Known for Camera
Birthplace
Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
Filmography
50 films


America ni Makenakatta Otoko - Bakayaro Souri Yoshida Shigeru
2020
country: Japan


Flower and Sword
2017 · 2h 7m
country: Japan
In the late 16th century, after the death of Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi takes power. The age of war is about to end, but Hideyoshi Toyotomi's rule makes life difficult for the people. Monk Senko Ikenobo is a master of flower arrangement. He prays for peace in the world and tries to give hope to the people with flower arrangement. He becomes good friends with Rikyu. Rikyu is a monk and a politician. He has the most profound influence on chanoyu. Rikyu is forced to commit hara-kiri by Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s order. Monk Senko Ikenobo challenges Hideyoshi Toyotomi.


Mother's Trees
2015 · 1h 55m
country: Japan
Mitsu Tamura (Kyoka Suzuki) is the mother of 7 sons. Her sons are sent to the battlefield and 6 of her sons die on the battlefield. To mend her broken heart, she talks to 7 paulownia trees which she planted whenever one of her sons left for the battlefield.


Snow on The Blades
2014 · 2h
country: Japan
At Sakurada Gate in 1860, the shogun’s chief minister and his retinue of bodyguards are ambushed and annihilated. Bearing the responsibility and shame for this failure is Shimura Kingo, master swordsman and chief of the guard. Forbidden to take his own life in atonement, he is instead tasked with hunting down the remaining assassins; however, fate intervenes and now only one is left. Devoted to his late lord and his duty, he relentlessly pursues the sole remaining assassin for the next thirteen years. But times are changing in Japan and the way of the sword has become outlawed. What does this mean for Kingo?


I Just Wanna Hug You
2014 · 2h 2m
country: Japan
Tsukasa got into a severe car accident when she was a high school student. She still suffers from the effects of that accident, with memory impairment and needing to use a wheelchair. Tsukasa falls in love with taxi driver Masaki. Even though they have difficulties, they try to make a happy family together, but they encounter another serious situation.


Another
2012 · 1h 49m
country: Japan
After a chain of deaths at a junior high school, new transfer student Koichi Sakakibara turns to a mysterious girl who holds the key to the dark mystery.


The Lady Shogun and Her Men
2010 · 1h 56m
country: Japan
In the year 1716 a mysterious epidemic stickens men in the country of Japan, dropping the population of men to 1/4th of its prior state. With the drastic reduction of men, the gender roles have become reversed in Japan. Woman become the dominant members of society and males are sought out for the ability to produce children. A young man named Unoshin Mizuno hopes to marry childhood sweetheart Onobu, but due to class differences realizes this is almost impossible. To raise his social status and also save his poor family, Unoshin Mizuno enters the Ohoku (inner chambers of the Shugun's castle) and attempts to vie among 3,000 other men for the affection of the female shogun. What Unoshin Mizuno quickly learns about the Ohoku is that the men there are all beautiful, but highly ambitious and conniving. In this environment, the 7th shogun Tokugawa passes away and the new shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa takes the thrown and enters the Ohoku.


Fireworks from the Heart
2010 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
On September 9th, the day of the Katakai Fireworks Festival, high school student Hana comes home from the hospital after six months of treatment for leukemia. She then discovers that her older brother Taro has become a social recluse. Taro used to be tender, smart and proud of his younger sister, but now he even turns his back on her and stays in his room. With Hana's help Taro slowly opens up to the world again. Then, with winter approaching, Hana has a relapse with her leukemia. Taro comes to the hospital everyday to visit Hana and soon learns that the Katakai Fireworks Festival is a symbol of happiness for Hana. Taro then takes the initiative to make Hana happy and approaches the town's youth group once more for admittance.


After the Flowers
2010 · 1h 47m
country: Japan
Ito, daughter of a clan official, encounters Magoshiro Eguchi. Magoshiro is a low ranking samurai sparks an attraction with Ito. Ito challenges Magoshiro to a sword match using bamboo sticks. Mahoshiro accepts. The pair's duel causes sparks to fly an attraction from both sides. Meanwhile, Ito faces an arranged marriage with Saisuke Katagiri and Magoshiro is with Kayo...


Silver Rain
2009 · 1h 53m
country: Japan


Happy Flight
2008 · 1h 43m
country: Japan
A variety of aviation professionals such as pilots, flight attendants, the ground crew, mechanics, dispatchers, controllers, and the bird patrol crew all support a single flight. They have only one mission: to secure the safety of the passengers.


Yamazakura, The Cherry Tree in the Hills
2008 · 1h 39m
country: Japan
Based on a short story written by Shuhei Fujisawa (who also wrote Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade, Love and Honor), the film depicts the uneasy life of Noe Isomura (Rena Tanaka) with the difficult family she has married into after her former husband passed away. One day as she tries to brake off a branch of a cherry tree, she is aided by a samurai who she does not recognize but who recognizes her. He turns out to be a former suitor that she never met named Yaichiro Tezuka (Noriyuki Higashiyama) and who teaches swordsmanship to the local samurai. Meanwhile, the powerful new chief retainer of the village enacts land policies that threaten the survival of the local farmers.


Death Note: L Change the WorLd
2008 · 2h 8m
country: Japan
"The human whose name is written in the Death Note shall die." After making the hardest decision ever, another serious case confronts L. There are only 23 days left and without his best partner Watari, L has to solve the case all by himself for the very first time.


Apartment 1303
2007 · 1h 34m
country: Japan
While celebrating with her friends in her new cheaply rented apartment on the thirteenth floor of a building, the young Sayaka unexpectedly jumps off the balcony committing suicide. Her mother goes insane and her older sister, Mariko, decides to investigate the mysterious death of her sister.


Happy Dining Table
2007 · 1h 48m
country: Japan
On the first day of school for third-year junior high student Nakahara Sawako (Kitano Kie), her father (Haba Yuichi, Off Balance) announces that he is quitting his teaching position and absolving from all parental responsibilities. For Sawako, this is only the latest episode in her family's parade of problems. Three years ago her father attempted suicide, and since then, things haven't been quite the same, with her mother (Ishida Yuriko, Miracle in Four Days) moving out and her studious older brother (Hiaraoka Yuta, Be With You) giving up school. Amidst the family drama, Sawako finds her own balance, working hard in school and developing a romance with cheerful transfer student Oura (Katusji Ryo, Aegis). But more obstacles lie ahead, changes that will throw her already fragile life further awry.


Cat-Eyed Boy
2006 · 1h 44m
country: Japan
A film adaption of the manga Cat Eyed Boy by famous horror manga artist Kazuo Umezu. The film follows a strange boy with cat like features.


Death Water
2006 · 1h 41m
country: Japan
Newspaper correspondent Kyoko Togakure visits a nursing home in the outskirts of Tokyo. She finds the dead body of a resident. It was an apparent suicide. He's holding a piece of paper with the mystifying word "Death Water" written on it. Nearby are blood-stained scissors, and his eyes are squashed. She has no idea that this death is just the beginning of a horrendous nightmare.


Kazuo Umezu's Horror Theater: Snake Girl
2005 · 53m
country: Japan
Yumiko has been invited by her cousin to spend summer vacation in a rural village. Once they arrive, she is mad to feel very unwelcome by the mysterious locals who keep referring to her as "Snake Girl."


A Heartful of Love
2005 · 2h 12m
country: Japan
Hiroshi, a 30 year-old businessman, has traveled back in time 20 years. He encounters Kazumi, a young woman who was gravely ill. Hiroshi regarded this as an opportunity to help the young woman from his past, the memory of whom he had always cherished.


Kazuo Umezu's Horror Theater: The Wish
2005 · 50m
country: Japan
A lonely schoolboy discovers a block of wood carved into the shape of a human head. Seeking companionship he and the puppet-doll become best playmates. Soon things begin to change and the situation goes from innocent to downright sinister.


One Missed Call 2
2005 · 1h 45m
country: Japan
A Japanese restaurant cook/owner dies after answering his daughter's cellphone. Other people are getting strange, same ringtone calls as well and dying painfully. It happened in Taiwan as well. Can the police stop it if it's a ghost?


River of First Love
2004 · 1h 53m
country: Japan
8-year old boy, Shimpei, who loves fishing and painting, lives with his beautiful mother, surrounded by nature. His mother, Satsuki, has a weak constitution and lost her husband years ago. She takes care of her son lovingly but sometimes strictly, on her own. Shimpei's childhood sweetheart, Sayuri, is deaf, but somehow they can understand each other and they always spend time together.


Ju-on: The Grudge 2
2003 · 1h 32m
country: Japan
When the cast and crew of a paranormal TV reality program decide to shoot in the house of the original Saeki hauntings, a series of strange events unfold at the location.


Yomigaeri
2003 · 2h 6m
country: Japan
When dead people starts returning to the small Japanese town of Aso, government official Kawada is dispatched to uncover the “truth”.


Ju-on: The Grudge
2002 · 1h 32m
country: Japan
When a social worker is sent to check on a traumatized elderly woman whose family have moved in at the site of a notorious murder case, she unwittingly unleashes a cycle of terror that transmits via its victims.


Harmful Insect
2002 · 1h 32m
country: Japan
13-year-old Sachiko is about to encounter the most difficult moments in her young life. Her father abandons her and her mother attempts to commit suicide by slashing her wrist. Her teacher, whom she relies on heavily, leaves for northern Japan to take another job. Other students start to gossip about Sachiko and her former teacher. Sachiko then drops out of school and attempts to find herself.


Naughty Boys
2001 · 1h
country: Japan
On Gacchan’s birthday, a wild night in Shinjuku turns into a whirlwind for him and Takayuki, testing their love after a careless mistake and a heated confrontation.


Love Ghost
2001 · 1h 35m
country: Japan
Teenager Midori's family moves back to the city where she lived as a child and is relieved to discover that her old friend Ryusuke still lives there. Her terrifying nightmares begin intersecting with her everyday life. Do her nightly dreams about an anonymous fortune-teller have anything to do with the tragedies plaguing her high school?


Chaos
2000 · 1h 43m
country: Japan
A kidnapping for ransom seemingly goes off without a hitch, but as one thread left unsolved suddenly reveals many more mysteries, the whole operation threatens to descend into chaos.


Crazy Lips
2000 · 1h 25m
country: Japan
After her brother is accused of murdering four people, his sister, desperate to prove his innocence, goes to a psychic for help. The price they ask, however, is far more than she expected, and the answers they give her are nothing she could ever have imagined. And what is the FBI doing investgating a murder in Japan?


Ping Pong Bath Station
1998 · 1h 50m
country: Japan
An unhappy housewife regains her passion for life by taking over a failing bath house.


Cure
1997 · 1h 51m
country: Japan
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.


Holy Maiden: The Wet Garden
1997 · 1h 29m
country: Japan
Ariya Michiru is a bright and energetic girl. One day, she gets mistaken for the ex-girlfriend of a young customer named Jūgo. And for some reason, Jūgo starts working at the shop. For Michiru, it was a real nuisance. Amidst the lively work of Mayu, who often gets SM play requests; Yaya, skilled at groper train roleplay; and Chigusa, who looks perfect in nurse outfits, Jūgo secretly aspires to be a saxophonist and diligently practices in private. But Jūgo feels something is missing. Michiru, too, can't bring herself to like Jūgo, who only ever sees her as a replacement for his ex-girlfriend. Yet, Michiru, who thrives vividly amidst the sleaze, and Jūgo, who finds something within that very sleaze, eventually fall in love...


Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Hero
1996 · 1h 23m
country: Japan
Yuji and Kosaku become involved with a brother and sister who want to drive a local yakuza gang member out of their neighborhood.


Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Nouveau Riche
1996 · 1h 21m
country: Japan
A duo get mixed up with a girl who finds a trunk load full of heroin.


Midori
1996 · 1h 44m
country: Japan
Midori is a coming-of-age drama set amongst the heady high school world of peer rivalry and sexual awakening, featuring an emotionally-detached high-school girl who, her parents dead, lives with her brother and his overprotective wife. After being sent out of class due to a dizzy spell, she becomes acquainted with Shun, a boy in the class below, in the school sanatorium. As the two begin feigning illness together on a regular basis, their uncomfortable flirtations soon blossom into a full sexual relationship.


Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Gamble
1996 · 1h 20m
country: Japan
Having lost everything to horse racing, Yûji accidentally gets 10 million yen. But this sum belongs to a Yakuza.


Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Loot
1996 · 1h 20m
country: Japan
Yûji and Kosaku are hired to track down an old man. But when he suddenly dies, his granddaughter surfaces with a map to his buried fortune, which the yakuza and a dirty cop are determined to find.


Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Escape
1995 · 1h 20m
country: Japan
Hapless gangsters are hired by the yakuza to tail his daughter. Once the identity of the boy she's dating has been unveiled, the boss offers a reward for his capture.


Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Heist
1995 · 1h 21m
country: Japan
Two petty gangsters get ransomed by a group of Yakuza members, fortunately they are rescued by a kindly Kindergarten teacher.


Men of Rage
1994 · 1h 20m
country: Japan
The second installment of a V-Cinema sports drama, directed by Kurosawa in 1994, following "打鐘" (Dakan) from 1993, which was based on Yamamoto's manga and directed by Komatsu Takashi. While there is no direct narrative connection between the two films, they share thematic similarities. The protagonist, Wataru Tachibana, a self-destructive yet genius keirin cyclist, is once again passionately portrayed by Nishimura. This time, Wataru fiercely competes against a rival known as the "Prince of Keirin," who is also the heir of a powerful conglomerate. Kurosawa directs with intense and dramatic storytelling, capturing the protagonist’s burning determination.


Yakuza Taxi
1994 · 1h 19m
country: Japan
Yakuza clan Inoshika decides to help a small family business, Taxi Tanaka, lured by the clan Jinryûkaï and deeply in debt.


High School Jingi 2: Taihen yoku dekimashita
1992 · 1h 45m
country: Japan
Based on the comic book series by Shuushi Mizuho.


Misty
1991 · 1h 38m
country: Japan


Be-In Bully High School
1990 · 1h 37m
country: Japan
The prestigious private Sakuraryo Gakuen, which has a 90-year tradition, has now lost its glory to the ground, and the back organization of the athletic club, the male “Black Warriors” and the female “Red Warriors”, have made use of them. One girl, Oda Yoko, who has transferred to such a school, sneaks into the principal's room to find out the truth of the death of her best friend, Atsushi Katayama