Kuniko Igawa

The story, set in the war-torn 16th century, tells of three generations of a farming family whose sufferings are exacerbated by the young people's desire to become warriors. (BAM/PFA)

A girl who had left her small Japanese village for the excitement and adventure of the big city--in this case, Tokyo--returns home years later for a visit. (imdb)

In postwar Tokyo, this household is loving and serene: older parents, their 28-year-old daughter Noriko, their married son, his devoted wife, and two rascally sons. (imdb)

When a man of some stature and lineage decides to launch a business by renovating and converting his mansion into a hotel and putting his domestic staff like the chef and maid to work in the new venture, his wife cannot accept the change and decamps to another house. It is opening time and a girl arrives seeking a job and is given one. The clientele are not as desired, however, and instead of a classy lot the hotel is attracting shysters, pickpockets and lovers. (imdb)

A 1949 drama starring Kinuyo Tanaka.

A couple plan to take advantage of an artist and his family, but his kind nature causes problems in their plan. (imdb)

In postwar Japan a young woman is unable to marry her sweetheart because her family's in difficult circumstances and needs her income to keep afloat. (imdb)

A young man who is unable to tell his childhood friend how he feels makes a pledge with her to reveal all of their secrets during the upcoming festival. (Hulu)

As World War II escalates, the tight-knit habitants of a street in Tokyo must relocate from their homes so that the government can use the space. Kinoshita's sensitive film-beautifully and resourcefully shot on a single set-traces the fears and desires of the evacuees. (imdb)

Japanese propaganda film about the Normanton Incident.

It's 1863, and the politics of Japan have grown confused. Not only is there the continuing conflict between the Shogunate and the larger domains, but a growing movement for the restoration of power to the Emperor is at hand. The issue of the moment is how to deal with the foreigners who have been troubling the nation since Perry's fleet visited ten years before. The two sides argue over whether the foreigners should be expelled or welcomed.

Kinuyo is a daughter of rice cracker shop in downtown. She fell in love with her sister's boyfriend. It is a story whose theme is warm human relationships in a town of customs and manners.