During the tumultuous end of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Tengu Party rose in rebellion in Mito. Friends from their hometown, Tanaka Genzo and Fujita Koshiro, each walked different paths. Koshiro, who upheld the philosophy of "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians," became a leader of the Tengu...
A Japanese comedy from the end of the silent era (it has music) from a popular series. A feud, a practical joke and romance are the set up for some great comedy and drama from a team of distinctive appearance who are exploiting their silent cinema styles to the full.
During the 17th Century roving bands of hatamoto were causing trouble in the new capital city of Edo and constantly fought with the townspeople at every turn. The leader of these ruthless samruai was Mizuno Jirozaemon, who despite his high rank was in deep financial distress, thus leading to a...
It chronicles the experiences of a neighbourhood doctor, whose taste for tonkatsu (a popular Japanese dish, similar to a pork schnitzel) earns him the nickname ‘the pork cutlet prince’ (‘Tonkatsu Taisho’, the film’s Japanese title) from the affectionate residents of the tenement in which...
Ishihara Kiyoshi plans to marry the woman he loves, Chiee, a coffee shop girl. After an accident, Chiee loses her memory. A romance movie whose original work by Ayako Sono was made into a melodrama by a combination of Shinoda Masahiro and Terayama Shuji.
This period film is inspired by one of the most notorious scandals to have taken place in Edo-period Japan. The heroine, Ejima, was a lady of the Ooku, the harem of Edo Castle in which the Shogun’s mother, wife and concubines resided, forbidden from contact with any other man except in the...
A father and son are both heavy drinkers. However, the son dies in an accident at a bar, leaving behind a fiance…. A unique social satire that focuses on why people drink alcohol.
Set in a rubber company in Tokyo, this comedy depicts the sorrows of salarymen in a humorous way, centering on the commotion caused by the passionate salaryman Goro Mutsu, who is transferred from Kyushu.
The obstinate black market trader Okyo lives together with her son Seitaro, who works as a mechanic for a bus company. She also looks after her son's colleague, the bus driver Fujita. When he causes an accident one day, Seitaro testifies against him due to his moral scruples, thus getting his...
A young woman is attacked by a serial rapist and murderer whom her detective father is investigating. Though she survives, the impact of the event creates increasing discord and agony for her and her loved ones.
A power struggle in the fief of Okazaki causes the death of Namiji, a nobleman's daughter. As her fiancé seeks revenge, he finds Namiji's cat helping him. Co-starring Shintarô Katsu and Takako Irie.
Inoue was something of a rarity in the sense, that he was a Shochiku house director who seems to have worked mostly in period films, often with big stars like Hasegawa or Bando. "Sumidagawa", named after the river that runs through Tokyo, is also a period film, but thematically a modern one. All...
