Tsutomu Yamazaki

When a powerful warlord in medieval Japan dies, a poor thief recruited to impersonate him finds difficulty living up to his role and clashes with the spirit of the warlord during turbulent times.

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.

In a charity hospital, a hard-bitten but honorable older doctor, Dr. Niide, takes a young intern under his guidance through the course of a number of difficult cases. (imdb)

In 1980s Kyushu, two teenagers fell in love, and exchanged their secrets and thoughts by way of sending tape recordings to each other. More than a decade later, the boy (now grown-up and bittered) rediscovers the last recording of his long-dead lover's voice. Her words trigger a series of flashbacks illustrating the joyful beginning and tragic end of their relationship. (imdb)

Ryoko Itakura is a government tax agent who has just landed a big promotion. Her first assignment is to catch wheeler-dealer Hideki Gondo. She has a tough job, since in Japan tax evasion is an art and Gondo is, in effect, Rembrandt. Her job is complicated by a growing sympathy for the rogue and by political pressure to lay off. (imdb)

A wild - at times bloody - story about a guy from the North Korean community in Japan, who tries to find out what his roots are and where he belongs to. Sugihara speaks Japanese, he looks like an ordinary Japanese punk and has Japanese friends - but he is different... (IMDB Comments)

Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan's most powerful warlord, unifying the country. Rikyu, through the tea ceremony and floral arrangements, tempers his lord, helping Hideyoshi focus on a single flower or be in a simple room where the shape of a cup is of most importance... (imdb)

What's a guy to do when he loves guns, particularly American ones featured in movies, but he lives in a country where it's illegal to own one. Well, he ends up being sent to an institution that is more like a military academy than US prison. This very funny film studies the everyday obsessions of prisoners who have nothing left to do during their days but wonder about their next meal or contemplate their next soak in the tub..... (imdb)

The life history of a woman who faced disillusion from her husband and disappointment from her son, but lives to welcome her grandson. (bfi.org.uk)

In a tale that is visually stunning in certain segments, director Shuji Terayama (who died before this movie was released) has woven a spell of magic and social reprobation around the forbidden love of two cousins. Su-e and her cousin Sutekichi, a descendant of one of the village clans, live together but have been forbidden by her father to have sexual contact. Like other villagers, he believes that if cousins have children together, the children will suffer serious birth defects. (All Movie Guide)

A failed cellist connects with his inner undertaker and his rural hometown in this tonally eccentric, lushly scored, movingly funny drama. Crushed at the breakup of his Tokyo orchestra, Daigo retreats to his picturesque northern Japan hometown, with adoring wife Mika in tow, to find his true calling. (psfilmfest.org)

Hiroshi, who has never known his father, is a graduate from a prestigious university, and has a high-flying club job in the world of stocks and shares. Happily married to a beautiful wife, with a son he dotes on, his life appears to be the epitome of success for a Japanese salaryman. One evening, on his way home, he is accosted by a raggedy man who claims to be his father. (imdb)

At the beginning of the film the father-in-law of the protagonist dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. The remainder of the film is episodic, moving from one incident to another over the course of the three-day funeral, which is held (as is customary) in the home. (imdb)

An American woman is stranded in Tokyo after breaking up with her boyfriend. Searching for direction in life, she trains to be a râmen chef under a tyrannical Japanese master.

A detective is charged with investigating a bank corruption scandal.

Outside of a small village in Japan, a mysterious pond is inhabited by mythic creatures. Their story is of revenge, tragedy, and the power of real love. A classical tale which translates wonderfully to film. (imdb)

The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who wants to learn the new art of judo. A wise teacher reveals to Sanshiro that judo is not merely a means of combat nor a demonstration of physical skill, but an art which reveals the artist to himself. (imdb)

The seventh in the shocking "Jingi Naki Tatakai" movie series, which exposes the true lives of the yakuza that is hidden by a mask of "jingi". The next stage of this continuing drama is the Kanmon Channel where the Owada and the Kyoei groups are battling for territorial rights and drug smuggling. The Owada sends their man, Tetsu, and his friend Shuji to kill the Kyoei boss. With the promise of fame and riches, Shuji takes the fall and goes to jail for 7 years. (AT)

In a coastal cottage with a view of the setting sun, Kaoru, a wealthy woman who is gradually losing her youth, has retired from city and lives a quiet life. She looks after an old, blind and dumb man as if he were an insect or a domestic animal, or a child. As he can do nothing for himself, she feeds him and takes him for walks. (mubi.com)

Tetsuya Nakajima directs this black comedy about Sunday, that day of rest. Constructed like Grand Hotel, the film interweaves the lives of an assorted collection of oddball Tokyoites living in the same apartment building. (KG)

Based on the 1995 novel by Itami's brother in law and Nobel Prize-winning author Kenzaburo Oe, this film adaptation centers on the exploits of Iiyo (Atsura Watabe), a mentally challenged, but musically gifted teen, and Maa (Hinako Saeki), the boy's artistic younger sister who is put in charge of caring for her sibling after their parents go to Australia. Loosely based on the real life experiences of Kenzaburo's Oe's handicapped son. (myac.asia)

Based on a novel by Kazuhiro Kiuchi, "Wara no Tate" follows Kunihide Kiyomaru, a man suspected of killing the granddaughter of a powerful man in Japanese politics, who begins to fear for his life after an ad is placed in three big Japanese newspapers offering one billion yen to the person who can capture and kill him. (playlist.com)

Tora-san hears that his mother is still alive and returns to Tokyo to track her down. He discovers that she is a geisha who had had only a brief affair with his father. While visiting the family, he falls in love with Natsuko, the daughter of an old teacher.

When Tatsuya Terada (Kenichi Hagiwara) is finally found, he is informed by his family that he is the heir to the family's fortune, and to the ancient family curse. As soon as he hears of the curse, it immediately appears to take effect, as gruesome figures emerge from tombs in the vicinity. Policeman Kosuke Kindaichi (Kiyoshi Atsumi) has a different opinion about the curse, which is that someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to harass the young heir

Rookie movie director Koichi (Shun Oguri) and his crew travels to the mountain village of Yamamura to film his next movie. The villagers are eventually enlisted to help film the movie and, in particular, 60-year-old lumberjack Katsuhiko (Koji Yakusho) helps against his will. (asianwiki.com)

The Thirteen Steps is a Japanese movie directed by Masahiko Nagasawa. It was released by Toho on February 8, 2003. Based on a novel by Kazuaki Takano, the film follows an aging prison guard (Tsutomu Yamazaki) as he attempts to prove the innocence of a death row inmate (Takashi Sorimachi) by finding the perpetrator of the murder he was unjustly convicted of. (Eigapedia)

A large earthquake hits Tokyo, which was predicted by a seismologist but was ignored. (imdb)

The War ended on August 15th, 1945. What took place in Japan on the previous night? The unknown destiny of the day is unveiled. (imdb)

A man strives against all odds to find a way to grow apples without the use of chemicals or fertilizer. Impossible, he is told. And it seems so, for a long while.... The lessons imparted are certainly vital in this age of industrial agriculture, in the face of the need to eliminate fossil fuels from all aspects of our lives, including how we feed ourselves.

A Japanese detective, Kikuchi, is framed for a murder and sent to prison. When he is paroled, he joins a private detective agency to investigate his case and investigates Mitsue Takazawa, the wife of a local trading firm whom is really a crime lord responsible for Kikuchi's imprisionment and now sets sights on Setsuko, a woman Kikuchi becomes romantically involved with. (imdb)

Vegetation thrives in painter Morikazu's garden, which is home to creatures that serve as models for his paintings, including numerous bugs and cats. A sweet and heartwarming day begins for Morikazu, who gazed at these garden creatures on a daily basis for over three decades, and those who love him. (imdb)

A Choice between Loyalty or Duty of the Samurai! Can the heartlessness of society crush the honor of an individual? In the spring of the 18th year of Kanei, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, feudal lord of the Higo area, died. Although Tadatoshi forbade his vassals to follow him in death before he died, they still committed seppuku one after the other. The new feudal lord, Mitsunao, Tadatoshi's son, also gave the order forbidding seppuku. (themoviedb)

Just when about to commit suicide after being deserted by his bride-to-be during the wedding, a man meets a university professor who is also at the point of killing himself. A woman nearby intervenes, one thing leads to another, and the three lost souls move in together. Each episode is a distinct story about the sometimes painful, sometimes warm romances between them and the people they meet while sharing an apartment. (imdb)

Michiko came to Tokyo to visit Hiromi, but is instead found murdered. The renter of Michiko's place is missing. The police is having a hard time finding clues and solving the case. There are not any clues and a connection between the dead and absent is not forthcoming. The only hint is an item found near the corpse, but it complicated the matters because it makes the file personal to one of the detectives assigned to the murder. (imdb)

Mogami Takeshi works at the Tokyo prosecutor's office focusing on violent criminal cases. Okino Keiichiro admires him and is happy to be assigned to work with Mogami. When a money lender is killed for his dealings with the deceased one Matsukura Shigeo is considered a suspect. He has a past involving a schoolgirl and the prosecutors strive to make the case. (imdb)

A soldier deserts his position and travels to a small town on the Sea of Japan to start over. When a young maid falls for him, he talks her into sleeping with an older man for money. The woman is told by a Geisha that she gave up her virginity cheaply. The resort town begins to feel the influence of the modern world as the sabre-rattling that preceded World War II begins to change their lives forever.

During the Second World War, Takeichi Matsuo had participated in hiding a huge cache of gold in the Phillippine mountains. Years after the war, he is kidnapped by Mitsura and Keigo Gunji, brothers who want Matsuo to lead them to the still-buried gold. (imdb)

A seventy-year-old retired school headmaster informs his wife and daughters that he has Alzheimer's disease. They are all concerned, but react differently due to their individual situations. The family watches as the husband and father regresses due to the disease and loses his memory. Interestingly, there are sparkling moments of his life of which the man will not let go. (imdb)

A newspaper editor (played by Shin'ichi Tsutsumi) who deals with the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. (imdb)

Gen, a former ninja with a price on his head travels about Japan seeking the identity of the mysterious “Kagekubo” leader of his former group who issued a death warrant on him for desertion. (KG & me)

Kurosaki, aka Kurosagi, is a swindler who cheats other professional con artists to help their victims and avenge the death of his own family. Kurosaki buys information about other swindlers from the man who cheated his family, Katsuragi Toshio (imdb)