Tadashi Imai

Immediately after the Second World War, sister Kiku and brother Isamu, whose mother was a prostitute and the father was a GI, live with their grandmother in the country. Because their hair colour is different from Japanese, they'd have a hard time, being bullied or treated like unusual creatures. (imdb)

A film about two lovers destroyed by war.

Three short tales from stories by Ichiyo Higuchi. In one, a young woman is degraded by her family after an arranged marriage. Another deals with the troubles heaped upon a young servant by her family and the wealthy people who employ her. Yet another tells of a prostitute and her hopes of finding a new, respectable life. (imdb)

Based on the true story of the trial of four innocent men for the murder of an old couple.

The struggle of farmers against the greed of the company they rely upon to sell their rice.

When the Tokugawa Shogunate ruled the land, Tatsuno castle in Wakisaka Clan's home of Harima held an established custom: an inspection of the arms warehouse. During one of these inspections, government inspector Magodayu Okuno finds a slight bit of dirt on the tip of a spear, which sparks an argument with a low-ranking member of the Wakisaka Clan.

Bushido, a.k.a. "The Way of the Warrior" is the chivalrous code of the samurai that has influenced the Japanese way-of-life for centuries. This epic film spans several generations of a typical samurai family, and illustrates the intricate system of loyalty, honor and sacrifice which bound the samurai in ages past, and which, in many ways, persists to this very day. (amazon)

When a married woman has an affair with a young musician, feudal Japanese law requires that both offenders pay with their lives. However, the woman's husband blames himself for his wife's straying and attempts to thwart the law demanding capital punishment. (imdb)

Tower of the Lilies is the true story of a group of high school girls on the island of Okinawa, who were mobilized into military service as nurses in the closing months of World War II.

Japanese film directed by Tadashi Imai. (letterboxd)

When a post-war high school girl is seen with an older boy many find the nontraditional notion unacceptable and try to trick the girl and also assail her right to continue the relationship. Cue her teacher who not only supports the girl, but encourages her pupils to do as they wish and ignore what society indoctrinates. Not everyone agrees with the teacher and her modern ideas however. (aghaemi)

The story centres around a border security team in 1935 Korea. Upon receiving new recruits they hold a welcome party including a restaurant owner and his daughter. The border's commander has a wife (Hara Setsuko) who helps deliver a neighbour's baby. One day a border guard is killed by a Chinese bandit who is hiding in the area. The dead man's sister comes to visit and is given help to further her studies. (imdb)

His family believes him dead when a member of the Japanese imperial army deployed to China during the occupation of the latter by the former does not return home following the cessation of the war. When he appears back home alive the family is confronted with a change man who, having witnessed the evils of war, has turned his back to militarism and evolved to appreciate left-wing thoughts and pacifism. (imdb)

In this sequel to Aoi sanmyaku (1949) the focus is not on the students', but the teachers' life. When one day a love letter is discovered it escalates into case over which teacher and students clash. The incident blows up and there is a dispute about the truth leading to a parent-teacher association meeting. There is a vote on who is correct, which in turn leads to the teacher's version winning out. (imdb)

Junai Monogatari is about two poor youths, Mitsuko and Kando, rebelling against society in various ways, who are desperately trying to be together despite tortuous circumstances. (imdb)

A very lower class laborer and his family endure a complex struggle in post World War II Japan.

Set in a rural village outside of Tokyo, 'Brother And Sister' is a dark drama of obsessive family relationships marked by both violence and tenderness. Mon, the eldest daughter of an authoritarian father who has come into hard times, moves to Tokyo to earn a living. When she returns home pregnant, her brother Inokichi's rage sends her back to the city where she takes up the life of a streetwalker. (Mydramalist)

It is 1921 and a town has a newspaper which prints urgent bulletins as required. The Washington-based CITES treaty, in which Japan participates, puts a limit on the number of warships any country can possess. As a result, Japan has to decommission a ship to its makers' disappointment. An institute of technology's laboratory designs a new ship. Due to fewer ships, sailors have to retire and are also disappointed...

Up in Heaven, Yuki’s grandparents decide that, having turned thirteen years old, she must go down to Earth to a village that is torn by bandits and intervene to save its people. However, if she does not succeed within one year she will become as insubstantial as the wind. Down in the village, Yuki is befriended by a group of orphans whose parents have all been killed by the bandits and who now subsist by begging.

The Shogun has returned rule of Japan to the Emperor. The head of the Tokugawas is now a prince - the title would be abolished in 1946 - and their annual income cut from millions to just 700,000 ryo a year. This means they have to let most of their samurai go. They established an office to help them and their dependents start new lives in America, but the wars with the other daimyos is not ended, and so they started a military school in Numazu.

After facing hard times, an orphan Korean boy gets adopted to Japanese society. He meets several Japanese people who are kind to him, and grows up wanting to repay his debt to Japan, by becoming a kamikaze pilot.

Oshima, a rich girl married Shinzo, and her cousin girl Sawa has been jealous of Oshima deeply. Sawa cursed Oshima so Shinzo could not hold her and do anything at all. Shinzo hated Oshima, and he made love with Sawa.

A native of Echigo, Gonsuke, is working far from home, and envies his countryman Tomekichi for his excellent reputation at work and his beautiful wife. (mubi.com)