leaving him, despite emissaries from her father who make the offer.

Umon’s services are called upon when innocent bystanders, Kayo and Minokichi, along with the Ronin, Gontaro are mistakenly identified as suspects in several recent murder cases. To prove their innocence and uncover the truth, Umon launches his own investigation.

A traditional impersonator of females in a kabuki troupe (a yukinojo) he courts and takes revenge from the three nobles who twenty years ago forced his parents to commit suicide.

Jiromaru (Kinnosuke Nakamura) investigates the dark "Ghost Ship" in search of his father. Meanwhile, Princess Yuki (Yumiko Hasegawa) and Chacha (Eiko Maruyama) are kidnapped by pirates, so after dedicating himself to rescuing them for the second time, he decides to accept his grandfather's challenge to become a navigator, just like his deceased father.

A ghost story about a woman who dies a violent death and appears to the man she loves as a vengeful spirit. This film marked the turning point in Daiei’s shift in emphasis from thrillers to ghost stories.