Koji Yakusho
Also Known As: 橋本広司, Koji Hashimoto, Kôji Yakusho, Kouji Yakusho, Кодзі Якусьо, קוז'י יאקושו, کوجی یاکوشو
Biography: Kōji Hashimoto (橋本 広司, Hashimoto Kōji, born 1 January 1956), known professionally as Kōji Yakusho (役所 広司, Yakusho Kōji), is a Japanese actor. He is known internationally for his starring roles in Shall We Dance? (1996), 13 Assassins (2010), The Third Murder (2017), The Blood of Wolves (2018), Under the Open Sky (2020) and The Days (2023). For his performance in Perfect Days (2023), he was awarded the Best Actor award in the 76th Cannes Film Festival.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Isahaya, Japan
Birthday: January 01, 1956
Adult: No
Gender: Male
Popularity:
Known For:
Babel
Overview: In Babel, a tragic incident involving an American couple in Morocco sparks a chain of events for four families in different countries throughout the world.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-10-26
Popularity:
The Great Department Store Robbery
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1987-12-26
Popularity:
The Eel
Overview: A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1997-05-12
Popularity:
Shall We Dance?
Overview: A bored Japanese accountant sees a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves ballroom dancing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private detective to find out why he has started coming home late smelling of perfume.
Genres: Music Comedy Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1996-01-27
Popularity:
Tampopo
Overview: In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle-soup making". Interspersed are satirical vignettes about the importance of food to different aspects of human life.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-11-23
Popularity:
Sleeping Man
Overview: Ever since an accident in the mountains outside town, Takuji's slept in a coma; his neighbors care for him as new events occur every day.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1996-02-03
Popularity:
Doppelganger
Overview: Shortly after hearing from a colleague about a woman whose brother committed suicide after seeing his doppelgänger, a Japanese engineer on the verge of a breakthrough in medical technology is confronted by his own.
Genres: Comedy Science Fiction Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-09-27
Popularity:
Bounce Ko Gals
Overview: Filmed somewhat in documentary style, it follows three girls over the span of one day and night in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Jonko runs a group of high school girls involved in paid dating, Raku is a street dancer, and Togo was brought up in the US and back in Japan for one year wants to escape to New York. Their contact with the world of talent scouts and yakuza places them in danger.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1997-10-18
Popularity:
Pulse
Overview: In the immense city of Tokyo, the darkness of the afterlife lures some of its inhabitants who are desperately trying to escape the sadness and isolation of the modern world.
Genres: Horror Thriller Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2001-02-03
Popularity:
Séance
Overview: A psychic housewife and her husband accidentally find a kidnapped girl. But instead of informing the police, they hatch a scheme to get famous by working with the police as a psychic consultant to "find" the girl. And then, things start to go terribly wrong.
Genres: Drama Horror TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-08-07
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Gelatin Silver, Love
Overview: The story of a photographer who becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman who lives in the apartment opposite his.
Genres: Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-03-07
Popularity:
Cure
Overview: A detective starts spiraling out of control when a wave of gruesome murders with seemingly similar bizarre circumstances is sweeping Tokyo.
Genres: Crime Thriller Horror Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1997-12-27
Popularity:
Eureka
Overview: In rural Japan, the survivors of a tragedy converge and attempt to overcome their damaged selves, all while a serial killer is on the loose.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-05-18
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Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean
Overview: A drama set during World War II where a submarine carrying a secret weapon attempts to stop a planned third atomic bombing of Japan. Based on Harutoshi Fukui's novel Shuusen no Lorelei.
Genres: Drama War Science Fiction Thriller Action Adventure
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2005-03-05
Popularity:
University of Laughs
Overview: In pre-war Japan, a government censor tries to make the writer for a theater troupe alter his comedic script. As they work with and against each other, the script ends up developing in unexpected ways.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-10-30
Popularity:
Warm Water Under a Red Bridge
Overview: A down-and-out businessman travels to a seaside town, where he meets a woman with unusual sexual powers.
Genres: Fantasy Drama Comedy Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2001-11-03
Popularity:
Hunter in the Dark
Overview: Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.
Genres: Action Adventure Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1979-06-17
Popularity:
Retribution
Overview: A detective investigates a series of murders. A possible serial killer might be on a rampage, since they all are in the same vicinity and by the same method, but as the evidence points toward the detective as the prime suspect, a ghost in red follows him, and he begins to question his identity. His realization of what seems to have really happened results in something much more sinister and larger in scope, and it leaves his psyche scarred.
Genres: Thriller Horror Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-02-24
Popularity:
Paco and the Magical Book
Overview: Onuki asks people in a hospital to perform a play for Paco, who suffers from memory disorder. His only hope is to help Paco survive from her illness.
Genres: Comedy Drama Family
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2008-09-13
Popularity:
Lost Paradise
Overview: Kuki is a veteran newspaper reporter who has been shuffled off to a book-development branch and finds escape in an illicit relationship with Rinko. Together they find the passion no longer present in their marriages.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1997-05-10
Popularity:
The Last Ronin
Overview: 16 years after the fateful "revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin," involving samurais from the Ako domain who avenged their leader and then commited seppuku (ritual suicide), the sole survivor of that incident, Kichiemon Terasaka (Koichi Sato) traverses the country on a mission. His purpose is to find the families of the fallen samurais and spread the truth of the ronin uprising.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2010-12-18
Popularity:
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai
Overview: A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2011-10-15
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
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The Woodsman and the Rain
Overview: A widowed lumberjack's life is turned upside down when a film crew shooting a zombie movie asks for his help and increasingly starts to rely on him.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2012-02-11
Popularity:
Suite Dreams
Overview: New Year's Eve at a posh hotel and all should be shipshape. It is not. There is the traditional party, an official ceremony, entertainment and a special dinner planned and yet there is trouble everywhere. An Animal is on the loose, a politician to protect, a prostitute to handle, a bellhop to focus and a few things more.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2006-01-14
Popularity:
Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet
Overview: Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) was the Japanese Naval commander who was given the order to attack Pearl Harbour, an order he was duty bound to obey which went against his own personal beliefs. While this infamous attack is a low point in Japanese and US history it wouldn’t have happened if the Japanese government had listened to Yamamoto in 1939 and searched for a more peaceful way to end their war campaign, proving his many ominous presages of the outcomes of the attack to come true.
Genres: History War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2011-12-23
Popularity:
The Summit: A Chronicle Of Stones to Serenity
Overview: In 1907, a group of men climb an unconquered peak in the last unmapped region of Japan.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-06-20
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Another Way: D-Kikan-Joho
Overview:
Genres: Drama War TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1988-09-17
Popularity:
The Terminal Trust
Overview: Shinzo Egi is an asthma sufferer who does not want to be place on life support. As a last request, Shinzo Egi asks his doctor Ayano Orii if she could follow his wish. Doctor Ayano Orii is then questioned in a criminal case because of her decision.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2012-10-27
Popularity:
Aurora Borealis
Overview: The story of a man and a wolf-dog in East Siberia during the early 1900s.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ru
Release Date: 1990-08-03
Popularity:
The Law of Hell
Overview: At a restaurant called Anrakutei on an island is a wasteland surrounded by moat and swamp. The owner Ikuzo manages the restaurant with his daughter. It’s customers who have a dark past have utmost respect for Ikuzo. One day, a half-dead man Tomijiro comes to the restaurant. This is the beginning of Ikuzo’s terrible fight.
Genres: Drama Action History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-08-30
Popularity:
Perfect Days
Overview: Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2023-11-10
Popularity:
Yukon
Overview: Takayuki Iwabuchi, a former yakuza member with a tattoo of Kisshoten on his back. Although he has a criminal record, he is currently working as a driver at a hearse transportation company. One day, a young man visits the company and asks Takayuki to transport the body of his fiancé, Sawa, who had unexpectedly passed away, to her hometown in a rural area of Takamatsu, Shikoku. Takayuki decides to go to Shikoku with the young man, However, the man disappears when leaving to take a call while they are stopped at a rest area near Setoo Bridge. Left alone, Takayuki arrives at Sawa's home village after much searching. He then tells Sawa's bereaved family about the situation at her parents' house. There, he learns of the tradition of posthumous marriage, or 'Yukon', from the village elder...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1998-01-10
Popularity:
The World of Kanako
Overview: When Kanako, a model daughter and a brilliant student, disappears, her mother asks her ex-husband, a violent former policeman, to find her. As his investigation progresses, his idealized image of Kanako cracks: the girl hides a dark life that her father can not even imagine.
Genres: Mystery Crime Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2014-07-04
Popularity:
The Kiyosu Conference
Overview: After the forced suicide of Nobunaga Oda at the Incident at Honnō-ji, powerful figures Katsuie Shibata, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Nagahide Niwa and Tsuneoki Ikeda meet to decide on a successor. The conference would become Japan's first group made political decision. The meeting was known as the Kiyosu Kaigi.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2013-11-09
Popularity:
Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window
Overview: This engaging series of childhood recollections tells of an unconventional school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. The school had old railroad cars for classrooms and was run by an extraordinary man – its founder and headmaster, Sōsaku Kobayashi – who deeply valued children's independence, and who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity.
Genres: Animation Drama Family
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2023-12-08
Popularity:
Gratitude
Overview: A man wanders alone, away from his family, in search of a place to die. He runs away from the massage therapist who is supposed to heal him, and drives into the deep mountains in a car he stole on the road. He abandons his car and walks further into the forest, where he meets a strange young man.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2022-02-06
Popularity:
History of Jirocho Shimizu
Overview: A historical chivalric drama with tears and laughter, telling the story of Jirocho Shimizu's family, his confrontation with Katsuzo Kurokoma's family, right up to the final battle on the Tenryu River to avenge Ishimatsu Mori.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-03-03
Popularity:
Toad's Oil
Overview: The story of Takuro Yazawa, a day trader who claims he can earn hundreds of millions of yen in one day, and those around him as they attempt to cope with the death of his son and somehow find a way to benefit spiritually from the experience.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-06-06
Popularity:
The Lakeside Murder Case
Overview: Three couples are staying at a lakeside cottage with their children. They want them to prepare intensely for a prestigious high school's entrance exam with the help of a private tutor. One night, one of the wives confesses to her husband that she has killed his mistress.
Genres: Mystery Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-01-22
Popularity:
Silk
Overview: French silkworm trader Hervé is married to the beautiful Hélène. When an outbreak of disease ravages European silkworms, Hervé must travel to Japan to retrieve healthy eggs. After a long journey, Hervé finally arrives at a village where he can buy them. He becomes infatuated with a young concubine and goes to great lengths to see her again. But, when war breaks out in Japan, the concubine flees, forcing Hervé to return home to his wife.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-09-14
Popularity:
Família
Overview: One day a young Brazilian man living in Japan crashes his car into the side of the house of a happy family. They take him in after realizing he had been beaten. As they get to know each other they find the bonds of family transcend blood and lineage.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2023-01-06
Popularity:
Twelve Months
Overview: A young queen requests a bouquet of snowdrop flowers for New Year's Day in exchange for a reward. One greedy woman sends her stepdaughter, whom she does not like, to look for the flowers in a cold forest, knowing the task will be impossible for her. The girl almost freezes to death in the forest, but she is rescued by the spirits of the Twelve Months, who create spring around her. The girl is able to deliver the bouquet to the queen, but others want a share of the reward.
Genres: Fantasy Animation Adventure Family
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1980-03-15
Popularity:
Tadon and Chikuwa
Overview: A film based on two short stories by Shiina Makoto. Tadon is the story of a cab-driver who spends his days listening to his passengers' conversations. Chikuwa is about a writer who faces a creativity bottleneck.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1998-12-05
Popularity:
Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather
Overview: Onimasa is the egocentric boss of a small yakuza clan on Shikoku Island, whose criminal duties conflict with his self-image as a chivalrous samurai. His struggles with his boss, the Shikoku Godfather, and the tumultuous life of his adopted daughter, Matsue, form the backdrop of this epic tale of justice, obedience, and bloody vengeance.
Genres: Action Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-06-05
Popularity:
Dora-heita
Overview: A new magistrate in the town of Horisoto—widely reputed to be the most lawless township in Japan, uses guile and his opponents' own misperceptions and prejudices to defeat his enemies and uproot corruption.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-05-13
Popularity:
Kamikaze Taxi
Overview: A young foot soldier in the yakuza seeks revenge when his prostitute girlfriend dies after a session with a high-ranking Japanese politician with a taste for torture. He sets out on a 'kamikaze' mission to kill his bosses and the politician; along the way, he acquires the aid of a taxi driver who has recently returned to Japan after living in South America for several decades and is struggling to cope with poverty and the prejudices of native-born Japanese.
Genres: Crime Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-04-29
Popularity:
I Just Didn't Do It
Overview: A young man is falsely accused of molesting a high-school girl on a train. He is arrested and charged, and goes through endless court sessions, all the while insisting that he is innocent.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-01-20
Popularity:
License to Live
Overview: Yutaka was fourteen years old when he was run over by a car and fell into a coma. Now, ten years later, he wakes up and realizes that his family is not intact anymore: father, mother and sister live at different places. Yutaka decides to re-open the pony farm that his family once ran.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-01-23
Popularity:
Charisma
Overview: A seasoned detective is called in to rescue a politician held hostage by a lunatic. In a brief moment of uncertainty, he misses the chance for action. Leaving his job and family without explanation, he makes his way to a mountain forest, encountering a peculiar tree called Charisma.
Genres: Mystery Drama Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-11-10
Popularity:
Chronicle of My Mother
Overview: Best-selling novelist Kosaku Igami has made a career out of using his family as fodder for his novels, much to their dismay. When his mother, the spirited family matriarch, is diagnosed with dementia, Igami must come to terms with the toll his own behavior has taken on his increasingly distant family and resolve his own long-simmering resentments. Evocative of classic Ozu, this gorgeously wrought epic family portrait explores the tenderness and trappings of familial bonds.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2012-04-28
Popularity:
The Emperor in August
Overview: In July 1945, during the end of World War II, Japan is forced to accept the Potsdam Declaration. A cabinet meeting has continued through days and nights, but a decision cannot be made. The U.S. drops atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. General Korechika Anami is torn over making the proper decision and the Emperor of Japan worries about his people. Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki leads the cabinet meeting, while Chief Secretary Hisatsune Sakomizu can't do anything, but watch the meeting. At this time, Major Kenji Hatanaka and other young commissioned officers, who are against Japan surrendering, move to occupy the palace and a radio broadcasting station. The radio station is set to broadcast Emperor Hirohito reading out the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War.
Genres: History War Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2015-08-08
Popularity:
Tokyo Sonata
Overview: A young boy takes interest in piano while his family begins to disintegrate around him after his father loses his job.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2008-09-27
Popularity:
The Choice of Hercules
Overview: When radicals from Japan's Red Army took a woman hostage in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano in 1972, Officer Atsuyuki Sassa was put in charge of diffusing the situation. But the task had its challenges. Upon arriving in mountainous Nagano, Sassa had to compete with freezing winter temperatures, conflicting opinions between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Nagano Prefectural Police, as well as public opinion to gain entrance to the lodge that held the single woman captive.
Genres: Drama Action Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2002-05-11
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Whistleblower
Overview: A seemingly lazy salaryman is tasked with managing a company secret.
Genres: Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2019-02-01
Popularity:
The Boy and the Beast
Overview: Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his spirit guide. That encounter leads them to many adventures.
Genres: Action Adventure Animation Drama Family Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2015-07-11
Popularity:
Father of the Milky Way Railroad
Overview: Kenji, the eldest son of Masajiro, a wealthy moneylender, refuses to work in the family business and becomes obsessed with farming, jewelry and religion.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2023-05-05
Popularity:
I Am Searching For Myself
Overview: Interview with actress Nana Komatsu on her debut film "The World of Kanako".
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2014-06-02
Popularity:
The Fir Trees Remain
Overview: The 21-year-old feudal on Sendai, Tsunamune Date, was prohibited to go out in the daytime for his misbehavior during his short stay in Edo. On the next day, his 4 attendants were killed one after another. Sakai Utanokamike, the Rozyu, is turned out to be involved in this scheme, and the aim is to destroy the Date family. Tsunamune's brother Munekatsu Date who is willing to take over the family doesn't know the real purpose of Utanokami and helps him. Munesuku Harada gets to know the whole picture of the incident and takes action alone for the sake of protecting the Date family, leaving his own family. His lonely fight continues for 10 years and he got in danger in Utanokamike's house, and...
Genres: History Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-12-01
Popularity:
Ekiro
Overview: An employee of a bank goes missing following his retirement from the bank. Veteran detective Yobuno (Koji Yakusho), who is set to retire himself, is charged with the investigating the missing person case. Det. Yobuno quickly finds more mysterious as he delves into the case, but a woman named Keiko Fukumura (Eri Fukatsu) surfaces who may hold the key to case.
Genres: TV Movie Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-04-11
Popularity:
Ryuichi Sakamoto - Ars longa, vita brevis
Overview: A Music Special episode broadcasted by NHK. This documentary looks back at the great achievements and innovative works of Ryuichi Sakamoto's carreer, with a variety of rare footage from the NHK archives and other sources. The programme is narrated by Koji Yakusho, a long-time friend of Sakamoto.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date:
Popularity:
Hakkenden
Overview: Takizawa Bakin, a popular Edo period author, begins to recount a story he is planning in front of his friend, the artist Katsushika Hokusai. The story is about eight warriors who, each carrying a jewel, gather together as if guided by fate and embark on a harsh journey to fight the curse of the Satomi family. Hokusai is drawn into the story that Bakin is telling, and visits Bakin on various occasions to hear the rest of the story, and a strange relationship between the two begins. The serialization becomes Bakin's life's work, with the idea of "rewarding good and punishing evil in a world where evil is rampant," but after 28 years, as the story finally approaches its climax, Bakin begins to lose his sight. With the completion of the story in doubt, he receives an unexpected proposal from his daughter-in-law. Will the story ever be completed?
Genres: Drama Fantasy War
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2024-10-01
Popularity:
Crimson Lotus
Overview: Sakura and Kenzo are married. Both think they can live a happy marriage, despite the fact that she cannot have children and he does not want to give up her relationship with her lover Yoko.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-02-13
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Jubaku: Spellbound
Overview: When a major bank is caught paying off a corporate extortionist, the media and prosecutors begin to dig, breaking open a money-and-favours scandal that threatens to rock the entire structure of business and government to its core. While the bank's top executives continue to vacillate, a quartet of middle-management reformers, led by straight-arrow Kitano (Koji Yakusho), decide to stage a boardroom coup and install a new, clean management team. With the aid of a hotshot news anchor (Miho Wada) and a hard-nosed prosecutor (Kenichi Endo), heads begin to roll.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-09-18
Popularity:
Oh Lucy!
Overview: A lonely, chain-smoking office lady in Tokyo falls for her teacher when she decides to take English lessons. When her teacher disappears, she sets out on a journey to find him.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2017-03-22
Popularity:
The Third Murder
Overview: A lawyer tasked with defending a robbery-and-murder suspect begins developing doubts about what truly happened.
Genres: Drama Mystery Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2017-09-09
Popularity:
Dark Society in the East
Overview: A story about the activities of Southeast Asian Mafia gangs in Shinjuku. Ryosuke Kano is an ex French Foreign Legion soldier and is now a cocaine smuggler and dealer. He is acquainted with Larry, a Japanese American, but he turned out to be an undercover cop from New York.
Genres: Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-05-15
Popularity:
The Legend of Sayo
Overview: Sayo has just celebrated her sixteenth birthday when she attends a temple festival. On her way back she sees a large cherry tree which is infamous for the legend of dead white horse. When her fiancé returns from war and visits her he comes across a white horse which he takes in. The man also does not see himself engaged anymore as his family has lost its wealth.
Genres: Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-12-17
Popularity:
A Samurai Chronicle
Overview: A retired samurai must redeem himself for a crime that he committed earlier in his life.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2014-10-04
Popularity:
Sekigahara
Overview: The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.
Genres: War History Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2017-08-26
Popularity:
Mifune: The Last Samurai
Overview: An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-12-02
Popularity:
Fireflies: River of Light
Overview: After finally passing his teacher's exam, Miwa (Yukiyoshi Ozawa) devoted himself to teaching in a rustic primary school. He struggles to get through to his students, until he creates a class project to raise fireflies to fly over it once again. All students, even the reserved girl Hikari (Risako Sugaya), become passionately involved in the project. However, it brings them into conflict with parents and the school, one problem after another stands in his way.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-06-05
Popularity:
Argentine Hag
Overview: After the death of her dearest mother, her serious-minded father goes missing, leaving their only daughter Mitsuko. Six months later, it turns out that he is at Yuri's house, who is rumored to be an eccentric and is commonly known as Argentine hag.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-03-24
Popularity:
The Hunter and the Hunted
Overview: Jin (Yakusho), a young, widowed police detective who is thinking of leaving the force to better take care of his 8 year old daughter Misaki (Kanno), by chance arrests Neko (Emoto), an accomplished middle aged burglar who has just fixed Misaki's bicycle. After Neko has several weeks to see Jin in the interrogation room, he decides to confess to Jin and teach him how to become a capable detective and worthy adversary. By the time Neko serves his 10 year sentence, Jin is a highly regarded detective and they can they start their contest in earnest.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-01-17
Popularity:
The Blood of Wolves
Overview: Set in 1988 in Hiroshima, Japan, prior to the enactment of the anti-organized crime law. A rumor exists that Detective Shogo Ogami has ties with the yakuza. He is partnered with Detective Shuichi Hioka and they investigate a missing person case involving a financial company employee. Conflicts between opposing yakuza groups become more serious.
Genres: Crime Thriller Drama Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2018-05-12
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The Sin
Overview: A housewife was killed by a falling fire extinguisher, which a boy of seven years dropped from the top floor of an apartment. The offender, however, was not accused because he was too young. Ten years later, a series of murders occur, which target young girls only. It is the boy accused of killing the housewife who comes up in the couse of investigation, while the son of the murdered mother is the witness of a new murder. When the two families of the offender and of the victim meet again, two opposite morals conflict with each other – one is to crack down on the sin beyond the law and another is to disapprove the retaliation.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-10-18
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Mirai
Overview: Unhappy after his new baby sister displaces him, four-year-old Kun begins meeting people and pets from his family's history in their unique house in order to help him become the big brother he was meant to be.
Genres: Animation Family Fantasy Adventure Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2018-06-16
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Eternal Monument
Overview: A remake of the 1953 film of the same name.
Genres: War Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-06-12
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Bonds
Overview: Tetsuro Haga is a troubled gangster, living under the assumed identity Ise for ten years, to escape jail for gunning down his cruel adoptive father. His life begins to unravel when a journalist following him takes an interest in the wife of a boyhood chum, and the wife of another close friend takes an interest in Ise. A couple of murders later, Ise/Haga goes on the run and also sets out for revenge.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1998-06-06
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Wings Over Everest
Overview: An experienced mountain rescue team is tasked with recovering crucial documents from Everest’s notorious death zone
Genres: Action
Original Language: zh
Release Date: 2019-09-12
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Walking My Life
Overview: A 48-year-old company chief, Yukihiro Fujiyama (Koji Yakusho) goes to a hospital. There he discovered that he has got terminal lung cancer and will die within half a year. He declines any treatment and decides to go to see some people he has not met for years, to write farewell letters to his family, relatives and friends...
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-10-27
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Shabu
Overview: Makabe is a yakuza who is addicted to 'shabu' (a slang refers to stimulant drug). He lives as if he wants to destroy himself. He steals a mistress of the boss of a big yakuza syndicate by force. He takes over the yakuza group he belongs to, by killing the old boss. When he tries to use 'shabu' as the main finacial resource of his group, it leads to the serious confrontation with another big yakuza syndicate.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1996-05-28
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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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Under the Open Sky
Overview: Mikami, an ex-yakuza of middle age with most of his life in prison, gets released after serving 13 years of sentence for murder. Hoping to find his long lost mother, from whom he was separated as a child, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director Tsunoda. Meanwhile, he struggles to get a proper job and fit into society. His impulsive, adamant nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction in his relationship with Tsunoda and those who want to help him.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2021-02-11
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Memoirs of a Geisha
Overview: In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.
Genres: Drama Romance History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-12-06
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Osaka Gokudo Senso: Shinoidare
Overview:
Genres: Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1994-06-13
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Tokyo: Level One
Overview: Panic occurs when the Governor of Tokyo proposes to attract a nuclear power plant to Tokyo.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-03-13
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Belle
Overview: Suzu is a 17-year-old high-school student living in a rural town with her father. Wounded by the loss of her mother at a young age, Suzu one day discovers the massive online world "U" and dives into this alternate reality as her avatar, Belle. Before long, all of U's eyes are fixed on Belle, when, suddenly, a mysterious, dragon-like figure appears before her.
Genres: Animation Science Fiction Drama Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2021-07-16
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The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai
Overview:
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2022-06-17
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The Supporting Actors in Byplaywood
Overview: In a studio at the foot of Mt. Fuji, Gaku Hamada is struggling to shoot a movie with a dog in the lead role. Enter a huge cast of veteran actors who get involved in misadventures while on set.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2021-04-09
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Megumi no Sekai
Overview: A unique combination of social problem and entertainment TV movie about a female journalist who is hurt to the core when the truth of an article is questioned.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-04-19
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Suzume Iro Doki
Overview: The TV movie is about a third-rate female lawyer who is an alcoholic, has a history of divorce, and only handles divorce settlements. She spends her days in a state of despondency, but when her estranged husband and daughter disappear, she embarks on a search, partly out of ambition.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date:
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Snowflowers: Seeds of Hope
Overview: A touching true story which portrays a doctor who selflessly dedicated his personal fortune to spreading the smallpox vaccination for saving people's lives.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2025-01-24
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Keijitachi no Natsu
Overview: The TV movie follows a detective with a burning sense of justice who risks his life to pursue a corruption case involving the prime minister's office.
Genres: TV Movie Crime Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1999-04-01
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People Without a Fort
Overview: After female high school student Furuya Meiko is found dead in her apartment from an apparent suicide, police investigate and discover that she was involved in prostitution. The night before Meiko's death, her secret job was exposed and broadcasted to the public by well-known journalist Nagasaka Fumio on a very popular news program. Filled with anger and confusion, her boyfriend, Yahiro Kiichiro vows to get revenge on Nagasaka.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-09-24
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Common Ground: Under Construction Notes
Overview: The making of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel is chronicled through an observational approach that captures the creative and logistical challenges of filming a deeply interconnected narrative across four continents. Directed by Carlos Armella and Pedro González-Rubio, the documentary reveals Iñárritu’s commitment to authenticity and cultural sensitivity, from collaborating with local actors and communities to meticulously recreating environments. Through behind-the-scenes footage and the director’s reflective commentary, it delves into themes of human connection, the boundaries we hold within ourselves, and the visceral nature of communication, offering profound insights into the philosophy behind the acclaimed film.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: es
Release Date: 2007-09-30
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Takeda Shingen
Overview: During the 16th century, Japan was involved in the Sengoku Period, an era of civil wars and the powerful warlords who fought them. One of the earliest and strongest of these men was the Lord Takeda Shingen, a tremendous military genius.
Genres: TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1991-01-01
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Sometimes Repentance
Overview: The latest film by Tetsuya Nakashima. Based on the novel by Bunzo Uchikai.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2025-06-01
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