Mikijiro Hira
Also Known As: 平 幹二朗, 平干二朗, Микидзиро Хира
Biography: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mikijirō Hira (平 幹二朗 Hira Mikijirō) was a Japanese actor. Starting as a stage actor in the 1950s, he also worked in film and television and was active until the time of his death. From the 1970s he starred in several of Yukio Ninagawa's productions, including an acclaimed role as Macbeth. Described as "Japan's best Shakespearean actor", Hira received several awards throughout his career, including an excellence award at the 2011 National Arts Festival hosted by the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
Birthday: November 21, 1933
Deathday: October 22, 2016
Adult: No
Gender: Male
Popularity:
Known For:
20 Duels of Young Shingo - Part 1
Overview: With plenty of action, and a strong story about the growth and development of an expert swordsman, who just happens to be from an extremely privileged background.
Genres: Action History Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-01-03
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20 Duels of Young Shingo - Part 2
Overview: The second film in the 20 Duels of Young Shingo trilogy directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda.
Genres: Action Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-07-09
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Azumi 2: Death or Love
Overview: Young assassins Azumi and Nagara continue their mission to prevent a civil war. In their hunt for Masayuki Sanada, who is protected by both an army and a dangerous clan, they meet Ginkaku, a person who shows a remarking resemblance with former friend Nachi.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2005-03-12
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Goemon
Overview: Follow the infamous ninja bandit named Ishikawa Goemon (Yosuke Eguchi) in an epic story. One night while looting treasure from Nanban (Southern Barbarians), Goemon finds a mysterious box hidden inside a secret grave. A forgotten relic from the past containing untold powers.
Genres: Action Drama Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-03-17
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A Fishmonger's Tour
Overview: The supply of sea bream to the fish market has decreased, and the price has increased to a whopping 1 ryo, and unable to face his customers openly anymore, Tasuke closes the shop and goes on a trip to celebrate the first wedding anniversary with his wife Onaka. Staying at the inn, Tasuke sees that dishes from magnificent sea bream are served here, which is very cheap. Tasuke goes to a fishing village and finds out here that a rich merchant is stopping the shipment of fish...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1963-01-15
Popularity:
The Face of Another
Overview: A businessman with a disfigured face obtains a lifelike mask from his doctor, but the mask starts altering his personality.
Genres: Drama Science Fiction
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1966-07-15
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Princess Raccoon
Overview: Amechiyo (the banished prince) falls in love with Tanukihime (a princess of raccoon dog disguised as human). This is an operetta which includes comedy, singing and dancing, and a love story.
Genres: Fantasy Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2005-05-28
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Sword of the Beast
Overview: Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1965-09-18
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Utamaro's World
Overview: Utamaro was an artist who lived in Edo (which was later to become modern-day Tokyo) in the late 18th century. This film, which has a complex and wide-ranging storyline, recreates the world of that time, as it appeared in Utamaro's paintings.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1977-02-20
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Horus: Prince of the Sun
Overview: Young Horus lives in a mythical Scandinavia of the Iron Age. Recovering the stolen Sword of the Sun from a rock giant, he learns he must travel to the lands of his ancestors, encountering the beautiful but enigmatic Hilda as his journey leads to a series of adventures.
Genres: Adventure Drama Animation Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1968-07-24
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Adventures of Zatoichi
Overview: Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another young woman who is trying to help her brother, who has murdered someone at about the same time and place as the missing man was last seen.
Genres: Adventure Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1964-12-30
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Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis
Overview: The reincarnation of a 10th century Japanese general haunts 1920's Tokyo.
Genres: Mystery Fantasy Horror Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1988-01-30
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Cash Calls Hell
Overview: Before leaving prison, Oida uncomfortably enters into an agreement with his cell mate: in exchange for a half-share of 30,000,000 yen, he is to assassinate three strangers given to him on a list. However, upon meeting his first potential victim, Oida has second thoughts. Yet, even as he tries to back out, the body count starts climbing. Oida must now try to alert the people on his list of their impending danger, and find out why they are being targeted in the first place.
Genres: Action Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1966-01-15
Popularity:
The Great Duel
Overview: A cynical samurai is left as the sole survivor to fulfill a plot to assassinate the puppet of a villain intent on usurping the shogunate in the 17th century. A Shogunate Elder connives to rule Japan by making his puppet, the Shogun's brother Tsunashige, the next Shogun. The best strategist in Japan, Yamaga, leads a plot to stop the Elder, but his cabal is betrayed and most of the conspirators are captured and tortured.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1964-06-03
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Three Outlaw Samurai
Overview: Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1964-05-13
Popularity:
The King
Overview: The film takes place at the junction of the two eras of Meiji and Taisho. Sakata Sankichi, an uneducated zori sandal maker, becomes a professional shogi player through his genius shogi skills and lives a fanatically devoted shogi game supported by the love of his family. This is the 3rd adaptation of Hideji Hojo's famous play.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-11-23
Popularity:
The Fighter Pilot
Overview: A brother and sister learn their biological grandfather was a kamikaze pilot who died during World War II. During their research into his life, they get conflicting accounts from his former comrades about his character and how he joined his squadron.
Genres: War Drama Action Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2013-12-20
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Shogunate Secret Ninja
Overview: Lord Tokugawa Tsunatoyo, bound for Edo to be sworn in as the next shogun, is the target of merciless ninja assassins hired by corrupt officials hoping to put their own candidate in his place. His only hope is the “Oniwaban,” the shogunate’s secret ninja force, sworn to throw their lives down recklessly to prevent this coup. But will they stand a chance of getting the lord to his ceremony in time? A perilous chase, betrayal after betrayal, and a final bloodbath await them as ninja battle ninja in one last, desperate struggle.
Genres: Action History Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-07-12
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Pinwheel Hamakichi's Spell
Overview: Hamakichi was a former detective respected by everyone but he was arrested after he helped a criminal flee for money, which he needed for his child’s medical treatment. Five years later, he is allowed to enter Edo with a fresh start. He make ends meet by selling toys. One day, he meets Otoki, a woman who is a lookalike of his late wife and who is being pursued by a mysterious man.
Genres: History Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-07-11
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Messengers to Satsuma
Overview: By all indications, an anti-government conspiracy is brewing in the Satsuma Domen. Already seven oniwaban spies sent by the shogunate have infiltrated Satsuma in order to scout everything on the spot. However, they had all disappeared, and it was unclear whether they were alive or dead. Kenzaburo Kamiya and Iori Matsumura successfully infiltrate as the eighth and ninth spies and witness law-breaking exercises using a cannon. However, soon Satsuma men found them and drove them to the cliff...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-11-26
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Pinwheel Hamakichi’s Spell 2
Overview: Hamakichi, who used to be a detective is now a toy merchant. His former boss has a grudge against the Yakuza family, which leads to the murder of a policeman in Edo. This places Hamakichi between the rock and a hard place.
Genres: Action Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-08-30
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Onmitsu Hicho
Overview: Pilot for a TV series. In the pilot Hiroshi Tachi is a lower ranked samurai investigating the the murder of Tanuma Okitsugu's son Mototomo by Sano Masakoto. Those events are a matter of history but the plot that Hiroshi unveils and is eventually killed for is fictional.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2011-07-23
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Pistol Opera
Overview: An assassin fends off numerous attacks from her comrades, who are trying to move up in rank by killing off the competition.
Genres: Crime Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2001-10-27
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Jirocho’s Days of Youth: Boss of the Tokai Region
Overview: His skill and courage were the best in Japan! The life story of Jirocho, a man who protected people on the Tokaido Road. The fearless Kinnosuke Nakamura enthusiastically plays the young Jirocho from Shimizu in this chivalrous story.
Genres: Drama Crime History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1960-12-27
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The Legend of Zipang
Overview: Jigoku-gokuraku-maru is a samurai on the run. One bounty hunter hoping to collect the sizeable reward is Teppo Oyuri, a comely lass who is an ace shot with her pearl-laden pistol. Before she can set her sights on Jigoku-gokuraku-maru, he is attacked by a hoard of sword-wielding thugs also hoping to collect the reward. He dispatches them with bloody aplomb. Later, Jigoku-gokuraku- maru and Teppo Oyuri -- who has fallen for the master swordsman in spite of herself -- ventures to Zipingu -- the Land of Gold -- in search of a magical gold sword.
Genres: Action Adventure Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-01-27
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Sky Scraper!
Overview: A film about the construction of the Kasumigaseki Building, the first high-rise building in Japan.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1969-05-14
Popularity:
Undercover Ninja: Secret Assassins
Overview: The federal lord of Kofu, Tunatoyo (Tsutomu Isobe), was elected to be the next General. On his way on a trip to Edo for the ceremony, his scapegoat was shot. Oometsuke ordered an Oniwaban, Shinnosuke Takusyoku (Mikijiro Hira) to take Tsunatoyo to Edo safely. However, the enemy turned out to be his younger brother and the federal lord of Tatebayashi Kiyotake (Yoshihiro Kobayashi). On top of that, the Oniwaban sent by Kiyotake to assassinate Tsunatoyo was Shinsuke's father-in-law, Genshin Uno (Shigeru Kamiyuama).
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-06-24
Popularity:
Kirimaru Kirigakure
Overview:
Genres: Drama Action History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-05-03
Popularity:
The Forest Is Alive
Overview: Film adaptation of the stage version of Samuil Marshak's "Twelve Months"
Genres: Family Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-10-08
Popularity:
Genkuro Yoshitsune
Overview: An exciting historical drama that dynamically depicts the life of Minamoto no Yoshitsune from the period of his stay on Mount Kurama to his reconciliation with his brother Yoritomo.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-05-16
Popularity:
Ninja Kids!!!
Overview: The film stars Seishiro Kato as Rantaro who is sent to a ninja training school by his parents. During the summer, their teacher is invaded by a group of rival ninjas culminating in a race to ring a bell on top of a mountain.
Genres: Action Drama Family
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2011-07-23
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Skull Coins
Overview: The mysterious story behind the Skull Coins, which are said to reveal the location of treasure, and the battle for them will make your heart beat faster.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-10-21
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The Round Table
Overview: Kokko is a third grade elementary school student. Even though she has a family who loves her, Kokko is full of dissatisfaction and she admires loneliness.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2014-06-21
Popularity:
13 Assassins
Overview: A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
Genres: Adventure Drama Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2010-09-09
Popularity:
The Mystery of Rampo
Overview: Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events just like his forbidden story. As the film progresses, fantasy and reality intermingle in a tale that draws heavily on influences from Poe and Stoker's Dracula. The film's strongly Expressionistic direction skillfully combines a variety of media (animation, computer-generated imagery, grainy black-and-white fast film stock, color negatives) for artistic effect.
Genres: Drama Thriller Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-05-27
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River of Forever
Overview: Pure love story
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1967-02-19
Popularity:
Shinran, Part II
Overview: Continuation of the biographical film about the monk Shinran, based on the novel by Eiji Yoshikawa. Shinran, born of the fading aristocratic class, was placed in a monastary on Mount Hiei when still a child. He did not come down for twenty years, when his wanderings begin as he spreads his ideas for achieving enlightenment through the Pure Land sutra. Because his teachings contradict the powerful Tendai sect, he comes to grief with the government, his followers persecuted, himself exiled to far coastal Echigo where he married & began raising a family but soonafter was wandering & teaching again. He lived to be ninety.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1960-09-27
Popularity:
Jirocho’s Days of Youth: The Youngest Boss in the Tokai Region
Overview: He was married to his lover's butterfly and started a new residence. But good things do not last. In his uncle, Uzaemon in Kawashima, Yoshiji Akaji, Yoshimoto's lender, and Kanehira Akagi, the older brother of the former loan of Mishima, played a challenge. It is said to open the ladies' room to the settlement of Wada island. Although Jiro headed to Shigetsugu for arbitration, he was forced to surrender. In such a case, Jiro became chased by Kinpei and others.
Genres: Drama Crime History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-06-21
Popularity:
The Goblin of Mt. Kurama
Overview: The year 1864: The Shinsengumi, the shogun’s armed force in Kyoto ripped the city apart, with blades in hand, searching for pockets of resistance, slaughtering the samurai who sought to bring down the shogunate and restore Japan’s emperor to power. By chance, Murao Mayumi and his sister Shiho, meet samurai Kurata. Murao, seeking his fortune with his sword-arm, will join Shinsengumi, never suspecting his friend Kurata is secretly Kurama Tengu, who hides his face in a black hood, and who will tear a bloody swath through Shinsengumi’s massed blades, to aid the samurai who had taken up the emperor’s cause. Will friend kill friend in a time of war?
Genres: Action Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2001-03-09
Popularity:
Kumokiri Nizaemon: The Great Bandit
Overview: When Nizaemon Kumogiri, a major thief quits his job as a thief, he has two more big jobs planned in order to obtain a huge sum of money to enable his many subordinates scattered all over the country to live out the rest of their lives. First, he targets Matsuya, a medicine wholesaler in Nagoya and seduces the master of the shop by using his female subordinate, Nanakake. He then calls upon Sanji, a skilled locksmith to Nagoya, but the bandit Yagura no Fukuemon who is plotting to intercept the thief plots to extract Sanji for a large sum of money. Furthermore, Abe Shikibu, the chief of the firebrand bandit reformatory who is obsessed with Nizaemon's arrest, sends his men to Nagoya.
Genres: TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1991-03-29
Popularity:
The Bored Samurai
Overview: Saotome Mondonosuke is Hatamoto (a high-class warrior who is allowed to see the Shogun in person) who has a crescent-moon-shaped scar on his forehead with flashy clothes and a handsome face, and is proficient in all the military arts and called Bored Hatamoto. Mikijiro Hira acts as such a hero in history. Mondonosuke is secretly ordered to look into the suspicious movement in Nagoya castle by the Ometsuke, and he found out about the misconduct and sole it. This is a period movie about the hero!
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-02-25
Popularity:
Private Detective DOBU 1
Overview: Dobu (Kunie Tanaka) used to be a soldier but now is a private detective. Three vagrants were killed in a shrine, and Dobu found out that those three had a grudge on a timber whole seller, Hinokiya. He reunited with Zirokichi (Takeo Chii), one of his friends and Nezumi Kozo (a thief) , and he infiltrates Hinokiya together.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-01-01
Popularity:
The Inheritance
Overview: A dying businessman intends to will his fortune to his three illegitimate children, whose whereabouts are unknown, so a bevy of lawyers and associates scheme to take advantage of the situation.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-02-16
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Legacy of Soma: Ao no Ran
Overview: Soma, an immigrant from a defeated country, lives as a fortuneteller in Japan. She is saved from corrupt court officials by Kojiro Masakado, a warrior from Bando. They get swept up in a conflict between Bando and the imperial forces.
Genres: Adventure History Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2015-05-09
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Battle Anthem
Overview: The story of Japan's victory in the battle of Tsushima Strait.
Genres: War History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-06-04
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Private Detective DOBU 2: The Kyoto Murder Case
Overview: Dobu, an Edo samurai, is tasked with investigating a string of noble murders in Kyoto, disrupting his routine in Shimotani.
Genres: Action Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-07-09
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Private Detective DOBU 3: The Exile Island Murder Case
Overview: After six exiles return to Edo, four are mysteriously killed. Two survivors, Kosuke and Kingo, lead a search to uncover a hidden motive behind the murders.
Genres: Action Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-11-19
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Private Detective DOBU 4: The Mysterious Kite Murders Case
Overview: In Edo's autumn, a wave of murders hits, targeting those linked to an old case. A young man, Utaro, takes charge, but Dobu's love interest is involved.
Genres: Drama Action History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-02-11
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Private Detective DOBU 6: The Origami Murder Case
Overview: A spree of murders in the city targets peddlers and komuso monks, all killed in the same method. Dobu investigates after a ronin's death with a unique clue.
Genres: Action Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-12-29
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Illusion of Blood
Overview: The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1965-07-25
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Samurai Justice: A Duel at Takadanobara
Overview: Edo is rocked by the news that a duel to the death is to be held at Takadanobaba, the famed site of a bloody revenge fought by Nakayama Yasubei, who late married into the Ako clan where he was one of the 47 ronin who took vengeance against the vile Lord Kira. This hallowed spot is to host a match between two of the finest swordsmen in Edo. Each is backed by a high ranking direct vassal of the shogun, who had bet their family heirlooms on the outcome. The loser was to commit seppuku and have his clan disbanded. Meanwhile a band of brigands are placing their bets on the fencer who had earlier killed their leader. Can retired master swordsman Akiyama Kohei keep this from becoming a major disaster?
Genres: TV Movie Crime Drama Action History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2005-05-26
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Samurai Justice: The Female Bodyguard
Overview: A chance encounter on the road leads to the unusual need for a female bodyguard to protect the granddaughter of an old friend of Akiyama Kohei, a wealthy merchant who plans to bypass his son-in-law as head of the company. When Daijiro’s wife Mifuyu takes on the job strange things start to happen, including the brutal slaughter of company employees. With the backing of Lord Tanuma, a chief elder on the ruling council, Kohei, Daijiro, and Mifuyu form a plan to foil the kidnappers plot and save the girl from certain death.
Genres: Action Drama History Crime TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2006-01-30
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Hibari the Traveling Performer
Overview: Kimie, a traveling guitarist, performs at various inns at help out her sickly mother. One night while out with her mother, Otoshi, Kimie unexpectedly sees her father, who had abandoned the family 20 years ago. Her hopes for a happy reunion are quickly dashed as her father, having married into a wealthy family, wants nothing to do with her. Will Kimie be able to regain her father’s love?
Genres: Drama Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-08-12
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Flickering Flames
Overview: In the early hours of April 13th, a five year old hemophiliac child was kidnapped by someone from Tanemura General Hospital in Tokyo, Setagaya. Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Inspector Kitahara, who received the report, goes quickly to the Tanemura home, along with other police to speak to the family of the child. Then, suddenly, the phone rings. The kidnapper wants money.
Genres: Mystery Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1977-02-26
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The Shape of Night
Overview: Yoshie Nogami, a factory worker by day, works as a bar hostess at night. She begins a passionate affair with one of her regulars, but his changing demeanor and constant demands for money lead Yoshie down a dark path.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1964-11-01
Popularity:
A Legend of Turmoil
Overview: A story about the development of a bright and strong yakuza. Otaki is an old-fashioned respectful yakuza who tries to protect his small yakuza family. When his boss gets shot, he decides to go after the plotters.
Genres: Crime Action Drama Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1992-01-15
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365 Nights
Overview: A touching drama about a love triangle between a young architect, Koroku, and two women, Ranko and Teruko. Ranko comes from a wealthy family and is offering to repay Koroku’s family debts in exchange for marriage, but Koroku is in love with his landlord’s daughter, Teruko. Things are further complicated when the wicked Tsugawa takes interest in both women, for his own marriage.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-09-09
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The Third Ninja
Overview: Three Iga ninja are on a hunt for Chidoken, a Takeda ninja sent out to assasinate Lord Nobunaga.
Genres: Drama Action Comedy Family Adventure
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1964-03-01
Popularity:
AIBOU: The Movie
Overview: A former TV presenter is murdered. On the same day, two police officers from the Metropolitan police Special Mission Task Force, Sugishita Ukyo (Yutaka Mizutani) and Kameyama Kaoru (Yasufumi Terawaki), are guarding a female Diet member, Katayama Hinako (Yoshino Kimura). The pair identifies explosives and saves her life. From the clues left at the scene, Sugishita builds up his case and finds a connection between the murder of the TV presenter and the attempted murder of the Diet member. During a painstaking investigation, the savage murder case of a young overseas volunteer five years earlier emerges in the background, and the pair prevents indiscriminate murder at the Tokyo Big City Marathon event by suppressing the perpetrator.
Genres: Crime Drama Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2008-05-01
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Early Spring Story
Overview: A high school student Hitomi poses as a university student and ends up in falling in love with middle-aged Okawa, her dead mother's ex-boyfriend. Hitomi's feelings shift back and forth as she is not sure whether it is true love or just a realization of her mother's romantic dream...
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-09-14
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Mask of the Moon
Overview: Young swordsman, Tsukigata Hanpeita, longs for the day when rival clans cease their struggles for power and put an end to meaningless feudal wars. When he is appointed to oversee the Choshu Clan, he takes it upon himself to work towards the peace that he has dreamed about. With his affectionate personality and compassion for life, Hanpeita’s popularity grows among the people, making him a threat to those thirsty for conflict and power. A betrayal by those closest to him leaves Hanpeita caught in a trap that could ultimately cost him his life.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-04-25
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Miyamoto Musashi: The Duel at Ichijo Temple
Overview: In the fourth installment, Musashi's potentially greatest opponent Kojiro jumps in and out of the story at the oddest and most coincidental moments. As his great love Otsu has succumbed to madness. Musashi then sets off to beat the functionaries of a treacherous clan in an arranged duel. 73 against one. Boastful Kojiro watches, secure in the knowledge that only he is a worthy opponent.
Genres: Action Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1964-01-01
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Miyamoto Musashi: Birth of Two Sword Style
Overview: In the third installment of Yoshikawa's novel Musashi, things continue from the 2nd film at the end of battle, where Miyamoto continues on a mission of learning; with the introduction of his arch-rival Sasaki Kojiro; and lastly the large cast of characters rendezvouses for a fateful finale.
Genres: Action Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1963-08-14
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Thousand Cranes
Overview: The entangled relations between the son of a seductive tea-ceremony teacher and the women in his father's life. Based on the novel by Kawabata Yasunari.
Genres: Romance Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1969-04-19
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Sure Death! Brown, You Bounder!
Overview: When the Shogunates greatest secret is stolen, the fate of the nation hangs in the balance. The Shogunate sends an incompetent cop, Tanaka, to Kyoto to act as a stalking horse. Hoping the thieves will kill Tanaka and the Ninja Spies will kill the thieves. But what the Shogunate doesn't realise is that Tanaka's even more incompetent assistant Mondo is in fact the leader of a gang of revengers for hire, there motto is "Sure Death" (or your money cheerfully refunded). Mondo doesn't know that everyone knows about the secret, but they all think he does. Poor Mondo, he not only has to deal with crazed Shogunate extremists, oddball ninjas, crooks who work for the Emperor and bicycle riding foreign death squads. He also have to deal with a wife and a crazy mother-in-law!
Genres: Drama Crime Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-06-29
Popularity:
Life of Hishakaku 2
Overview: Upon his release from the prison, Hishakaku joins the Kikkyo family who is struggling to regain their turf from their rival, Domoto family. To reciprocate the kindness of the Kikkyos, Hishakaku heads to meet the leader of Domoto, Osumi, and finds himself emotionally involved with her.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1963-05-25
Popularity:
Sasuke and His Comedians
Overview: Osaka in the early 1600s, aftermath of the historical Battle of Sekigahara; a group of orphan children are wandering through the battlefield scavenging for armour when they encounter a young boy named Sasuke with magical powers he says came from a meteor that crashed onto the Earth…
Genres: Fantasy Action Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1963-12-11
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Portrait of Chieko
Overview: Takamura, a poet and sculptor, marries a budding artist named Chieko who dreams of becoming an oil painter. When a series of hardships befall her family, she finds herself unable to confide in her husband, and the pain she carries within begins to weigh heavily on her sanity...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1967-06-22
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Three Faces of Love
Overview: When a gifted Japanese craftsmen dies, his three daughters are summoned to decide who will take over the family ribbon business in this family drama. Only one daughter cares to carry on her father's work, but she is met with resistance from her stepmother. One sister cares nothing for the artisan tradition, while the other is an icy opportunist whose only love is for money. It is the daughter who cares the most for her father's work who wanders away in a symbolic journey of self discovery.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1967-01-14
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Saito Dosan: Rage of Power
Overview: During the age of warring clans (Sengoku Jidai), many samurai lords sought to unite the country under their banners by becoming the supreme leader. One of the first to vie for power in this way was Saito Dosan, the 'Viper'. His son-in-law, Oda Nobunaga, did in fact unite the nation after subduing all of his enemies, yet falling at last to the treachery of one of his most trusted generals. This story is a pre-cursor to those later events as the brilliant military strategist Saito Dosan rises to power and notoriety as a great lord in his own right. Directed by Kudo Eiichi and with a tremendous supporting cast that includes Nakamura Toru as Oda Nobunaga and Chiba Shinichi as Akechi Mitsutsugu, battle scenes of awesome power and a unique view of Japanese history, this is a marvelous production highlighted by the action scenes done by the Japan Action Club (JAC).
Genres: History War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1991-01-03
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Tange Sazen and the Princess
Overview: Tange Sazen interferes with an evil plot against the Iga Yagyu family.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-05-03
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The Orphan Brother
Overview: After their father quarrels with local military men, Anju and Zushio are forced to flee, but they are captured and sold into slavery. When their mother dies, they are sold to Sansho the Bailiff, a cruel man who subjects them to hideous torments. While Anju falls into a lake and is transformed into a swan, Zushio escapes and after being adopted to a nobleman grows to a young man. He will then fight to defeat the evil Dayu and free all the slaves.
Genres: History Animation Family Fantasy Adventure
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-07-19
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The Empty Table
Overview: One year has passed since the Kidojis' eldest son Otohiko was arrested for his part in a terrorist kidnapping, which resulted in multiple deaths. Although the parents of all the other perpetrators have either resigned from their professional positions or taken their own lives, Nobuyuki Kidoji tries to remain adamant that he was not responsible for his son's actions.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-11-01
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The South Sea Wolf
Overview: Namie's in trouble again, getting snatched by an evil gang in search of treasure. Kirimaru sets out to rescue his sweetheart, and falls in with a band of pirates who are also hunting the hidden stash.
Genres: Drama Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-07-09
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Samurai Knights
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-05-11
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Samurai Justice: Assistance in a Duel
Overview: The samurai Akiyama Daijiro is asked to help a young boy who tries to bring the man who murdered his father to justice. In the course of their quest they uncover a plot by one of the clan officials that could change the course of history.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-12-14
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To Trap a Kidnapper
Overview: Hideyuki Mitamura, a student at a private school near Osaka, is kidnapped on his way home from school.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-09-25
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League of Gangsters
Overview: A yakuza is released from prison after serving a long sentence. He immediately sets about creating a new gang and attempts to pull off a huge ransom score.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1963-07-31
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The Return of the Newshound and the Lady Cop
Overview: A jewelry broker is killed and a large amount of money is stolen. A female detective from the Metropolitan Police Department transforms into a geisha to catch the criminal.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1987-10-03
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Legends of Honor
Overview: First ninkyo yakuza picture at Toei directed by Teruo Ishii
Genres: Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1963-10-05
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The Driver
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2015-10-11
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The Christian Revolt
Overview: In the year 1637 in Shimabara of Tokugawa-era Japan, oppressed peasant Christians revolt against the shogunate with the aid of a charismatic Christian rebel leader Shiro Amakusa.
Genres: Drama History War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-03-21
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Case of Umon: Woman of the Magic Lantern
Overview: Detective Umon’s services are called upon when ronin Yaichiro is killed with a peculiar weapon, a stone wrapped in a towel.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-08-01
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A Young Warrior on Mount Fuji
Overview: The epic battles between the Heike and Genji (Taira and Minamoto clans) take centerstage as the defeated leader of the Genji, Minamoto Yoritomo resolves to end his clan's exile and avenge the brutal loss in December, 1159 as they had fought under the white banner of the Emperor, while the Taira fought under their red flags in a battle to the death. The fight only took one day, with the Genji suffering utter defeat which led to their exile. His father, Yoshitomo, took responsibility for the loss and rather than live in humiliation, he decides to commit suicide with all his sons following him. However, the bravest warrior among them, Yoritomo stands tall and declares that he will not kill himself, but rather will fight to restore the clan.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-04-09
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The Street of Desire
Overview: A valet at a fancy nightclub hatches a plot to punish those responsible for his father's death.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1984-04-14
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The Red Shadow
Overview: Fifteen years after Ishida Mitsunari lost in the battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu foresees his unavoidable battle with Toyotomi Hideyori and goes into Fushimi Castle. At the night, Hattori Hanzo, the leader of 36 Iga members who were performing as guards of the castle, perceives the existence of a ninja and captures the mysterious sneaker.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-12-24
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The Shootout
Overview: A run-in with the police once again puts three former reformatory inmates on the wrong side of the law. Their situation becomes increasingly desperate as events spin out of control, culminating in an audacious hijack at sea...
Genres: Drama Crime Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-09-15
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Tom Cat Holmes' Deduction
Overview: A detective film by Nobuhiko Ōbayashi. Made for TV.
Genres: Mystery Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-09-23
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Sword of Destiny
Overview: When master swordsman Mikogami Genshiro of the Ono fencing school returns to find that his ailing sensei has been murdered in the dead of night, he must find the culprit and exact revenge. His return sets off a series of violent incidents and incites a high ranked female skilled in sword to test his mettle after he unwittingly offends her. The ever delightful Misora Hibari co-stars with the great Tsuruta Koji in this exciting tale set in the earliest days of the Tokugawa shogunate. Lots of exciting swordfights highlight this entertaining motion picture!
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1960-12-11
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Lady Sen and Hideyori
Overview: From the late 1500's through the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate many battles were fought as the great warlords vied for power over the nation. Princess Sen, a daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu, is caught amidst the family feud between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi families. When her father Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu attacks her husband Toyotomi Hideyori's castle, her life takes a sudden turn for the worse. Will she ever find peace in her life again? One of Hibari Misora's most memorable performances, a movie you will never forget!
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-03-25
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Willful Murder
Overview: The president of the Japanese National Railways is found dead during a period in which train service is plagued by numerous layoffs, strikes and shutdowns. The government says that the president was murdered; the police claim it was a suicide. A quizzical reporter follows the case for years, but the basic question remains unanswered: was the victim killed by members of the burgeoning Communist movement in Japan, or was the death stage-managed by the authorities in hopes of discrediting the Communists?
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-11-07
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Oración
Overview: Set on a quiet ranch in Hokkaido. One day, a colt is born from a legendary bloodline. It is given the name Oracion or "prayer". When Oracion is grown, a factory owner buys the horse. Will he be the key to solving the man's problems? Based on the novel by Teru Miyamoto.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1988-07-23
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Tragedy of the Coolie Samurai
Overview: Gonza was a handsome young laborer, a footman and spear-carrier, working hard for his meager wage. All Gonza wanted was to marry his young sweetheart, but despite their mutual poverty, her status as the daughter of a samurai blocked their path to happiness. A chance opportunity to achieve samurai status would come one day, but Gonza will regret trusting the so-called honorable samurai who extended this fateful offer, and the terrible price he'd pay, fighting for his life in one of the most blood-spattered samurai battles ever filmed.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1963-04-21
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Amagi Pass
Overview: Japan in the 1940s. A high school boy went into a magic encounter with Ozuka Hana, a geisha (pub-girl) when he traveled through Amagi Pass. A mysterious murder took place afterwards, an Ozuka was held responsible. 40 years later, the boy, who became a printing shop owner, was visited by a retired policeman who came from Amagi Pass. The truth then started to reveal itself.
Genres: Crime Fantasy Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-02-19
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Tunnel Fantasy: Dream Legend of Tonkararin
Overview: Zuiketsu Genso: Tonkararin Yume Densetsu is a 1998 Japanese historical drama directed by Takashi Miike. It is one of three historical films included in the 2002 DVD compilation, Kumamoto Monogatari. The other two are Kikuchi-jo Monogatari: Sakimori-tachi no Uta and Onna Kunishuu Ikki, both also directed by Miike.
Genres: History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1998-01-01
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Warm Current
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1966-04-29
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Baian the Assassin: Showdown
Overview: Fujieda Baian is admired during the day as a skilled acupuncturist. However, at night, he is a highly skilled assassin, taking on contracts to quietly eliminate those whose existence is deemed toxic to society. Baian's latest target, assigned by his boss Otowa, is Shirakoya Kikuemon, the head of a powerful organization in Osaka. In the past, Baian had been indebted to Shirakoya, but due to a conflict involving the swordsman Kosugi Jūgorō, their relationship has turned adversarial. After his lover is abducted, Shirakoya storms into Edo. With his life now targeted, Baian resolves to confront Shirakoya in a desperate final showdown.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-10-06
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Revenge for His Lover
Overview: Kamio a mistreated samurai clerk of Edo Castle and ronin (“Sir Quarrel”) Ibara, take up a vendetta against 17 wicked castle men.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-11-11
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Tenpo suiko-den: ohara yugaku
Overview: A great famine struck all of Japan: the so-called Great Tenpō famine. It was a time when there were frequent uprisings in rural areas due to farmers losing their land as a result of strict tax collection. The Tonegawa area of Boso was a lawless area for a generation, as two major forces fought against each other: Sukegoro of Iioka, who wields power with his industrial capital behind him, and Shigezo of Sasakawa, a rising yakuza. Furthermore, the successive floods of the Tone River, which could be called fate, forced the farmers into even more poverty and despair. Meanwhile, farmers in Nabe Village continue to live a lethargic life, but agricultural reform is about to begin under the hands of Yugaku Ohara, a ronin who has settled in the village.
Genres: History Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1976-11-13
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Tokugawa Ichizoku no Houkai
Overview:
Genres: Drama History War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1980-05-24
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Tibetan Dog
Overview: Jiantan is a young boy who has to leave Xi'an after the death of his mother to go deep into the Tibetan prairies to start living with the father he barely remembers. His dad, LaGeBa, is a busy doctor who decided to depart from the city and reside in Tibet where he is the essential physician of the poor community he lives in. To help his father, Jiantan has to learn how to herd sheep. While trying to learn his new responsibility, he is saved by a stray gold-colored Tibetan Mastiff. Both Jiantan and the big dog help each other as they try to adjust to this new environment.
Genres: Animation
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2011-07-15
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Works of the Fish Man
Overview: Katsujiro the fisherman overcomes his laziness when he learns of his younger sister Okiku’s unfortunate fate. Nakamura Kinnosuke stars in two roles (Katsugoro and Aoyama Harima) in this film about the tragic nature of society in the late Edo period.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-08-26
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The Shogun and the Fishmonger
Overview: Fishmonger Tasuke and Shogun Iemitsu swap their identities in pretence for the protection of Iemitsu.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-01-03
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I'll Cry Alone
Overview: "Though still young, Natsuko gave up the life of a geisha to become the mistress of the president of a shipbuilding company. When he is about to re-marry she insists he either wed or stop seeing her. Returning home, she again meets the man she first loved and for a time thinks of married happiness."
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1965-04-17
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誰もが信じられない！
Overview: A wheelchair-bound daughter is told that her mother's death was a murder and asks for an investigation, gradually learning the secret of her own birth.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-06-11
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