
Masumi Harukawa
Actor · b. 1935 · Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan
Born Machie Takigawa, she was active as a dancer at the Asakusa Rock Theater under the stage name Mary Rose in the early 1950s. Due to her appearance, she was affectionately nicknamed Daruma-chan and Jumbo-chan. Soon after moving to the Nichigeki Music Hall, she was scouted by the film industry and made her acting debut in "Gurama-to no yuwaku/The Temptation of Grama Island." Memorable in Japan for her regular role in eight of the ten Toei film series " Trucker Rascals," playing the wife of the series co-star Aikawa Kinya, among appearances in other popular cinematic serials such as Zatoichi and Tora-san. International audiences would be more familiar with her work with avant-garde directors Shōhei Imamura & Shūji Terayama.
Movies22
Movie7.8DramaFamilyThe tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.
Movie7.4CrimeMysteryTwo detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.
Movie6.3ActionAdventureIn the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the clan's hidden gold only to find that two daggers are the key to the hiding place of the treasured gold. Spanning decades, the quest for the missing daggers takes Shiranui through war and ancient tradition.
MovieComedy
Movie7.4ActionWarKansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big?
Movie6.0ComedyRomanceA boy transfers into a new high school in the big city. He gets bullied, but meets a pretty girl. He tries to win her heart, but rivals abound. Debut video release from Pantsu no ana, a subsection of "BOMB" magazine.
Movie6.5DramaIn the wake of the 1956 Prostitution Prevention Law, a young woman recently released from one of Japan's new rehabilitation centers struggles to build a new life.
Movie7.5FantasyDramaA director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.
Movie7.2DramaA woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.
Movie7.0DramaThe neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.
Movie7.2DramaIn the midst of a match, Hayato, a successful boxer, has had enough of the sport. He lets himself get knocked out, and quits boxing, leaving his wife and living alone with his mangy dog. One day a young mediocre boxer knocks at the door and wants to be Hayato's apprentice.
Movie6.9ComedyRomanceA young rock singer is not appreciated by her band, and gets a postcard from Japan saying "wish you were here". She takes what little money she has including ex-boyfriend's rent money and goes to Tokyo. She has numerous cross-cultural adventures and ends up singing with a Japanese rock group looking for a gaijin gimmick.
Tokyo Pop
1988 · 16 votes
Movie9.0DramaHistoryIn 1940, Kubota Shoten, which has been in business for generations, goes bankrupt due to the debauched lifestyle of its president, Kunimitsu Kubota. Subsequently, Kunimitsu moves back to his hometown and his children are sent to live with other relatives.
Movie4.0DramaComedyNakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He’s put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will appreciate how the actor comically rants about here. His home life is almost disastrous, with a ditzy (but attractive) wife, three young children, a loud school nearby that’s controlled by a corrupt businessman he loathes, and frequent visits from layabout friends. And the grey-furred, green-eyed cat!
Movie9.0ComedyA drummer falls for a pawnbroker's daughter.
Movie7.0WarComedyComedy about three soldiers, two female reporters, six prostitutes, and the wife of an officer, all stranded on a South Seas island at the end of World War II.
Movie9.0ComedyActionThe sixth film of the “Truck Yaro” series. Two long-distance truckers, Momojiro and Kinzo, travel around Japan in highly decorated trucks. In Kyushu, Momojiro falls in love again... this time with a beautiful college student Masako.
Movie7.4AdventureActionZatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Zatoichi proceeds to win 8 ryo in a rigged gambling game. Of course, the local gangsters attempt to kill him, and the adventure begins. It turns out a blacksmith named Senzo examines Zatoichi's cane sword, and discovers it to be forged by his old mentor. Senzo discovers the sword is at the end of its usefulness and will break when it is used next.
Movie6.7ActionDramaThe long awaited second film in the Wicked Priest series is a masterpiece of sword swinging fury as Shinkai is asked by a man on the run to bring his young son to live with his grandfather, the master of a ju-jitsu dojo during the Taisho period of the early 20th century. Shinkai then runs afoul of a gangster group using strong-arm tactics to take over the profits from local gambling. When he proves to be more than they can handle, they hire the one man who has the ability to kill Shinkai and exact revenge, Ryotatsu, the karate priest whom Shinkai blinded in the first film. This ultra-violent entry has long been considered the best movie in the series and never made its way to home video before. See a spectacular display of Wakayama Tomisaburo’s martial art expertise in this action packed film. The Holy Grail of sword movies has arrived at last! /Winterheart of CG
Movie7.3CrimeActionTwo escaped criminals who kidnapped a baby break into the house of Misawa, a man who works in an advertising agency and lives quietly with his family. They will force him to collect the child's ransom for them.
MovieAdaptation of the Shôji Yuki novel.
Movie7.0ComedyThe 24th and final entry in the Ekimae series, set at Takamatsu Station in Kagawa Prefecture, formerly known for its ferry service to the Seto Inland Sea.
Series1
TVDramaThe series tells about the life of construction foreman Eiji and his sister. Both have a love interest: she has a boyfriend, and he has a young girl. The sister is thinking about marriage, and the brother has too strict principles to recklessly rush into the abyss of passion.