Akitake Kôno
1911 - 1978Kōno started acting with the Zenshinza theater troupe before joining the Toho studio in 1942. Mostly a character actor, he appeared in films by directors such as Akira Kurosawa and Kenji Mizoguchi as well on television.
ひばりの佐渡情話
Kunio Watanabe
Hibari Misora, Toshiaki Amada
Hibari Misora plays a singing guide, who is secretly in love, her fortunes turn for the worse when a gangster’s henchman hears her singing and takes a liking to her beautiful voice. The trouble starts when her family borrows money from the gangsters, setting off a series of incidents which lead to tragedy.
Hibari's Tale of Pathos
地獄の貴婦人
Motoyoshi Oda
Eitarō Ozawa, Ichirō Ryūzaki
Three and a half years after Japan was bombed, the tax authorities organized the T-Men. Nango is in love with a girl called Mibu, and the two are against the T-Men organization. Mibu whats to kill all of the T-Men one-by-one.
Lady From Hell
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Masaki Kobayashi
Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Kаze to onna to tabigarasu
Tai Katô
Kinnosuke Nakamura, Rentaro Mikuni
A chance meeting between two traveling gamblers leads to a case of mistaken identity when the farmers transporting gold to the governor think they are about to be robbed as the two gamblers face off against each other swords in hand.
Wind, Woman and Road
永訣
Hideo Oba
Kazuo Funaki, Mayumi Ôzora
During the early days of the war a young student, Makito (Kazuo Funaki), falls in love with Yuko (Mayumi Ozora), the widow of a naval officer. She, however, is living with the memories of her husband and it is her younger sister, Yumiko (Nana Ozaki), who grows fond of the student. Then, one day, a young naval officer, Tadayuki (Ken Ogata), a friend of her late husband, comes to see the widow and she becomes attracted to him. Though Makito is inspired to study for the navy, he is much upset when he learns that Yuko and Tadayuki are to marry.
Farewell, My Beloved
新・平家物語
Kenji Mizoguchi
Raizō Ichikawa, Yoshiko Kuga
Special Forces commander Captain Tadamori returns to Kyoto after successfully defeating the uprising of pirates in the western sea of Japan. But because the high courtiers dislike career soldiers gaining power and influence, they ignore the will of ex-Emperor Toba and refuse to reward the captain. Reward recommender Lord Tokinobu is punished, and the captain sends his son Kiyomori to the Lord's residence, where he falls in love with Tokiko, the Lord's daughter. Meanwhile, Kiyomori finds out that he is possibly the ex-Emperor's son... Written by L.H. Wong
Taira Clan Saga
Joyu
Teinosuke Kinugasa
Isuzu Yamada, Yoshi Hijikata
Sumako, a country girl, becomes a great actress with the help of Hogetsu,a scholar who brought some of European realism to the Japan's stage. The relationship leads to the end of his marriage and the breakup of his Arts Society. This is another version of Kenji Mizoguchi's film "The Love of Sumako the Actress" ("Joyû Sumako no koi"), from the same year. Both tells the story of the famous actress Sumako Mitsui (1886-1919), considered the first great modern theater actress in Japan. Mizoguchi himself is said to have preferred Kinugasa's version.
Actress
Ken
Kenji Misumi
Raizō Ichikawa, Yukiko Fuji
Kokubu Jiro is the captain of his university's Kendo team. Often standoffish, mild, stoic and minimalist, Kokubu is a mystery to those who know him. Kagawa wants to understand Kokubu, but being arrogant and flashy, has a hard time connecting with Kokubu.
Ken
山河あり
Zenzō Matsuyama
Hideko Takamine, Miyuki Kuwano
In 1919, a group of Japanese immigrants arrives in Hawaii. Among them Yoshio Inoue and his wife Kishimo and Sumi, a young woman ready to get married soon. With the soil that is hard to work and the subtroipical climate, the immigrants have to cope with a hard life. But after years of hard work, Yoshio finds work as a teacher while his wife manages to open a small grocery store. But with the war around the corner, life becomes more and more complicated for the Japanese immigrants in a foreign country.
Mother Country
