Toshiyuki Nishida

An omnibus story of nine ordinary people in Tokyo who don't usually get much attention in their daily lives. Consists of five intertwining storylines, including one involving a struggling pop singer who spends most of her time performing for geeks in Akihabara while waiting for her big break into mainstream showbiz. (Baseline StudioSystems)

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.

A woman that loves the man whatever happens, and a man that can't exactly express his feelings and just turns over the table - out of irritation, short temper, and sometimes love. Would being together become a nightmare, or a love that will sustain them to live with happiness and hope for a better tomorrow? (AsianMediaWiki)

Gakko tells a simple heartwarming story of a group of students and their teacher, in one of the public night schools in Japan providing them education at the Junior High level. With night schools, you know that the students are working adults, and the narrative takes its time to dwell on the characters' backgrounds, and their interactions with the teacher, how he helped them in their times of need, or simply being the beacon of hope for them. (imdb)

An American woman is stranded in Tokyo after breaking up with her boyfriend. Searching for direction in life, she trains to be a râmen chef under a tyrannical Japanese master.

In 1026, students in western China are shanghaied into the forces of crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the length of the Silk Road. One student is Zhao Xingde, who becomes the favorite of his commander, Zhu Wangli. While sacking a fortress, Xingde discovers Tsurpia, princess of the Uighur. He hides her; they fall in love. When he's sent away to study Xixian, he leaves Tsurpia in Zhu's care, but returns to find her engaged to Li. Tragedy follows, and he and Zhu enter a pact (imdb)

A young gangster caught having an affair with the wife of his boss tries to atone by promising to recruit a notorious and feared hitman. Unfortunately he doesn't know the hitman and is forced to hire an actor to play the role instead, convincing the actor that the job is for an an actual feature film shoot rather than a dangerous underworld contract.

A teacher at a school for students with disabilities tries to improve their lives.

Clinging to an unfinished letter written by her recently deceased father, Momo learns that the strange and supernatural things happening on Shio Island are connected in some way to her father's mysterious letter. A sensitive coming-of-age story that deals with loss and imagination.

A young lawyer is tasked with defending a client from a murder charge and has to rely on the testimony of a 500-year-old ghost.

Hard-boiled Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano returns with the sequel to his 2010 yakuza thriller. (tiff.net)

In the aftermath of Japanese Emperor Hirohito's surrender to the U.S., Gen. Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) and his adjutant Gen. Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox) are faced with a decision of historic importance. (tiff.net)

A fatally ill Soji must track down his old friend from the dojo and bring him back.

The year is 1575 in feudal Japan. Oda Nobunaga's (Kippei Shiina) forces defeat Takeda Katsuyori, when Nagashino Castle was besieged during the Battle of Nagashino. The next year Oda Nobunada decides to build a lavish new castle symbolizing his unification of various factions. The castle named Azuchi Castle will be built near water and high enough to be seen from the capital city of Kyoto. (asianwiki)

A private detective drinks with his driver Takada in his favorite bar. There he receives a phone call from a woman who identifies herself as Kyoko Kondo. The woman asks the detective to complete a simple task. Not longer after he starts, the private detective is kidnapped and buried under snow. He barely manages to get away. He then receives another phone call from Kyoko Kondo. The private detective and Takada investigate further and they soon comes across a mysterious woman and a mob boss.. (asianwiki.com)

Hama-chan joins a company excursion to Oita with the rest of his department including his new junior Daisuke. Beautiful Namiko, the organizer of the trip is a contract employee and her elder brother is a fisherman. Hama-chan, as always sets out to sea for a bout of angling. He is a tad surprised when Namiko's brother consults him about Namiko's status as an unmarried contract worker.

Hama-chan's supervisor is promoted after many frustrating years with his wayward, fishing-obsessed underling, and Hama-chan's new boss naively tries to retrain him. Later, Su-san and Hama-chan go on a business trip, where they meet a beautiful, warm-hearted truck driver.

Hama-chan takes more paid holidays than anyone else at work, but is friends with the company's president, whom he calls Su-san. Su-san's doctor, concerned for the president's health, suggests that he retire. Su-san becomes depressed, goes fishing and collapses on the beach, but Hama-chan come to his rescue.

Hama-chan still works at Suzuki Construction in Tokyo, while continuing his friendship with company president Ichinosuke Suzuki. Hama-chan wishes he could have child - the only thing missing in his happy life. Su-san then takes Hama-chan on a fishing trip to cheer him up. While on the trip Su-san meets the daughter of his first love. He learns from the girl that his first love's tomb is about to be demolished to make way for a resort.

Densuke Hamazaki is an office worker at Suzuki Construction and gets transferred to the main Tokyo office. After settling in to his surrounding along with his wife Eri, Densuke befriends an elderly man named Ichinosuke Suzuki. Ichinosuke is a lonely and old man who learns to enjoy life again through his friendship with Densuke. Meanwhile, Densuke is completely unaware that Ichinosuke is the boss of his construction company. The two men become friends through their shared passion for fishing.

Su-san must give a lecture in far-off Iwate, which serves as another excuse for the company president and Hama-chan to go fishing. Once there, however, Hama-chan is mistaken for the company president and Su-san for his chauffeur! But Su-san is delighted at the mix-up: he gets to go fishing with a beautiful woman working at a local inn.

In the late Edo Period, a fishing-crazy warrior is kicked out of his clan and leads an itinerant existence with his long-suffering sister. He finds a kindred spirit in the leader of another clan.

Hama-chan and Michiko have a son, whom they name Koitaro. At the office, Su-san's nephew begins work at the construction company and becomes friends with Hama-chan. When the nephew runs off with the sister of Hama-chan's friend, he and Su-san go looking for the young lovers ? and fishing, of course.

Hama-chan gets his construction company a big contract to build a museum through one of his fishing friends. But the man proves difficult to work with, especially after the he insists on a ludicrous design that will make everyone look foolish. The contract in jeopardy, Su-san enlists Hama-chan's help.

On a fishing trip, Hama-chan and Su-san meet a beautiful lady and the three have a great time. Later, Su-san gets a toothache, and his dentist turns out to be the woman, whom he secretly takes fishing, lying to Hama-chan in the process. When the two men later run into one another, their friendship is threatened.

One of Hama-chan's shy pupils falls in love with the daughter of Su-san's friend, and the young lovers eventually get married. After the wedding Hama-chan and Su-san go fishing, but when Su-san slips and injures his leg, concerned company employees rush to their cabin and finally learn of their surprising friendship.

Hama-chan's sales department gets a new supervisor, a hard-working taskmaster that's the very opposite of carefree, irresponsible Hama-chan. The veteran employee decides to find his boss, a divorced father, a new wife. The supervisor loves a bar hostess "mama-san," but is unable to confess his true feelings until Hama-chan comes to his rescue.

Su-san burnt out, and suddenly resigned as president of the company and run away. Hama-chan looked for him and finally found out him at the office building where Hama-chan used to work. Su-san got a job as a caretaker of that building.

Approached by a friend about a matchmaking arrangement, Su-san goes to Hama-chan's home seeking help. Hama-chan is away on a business trip, but Michiko entertains Su-san late into the night. When he gets drunk and ends up spending the night, Hama-chan, begins to question his boss's relationship with Michiko.

Mr. Takano, a company employee, announces plans to take an early retirement so he can return to his home town and spend his days fishing. Su-san and Hama-chan envy his decision, and Hama-chan conspires to visit Takano, even though he has no vacation time left.

Hama-chan's construction company once again faces the prospect of downsizing in the shrinking Japanese economy. Despite this, Hama-chan goes on vacation where he meets the firm's downsizing consultant, who has doubts about her career.

Densuke Hamada, aka Hama-chan, is an ordinary businessman working in a construction company, except for one thing. The fishing. It's the first priority in his life. Hama-chan and Suu-san come to Nagasaki for the opening ceremony of the bridge constructed by Suu-san's company. There Hama-chan meets Bob, an American soldier who is also crazy about fishing. When Suu-san returns to Tokyo, he is told Hama-chan has become missing.

Hama-chan & Su-san travels to Sasbo, Nagasaki for the opening of the 2nd Saikai Bridge. While on business, Hama-chan thinks of only fishing and eventually finds himself in trouble.

Su-san has put in the hard yards as president of the Suzuki Construction Company, and he has now been appointed its chairman. Su-san went missing sometime during his daily morning walk one day. Hama-chan fakes an illness in order to be absent from work and heads to Okayama, where the town residents, mainly the young folk have formed a anti-development group to protest the project which they believe will destroy their beautiful coastal waters.

Hama-chan and Michiko's son, Koitaro, is now one year old. When Michiko leaves home to attend a school reunion and Michiko's mother is unable to care for the infant, Hama-chan is forced to take Koitaro to work and the baby soon gets lost, creating all manner of havoc at the construction firm.

The last episode in the long running comedy film series.

Based on the true story of Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, the northernmost zoo in Japan. The unpopular zoo welcomes a new zoo keeper young Yoshida who has more affection for insects than people after years of being bullied at school when he was young. Yoshida soon realizes that Asahiyama Zoo is facing a financial crisis and the zoo director Takizawa has been doing everything in his power to save the zoo from closing down. (Wikipedia)

In one of the best films of this type, famous detective Kindaichi solves a series of mysterious murders in a wealthy family. An excellent blend of intrigue and betrayal, set against the backdrop of wealth, this film is loaded with twists and turns and surprises at every corner. Things are never as they seem, and it will keep you guessing until the very end. A rare treasure of a mystery, like none before or since!

An adaptation of a Chinese folktale about a pilgrimage to the West undertaken by a monk and his divine guardians. (imdb)

A bio-pic of Japanese adventurer Uemura Naomi, this movie traces his professional life and his exploits. Uemura is an interesting character. He's soft spoken on the outside, but inside he has this lion's courage and dogged determination to push the boundaries of physical and mental limitations.

Kojiro Himuro is a champion figure skater taking part in an upcoming world competition. Yet, he is suffering from a complicated CTEPH (chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension). Kantaro Kurosu is the director of the Cross Medical Center. He asks Michiko Daimon to perform surgery on Kojiro, but, right before his surgery some thing happened. (imdb)

After receiving news about the death of his estranged friend, a workaholic IT company executive heads to his hometown to fulfill a promise he made. (imdb)

Five years after surviving the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo now works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a renowned fixer whose influence extends into Japan. A relatively minor incident causes tensions to rise between Chang Enterprises and the faraway powerful Hanabishi. The growing conflict gets out of hand and ignites a ferocious power struggle among the top echelons of the Hanabishi. (Office Kitano Inc.)

Death follows a beautiful woman. Set in contemporary rural Japan. According to Asianwiki, based on a true incident which happened in Japan in the 1960s. Note there is an unrelated 1981 Japanese movie also titled Station to Heaven.

Mako Tsubaki works as a HR consultant at a company. Her job entails solving problems like sexual harassment, power harassment and factional disputes using bold methods like a devil. (imdb)

In 2012, Atsuya and his 2 childhood friends do something bad and run into an old general store. They decide to stay there until the morning. Late into the night, Atsuya sees a letter in the mailbox. The letter is addressed to the Namiya General Store and the letter was written by someone to consult about worries. Incredibly, the letter was written 32 years ago. Atsuya and his friends decide to write a reply and place their letter in the mailbox. (asianwiki.com)

A timid movie theater owner is secretly in love with one of his patrons but struggles to express his feelings. Meanwhile, he must deal with the financial hardships of his ailing business. (imdb)

A James Brown fanatic gangster decided to disband his own gang and see his long lost daughter before entering prison. Hoping to change his mind, his underlings planned to kidnap James Brown to convince him to perform privately for their boss.

Daisuke Nagasato is 39-years-old, single and works at a stationery maker. He enjoys his single life. On the day he moves to his new apartment, he meets his neighbour Hanako Kumagai for the first time due to an unpleasant situation. Hanako is 32-years-old and single. She is an office worker and a divorcee. She also loves the single life. Daisuke's single life faces a crisis. His father Yozo and younger step-brother begin to live at his apartment. Yozo is the opposite to his son (Asianwiki & me)

Set in 1932, the film centers on Botan (Yoko Minamino), a geisha who was forced into the business at a young age by her dissipated father. Her pimp is the gruff but kindly Tomita (Toshiyuki Nishida), who has a passion for his flesh-peddling position. Amid the abuse heaped upon the pure-hearted Botan by reptilian mobsters and her own selfish father, she falls for the stout Nioyama (Masahiro Takashima), who first rapes her and then saves her from her life as a fallen woman." Janathon Crowe, Rovi.

Yamada ga machi ni yatte kita (aka How to Speak Japanese)

Eiko Yagami is a "Marubo", a unit of Ueno Central Police Station's Organized Crime Division which deals directly with organized gangs to try and keep the peace. However, Eiko has some sidelines: she's a moneylender to her fellow police officers without charging interest in return for information and is also willing to do the odd side job for those on the criminal side for the money. One day, Kasumi, who is the daughter of the Senma-gumi gang's leader, is found stabbed to death...

Daimon Michiko is a freelance surgeon who wanders from hospital to hospital because the harsh environment led many doctors to retire. However, Michiko doesn't look like a doctor at all with her flashy clothes and eccentric attitude. (imdb)

Set after WWII, "Wagaya no Rekishi" (The History of Our Family) follows the Yame family and its 7 members over the next two decades. The drama will provide a mixture of laughter, romance, drama, and suspense.

Now sidelined due to injury and age, former pro-wrestling star Juichi Miyama was once groomed by his father, Jusaburo, an acclaimed Noh actor and "Living National Treasure," to be his successor. However, Juichi rebelled, left home, and cut off ties with his family. Now he's just learned that his father, having miraculously survived a critical illness, intends to marry his young caregiver and leave all his money to her. (imdb)