In Depression-era Japan, a courteous bus driver carries an eclectic group of passengers from the mountainous Izu to Tokyo.

Approaching their graduation ceremony, Saegusa, Sanae, and their classmates go on an overnight trip to Hakone with their teacher Ms. Kawahara, who...

A silk factory worker is persuaded to support her son's education up to a college level despite their poverty. Many years later, she travels to Tokyo...

An errant salaryman's son gets lost until a man from the Tokyo tenements brings him to vendor Tane, who's reluctant to let the kid board.

A rural village elder plans an event on the return of a farmer's daughter from the city, unaware that she has become a Westernized burlesque artist.

Tokiko is a mother patiently waiting for her husband's return from the war when her 4-year old son becomes ill. She takes him to the doctor for...

A young student falls into a hopeless romantic attraction to a sick girl, whom he can only see from afar.

A Japanese family weathers much hardship after their military uncle comes to live with them during WWII.

A group of rank-and-file Japanese soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a...

Kodakara Sodo (The Treasure That Is Children) is a 1935 black and white Japanese silent film with benshi accompaniment directed by Torajiro Saito....

Two friends accidentally run into a young, homeless woman, so they take her in.

A jewelry store president begins to fall for the doctor treating her husband's illness.

A reformatory in the remote countryside houses 200 delinquents and problem children. The teachers and caretakers face much trouble. The school is...

Mariko studies at a missionary school in Shinshu. She drops out of school and joins her father on a circus tour when she discovers that her father,...

A period piece about the love of a wealthy blind woman, a teacher of koto and shamisen, and her devoted manservant. Based on a novella by Tanizaki...

Shigeo is an aspiring writer living with his girl friend Minako and hoping for success and a better tomorrow every day. Both live on what Minako...

Hiroo Ikeda movie

Directed by Mikio Naruse. It is presumed to be lost.

Pretty Oshige is deceived by her first love. After this, she lives a hard lifestyle, working at a number of jobs. Her only pleasure is her nephew,...

Directed by Mikio Naruse. It is presumed to be lost.

"The Dancing Girl of Izu" tells of the story between a young male student who is touring the Izu Peninsula and a family of traveling dancers he meets...

This pair of gentle yet witty and inventive comedies from the director of The Neighbour's Wife and Mine typify both the formal experimentation of...

A Japanese war widow recalls her love affair with her deceased husband.

Two childhood friends go their own ways but meet again some years later after they have both married. They get re-acquainted, meet each others’...

A Japanese short film, the earliest extant film of the great director Hiroshi Shimizu.

A Japanese film

Japanese silent film.

After Japan's defeat in the war, the Anjo family lose their peerage and wealth. Since their mansion is due to pass into the hands of a creditor, the...

A coming-of-age story portrayed as the loss of all youthful illusions. Sixteen-year-old Yoichi dreams of becoming a sailor. His parents are...

Part two of Shimizu's major silent Seven Seas, a family drama of the intertwining fates of the rich, decadent Yagibashis and the far less prosperous...

A spirited young teacher challenges the conservative school employing her with liberal thinking and teaching methods.

Strip dancer Carmen falls in love with Hajime, who is engaged to the daughter of a right-wing politician.

When a family has to relocate due to the war, they are ostracized by their new community.

An onnagata (female impersonator) of a Kabuki troupe avenges his parents' deaths. Remade in 1963 as Yukinojô Henge.

Lost silent film

Eiko is an innocent young lady born into a wealthy family with nothing to offer. She was good at singing, and lived her life playing around with her...

A young lawyer falls in love with the daughter of his former professor, whom he's hired to tutor his children.

Weed with Flowers

Heinosuke Gosho evokes in this film the family conflicts engendered by the eternal problem of a father who projects his professional desires on the...