142 Films of Ale: Japanese Cinema
First 50 ranked, then chronological through 142. Films added in July 2021 or later will follow. Only films that are primarily or entirely Japanese productions will be listed. There are many famous films, like Rashomon and Ikiru, that are not represented here; in most cases this is because I have not seen them in decades. I have tried (for now) to restrict this list to films I can confidently say I find great or nearly so.
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142 titles
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûSetsuko HaraYumeji TsukiokaSeveral people try to talk 27-year-old Noriko into marrying, but all she wants is to keep on caring for her widowed father.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsSetsuko HaraSô YamamuraKen UeharaAn ingratiating bride develops warm ties to her father-in-law while her cold husband blithely slights her for another woman.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsChloë Grace MoretzJames CaanMary SteenburgenKaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsRyunosuke KamikiMone KamishiraishiRyo NaritaTwo teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaYoshiaki HanayagiKyôko KagawaIn medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsTakahiro NishijimaHikari MitsushimaSakura AndôA bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSumi ShimamotoMahito TsujimuraHisako KyôdaWarrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
- DirectorTeinosuke KinugasaStarsMasuo InoueAyako IijimaYoshie NakagawaA man takes a job at an asylum with hopes of freeing his imprisoned wife.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsAkemi NegishiTadashi SuganumaKisaburo SawamuraFrom June 1944, twelve Japanese seamen are stranded for seven years on an abandoned and forgotten island called Anatahan.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsShôtarô HanayagiKôkichi TakadaRyôtarô KawanamiThe adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.
- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsMiho NakayamaEtsushi ToyokawaBunjaku HanWhen exchanging letters two women discover new things about a man they knew.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsIsamu KosugiAkiko KazamiDonguriboyaThe setting is that of a farming family in Ibaraki from where also the originating writers hailed. The film depicts the events of a year during the Meiji era and occurrences and actualities of the farmers of the period. The family has little money. The wife has died and the teenage daughter has to work. The son attends school. The grandfather lives with them as well.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHaruka AyaseMasami NagasawaKahoThree sisters who live in their grandmother's home invite their thirteen-year-old half sister, whom they have just met, to join them.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsRentarô MikuniSachiko HidariKôji MitsuiThree thieves escape from a heist, one of them killing the other two. He is sheltered by a prostitute and sought after by the police, but only after ten years his true motivation unravels.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriSô YamamuraIn 8th-century China, the Emperor is grieving over the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their influence over the court. General An Lushan finds a close relative working in their kitchen whom they groom to present to the Emperor. The Emperor falls in love with her and she becomes the Princess Yang Kwei-fei. The Yangs are then appointed important ministers, though An Lushan is not given the court position he covets. The ministers misuse their power so much that there is a popular revolt against all the Yangs, fueled by An Lushan.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChishû RyûChieko HigashiyamaSô YamamuraAn old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
- DirectorMasaaki YuasaStarsGen HoshinoKana HanazawaHiroshi KamiyaIn this comedy about one epic night in Kyoto, a college sophomore goes on a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife, all the while unaware of the romantic longings of her classmate Senpai.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsShôtarô HanayagiEijirô YanagiIchijirô ÔyaA self-absorbed young actor humiliates an elderly Noh performer, who then commits suicide. His act of cruelty compels his father to disown him, leading the once promising actor to a life on the streets. But his desire to win back the respect of his father and the affection of the dead actor's daughter pushes him toward a more noble existence.
- DirectorMamoru OshiiStarsMako HyôdôJinpachi NezuKeiichi NodaA mysterious young girl wanders a desolate, otherworldly landscape, carrying a large egg.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiYoshizaburo ArashiUtaemon IchikawaThe legendary Forty-seven ronin plot to avenge the death of their lord, Asano Naganori, by killing Kira Yoshinaka, a shogunate official responsible for Asano being forced to commit seppuku.
- DirectorJun IchikawaStarsIssei OgataRie MiyazawaShinohara TakahumiWhen technical illustrator Tony Takitani asks his wife to resist her all-consuming obsession for designer clothes, the consequences are tragic.
- DirectorTeinosuke KinugasaStarsMachiko KyôKazuo HasegawaIsao YamagataA samurai pursues a married lady-in-waiting.
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsAyako WakaoHiroshi KawaguchiEitarô OzawaAyako is charged with murdering her much older academic husband while climbing a mountain. Ayako was having an affair, apparently with her husband's approval, and this complicates the trial.
- DirectorTeinosuke KinugasaStarsAkiko ChihayaJunosuke BandôYukiko OgawaAfter falling in love with a courtesan, Rikiya is blinded by ash during a fight in a brothel. Believing the blindness permanent and his opponent dead, Rikiya goes back home to his sister. Okiku, desperate to protect her brother who thinks himself a murderer, wants to sacrifice herself for him and become a prostitute to pay for Rikiya's treatment.
- DirectorShinji AoyamaStarsKoji YakushoAoi MiyazakiMasaru MiyazakiThe traumatized survivors of a murderous bus hijacking come together and take a road trip to attempt to overcome their damaged selves. Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsMayumi TanakaKeiko YokozawaKotoe HatsuiA young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira IshihamaShima IwashitaWhen a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsEiji FunakoshiMantarô UshioYoshihiro HamaguchiIn the closing days of WWII, remnants of the Japanese army in Leyte are abandoned by their command and face certain death by starvation.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsTatsuo SaitôTomio AokiMitsuko YoshikawaTwo young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.
- DirectorHiroshi ShimizuStarsMieko TakamineShin TokudaijiShin'ichi HimoriTwo blind masseurs travel to a mountain retreat. One of them falls for a visiting lady from Tokyo and investigates a series of thefts.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaTsukie MatsuuraIchirô SugaiFollows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsChiezô KataokaRyûnosuke TsukigataChizuru KitagawaA samurai travels to Edo with his two servants. On their way, they meet many people and encounter great injustice.
- DirectorOsamu TezukaA small child takes small leaps, which progress into huge bounds over buildings, forests and continents.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsKinuyo TanakaKyôko KagawaEiji OkadaA teenaged girl witnesses her widowed mother's attempt to sustain her family.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsMichiyo KogureTomoemon OtaniSô YamamuraKogure is the widow of an assassinated samurai and Otani was that man's pupil. They have been sent out to seek revenge on the murderer, Kogure's first suitor, but their long and arduous journey has so far been fruitless.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsChôko IidaShin'ichi HimoriMasao HayamaA widow sends her only son away to receive a better education. Years later, she visits him, finding him a poor school teacher with a wife and son.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsMasayuki MoriMachiko KyôKinuyo TanakaA tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsSachiko ChibaYuriko HanabusaToshiko ItôWhen she reaches adulthood, a precocious young woman sets out to find her biological father, who, as her mother tells her, abandoned them for another woman.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsRyo IshibashiEihi ShiinaTetsu SawakiA widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoYusuke SekiguchiKayoko KishimotoA young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsYûya YagiraAyu KitauraHiei KimuraIn a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsKinuyo TanakaShûji SanoChieko MurataA man returns from World War II to find his desperate wife had resorted to one night of prostitution to pay for their son's hospital bills.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsKinuyo TanakaTeiji TakahashiYûko MochizukiA kabuki theatre-inflected story about a poor village whose people have to be carried to a nearby mountain to die once they get old.
- StarsShintarô AsanumaHiroyuki YoshinoRin MizuharaWhen a nameless student at Kyoto University encounters a demigod one night, he asks to relive the past three years in order to win the heart of Ms. Akashi, the object of his affection.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsRentarô MikuniMichiyo AratamaMisako WatanabeA collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
- DirectorSadao YamanakaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiKiyozoKunitarô SawamuraA man gets rid of a cheap pot without knowing it contains a map to a treasure. As word spreads, many join in hunting it.
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsKimiko IkegamiMiki JinboKumiko ÔbaA schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt's country home, which turns out to be haunted.
- DirectorShôgo FuruyaSatoshi KonStarsTôru EmoriYoshiaki UmegakiAya OkamotoOn Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
- DirectorToshio MatsumotoStarsPîtâOsamu OgasawaraYoshimi JôThe trials and tribulations of Eddie and other transvestites in Japan.
- DirectorBuntarô FutagawaStarsTsumasaburô BandôMisao SekiUtako TamakiThe story of a decent samurai who is widely considered a scum and a criminal. His bad luck and numerous misunderstandings drag him down the social ladder straight to the gutter.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsShizue AkiyamaSeiichi KatôTomoko NaniwaThe story of a poor insurance salesman who struggles to provide for his wife and family.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsMitsuko IchimuraTokihiko OkadaChishû RyûA desperate man with a sick daughter decides to commit a robbery in order to help her. He begins to feel remorse though, which makes him question his decision.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsTakeshi SakamotoNobuko FushimiDen ÔhinataTwo Tokyo co-workers come across a destitute young lady in search of a place to live.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsEiji NakanoIsamu KosugiTaisuke MatsumotoItami, a young policeman, meets his high school friend, Tetsuo, a gangster, at a roadblock. As they rekindled their friendship, a complex relationship is established between them.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsMitsuko YoshikawaAkio IsonoSumiko MizukuboTwo Geisha with a connection to a young man deal with life's hardships.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsYoshiko OkadaUreo EgawaKinuyo TanakaRyoichi and Chikako are brother and sister. They live together. Chikako works during the day in an office and at night she prostitutes herself to fund her brother's studies at the university. Ryoichi doesn't know about his sister's secret life, but he is dating Harue whose brother is a policeman.
- DirectorYasujirô ShimazuStarsYumeko AizomeRyôtarô MizushimaDen ÔhinataKeitaro (Obinata Den) is a law student and Yaeko (Aizome Yumeko) is a high school girl. They are neighbors, and their friendship is starting to develop into something more romantic. Then, Yaeko's sister Kyouko (Okada Yoshiko) has a breakup with her husband and returns home. Kyouko is clearly interested in Keitaro and Yae becomes anxious.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsTakeshi SakamotoChôko IidaKôji MitsuiA kabuki actor's mistress hatches a jealous plot to bring down her lover's son.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsChikako HosokawaMasako TsutsumiRyuko UmezonoThree sisters earn money by being street musicians. A number of loosely linked episodes ensue as the sisters who have different characters, variously become involved in the world of criminals, sacrifice themselves and find love.
- DirectorHiroshi ShimizuStarsKen UeharaRyuji IshiyamaEinosuke NakaA friendly bus driver and his passengers over the duration of one journey through the mountains to the nearest train station.
- DirectorSadao YamanakaStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiKan'emon NakamuraShizue YamagishiAfter a young shopkeeper steals the knife of one of his costumers, a samurai, a chain of increasingly complex events is set into motion.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsTaizô FukamiAkira HarueKiyoshi KatôA young couple of lovers want to travel to Tokio to work and form a family there, but the parents of him want his son to regent their hotel. Finally, he does what his parents want him to, and her finds herself abandoned in the big city.
- DirectorSadao YamanakaStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiKan'emon NakamuraTsuruzô NakamuraThe lives of two slum neighbors, one of a happy-go-lucky gambler and the other of a poor ronin, converge when the two get involved with the affairs of a powerful samurai official and his gangsters.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSumiko KurishimaTatsuo SaitôMichiko KuwanoAn affluent medical professor, Komiya, and his bossy wife, Tokio, are to look after Setsuko, their high-spirited niece from Osaka. Setsuko is a liberated woman who does what she wants, including smoking, even though she is a minor. On Saturday, the professor does not feel like going to his weekend golf game, but his wife packs him off anyway. So he leaves his bag at the apartment of his student Okada, and goes to a bar with a friend. Setsuko traces him there, and insists that he take her to a geisha house. When she gets rather tipsy, the professor calls Okada to take her home, while he sleeps at Okada's. The wife becomes suspicious of Setsuko when she sees Okada bringing her home, and also of her husband when she discovers that he did not go golfing.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsTakako IrieMinoru TakadaEtchanTwo young girls, Nobiko and Tomiko, go to the same school. The less fortunate girl Nobiko is one of the top students, while the rich girl Tomiko is not. At one time Tomiko's father was quite fond of Nobuko's mother.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsChiezô KataokaRyôsuke KagawaTakashi ShimuraOharu is in love with a ronin who lives next door. A mistake puts Oharu's father deeply in debt to the local lord and he is confronted with having to sell Oharu in order to pay it off.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsKamatari FujiwaraKan YanagiyaMinoru TakaseStory about a group of actors mostly based on the guys playing the horse.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaYukiko TodorokiSugata, a young man, struggles to learn the nuance and meaning of judo, and in doing so comes to learn something of the meaning of life.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsKazuo HasegawaKinuyo TanakaSenshô IchikawaTale of martial skill set in the Edo era, and completed with difficulty during the last months of WWII: the son of an archer ,who killed himself after losing a contest, takes up his father's former profession.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsSetsuko HaraSusumu FujitaDenjirô ÔkôchiThe daughter of a politically disgraced university professor struggles to find a place for herself in love and life, in the uncertain world of Japan leading into WWII.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaSanae TakasugiTomie TsunodaA mistress of a drug dealer in post-war Japan is shocked when she discovers that he is having an affair with her sister.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko AwajiDuring a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.
- DirectorHiroshi ShimizuStarsKoume AkasakaAkiko KazamiDenjirô ÔkôchiA nice gentleman living near beautiful Mount Fuji uses his wealth to help others.He is nicknamed after a popular folk hero known for a casual attitude toward money and possessions.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsKen UeharaSetsuko HaraYukiko ShimazakiMichiyo lives in a small home in Osaka and is not happy with her marriage; all she does is cook and clean for her husband.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineMitsuko MiuraKyôko KagawaPoor, pathetic mother Ose has four children, three daughters and a son, by four different men.
- DirectorKinuyo TanakaStarsMasayuki MoriYoshiko KugaJûkichi UnoExplores the wounds of war, the limits of love and the need to forgive. A sad and troubled man, Reikichi Mayumi finds a new job five years after the end of WWII, where he writes love letters for other people.
- DirectorIshirô HondaStarsTakashi ShimuraAkihiko HirataAkira TakaradaAfter a dinosaur-like beast - awoken from undersea hibernation by atom bomb testing - ravages Tokyo, a scientist must decide if his similarly dangerous weapon should be used to destroy it.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaRentarô MikuniDepicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineMasayuki MoriMariko OkadaA tragic social drama set in post war Japan and concerns a lonely woman trying to find purpose and stability in a devastated Tokyo.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsRentarô MikuniShôji YasuiTatsuya MihashiA conscience-driven Japanese soldier traumatized by the events of WWII adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.
- DirectorKô NakahiraStarsYûjirô IshiharaMasahiko TsugawaMie KitaharaSpending their summer on an exotic beach, two brothers fall for the same beautiful girl, whose charm and looks may hide more than they they bargained for.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraIneko ArimaChishû RyûTwo sisters find out the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaChikage AwashimaA Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaKokinji KatsuraAs a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsGanjirô NakamuraMachiko KyôHaruko SugimuraThe head of a Japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsKeiji SadaYoshiko KugaChishû RyûTwo boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.
- DirectorNobuo NakagawaStarsShigeru AmachiNoriko KitazawaKatsuko WakasugiThe ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsHideko TakamineTatsuya NakadaiMasayuki MoriA middle-aged bar hostess, constantly in debt, is faced with numerous social constraints and challenges posed to her by her family, customers and friends.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsChiezô KataokaYaeko MizutaniIsao KimuraA successful textile industrialist from the provinces, beloved by his employees for his kindness, cannot find a wife because of a disfiguring birthmark on his face. Even the courtesans in Yoshiwara refuse to entertain him, until indentured peasant prostitute Tamarazu, takes the unsavory assignment and treats him with brash tenderness.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsSetsuko HaraYôko TsukasaMariko OkadaA widow tries to marry off her daughter with the help of her late husband's three friends.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaTamao NakamuraHis ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.
- DirectorHiroshi TeshigaharaStarsHisashi IgawaSumie SasakiSen YanoA man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.
- DirectorYusaku SakamotoEiichi YamamotoIn a small and colourful town, a little girl, a tiny grey mouse, a plentiful sycamore tree, a troublesome moth and a vivid community of posters coexist in a forgotten street corner.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKazuo HasegawaFujiko YamamotoAyako WakaoYukinojo, a Kabuki actor, seeks revenge by destroying the three men who caused the deaths of his parents. Also involved are the daughter of one of Yukinojo's targets, two master thieves, and a swordsman who himself is out to kill Yukinojo.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsMasumi HarukawaKô NishimuraShigeru TsuyuguchiA housewife living under her tyrannical husband has her life stressfully turned upside down after getting raped by a burglar.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsRyô IkebeMariko KagaTakashi FujikiA gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsNobuko OtowaJitsuko YoshimuraKei SatôTwo women kill samurai and sell their belongings for a living. While one of them is having an affair with their neighbor, the other woman meets a mysterious samurai wearing a bizarre mask.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsMikijirô HiraGô KatôShima IwashitaAfter killing a counselor of his clan, a fugitive samurai befriends a couple poaching the shogun's gold in the mountains.