Yōichi Matsue

During World War II, a shot-down American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain find themselves stranded on the same small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.

Captain Murakami takes over as skipper of the Azuma Maru, replacing the well-liked former captain. Murakami forces the crew to work harder than they ever have, creating enmity and exhaustion. Just when the ship has taken a huge catch of tuna in its nets, Murakami learns that his ship is the only one in position to rescue the crew of another ship, sinking in a storm. He must choose between saving the catch or saving lives. Either choice may mean his ruin.

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

A rebellious heiress clashes with gangsters, dodges an arranged marriage, and unexpectedly falls for a principled lawyer as her father confronts past corruption and starts anew.

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.