Kanako Higuchi

The Aso family live in the old town of Nara. One Day, Kei, one of the Aso's twin boys suddenly disappears. Five years later seventeen-year old Shun, the remaining twin, is an art student. He now has to move forward with his life, together with his childhood friend, Yu.

Live-action sci-fi movie based on a 1973 Japanese animé of the same name (Shinzo Ningen Casshân). Theme song by Utada Hikaru. (imdb)

The final and most savage installment of the series.

Kazuo Kuroki's Ronin-Gai transpires during the final years of the time when samurais figured prominently in Japanese society. The title town is filled with prostitutes and samurai who have been disgraced. The hedonistic warriors are presented with the possibility of redemption when the women of the town are threatened. (Perry Seibert, Rovi)

A Japanese drama about Alzheimer's Disease. (Eleven Arts)

The troubled life story of the painter Machisu from childhood, to young adulthood, and culminating in his old age.

Set during the 1700s, the film centers on the life and murder of Okichi, the bored wife of a wealthy Osaka oil merchant. Yohei is a hunky young man who is the son of Okichi's husband's former partner. As a child, Okichi cared for and even nursed the boy, but when Yohei's father died, he went to live elsewhere. On his return as a man, Okichi is immediately infatuated with the lad and schemes to get rid of competition for his heart When her husband hears of her behavior, trouble ensues. (imdb)

Rin is a traveling gambler who goes by the name of "Luminesent Rin". She is apparently a well known and respected but not considered to be among the elite gamblers. Heading to a job for "Boss Masa", she unexpectedly runs into her younger brother in the train station on the run from thugs. She rescues him and pays off his gambling debts. Finding out that her brother has lost the family restaurant due to gambling debts, she decides to return to her home town to do something about it... (imdb)

The world-famous woodblock artist Hokusai is a widower who lacks the ability to earn money, and he lives with his daughter Oei at the house of his friend, Bakin. Hokusai meets a woman called Onao and finds himself uncontrollably attracted to her, but she disappears all of a sudden. One day, an excited Oei brings home a young girl who looks exactly like Onao. Immediately, Hokusai starts to paint, using the young girl as a model.

Adapted from the successful play, the film takes place in the 19th Japan where a war between demons and their slayers is fought. Izumo, an Kabuki actor with a demon-slaying past, meets and falls in love with Tsubaki. However, something is not right as mysterious marks appear on her body as time progresses. At the same time, it is announced that Ashura, the queen of all demons, will be resurrected and bring destruction to the universe. (Written by Ploy P. (imdb)

In Nagasaki, Tora-san and an acquaintance help an old woman who has fallen and injured herself. She invites them to her home where the three share a night of eating and drinking. The old woman's health deteriorates and she dies. At her funeral, Tora-san falls in love with the old woman's daughter, but winds up acting as a go-between for her and a young law student.

An urban Japanese couple decide to move to the country. (imdb)

A young boy, Atsu, grows up along the banks of the Shimanto River in rural (and backblocks) southern Shikoku. He comes to grips with the unfairness of life and the emotional pain involved in the loss of innocence.

Based on a polemic novel by Amy Yamada, Bedtime Eyes is about the intense love relationship between a second rate Japanese jazz singer and a black American GI on the margins of the law.

An emotionless hitman is sent on a mission to a remote town. There he stays with a caretaker/driver/servant/doctor who is given minimal instruction over the phone by "the organization." A prostitute joins them. Death is inevitable, but whose?

Set in Nagano prefecture, "Ohisama" covers the life of Yoko Sudo through World War II. Yoko Sudo with her smile is able to bring brightness to those other around her and she follows her mother's motif to laugh through hard times. During the onset of WW II, Yoko Sudo is a high school student and "Ohisama" follows her as she eventually becomes a teacher and then gets married and has a child. Yoko Sudo then opens a soba restaurant with her student. (Avistaz)