Fujio Suga

Oshima's first film does a wonderful job portraying the lives of those left behind when Japan's economy was on the upswing. It shows the thick glass walls of class distinction and the true difficulty of both sides being able to come to terms with each other. (imdb)

Towards the end of the Tenmon Era, Shogun Ashikaga`s powers were weakening by the day and many were there who planned to overthrow him. It was the beginning of the Sengoku (Warring States) period. As the movie begins, Kasumi Kanbei is testing his gunpowder in a small house when he senses men approaching. He hides his son Kojiro and the gunpowder. As the men enter, he kills two and fights the rest. One of the attackers cuts off Kanbei`s arm with a kusarigama (sickle and chain weapon). (shinobinomono.oninohana.com)

When the lord of clan has a son, the son will take his father's place. However, as the child gets older, the clan lord realizes that he is not the father of the child, and decides to have him murdered. Saved by a servant, the son is put into hiding and believed to be dead. So when his father dies, the son decides to claim what is rightfully his, namely, the leadership of the clan. The clan, however, has different ideas, so the young man decides to let his sword reason with his would be usurpers.

SINCERE HEART (1953, aka MAGOKORO) was Masaki Kobayashi's second film as a director -- but as with his first, YOUTH OF THE SON, it is something of a hybrid work, influenced heavily by his longtime mentor Keisuke Kinoshita, who wrote the screenplay. The resulting film is a deeply passionate and sentimental drama about a young student (Akira Inshihama) who falls into a hopeless romantic attraction to an invalid girl (Keiko Awaji) whom he can only see from afar. (Hulu)

A pitiless take on Japan's professional baseball industry. An excoriation of the inhumanity bred by a mercenary, bribery-fueled business, it follows the sharklike maneuvers of a scout dead set on signing a promising athlete to the team the Toyo Flowers. (criterion.com)

Before he portrayed the legendary blind swordsman, Zatoichi, Shintaro Katsu played Suganoichi, a blind court masseur with a dark side. An outcast since birth, he learned from a young age that the only way to get ahead was to take advantage of others. Now an expert con-artist with a heart of coal, Suganoichi is on a vile quest for power, and everyone else will suffer along the way! (animeigo.com)

One of Japan's most popular stories is the tale of Kutsukake Tokijiro, a traveling gambler who finds that he must take care of the wife and child of a yakuza he had been forced by the code of the gamblers to fight man to man. Tokijiro, having learned the true nature of the boss to whom he was obligated for having spent a night and eaten at the gang's headquarters takes up arms against them in a running battle fought across the back roads of the entire nation.

This early Kenji Misumi picture recounts the story of a band of samurai loyal to the Shogunate, the Shinsengumi, saving Kyoto from a conspiracy of Imperialists. (imdb)

The Fencing Master tells the story of a man trying to survive as the only world he knows is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Danpei Ichikawa lives for swordfighting - he was once a renowned kabuki swordfight choreographer, and as the Chairman of the New National Theatre Company, he wants nothing more than to choreograph the swordfights for the modern plays put on by the company. (heroic-cinema.com)

Set in the 1860s, the final years of the Tokugawa Shogunate, The Fireflies focuses on Tose (Awashima Chikage), the mistress of the Teradaya, a small inn in the Kyoto suburb of Fushimi.

Having made a fortune in the Russo-Japanese War, the Kumatora Family migrates to Kyushu to take on a military-related job. There they encounter the evil and malicious interference of the Chindai family of Kumamoto, and Boss Kumatora boldly fights back with the help of O'Ryu the Red Peony. (imdb)

The Silk Hat Boss becomes involved in a car imports business during his trip to Atami. (thehawaiiherald.com)

After moving in to their dream home, newlyweds decide to rent out their second floor to save money. They soon discover the woe of being landlords.

Part 1 in this four-part mystery adventure, detective Kogoro Akechi and the members of the Boy Detectives Club must capture the Bronze Monster, a giant metal monster that steals valuable clocks.

Part 2 in this four-part mystery adventure, detective Kogoro Akechi and the members of the Boy Detectives Club must capture the Bronze Monster, a giant metal monster that steals valuable clocks.

Part 3 in this four-part mystery adventure, detective Kogoro Akechi and the members of the Boy Detectives Club must capture the Bronze Monster, a giant metal monster that steals valuable clocks.

The final part in this four-part mystery-adventure, detective Kogoro Akechi and the members of the Boy Detectives Club must capture the Bronze Monster, a giant metal monster that steals valuable clocks.

Ronin samurai Ibuki-san enters a town and sells his skills to the warring families. He falls in love with the beautiful horse stable owner but like all heroes, cannot stay.

Mourning the death of her boyfriend, Yukiko wanders aimlessly from one city to another. During her mourning, she becomes addicted to gambling. One day, a man who resembles her deceased lover asks for help. He's being pursued by a dangerous gang of yakuza.

15th in the 17 film Daiei "Woman Gambler" series.

A detective film by Nobuhiko Ōbayashi. Made for TV.

The story of Sasaki Kojiro, a young swordsman, and his quest to train under master Seigen and develop his own style.