Keiko Awaji

A widower and his daughter deal with the death of the man's wife.

Writer-director Gu Su-yeon's new film draws on his own semiautobiographical account of growing up as a delinquent zainichi Korean (Japanese-born, but of Korean ancestry) in the seaside city of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, a working-class hellhole overflowing with sex and fury. Day after day, (fictional) Gu finds fresh foes and makes the local hoodlums want to kick his ass. While working multiple dead-end part-time jobs, he cruises around town on his scooter in search of gangland trouble: leaping across rooftops with irate hordes of punks in hot pursuit, running off with a fetching belle in a sailor suit, rescuing a schoolgirl from being gang-raped at a glue-sniffing orgy…

Shinji (Kawaguchi Takahiro), who wanted to be a writer, impersonates a depraved man by the name of Tokio and sends constant e-mails to his wife Misa (Komatsu Miyuki). Misa eventually succumbs to his passionate e-mail advances, and decides to meet him under the condition that she does so blindfolded.

Makino Kuniyasu is consulted about the succession issue of the Joshu Okubo family. At that time, Makino is attacked by the Arabu Alliance Moriwaki Group, and he charges into enemy territory alone... This is the final installment of the Yakuza series starring Hakuryu, depicting the heroic half-life of the true gangster Makino Kuniyasu in a spectacular way.

Towa lives in a peculiar sanatorium after committing suicide. Convalescing in sanatorium, she is informed that she has only 7 days to live. Isolated within their worlds, strange people live in this sanatorium and try to avoid making any contact with her. However, Kuroda a man who lost his power of speech feels sympathetic towards her and their every lovable things give true colors to the life and inspire Towa’s honest desire for the life…

Elderly ladies rise to the challenge of staging a play and struggle to launch a theater company. Based on the actual amateur theater company "Theatrical Company Hono" in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, where the presiding officers and performers are composed of elderly women. They have been performing stage plays about issues related to the elderly for a long time.

Documentary made by Toho for the Masterworks reissue of all of its Kurosawa films. This one focuses on "Stray Dog" (1949).

Reiko Akigawa, married for three years to her husband, a bank employee, lives a seemingly ordinary married life, but she also has a secret life as a national secret investigator. One day, while her husband is away on a long business trip, Reiko returns home after her usual shopping, and senses someone's presence. Reiko's eyes turn into those of a hunter catching prey. The intruder is a woman, and her name is Maya. She seems to be a half-baked investigator sent by an organization. Maya's training begins that day, but...

Reiko Akigawa has been married for three years, has a banker husband and a seemingly happy married life, but has a secret side: she is a state secret agent. One day, newlywed Kaori, who lives next door, commits suicide by jumping from her flat. Reiko sets out to investigate and discovers that boys have been attacking women every day as if it were a game. She also learns that Kahori was raped by these boys, and that they used the photos as material for repeated rapes. Reiko receives an order from the command centre to eliminate the boys and goes to their hideout by herself...

Akira, a teacher from Tokyo, has just arrived in a small rural town to begin his new job. Soon after arriving, he meets, and begins to fall for, Miki, a papermaker and part of a large and unusual family. When he learns of an ancient legend that the family carries the curse of the Inugami, or Dog God, he brushes it off as silly superstition. After a series of mysterious deaths, however, the townspeople begin to grow restless, and Akira must confront the truth about Miki and her family.

Kyuketsu Onsen e Yokoso (吸血温泉へようこそ kyuuketsu onsen e youkoso, translated as Welcome to the blood-sucking hot spring) alternatively known as Kyuketsu Onsen ni Yokoso (吸血温泉にようこそ kyuuketsu onsen ni youkoso) is a Japanese direct-to-video horror-erotic film released in 1997 by the Japanese studio known as Museum. It is based in an original story by Go Nagai. A little after the release of the film, a manga version was also released in the magazine Comic Bazooka by Tatsumishuppan, from May 1997 to August 1997, and later released in a single tankōbon in 1997-10-25 by Mediax in the line MD Comics. The manga was later published in the compilation tankōbon Kireta Ito: Nagai Go Jisen Sakuhin shu published by Kadokawa Shoten in 2001. The film features famous Japanese celebrity Aya Sugimoto in the role of the landlady of the onsen and the main vampire woman, ex-idol singer Yuka Onishi of Sukeban Deka III fame, and AV idol Ryo Hitomi.

A young woman tries to reconcile with her mother, who left their family for another man.

Set in decadent, chaotic Hong Kong and Tokyo, the film tells the story of a young woman caught up in a mysterious turn of events. A young tour guide, 23-year-old Mamiko who's had her heart set on Paris, finds herself swept off to booming Hong Kong where she is thrown into the midst of a high-profile burglary case.

The rise to power of the famed Lady Kasuga no Tsubone, who established the 'Ooku' (the women's quarters at Edo castle) and acted as nursemaid to Tokugawa Iemitsu, the future 3rd Shogun is chronicled in this historical drama. Intrigue and suspicion abound as the two brothers Iemitsu and Tadanaga vie for the post of Shogun, while behind the scenes the remnants of the defeated Toyotomi faction, lead by Lord Ishida Mitsunari attempt to discredit the Tokugawa Shogunate and regain their former position as rulers of the nation. The hidden battles between Shogun Hidetada's wife and mistresses of the 'Ooku' come to light as they force the two brothers into a life or death struggle.

During his wandering throughout Japan, Tora-san meets a suicidal man. He travels with the man to Vienna, but winds up homesick for Japan.

The adventures and tribulations of a group of students during the years following the II World War.

When his travels take him to rural Hokkaido, Tora-san helps a cantankerous old veterinarian (Mifune) in his relationships with his estranged daughter, and a woman in whom he is secretly interested.

Drama about the friendship between a lonely laborer (Atsumi) and a young woman (Hoshi) unable to enter college.

Loyal samurai Samanosuke is attacked, mutilated, and left for dead while carrying out a mission for his clan. He recovers but has lost an eye and an arm. Taking a new identity as Tange Sazen, he searches for a stolen urn which has hidden significance to his clan. But Tange Sazen has his own reasons for seeking the urn.

A Japanese film from 1965, directed by Shirô Toyoda.

15th entry in the Ekimae series, surrounding the then-insanely popular Weekly Shounen Sunday series Osomatsu-kun and Obake no Q-Taro.

The sequel of "Flower and Dragon". Kingoro Tamai founded a family in the port of Wakamatsu. He unites people with his courage, and revolts against the entrepreneur Oki Nakashi, who is teeming with vices. Kingoro and his family are also forced to fight against the Ezaki-Gumi group, which is opposed by Tomoda Kizo, who is trying to control the port of Wakamatsu.

A story of manly life and the beauty of conjugal love. A story about a man and a woman establishing a family of longshoreman, centering on their love and struggle.

#13 in the Ekimae series of films. Set at Todai University, Professor Sakai (played by Frankie Sakai) mentors a group of university hopefuls. Cut to 25 years later, the students have each settled into their careers and cross paths with Professor Sakai's son, a P.E. teacher (also played by Sakai).

The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.

The 12th "Ekimae" feature.

A young intellectual conscientious objector is forced to serve with the Japanese army in Manchuria. He joins with a dim-witted former gangster in an effort to desert by stealing a train.

The 9th "Ekimae" feature.

The members of Crazy Cats play employees of a trading company. Ueda Hitoshi of Awa Shoji, a lucky man who never loses a bet, and the managing director, a gambling fanatic, are scammed in a business deal and set off for Macau where the mastermind, Chang, is located for a gambling showdown. Kei Tani plays the role of the Macau gambling manager.

The Second movie based on a popular TV show about Pintemps Cosmetics and their struggles to make new successful products, filled with singing, dancing, and laughter.

Apparently a baseball drama starring real-life stars Nagashima (The Babe Ruth of Japanese Baseball) and teammate Oh-known collectively as ON-from the Yomiuri Giants. Nagashima nickname was 'Mr. Giants.

4 sisters inherited a sum of money and try to get married

Comedy has the proprietors of a tonkatsu (deep-fried pork) restaurant match wits with a Chinese developer.

A woman remembers her own marriage when dealing with the love life of her son.

Seven employees rise up in rebellion against an irresponsible company.

Sequel to the 1955 movie.

The music teacher, who danced the twist at the graduation ceremony of the solemn female school, was fired but decided to try his luck in the cosmetics business, and became the best salesman anyone had ever seen. First film in popular "Number 1" Series.

Nine maids serve the household of a writer and his wife. The couple treat their maids like daughters and marry them off to eligible men. So, they are forever looking for new maids. As the years go by maid servants become hired help and more bossy and independent, so Chikura and his wife find themselves adjusting their lives to keep up with changing times.

After being fired from his company, Hitoshi Ueda opens a arbitration company. Experts from various fields gather around him and with their natural vitality, they solve one dispute after another. But as it turns out, their next dispute will be at a global scale.

While on a business trip to Kyushu, a paint company president competes with a rival firm for a key overseas client, only to face setbacks both in work and in the personal affairs of his team.

Director Iwauchi Katsuki adapted this melodrama from Sasazawa Saho's award winning novel about two young lovers from different sides of the tracks set against the backdrop of the Roppongi district in Tokyo. Masaaki (Minegishi Toru) is the son of a prominent judge and a Law student at university. Chikage (Nakagawa Yuki) is a teenager from an underprivileged home. Both are desperately looking for an escape from their lives when they meet in Roppongi one night and fall in love. But coming from such different backgrounds, their happiness isn't assured.

An ad campaign for a TV show called the “Male Training Contest” stirs chaos at a major electronics company. On opening night, PR manager Sugishita is forced to join the contest, where husbands fail miserably at household chores. Frustrated, the men later gather to complain about their domineering wives, only to be confronted by a carefree stranger who teaches them absurd tricks to “stand up to women.”

It is the 16th series of the call series with the highest masterpiece among the "President" series. The president of the U. s.solar paint, heitaro Domoto (Morishige), has become completely American, and plans to rationalize the company to the American style and prohibit the company's entertainment. Members of the Taiko Kyushu Branch Company (Ryohei Miki), who were living in the banquet, were hit by a big blow, and the company and the meeting club were very annoying. After that, the president who went to the business trip to Kyushu met with a sexy Geisha (Junko Ikeuchi) on the way to the tour, and he felt like a fool.

The fifth "Ekimae" film set in a Chinese restaurant in Yokohama's Chinatown.

After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.

1962 Japanese movie

Toho comedy shot in Tohoscope featuring performances from the Peanuts and the Crazy Cats. Original released alongside another Toho comedy, King Kong vs. Godzilla.

Fourth entry in the Ekimae series, focusing on the restoration of a Fukushima hot spring inn.

A painfully sad woman's heart cries from forbidden love. A love triangle drawn by three stars of Japanese cinema: Keiji Sada, Miyuki Kuwano and Keiko Awaji.

1962 Japanese movie

1962 Japanese movie

1962 Japanese movie

1962 Japanese movie

Drama about the lives of the five daughters and daughter-in-law of a store owner.

Third film in the "Ekimae" series, this time set in Hamamatsu. A widow named Keiko and her brother Jiro run the bento shop, "Goraku." One day, Keiko asks for advice from her childhood friends Kintaro, a textile manufacturer, and Magosaku, an entrepreneur, about a big-shot from Osaka who wants to invest in her shop. However, Kintaro and Magosaku suspect that things are not what they seem...

Based on the comic by Fuyahiko Okabe.

Based on the comic by Fuyuhiko Okabe.

The life of a toilet-seller during the Japanese Economic Miracle.

Follow-up to "Ekimae Ryokan." Set around the Yurigaoka and Nishi-Ikuta stations on the Odakyu-Odawara line, the film takes up the problem of real estate around the expanding Yurigaoka apartments.

JA woman is witness to a murder but flees the scene, leaving behind only a handkerchief with her name, Rie, embroidered upon it. Police race to find her before the yakuza can track her down.

After a promotion brings new professional challenges, a diligent employee is pulled into corporate matchmaking and a high-stakes business conflict over a critical eel supply.

The real mother of the two children of a respectable university professor is not his wife, but his mistress, the hostess of a Ginza bar the family frequents.

Contemporary comedy.

A straight-laced employee is tasked with supervising his impulsive CEO during a business trip intended to revive struggling sales.

Modern Comedy

Comedy about a husband and wife.

1960 Japanese movie

In this Japanese drama, a village girl goes to Tokyo and becomes a sex worker to support her ailing mother. While there she meets a teacher and falls in love.

The film depicts the scarring of Yosaburo at the hands of yakuza thugs who catch him with mistress of the gang boss. Despite the physical and emotional scars he now carries with him, Yosaburo falls for a young noblewoman. The rest of the film follows the two as they fend off attacks from gangs and the police.

The ruthless and ambitious Yasuhiko uses his charm to manipulate and exploit those around him to climb the corporate social ladder. His cold-blooded ascent eventually leads to moral decay as his past actions begin to catch up with him.

Sanae is left a widow after her prestigious husband dies, but holds the proceeds of a million yen insurance policy. Being childless, her former in-laws have no objection to her return to her own family.

Crime thriller about the investigation of a man murdered at a Tokyo race track. Clues lead Detective Yoneyama (Mihashi) to Kobe where a narcotics gang is smuggling drugs in golf balls with the aid of an ex-cop (Takarada).

A contemporary comedy.

A drummer falls for a pawnbroker's daughter.

Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.

The right-hand man of a narcotics ring (Tsuruta) is shot by gangsters and left for dead at a Tokyo waterfront and subsequently suffers from amnesia. Returning to his turf in Kobe, the would be assassins try once again to do him in before he recovers his memory.

Comedy historical film about a wandering warrior, based on the novel by Shin Hasegawa.

Kitagawa Utamaro is a famous ukiyo-e artist known for his paintings of beautiful women. The courtesan who became his model became even more popular. Ocho, a resident of an apartment building, hears about this and secretly plans to follow Otose, the owner of Mizuta-ya, who became famous as Utamaro's model. At this time, the Kano school, headed by Kano Eikawa, which was under the control of the shogunate, is dissatisfied with Utamaro's fame and tries to compromise him…

Fate begins to smile upon young Chonosuke Tokugawa, son of eleventh Tokugawa Shogun, after some twenty years of life as a dependent at his step-brother's castle, when the ruler of the Takatori Clan suddenly dies leaving no heir and despite the protest from Minister Horio, it is decided that young Chonosuke is to succeed as ruler of the clan. Horio determines to murder Chonosuke on his way to Edo so that his own grandchild may rule the Takatori Clan. "Odd" Han, a travelling gambler happens to stop at the inn where Chonosuke's party is staying in secret. The assassins come to attack Chonosuke on the riverbank where he is viewing the fireworks alone but are driven off by Han. Now Chonosuke travels with Han disguised as a gambler during which he begins to learn the hardships of the peasants and is struck with the contrast between the life of a feudal and those whose labour provides his luxurious living.

The fourth "Diary of a Successful Salaryman" feature.

Three wives launch a sex strike to put their domineering husbands in their place!

Edmund Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, transplanted to Japan. A poet-warrior with an oversized nose (matched only by his great heart) loves a lady. But she sees him only as a friend, so he helps another man to woo her by giving him the poetry of his own heart.

7th film in the President series and the first entry in color.

Comedy about three soldiers, two female reporters, six prostitutes, and the wife of an officer, all stranded on a South Seas island at the end of World War II.

Sixth entry in the Company President Series.

1958 Japanese movie

Story of a gangster (Mihashi), newly released from prison, who specializes in blackmail. His standing in the underworld declining, he makes the risky move of blackmailing a government official tied to the Japanese mob.

Thriller about a narcotics investigator uncovering a dope ring.

Based on the novel "Ekimae Ryokan" by Masuji Ibuse, a longtime hotel employee struggles to bring his old-fashioned ryokan in line with postwar Japanese business practices.

Matsuki, a former war photojournalist, returns home and starts a modest life with his wife, Komiko. Driven by his passion for capturing the truth, he takes on daring assignments that impress many, though his risky work worries his wife. Through his lens, he experiences deeply moving moments that give him a new perspective on the meaning of his profession. As he struggles to balance his career and family life, new challenges force him to reconsider his priorities.

Two residents of Edo city Yaji and Kita make a journey to the temple of Ise, as part of a religious pilgrimage, but actually to get away from their wives for a little while. As they travel, they are constantly beset by complications involving women, mistaken identity, and misunderstood events. Another film adaptation of the famous novel Ikku Jippensha Footing It Along the Tokaido (Tokaidochu Hizakurige)

May Kawaguchi is a famous Japanese fashion designer. Returning to Tokyo from her home in New York, she travels incognito with a tour group, in hopes of having a quiet vacation without being noticed. But she is spotted and the press has a field-day with the returning celebrity. Her hopes of rest shattered, she agrees to put on a large-scale fashion show.

In post-war Japan, The Second Drawer follows Funada, a devoted company man whose planned family trip is disrupted by the sudden death of his boss. Thrust into a delicate business negotiation and a chance encounter with a mysterious woman, he becomes entangled in a quiet storm of corporate intrigue, personal sacrifice, and emotional complexity. As relationships shift and secrets surface, Funada must navigate the fine line between duty and desire in a world where ambition and morality rarely

The fifth entry in the Company President Series

Princess Kinuta runs away from the palace because she doesn't want a marriage of convenience. Princess Kinuta, who has never left the palace, didn't enjoy communing with wildlife for long when she was chased by bandit moles and accidentally fell into the Valley of the Spider's Web. The princess and a white butterfly bound by a mysterious thread were about to be eaten by the spider queen when they are rescued by Tanukichiyo, a young wandering samurai who happens to be passing by. Historical fantasy comedy starring Hibari and Izumi.

Comedy about a car salesman delivering a late model station wagon from Tokyo to Izumo to a representative of the Japanese Diet, who plans to use the car in a bribe.

Aiko, a bar hostess, falls for the son of a company president who also keeps a mistress, and whose family disapproves of his relationship with the bar hostess.

At Kaikō Girls’ School, a fake love letter sparks a heated PTA debate. Teacher Shimazaki wins the vote, while students and staff navigate misunderstandings and mischief. Amid the chaos, romance blooms: Numata proposes to Yukiko, and Rokunosuke declares his love to Shinko, ending with a joyful countryside outing.

A woman struggles to raise her young son on her own in postwar Japan, finding companionship with a kind laborer while still hoping for the return of her missing husband.

About schoolgirls in a rural town, and a love letter which has the entire community in an uproar.

A love triangle develops between a benevolent student, his innocent girlfriend, and a cruel petty criminal, all as a point of diagnosis of a social disease that had Japan slowly succumbing to lawlessness during the post-War era.

Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, the drama, set in the brothels of Shimabara in post-war Kyoto, is a moving look at the lives of women of tenacity and resilience.

After the heartbreak of losing a close colleague, a television star vanishes, presumed to have drowned in Lake Izu. A mysterious empty boat, a forged suicide note, and sleeping pills spark suspicion. As her family—an estranged husband, a troubled son, and a secretive ex—grapple with grief and confusion, layers of hidden pain and deception begin to unravel. What seems like a tragic suicide slowly turns into a web of lies, guilt, and emotional collapse… until the final, devastating truth surfaces

Based on the story "Actress and Poet" ("Joyu to shijin") by Minoru Nakano.

1957 Japanese movie.

Fusako, a girl raised in a geisha house, tries to escape her dark past and faces repeated heartbreaks. After an unexpected pregnancy, she has an abortion and decides to start a new life away from the geisha world.

The cabaret «Romance», run by Masami Daisaku's father, is experiencing financial difficulties, and Masami is betting on changes and asks singer Hibari Misora to perform. Musical youth comedy with young actors, passion, funny songs and laughter. Hibari Misora appears as herself.

A suspense drama about a thief who sneaks onto a late-night ski bus heading from Tokyo to Joshinetsu and the detective who rides with him to arrest him. Each of the passengers acts independently, and the incident takes an unexpected turn that goes beyond the detective's intentions.

Melodrama about a young factory girl who "chooses riches over chastity".

A former company man turned drifter is pulled back to lead a struggling toy company, enforcing bold reforms that shake up its corporate culture. Just as success arrives, he quietly walks away, leaving a changed company behind.

After running away from her mother, Ashiko works as a maid at an inn and changes her name, but she finds herself torn between her past and a new relationship with a lonely trader on the beach of Atami.

The woman prison has a cast all with a story of their own and with no dull or routine day. There is an employee who is divorced after her husband had an affair. She loves the jailed criminals and almost sees them as family. One day at a workshop someone faints while working hard to make money because she has a poor boyfriend. Another inmate is knocked up Another is a mother and has her child with her.

A man who seemed to have found happiness with a wife and child loses his wife and his daughter gets married... A man's life, full of joy and sorrow, is vividly depicted to the tune of "Moonlit Desert" in this humanistic drama full of pathos, starring Hisaya Morishige.

On February 4th of the 16th year of the Genroku era, Yatō Uemon no Shichi reminisces while waiting his turn for seppuku at the Mizuno residence. When news of his lord, Asano Naganori, attacking Kira Yoshinaka in the palace reached Akō, Uemon no Shichi was sixteen. The family elder, Ōishi Kuranosuke, determined to avenge, gathered allies, but Uemon no Shichi's father, Chōsuke, being sickly and considered too young, was not included. Chōsuke committed suicide.

Yoshida Denkichi does loses sight of his wife Chiyoko and daughter Toyoko during the war, and is taken in by a familiar woman, Oshige, and becomes the owner of "Fujimura" in the town of Hato. Eiko is a timid woman who hates Terada, a watchmaker who is obsessed with her; Tamie is a hard worker who asks for money from customers to support her mother and daughter Teruko; Tane, who dreams of the day they can be together, gives money to her lover Takeda; Machiko, an apres girl, is selective about her customers in the name of romance. They are women working in the red light district at "Fujimura."

This is a paradise of dream and illusion, a country of Raccoon Dogs. The Bat Tribe lives in a neighboring country took a young prince of Raccoon Dogs as a hostage, and try to take a Buddhist saint from the temple by force.

Third film in the 'Travels of Lord Mito' franchise.

A U.S. Navy pilot and his squad are assigned to bomb a group of heavily defended bridges deep behind enemy lines during the Korean War.

1954 Japanese movie

Machiko and Haruki’s drama continues. Two meet again in Hokkaido only to be separated again.

In the mountainous region of Koshu, Taikahara, there was an intense power struggle between the prominent families, Tamaki and Kakukura. Facing the steward of Kakukura, Kurokawa Senjiro, was Tamaki Daisaburo, who was skilled with a handgun. Daisaburo had granted protection to the charcoal maker, Miyoshi, safeguarding a few mountains passed down from their ancestors. Daisaburo's elder brother, Iori, who had completed his training in Edo, saved Kakukura's only daughter, Koyumi, on his way back home. However, while Daisaburo rushed to Iori's aid after Koyumi was attacked by Kurokawa and his men, their family home was set ablaze.

Machiko Ujiie and Haruki Atomiya first meet and fall in love on Ginza’s Sukiyabashi Bridge during the Great Tokyo Air Raid in March 1945. Machiko and Haruki pledge to meet again at the bridge in six months but part without asking each other’s names.

At the close of the war in Japan, a widowed mother makes every possible sacrifice to bring up her ungrateful son and daughter who are unimpressed with their poor standard of living at home. They gradually reject her in search of the material comforts that working as a maid cannot provide. The mother's despair becomes interminable.

Three beautiful daughters grew up in a dog and cat care clinic. The eldest was named Takako (Keiko Tsushima), the second was Tsugumi (Keiko Awaji), and the third was Mihato (Hibari Misora). Mihato was still a pretty seventeen-year-old girl, but she considered herself as mature as her older sisters. Mihato knows that Tsugumi is friends with Ippei Yaguchi (Masao Wakahara) and acts as a love messenger between them, but she didn't know that Takako is also in love with Ippei...

Follows six male friends from elementary school whose career paths diverge—newspaper reporter, engineer, boxer, sushi restaurant owner—but whose romantic lives intersect. (MoMA)

A young student falls for an invalid girl, whom he can only see from afar.

Born to a prestigious family, Natsuko is not impressed by any one of her suitors. Determined to spend her life serving god, she sets off to a convent in Hakodate, Hokkaido, and meets along the way a young bear-hunter with whom she begins an adventure.

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.