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The Naked Sun / 裸の太陽 / Hadaka no taiyo (1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #254Shinjiro Ebara Kimura (Shinjiro Ebara) is a young stoker on the railway saving up to marry Yukiko (Satomi Oka), His best friend, Maeda (Tatsuya Nakadai), also works for…
Libido / 性の起原 / Sei no kigen (‘The Origin of Sex’, 1967)
Obscure Japanese Film #253Taiji Tonoyama An unnamed 51-year-old man (Taiji Tonoyama) suffering from some kind of nervous breakdown is recuperating in a mental hospital when he learns about the death of an…
Forever, My Love / 佳人 / Kajin (‘Beautiful Woman’/ ‘Good Person’, 1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #252Ryoji Hayama 1943. Shigeru (Ryoji Hayama) is a student returning from Tokyo to his hometown of Toyooka in Hyogo Prefecture on western Honshu (then part of the San’in…
Asa no hamon / 朝の波紋 (‘Morning Ripples’, 1952)
Obscure Japanese Film #251Hideko Takamine Atsuko (Hideko Takamine) is a young woman living at home with her mother (Hisako Takihana) and nephew Kenichi (Katsumasa Okamoto), whose father was killed in the war…
The Last Judgment / 最後の審判 / Saigo no shinpan (1965)
Obscure Japanese Film #250Tatsuya NakadaiMasao Mishima Jiro (Tatsuya Nakadai), the manager of a pool hall owned by Asai (Masao Mishima), has been having an affair with Masako (Chikage Awashima) since her wealthy…
Kanashiki kuchibue / 悲しき口笛 (‘Sad Whistling’, 1949)
Obscure Japanese Film #249Hibari Misora Mitsuko (Hibari Misora) is a homeless child who hangs around with the day labourers at the docks in the Sakuragicho district of Yokohama. They look after…
Shirobamba / しろばんば (1962)
Obscure Japanese Film #248Toru Shimamura This Nikkatsu production was based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by one of Japan’s major writers, Yasushi Inoue (1907-91). The book was translated into…
The Beast Must Die: Mechanic of Revenge / 野獣死すべし 復讐のメカニック / Yaju shisubeshi: fukushu no mekanikku (1974)
Obscure Japanese Film #247Hiroshi Fujioka At the end of The Beast Must Die (1959), Kunihiko Date (Tatsuya Nakadai), a highly intelligent but amoral student leading a double life as a thief and…
Sazae-san no seishun / サザエさんの青春 (‘Sazae-san’s Youth’, 1957)
Obscure Japanese Film #246Chiemi Eri This third film in the Toho series kicked off by the previously-reviewed Sazae-san was the first to be shot in colour, but otherwise director Nobuo Aoyagi repeats…
Sazae-san / サザエさん (1956)
Obscure Japanese Film #245Chiemi EriKamatari Fujiwara and Nijiko Kiyokawa Sazae (Chiemi Eri) is a young woman still living at home with her father (Kamatari Fujiwara), mother (Nijiko Kiyokawa) and two younger siblings.…
Mogura Yokocho / もぐら横丁 (‘Mole Alley’, 1953)
Obscure Japanese Film #244Shuji Sano This Shintoho production was based on episodes from a number of autobiographical novels by Kazuo Ozaki (1899-1983), one of which gives this film its title. Ozaki…
Their Legacy / 家庭の事情 / Katei no jijo (‘Family Circumstances’, 1962)
Obscure Japanese Film #243So YamamuraJunko Kano and Ayako WakaoUtako Shibusawa and Mako Sanjo Upon retiring, widower Misawa (So Yamamura) decides to give each of his four unmarried daughters 500,000 yen to…
Inoru hito / 祈るひと (1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #242Izumi AshikawaTsutomu ShimomotoYumeji TsukiokaYuji Odaka Akiko (Izumi Ashikawa) is the only child of her father (Tsutomu Shimomoto) and mother (Yumeji Tsukioka) and is approaching marriageable age. She has…
The Samurai of Edo / 江戸一寸の虫 / Edo issun no mushi (1955)
Obscure Japanese Film #241Rentaro Mikuni In the last years of the Tokugawa shogunate, six people are sentenced to exile for attacking two arrogant British VIPs who had broken etiquette by going through…
Kaze no aru michi / 風のある道 / (‘Windy Road’, 1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #240Izumi Ashikawa Naoko (Izumi Ashikawa) is a young woman still living at home with her father (Shiro Osaka), mother (Toshiko Yamane) and younger sister Chikako (Mayumi Shimizu). Her older…
The Maid’s Kid / 女中ッ子 / Jochukko (1955)
Obscure Japanese Film #239Sachiko Hidari This Nikkatsu production stars Sachiko Hidari – best-known for The Insect Woman (1963) and A Fugitive from the Past (1965) – as Hatsu, a young woman from…
That Complicated Guy / 複雑な彼 / Fukuzatsu no kare (aka ‘A Complicated Man’,1966)
Obscure Japanese Film #238Jiro Tamiya This Daiei production stars Jiro Tamiya as Joji Miyagi, who works as a flight attendant for a Japanese airline. One day, en route to San Francisco,…
Beyond Love and Hate / 愛と憎しみの彼方へ / Ai to nikushimi no kanata e (1951)
Obscure Japanese Film #237Toshiro Mifune Abashiri Prison, Hokkaido. When six convicts escape one rainy night, kindly veteran screw Kubo (Takashi Shimura) is shocked to learn that one of the men was…
Devil’s Gold / 魔の黄金 / Ma no ogon (1950)
Obscure Japanese Film #236Masayuki Mori Iwaki (Masayuki Mori) is a gold prospector who has been in the mountains for 13 years – including the entire war – and finally struck it…
I’ll Cry Alone / 帯をとく夏子 / Obi o toku Natsuko (‘Natsuko Unties Her Obi’, 1965)
Obscure Japanese Film #235Ayako WakaoEiji Funakoshi Natsuko (Ayako Wakao) is a former hot spring geisha who has become the exclusive mistress of company president Sakuma (Eiji Funakoshi in unconvincing old man make-up).…
Across Darkness / 闇を横切れ / Yami o yokogire (1959)
Obscure Japanese Film #234Hiroshi Kawaguchi and So Yamamura When a stripper is murdered in a love hotel, suspicion naturally falls on Ochiai (Kappei Matsumoto), the mayoral candidate found drunk and unconscious in…
Yotsuya kaidan - Oiwa no borei / 四谷怪談 お岩の亡霊 (‘Yotsuya kaidan: The Ghost of Oiwa,’1969)
Obscure Japanese Film #233 Kei Sato This Daiei production was the seventh post-war film version of Japan’s most famous ghost story and the last made for the cinema until 1981. Coming just…
Waga ai / わが愛 (‘My Love’, 1960)
Obscure Japanese Film #232 Ineko Arima Niizu (Shin Saburi) is a newspaper reporter who drops dead in the street after a night of heavy drinking. At the wake, his wife (Yatsuko Tan’ami) is…
Totsugu hi made / 嫁ぐ日まで (‘Until Your Wedding Day’, 1940)
Obscure Japanese Film #231 Setsuko Hara Yoshiko (Setsuko Hara) lives with her widowed father (Ko Mihashi) and younger sister Asako (Akira Kurosawa’s future wife, Yoko Yaguchi, in her film debut). She’s being courted…
Dorodarake no junjo / 泥だらけの純情 (‘Mud-Spattered Purity’/ ‘Trampled Innocence’, 1963)
Obscure Japanese Film #230 Sayuri Yoshinaga and Mitsuo Hamada Jiro (Mitsuo Hamada) is a teenage yakuza who rescues high school girl Mami (Sayuri Yoshinaga) from being harassed in the street by a…
Dedication of the Great Buddha / 大佛開眼 / Daibutsu kaigen (1952)
Obscure Japanese Film #186 Kazuo Hasegawa and Machiko Kyo Nara, the then-capital of Japan, in the year 745. Kunihito (Kazuo Hasegawa) i...
The Tragedy of Bushido / 武士道無残 / Bushido muzan (1960)
Obscure Japanese Film #185 Miki Mori This Shochiku production opens with the legend, ‘There was a time when ritual suicide, upon the dea...
The Woman Who Touched the Legs / 足にさわった女 / Ashi ni sawatta onna (1952 and 1960)
Obscure Japanese Film #183 and #184 Fubiki Koshiji Machiko Kyo The romantic comedy Ashi ni sawatta onna began life as a magazine seri...
Kiri to kage / 霧と影 (‘Fog and Shadow’, 1961)
Obscure Japanese Film #182 Tetsuro Tanba When Kasahara, a teacher from the local school is found dead at the bottom of a cliff on the Noto...
The Hidden Profile / 風の視線 / Kaze no shisen (‘Gaze of the Wind’, 1963)
Obscure Japanese Film #181 Shima Iwashita Keisuke Sonoi Natsui (Keisuke Sonoi) is a photographer who has just entered into an arranged...
Wandering Shore / 流離の岸 / Ryuri no kishi (1956)
Obscure Japanese Film #180 Terumi Niki Sachiko Murase Chiho (Terumi Niki) is a young child left alone in the country to be raised by her...
Love is Lost / 銀心中 / Gin shinju (‘Silver Double Suicide’, 1956)
Obscure Japanese Film #179 Jukichi Uno and Nobuko Otowa Tokyo, c. 1942. Sakie (Nobuko Otowa) and her husband Kiichi (Jukichi Uno) run a ...
Structure of Hate / 黒い画集 第二話 寒流 / Kuroi gashu dainibu: Kanryu (1961)
Obscure Japanese Film #178 Ryo Ikebe Okino (Ryo Ikebe) is a hard-working Tokyo bank employee who is entrusted with a promotion to manage...
Five Sisters / 女の暦 / Onna no koyomi (‘A Woman’s Calendar/Almanac’, 1954)
Obscure Japanese Film #177 Kyoko Kagawa Yoko Sugi Their parents now deceased, two adult sisters now live together in their old family ...
Deep River Melody / 風流深川唄 / Furyu Fukagawa uta (‘Elegant Fukagawa Song’, 1960)
Obscure Japanese Film #176 Hibari Misora Fukagawa, Tokyo, c.1925. Daughter (Hibari Misora) wants to marry childhood sweetheart (Koji Tsu...
Golden Demon / 金色夜叉 / Konjiki yasha (1954)
Obscure Japanese Film #175 Jun Negami and Fujiko Yamamoto 1890. Miya (Fujiko Yamamoto) is a young woman in love with her adopted broth...
The Flesh is Weak / 美徳のよろめき / Bitoku no yoromeki (‘Faltering Virtue’, 1957)
Obscure Japanese Film #174 Yumeji Tsukioka 28-year-old Setsuko (Yumeji Tsukioka), a former member of the aristocracy, has come down in t...
Tales of the Inner Chambers / 大奥絵巻 / Ooku emaki (1968)
Obscure Japanese Film #173 Yoshiko Sakuma Edo Castle, c.1790. When virginal chambermaid Aki (Yoshiko Sakuma) catches the eye of the shog...
Kokosu sezu / 告訴せず / (‘No Charges Filed’, aka ‘Without Complaint’, 1975)
Obscure Japanese Film #172 Kyoko Enami and Yukio Aoshima Kitani (Fumio Watanabe) is a conservative politician running for re-election wi...
Cards Are My Life / 花札渡世 / Hana fuda tosei (‘The Flower Card Business’, aka ‘Flower Cards Chivalry’, 1967)
Obscure Japanese Film #171 L-R: Chitose Kobayashi, Tatsuo Endo, Toru Abe, Tatsuo Umemiya The early Showa period (1930s). Ryuichi Kitagaw...
The Ladder of Success / 夜の素顔 / Yoru no sagao (‘The True Face of the Night’, 1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #170 Machiko Kyo in the moonlight scene 1944. Akemi (Machiko Kyo) is a traditional dancer entertaining the troops at...
Clouds at Sunset / あかね雲 / Akane-gumo (1967)
Obscure Japanese Film #169 Shima Iwashita 1937. After a prologue in which we see two soldiers deserting – one of whom is quickly capture...
Oyafuko dori / 親不孝通り (1958)
Obscure Japanese Film #168 Hiroshi Kawaguchi and Yoko Katsuragi Katsuya ( Hiroshi Kawaguchi) is a cynical student who studies as little ...
Four Sisters / 山麓 / Sanroku (‘The Foot of the Mountain’, 1962)
Obscure Japanese Film #167 Isuzu Yamada Yoshiko Mita Sonny Chiba Modern-day Tokyo. Masako (Yoshiko Mita) is a young woman who wants to...
Ai sureba koso / 愛すればこそ / (‘Only If You Love’, 1955)
Obscure Japanese Film #166 Isuzu Yamada This omnibus film comprised of three stories was an independent venture co-produced by two compani...
The Gate of Youth / 青春の門 / Seishun no mon (1975)
Obscure Japanese Film #165 Tomohiro Tanabe and Sayuri Yoshinaga Based on the first part of a bestselling doorstop novel by Hiroyuki Itsu...
Shunsetsu / 春雪 / (‘Spring Snow’, 1950)
Obscure Japanese Film #164 Yasuko Fujita Takako (Yasuko Fujita) is a young woman who works on the ticket desk at her local train station...
Why Did These Women Become Like This? / 何故彼女等はそうなったか / Naze kanojora wa so natta ka (aka Girls’ Reform School, 1956)
Obscure Japanese Film #163 Kyoko Kagawa and Masako Nakamura This social conscience picture from Shintoho studios stars Kyoko Kagawa as Mis...
Kodomo no me / 子供の眼 / (‘Eyes of a Child’, 1955)
Obscure Japanese Film #162 Hideko Takamine Kiyoko (Hideko Takamine) is a young woman living in Tokyo with her older brother, Shunji (Hiros...
Junpaku no yoru / 純白の夜/ (‘Pure White Nights’, 1951)
Obscure Japanese Film #161 Michiyo Kogure Ikuko (Michiyo Kogure) is a young woman happily married to Tsunehiko (Seizaburo Kawazu), a banke...