Yôji Yamada

A family drama set in the late nineteenth century Japan, as the feudal Shogun period was giving way to the Meiji Restoration. (Empire Pictures)

Shinnojo, a low level samurai, lives with his pretty, dutiful and loyal wife Kayo. He has come to find his position in a castle as a food-taster for a feudal lord to be boring and pointless, and talks about opening a kendo school open to boys of all castes where he can teach the use of the sword... (imdb)

Two detectives investigate the murder of a 60-year-old policeman. The victim is well-liked, and there does not seem to be any motive for the murder. The investigation finally leads to the discovery of the hidden past of a young rising composer. (hkflix.com)

On a beautiful island in Seto Inner Sea, Seichi and Minko make their living by transporting rocks to construction sites by boat. They cherish the deepest affection for this piece of land they call home, and the simple life they lead. But rapid industrial growth makes it all but impossible to continue their chosen living style, and they are forced to leave their beloved hometown in search of a brighter future.... (imdb)

An epic about one man's family's journey to discover the new Japan. They are Seiichi Kazami, a young, out-of-work coal miner; Tamiko, his wife; their two small children, and Genzo, Seiichi's old father. (nytimes)

Gakko tells a simple heartwarming story of a group of students and their teacher, in one of the public night schools in Japan providing them education at the Junior High level. With night schools, you know that the students are working adults, and the narrative takes its time to dwell on the characters' backgrounds, and their interactions with the teacher, how he helped them in their times of need, or simply being the beacon of hope for them. (imdb)

Twenty years after leaving the small town of Shibamata, Tora-san returns home and is reunited with his younger sister Sakura, who has been raised there by their aunt and uncle. Sakura is now a beautiful young woman with many suitors. When Hiroshi, a neighborhood factory worker, vows to win Sakura over, Tora-san stirs the pot with clumsy schemes that backfire into disaster.

Tora-san, the näive and romantic peddler, returns once more to his home in Hokkaido where, as usual, he falls in love with a lovely young lady. The girl this time is Rinko Ueno, who has come home in an attempt to repair her relationship with her gruff veterinarian father, Junkichi 'Jun' Ueno. Tora-san gets caught up in the entanglements not only between Rinko and her father but between Dr. Ueno and Etsuko, a restauranteur with amorous plans for the ornery veterinarian. (imdb)

widow struggles to maintain a small farm in a remote area of Hokkaido, fighting the elements and raising her young son. One brutally stormy night, a stranger appears at the door looking for shelter. Though wary, the widow offers him her hospitality. He leaves, but then returns in the spring and asks for work, desiring only room and board in return... (imdb comments)

A quasi-docu-drama pertaining to the monumental process to bring a performance troupe to a small Japanese village to perform for one night. (dvdbeaver.com)

A teacher at a school for students with disabilities tries to improve their lives.

"Kaabee" depicts the hardship of a woman in pre and during WWII, raising her kids alone after her husband imprisoned for "thought crime". This movie was directed by Yamada Youji, and as expected the atmosphere of this movie is really wonderful. Although the historical correctness of some scenes, most notably the beach scene, is a suspect. (8thSin)

The story centers around a widow named Ginko (Sayuri Yoshinaga) and her foolish younger brother Tetsuro (Tsurube Shofukutei). Even though Tetsuro has been a nuisance to the family, Ginko has always been willing to overlook his flaws and take care of him. However, an incident causes her to break all ties to him, leaving him completely alone and devastated. When they're finally reunited, she discovers he's fighting a fatal disease and doesn't have long to live. (Nippon Cinema)

The environment and the movie stars at a Japanese film studio in the early '30s are recreated in this drama. Director Ogata (Ittoku Kishibe) discovers a new female star quite by accident. Koharu Tanaka (Narimi Arimori) works selling candy at a studio theater when she is given a part as a bit player. After the studio's top leading lady is embroiled in a scandal, Koharu is suddenly thrust into the limelight when she replaces her in a film and gains instant fame and fortune. (answers.com)

A tale of young love and friendship. Onkel, with the help of Kosuke, is trying to win the affection of beautiful Fusako. They manage to convince her to participate in an acting competition at the school festival...

Tora-san returns to his family's home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he embarrasses himself by getting drunk and insulting all his ex-classmates, he resumes his travels. In Kyushu he meets an outspoken 18-year-old girl who becomes enamored of Tora-san and follows him around. One of Tora-san's old friends is terminally ill and makes Tora-san promise him to marry his wife once he is gone.

A girl who has escaped from an institution falls in love with Tora-san. He decides to marry her, but his family and the girl's teacher break up the romance.

Hoping to repay his family for the trouble he has caused them in the past, Torasan gambles and wins at the horse races. He plans to give his uncle and aunt a vacation in Hawaii, but the travel agent turns out to be a con-artist, and makes off with his money. Torasan falls in love with Haruko, a young kindergarten teacher who is renting a room in his uncle's home.

The film opens with Tora-san arriving home in Shibamata, at the family's sweets shop in Tokyo, just as his sister Sakura and her husband, Hiroshi are visited by their son's substitute teacher, 20-something Masako Yagyu. Of course Tora-san instantly falls for the pretty young woman. As his embarrassed family looks on, Tora-san completely usurps the meeting away from Sakura and Hiroshi, chatting away and trying to charm the teacher, even to the point of walking her home.

The well-intentioned, kind-hearted, and somewhat awkward but always lovable Tora-san makes one of his periodic visits to his sister and her family in Tokyo. His nephew, Mitsu, is depressed because he has failed his university entrance examination, and also because Izumi, a young girl he is in love with, has transferred to a school in Saga, Kyushu. Mitsuo leaves home and finds her, but her bad-tempered uncle disapproves of her riding around with a young man from Tokyo.

Tora-san becomes involved with a lady barber, Fuko, after she unsuccessfully lobbies for a job with a local barber then cutting Tora-san's hair. They have much in common, even a nickname, but mostly a shared unhappiness and wanderlust. They decide to travel together to Hokkaido, but are joined by a gloomy single father, Eisaku Fukuda trying to reconcile with a wife who left him some time before.

Tora-san returns home from his hobo trip to Tora-ya cafe in Shibamata, to his usual line up of relatives consisting of step sister Sakura, her husband Hiroshi, his uncle Ryuzo who's the owner of the cafe, aunt Tsune, and president of next door printing company Tako. Tora confesses that he has an important announcement about a lady named Okinu later in the evening. Everyone at the house is convinced that it will be his engagement announcement, and are excited.

Tora-san returns to his family's home in Shibamata, Tokyo, to find a large American peddler living in his room, leading to various conflicts. As Tora-san struggles through his love with the local Madonna (references?) the American admits to falling for Sakura. Ultimately the two men find they have more in common than they thought

When his travels bring him to Western Japan, Tora-san decides to pay his respects to the late Hyoichiro Suwa, his sister's father-in-law. He gets drunk with the priest at the temple, falling in love with the priest's daughter in the process. When the priest is too hung-over to deliver a eulogy the next morning, Tora-san takes his place, with great success. Tora-san's sister and his brother-in-law's family show up for Hyoichiro Suwa's memorial service, and an argument breaks out over his estate.

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.

Tora-san's family's neighbor, Akemi, who had been married in Marriage Counselor Tora-san (1984), runs away from her husband, who is only interested in work. Tora-san follows her to Shikinejima, and attempts to bring her back to her home. In doing so he encounters a school-reunion group who are traveling to meet their elementary school teacher. Tora-san joins them and falls in love with the teacher.[

Hama-chan's supervisor is promoted after many frustrating years with his wayward, fishing-obsessed underling, and Hama-chan's new boss naively tries to retrain him. Later, Su-san and Hama-chan go on a business trip, where they meet a beautiful, warm-hearted truck driver.

Hama-chan takes more paid holidays than anyone else at work, but is friends with the company's president, whom he calls Su-san. Su-san's doctor, concerned for the president's health, suggests that he retire. Su-san becomes depressed, goes fishing and collapses on the beach, but Hama-chan come to his rescue.

Hama-chan still works at Suzuki Construction in Tokyo, while continuing his friendship with company president Ichinosuke Suzuki. Hama-chan wishes he could have child - the only thing missing in his happy life. Su-san then takes Hama-chan on a fishing trip to cheer him up. While on the trip Su-san meets the daughter of his first love. He learns from the girl that his first love's tomb is about to be demolished to make way for a resort.

Densuke Hamazaki is an office worker at Suzuki Construction and gets transferred to the main Tokyo office. After settling in to his surrounding along with his wife Eri, Densuke befriends an elderly man named Ichinosuke Suzuki. Ichinosuke is a lonely and old man who learns to enjoy life again through his friendship with Densuke. Meanwhile, Densuke is completely unaware that Ichinosuke is the boss of his construction company. The two men become friends through their shared passion for fishing.

Su-san must give a lecture in far-off Iwate, which serves as another excuse for the company president and Hama-chan to go fishing. Once there, however, Hama-chan is mistaken for the company president and Su-san for his chauffeur! But Su-san is delighted at the mix-up: he gets to go fishing with a beautiful woman working at a local inn.

In the late Edo Period, a fishing-crazy warrior is kicked out of his clan and leads an itinerant existence with his long-suffering sister. He finds a kindred spirit in the leader of another clan.

Hama-chan and Michiko have a son, whom they name Koitaro. At the office, Su-san's nephew begins work at the construction company and becomes friends with Hama-chan. When the nephew runs off with the sister of Hama-chan's friend, he and Su-san go looking for the young lovers ? and fishing, of course.

Hama-chan gets his construction company a big contract to build a museum through one of his fishing friends. But the man proves difficult to work with, especially after the he insists on a ludicrous design that will make everyone look foolish. The contract in jeopardy, Su-san enlists Hama-chan's help.

On a fishing trip, Hama-chan and Su-san meet a beautiful lady and the three have a great time. Later, Su-san gets a toothache, and his dentist turns out to be the woman, whom he secretly takes fishing, lying to Hama-chan in the process. When the two men later run into one another, their friendship is threatened.

One of Hama-chan's shy pupils falls in love with the daughter of Su-san's friend, and the young lovers eventually get married. After the wedding Hama-chan and Su-san go fishing, but when Su-san slips and injures his leg, concerned company employees rush to their cabin and finally learn of their surprising friendship.

Hama-chan's sales department gets a new supervisor, a hard-working taskmaster that's the very opposite of carefree, irresponsible Hama-chan. The veteran employee decides to find his boss, a divorced father, a new wife. The supervisor loves a bar hostess "mama-san," but is unable to confess his true feelings until Hama-chan comes to his rescue.

Su-san burnt out, and suddenly resigned as president of the company and run away. Hama-chan looked for him and finally found out him at the office building where Hama-chan used to work. Su-san got a job as a caretaker of that building.

Approached by a friend about a matchmaking arrangement, Su-san goes to Hama-chan's home seeking help. Hama-chan is away on a business trip, but Michiko entertains Su-san late into the night. When he gets drunk and ends up spending the night, Hama-chan, begins to question his boss's relationship with Michiko.

Mr. Takano, a company employee, announces plans to take an early retirement so he can return to his home town and spend his days fishing. Su-san and Hama-chan envy his decision, and Hama-chan conspires to visit Takano, even though he has no vacation time left.

Hama-chan's construction company once again faces the prospect of downsizing in the shrinking Japanese economy. Despite this, Hama-chan goes on vacation where he meets the firm's downsizing consultant, who has doubts about her career.

Su-san has put in the hard yards as president of the Suzuki Construction Company, and he has now been appointed its chairman. Su-san went missing sometime during his daily morning walk one day. Hama-chan fakes an illness in order to be absent from work and heads to Okayama, where the town residents, mainly the young folk have formed a anti-development group to protest the project which they believe will destroy their beautiful coastal waters.

Tora-San, an eccentric and resourceful tramp, is always cheerful. Although he is an orphan, he decides to go back home after a long absence. He thus sees again his sister Sakura Suwa, who has bloomed into a pretty young lady. After a while, Tora-San agrees to go with her to an interview with the family of one of her suitors. But that is without counting Tora-San's terrible clumsiness. His cheeky humor, for instance, is not fully appreciated by the family.

Hoping to find rest from his wandering life, Tora-san returns home. He becomes infatuated with a widow and leaves to travel again, keeping his feelings secret.

Tora-san discovers that his family is arranging a marriage for him. He leaves to the countryside where he falls in love with the manager of an inn. Unaware that she is involved with another man, Tora-san confesses his love on a New Year's television program.

Tora-san meets three women on vacation when he travels to Fukui. One of the women meets him at his home, and he believes she has fallen in love with him, unaware that she hopes to marry a potter in the countryside.

When Tora-san returns to visit his family, he is surprised to find an arrogant professor occupying his room. The professor and Tora-san become rivals for the affection of Chiyo.

Tora-san watches the family shop while the rest of his family takes a vacation to Kyushu. An old friend introduces Tora-san to his sister Ritsuko, and he promptly falls in love with her. She is an artist and has no time for Tora-san.

During his travels Tora-san meets a troubled father with a baby. He shares a drink with the man who then abandons the baby into Tora-san's care. At his hometown in Shibamata, Tokyo, the family is worried about who will take care of the family shop once Tora-san's aunt and uncle have died. Tora-san arrives with the baby causing family and neighbors to speculate that he is the father.

Tora-san meets an old girlfriend on his travels. When she returns home with him, his family attempts to arrange a marriage between the two. After a misunderstanding occurs, the woman leaves, and the family is left regretting that they interfered.

In his travels through Japan, Tora-san meets and falls in love with a female doctor, however he is afraid of committing to a relationship.

In the midst of Japan's rising economy of the mid-1980s, the itinerant Tora-san becomes drunk with a hard-working company section chief. After an hour commute, the two sleep off their night's revelry at the section chief's home in Ibaraki Prefecture. When the section chief disappears due to the pressure of his job, Tora-san helps his wife to find the man, while secretly hoping they do not, as he has fallen in love with her.

Tora-san returns to his family's shop in Shibamata, Tokyo to find himself accused of being the father of a 17-year-old girl. It turns out that Tora-san had only given help to the girl's mother after her husband had left her. Tora-san becomes infatuated with the female archeology student who is staying with his family, and attempts to take up intellectual pursuits to get near her.

During his travels, Tora-san meets Ikenouchi, a drunken old man whom he assumes is poor and homeless. Tora-san takes the old man home. When he wakes up, Ikenouchi begins ordering Tora-san's family around in such an authoritarian manner that no one can muster the courage to suggest he leave. On the road again, Tora-san meets Botan, a geisha who has lost her life savings to a dishonest customer. He and his family's neighbor are determined to help her out.

Tora-san returns to his family home in Shibamata, Tokyo, but soon leaves again due to squabbles involving a dog they have named Tora-san. During his travels in Shikoku, Tora-san makes the acquaintance of a descendant of a local daimyō. The old man asks Tora-san to find his son's widow in Tokyo, whom he had previously alienated.

Tora-san plays at matchmaker, trying to arrange a romance between Ryōsuke and Sachiko. His advice proves disastrous and Tora-san instead falls in love with Ryōsuke's sister.

Tora-san returns from his travels throughout Japan to his family's home in Tokyo to find his uncle recovering from an illness. After a family fight erupts, he returns to the road and becomes friends with Tomekichi. When the pair come to Tokyo, they both fall in love with stage dancers.

Mistakenly believing that his brother-in-law's boss is planning to commit suicide, Tora-san attempts to prevent him.

Tora-san convinces the hesitant Hitomi to go through with her plans to marry her intended spouse.

Lily, the lounge singer with whom Tora-san fell in love in film 11 (Tora-san's Forget Me Not, 1973) and film 15 (Tora-san's Rise and Fall, 1975) sends Tora-san a letter informing him that she is terminally ill. Tora-san rushes to Okinawa--taking his first plane trip in the process--to be at her side and nurse her to health.

Tor-san takes care of the teenage daughter of a friend after he dies. He takes the girl to Tokyo where she wishes to study, and becomes worried over her romantic life.

When his travels bring him to Osaka, Tora-san falls in love with a local geisha. He helps her to track down her estranged brother, and informs his family that he plans to marry her. His plans are foiled when the geisha informs Tora-san that she is engaged.

During his travels, Tora-san gets drunk with an old man in Kyoto. Though Tora-san never fully comprehends his importance, the old man is a Living National Treasure ceramist. At his home, Tora-san makes a good impression on the old man's maid, who apparently falls in love with Tora-san.

Torah returns to Shibamata. There he learns that his mother Kiku is bored in the city. Reluctantly, he is persuaded to visit them. There is a dispute between the two, because the mother wants grandchildren and Torah seems unable to ever win a wife for himself. Sadly Torah draws away again travels on and meets the sweet Hanako. She appears to be mentally a little slow. He lovingly cares for her and gives her his address. Later on she shows up in Shibamata.

Teen Mitsuo is looking for a job. He gave some interviews already, but was unsuccessful. That's why he wants to give up and gets into an argument with his parents. He looks for work in some distant areas and lands on the island Kotojima in the inland sea, where he finds work as a fisherman. The family asks Mitsuo's Uncle Tora-san to bring him back. Torah is not particularly successful there but he finds another reason to stay on Kotojima: the sweet and beautiful Yoko.

Tora-san gets into an argument with his uncle and sets out on the road again. In Kyushu he meets a young woman named Keiko and the shy zoologist Saburō, and attempts to play matchmaker between the two when they all return to Tokyo.

Tora-san returns to his family home to learn that his brother-in-law cannot go to Mitsuo's (Tora-san's nephew) athletic event. Tora-san volunteers to take his place, but gets into an argument with his brother-in-law's boss and returns to the road. He meets a young woman in Niigata who, unbeknownst to him, is a popular enka singer.

During his travels, Tora-san comes across a traditional theater he used to visit, and discovers that one of his old friends has died. Tora-san and his family help the friend's daughter, who becomes romantically involved with an aspiring artist.

It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Kumiko Akiyoshi as his love interest .

It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Kumiko Goto as the love interest.

During his wandering throughout Japan, Tora-san meets a suicidal man. He travels with the man to Vienna, but winds up homesick for Japan.

Vagabond Tora-San (Kiyoshi Atsumi) meets an old flame while helping his nephew's (Hidetaka Yoshioka) girlfriend (Kumiko Goto) solve personal crises.

During his stay in a seaside village, Japan's favorite drifter meets a lonely female barber with marriage on her mind.

A woman looks back on her family's life in Tokyo before and during WWII. (imdb)

All of the Tora-san movies had the same basic plot with some minor variations. Kuruma Torajirō (or Tora-san), a traveling salesman whose sole possessions include only the contents of a small suitcase, the clothes on his back and some pocket money, wanders from town to town peddling his wares. He yearns to return to his home in Shibamata, Katsushika, Tokyo.

Featuring ATSUMI Kiyoshi as the lovable loser KURUMA Torajiro, the 48-film Tora-san series holds the Guinness World Record for the longest running film series starring the same actor. In a typical story-line from the series, Tora-san visits a different part of Japan where he meets a beautiful young woman, and tells her if she ever needs help, she should come visit him in his small hometown of Shibamata.

The last episode in the long running comedy film series.

Mum Nobuko is highly troubled, but delighted, as her dead son has returned as a benevolent spirit, 3 years after his death. Now it is a matter of tactfully getting fiance Machiko to accept her beloveds death and make a life for herself instead of deciding to be a defacto "memorial" in memory of Koji.

In this sequel to the first It's A Wonderful Family, the characters who are still based on those in Tokyo Family (which itself was based on Tokyo Story), are a couple of years older with the father, grandfather and husband has taken up driving, albeit not without a few bumps. The family revokes his privilege, which leads to an intra-family conflict. (imdb)

A love story set in the ancient quarter Uzumasa in Kyoto, grew up around the legendary Shochiku film studios. Kyoko is a part-time librarian, who also helps her parents with their drycleaning shop. Her boyfriend Kota is the son of a Tofu maker and aspires to become a successful stand-up comedian. A sinologist from Tokyo falls in love with Kyoko and asks her to follow him and leave the city.

At the Hirata home, three generations of their family live together. A crisis ensues when one afternoon, housewife Fumie falls asleep and wakes up to find a thief has stolen her secret money she kept hidden in the refrigerator. (imdb)

The 50th film in Tora-san series to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series. The adult Mitsuo, Tora-san's nephew, who runs into Izumi, his first love, whom he had once promised to marry. The familiar faces of Kurumaya Cafe, which Tora-san's family ran in Shibamata, also return. Catching up with old friends, it is always their dearest memories of Tora-san which everyone shares on such occasions.

Based on one famous Rakugo comic stories, Un ga yokerya (Gambler's Luck) is a light comedy set in the slums of old Edo. (imdb)

Machiko (Chieko Baisho) lives comfortably with her father, grandmother and two younger brothers while working at a cosmetics factory in Shitamachi. Her boyfriend Michio (Tamotsu Hayakawa) has dreams of landing a salaried position and settling down in the suburbs, but Machiko begins to question whether middle class life will really bring her happiness. (imdb)

In a small harbor village on a quiet Japanese island in the Inland Sea, Haruko is a young woman who raises her two younger sisters alongside some of the more colorful members of the local community, such as the doctor, the ferryman, the local shop owner, and the shop owner's son who happens to be Haruko's boyfriend. One day, the shop owner's son decides to leave the island in search of work and his destiny in Brazil, but if he leaves, where does that leave Haruko? Her future is now uncertain.

Carrying a bag full of samples, Mitsuo makes rounds to various shoe stores in remote cities. While staying at budget hotels, his thoughts turn to Tora-san.

Anime adaptation of the "Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It's tough being a man)" film series by Youji Yamada. Kuruma Torajirou (or Tora-san), a traveling salesman whose sole possessions include only the contents of a small suitcase, the clothes on his back, and some pocket money, wanders from town to town peddling his wares.

Bored with school, 15-year-old Daisuke Kawashima embarks on a pilgrimage to visit the 7,000-year-old cedar tree on distant Yakushima Island. Through his journey, Daisuke meets a number of interesting people, including friendly truck driver Sumire and a mysterious mountaineer girl. (imdb)

Goh is an elderly man who has a problem with gambling, forcing his wife and daughter to bail him out repeatedly. This time, however, neither wife nor daughter is willing to help. They take over his financial matters and send him back to deal with his old forgotten passion: cinema. Goh goes to his old friend who owns a theater for classic film. They reminisce about their youth (when Goh was an aspiring director) while Goh’s grandson has a very ambitious plan for his grandpa. (asianmoviepulse)