Kei Satō

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.

Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.

A married woman and her lover murder her husband and dump his body into a well, but his ghost returns to haunt them as the local gossip intensifies.

After a fishing boat is attacked, the sole surviving crew member realizes it is none other than a resurrected Godzilla. However, efforts to bring the story to light are suppressed by the Japanese government amid growing political tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, who are both willing to bomb Japan to stop the monster.

While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.

Originally released in Japan as "The Return of Godzilla" in 1984, this is the heavily re-edited, re-titled "Godzilla 1985". Adding in new footage of Raymond Burr, this 16th Godzilla film ignores all previous sequels and serves as a direct follow-up to the 1956 "Godzilla King of the Monsters", which also featured scenes with Burr edited into 1954's "Godzilla". This film restores the darker tone of the original, as we witness the nuclear destruction of giant lizard terrorizing Japan.

Schoolgirl Kuniko is kidnapped by a middle-aged man Iwazono when she is jogging. He tells her that he had a failed marriage which leaves him a deep and everlasting scar in his mind. He kidnaps her in search of a perfect marriage and intends to lock her in the room and 'educate' her to perform perfect sex where body and soul are united.

In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an assassin. Her name is Azumi, the ultimate assassin.

Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attempt to regain their honor by defending a brothel from a hostile militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.

Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.

A harsh young man seduces a freeloading young woman and eventually takes advantage of her knack for hitchhiking to rob middle-class men.

Kaiji Ito moves to Japan after graduating from high school. Unable to find a job and frustrated with society at large, Kaiji spends his days gambling, vandalizing cars, and drinking booze. Two years later and his life is no better. A debt collector named Endo arrives to collect money owed. The debt collector offers two choices to Kaiji: spend 10 years paying off his loan or board a gambling boat for one night to repay his debt & possibly make a boat load of money. Could the debt collector Endo actually be setting up Kaiji? One way or another, for Kaiji it's going to be the night of his life.

In the Sengoku period, a woman and her daughter are raped and murdered by soldiers during a time of civil war. Afterwards, a series of samurai returning from the war through that area are found mysteriously dead with their throats torn out. The governor calls in a wild and fierce young hero to quell what is evidently an Onryō ghost.

A detective goes out of his way to crack the case of a serial killer who specialises in murdering police officers.

A high school science teacher is the butt of all his students' jokes, until their bus is hijacked on a school trip. But something more sinister lurks beneath the surface: he's building an atomic bomb in his apartment.

A lower-middle-class policeman lives decadently, chasing cheap beer and girls at the same time he's running from loan sharks and his personal expectations.

A lavish retelling of the true story of the final voyage and ultimate destruction and sinking of the battleship Yamato, Japan's greatest flagship during the Second World War.

The continuing adventures of Matsuzaki, a racing tipster for a sports paper. Matsuzaki befriends a mysterious old track bettor named Tokudaiji. The man turns out to be a well-connected millionaire and invites Matsuzaki to his home.

A dying businessman intends to will ¥200 million to his three illegitimate children, but his associates scheme to take advantage of the situation.

When her crime boss husband is sent to prison, a woman assumes control of one of the most powerful gangs in Japan.

Oshima’s magisterial epic, centering on the ambivalent surviving heir of the Sakurada clan, uses ritual and the microcosm of the traditional family to trace the rise and fall of militaristic Japan across several decades.

A shikakenin was an under-the-cover trade that undertook killing in Edo. Hanemon of Otowa, an agency that introduced laborers and maids, was also one of these. Katsugoro Iseya was a timber dealer who had come in as a client. His target was the constructions magistrate Hanno, and the Tatsumiya who sipped on the benefits. Hanemon who had a stong code towards killing, where he would only kill those who do no good to be in the world, accepts this request. Baian Fujieda, a needle doctor would carry out the killing. However, the professional killer Baian fails to bring down Tatsumiya. Hanemon then looks to another shikakenin, the ronin Sanai Nishimura for the role. Although Sanai's ability with the sword is good, he lives poorly in a tenement, and accepts this commission on the condition that it is kept a secret from his wife and child. Here, they close in on Hanno and Tatsumiya again...

The story chronicles the life of Hōjō Masako during the Kamakura Period.

Ogami Itto is a master swordsman who holds a position of high power in the Tokugawa Shogunate. Highly trusted by the Shogun, he serves as the official decapitator, assisting lords and samurai who have been ordered by the Shogun to commit seppuku. One day, Itto’s wife and members of his household are brutally murdered by a clan seeking to avenge their lord’s execution, which had been carried out by Itto. In the wake of the attack, two items are left in Itto’s home: his unhurt infant son, Daigoro, and a symbol meant to signify Itto’s betrayal of the Shogun. Disgraced by the false symbol, Itto is labeled a traitor and forced to forfeit his position. He becomes a ronin, wandering the country with his son, searching for the men who killed his wife, seeking to clear his name and avenge her death.

Based on the life of Hideyoshi Toyotomi (February 2, 1537 – September 18, 1598) a Sengoku period daimyo who unified Japan.

The 38th NHK Asadora. Based on the autobiography of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's mother.

The 39th NHK Taiga Drama is Aoi Tokugawa Sandai. It is James Miki's dynamic and colorful tale of three generations of the Tokugawa dynasty--from its founder Ieyasu to Iemitsu, the third Shogun who solidified the Tokugawa power base.

The Water Margin is a Japanese television series based on Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. The novel details the trials and tribulations of 108 outlaws during the Song Dynasty. This adaptation follows Lin Chung and his clashes with the local government official Kao Chiu. The Water Margin is famous for its, sometimes obscure, but memorable philosophical quotes, such as "Do not despise the snake for having no horns,for who is to say it will not become a dragon?""

In a red-light district, Nemoto Norio (Shibata Kyohei) is indiscriminately soliciting passersby. "Would you mind taking part in a survey? As a thank you, I'll give you a camera. Take this voucher and come to my office at Shinjuku West Exit later." "No way," replies Yoshikawa Kumiko (Furukawa Yuko). "That would be a problem," replies Saeki Nobuko (Mori Masako). "A camera?" asks Iketani Kaori (Tanaka Yuko), suspicious. The survey is about overseas travel. The three of them gather in a room in Shinjuku. This is how they get to know each other, and they gradually become good friends. Their desire is to find a youth they can be truly proud of. The drama depicts the daily lives of three women of the marriageable age who are desperately trying to make some memories before they get married.

Akizuki Rokurōta was born as a child of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but since he is a twin with Tokugawa Iemitsu he is not allowed an official place within the Tokugawa family. Sent away as an adopted son, he continues his wandering journey. One day, he accidentally encounters Toyotomi Hideyori's son Toyotomi Hideya, his mother Katsura-no-miya Renko and their maidservant Sasaka, survivors of the Shogunate attack on Osaka Castle years before who are now fleeing from their refuge in Kyoto. The Tokugawa Shogunate and Yagyū clan are trying to capture or kill them, while on the other hand villains want to use them. Akizuki Rokurōta decides to protect them from both sides.

Love and ambition collide when two brilliant architects compete for the same woman and the glory of success in their highly competitive field. Kakeru, a young dreamer just entering the professional world, starts out with the goal of building a magnificent church. The story unfolds when a world-famous architect, whom Kakeru idolizes but has never seen, collapses in front of him on the beach. The skillful portrayal of the intertwined loves and professional trials of these characters makes for a suspenseful and inspiring drama.

Kinoshita Kaori (Nakayama Miho), a native of Nagano, was allowed to live alone in Tokyo for two years during her junior college years. Now, with employment still unsettled, her parents are pressuring her to return to Nagano. Her friend Noriko (Sendo Atsuko) had good grades in junior college and had received a job offer from a major company, but the offer was rescinded due to her living alone. Meanwhile, Tomoko (Kawai Michiko), who dreams of becoming a reporter while job hunting, is also struggling to balance her dreams and reality. One day, Kaori visits a small company with her resume in hand, where she meets the company president, Yoshizawa (Oda Yuji). Yoshizawa accepts Kaori without even a proper interview, and despite her misgivings about the company, she soon finds herself drawn to Yoshizawa.

Starting out in Edo, as Kyoshiro travels west toward Kyoto, he encounters some of the most dangerous obstacles in his career. Signs that the Tokugawa shogunate was vulnerable began to appear during the reign of 12th Shogun Ieyoshi. The Satsuma and the 13 Western non-Tokugawa lords began to act in suspicious ways. Minister Takebe, under orders from shogunate councilor Mizuno, attempted to quash this unrest. Nemuri Kyoshiro, a loner headed west, unwittingly becomes involved in the struggle.

A TV drama consisting of thirteen episodes about the trans-China/Japan collaboration of revolutionaries in the early twentieth century. It was Nagisa Oshima’s rare attempt to direct a TV drama in a social atmosphere in which Japan was embracing postwar prosperity as well as the effects of permeating mass media. Making an effort to reach out to the mass audience through a seemingly conventional method of filmic representation, Dawn of Asia takes up the epic of trans-Asiatic solidarity while challenging nationalism on both sides.

Byakkotai was part of Aizu's four-unit military, set up in the domain's drive to finalize its military modernization, in the wake of the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. The other three units were Genbutai, Seiryūtai, and Suzakutai. Each of the four was named after the protecting gods of compass directions. Byakkotai was meant to be a reserve unit, as it was composed of the young teenage 16 to 17 year old sons of Aizu samurai in a group around 350, who fought in the Boshin War (1868–1869)

Prayer Beads, also called "omoinotama" or "nunju" in Japanese, are the small wooden beads strung on a loop used in Buddhist worship. The number of beads is typically 108, corresponding to the 108 earthly desires or sins that the beads have the power to extinguish. "Prayer Beads" is a series of 9 episodes of 30-minute dramas strung together, with the characters in each episode designing one thread of fate. The short independent episodes are skillfully linked together to become one story. The protagonists' dreams and fears and feelings about this life are all taken up and spun around to reach a dramatic conclusion in the final story.