The Supporting Actors in Byplaywood 2021

In a studio at the foot of Mt. Fuji, Gaku Hamada is struggling to shoot a movie with a dog in the lead role. Enter a huge cast of veteran actors who get involved in misadventures while on set.

Musashi 2019

Musashi returns Japan's legendary swordsman and philosopher to the screen once again. In an original period drama based on the historical facts of the life and travels of the famous Miyamoto Musashi we find an apprentice, an instructor and the account of a famous battle in Japan of the Middle Ages where many questions will be answered.

Misa Yamamura Suspense: Kyoto Good Luck Tour Murder 2016

Kikaider REBOOT 2014

In the near future, the “ARK Project” has initiated a program to increase the quality of human life through the peaceful use of robots. Dr. Komyoji, the chief scientist on the project, has developed a process to create a robot with a figurative human “heart” through the installation of a “conscience circuit”, but his plans are violently opposed by researcher Gilbert Kanzaki. When Dr. Komyoji is killed in an apparent accident, his children Masaru and Mitsuko are targeted by mysterious forces within the ARK Project looking to gain control of the scientist’s research data. But the villains are opposed by Jiro, the android with a human conscience who fights for justice as the hero Kikaider.

The 11 Words Murder 2011

A series of suspicious deaths, starting with that of her boyfriend Kawazu Masayuki, prompts mystery novelist Yuki Rikako to investigate. She discovers that all the victims were once passengers on the same cruise ship a year ago and involved in an accident that left one man dead. Rikako must find out what really happened during that outing before more casualties result.

The Negotiator: The Movie 2010

¥ 260,000,000 is stolen from armored vehicle. The criminals escape into a crowded shopping mall and take over 50 hostages. Reiko Usagi (Ryoko Yonekura) and the SIT members are called in to break the stand-off. When Reiko goes into the shopping mall to negotiate, an explosion suddenly occurs. The hostages panic and run, while the criminals are able to blend into crowd of people and escape. A few weeks later, Reiko is at the Haneda Airport to go on a vacation. She then spots Yusuke Kimoto (Kento Hayashi), a man who was one of the hostages at the shopping mall. Reiko remembers Yusuke's bizarre behavior and her instinct starts kicking in. She decides to follow the man and boards the airplane that Yusuke is taking. Shortly after take-off her instincts prove correct. The airplane is hijacked ...

AIBOU: The Movie 2008

A former TV presenter is murdered. On the same day, two police officers from the Metropolitan police Special Mission Task Force, Sugishita Ukyo (Yutaka Mizutani) and Kameyama Kaoru (Yasufumi Terawaki), are guarding a female Diet member, Katayama Hinako (Yoshino Kimura). The pair identifies explosives and saves her life. From the clues left at the scene, Sugishita builds up his case and finds a connection between the murder of the TV presenter and the attempted murder of the Diet member. During a painstaking investigation, the savage murder case of a young overseas volunteer five years earlier emerges in the background, and the pair prevents indiscriminate murder at the Tokyo Big City Marathon event by suppressing the perpetrator.

Baian Fujieda the Assassin 2006

An adaptation of the Shotaro Ikenami novels, set in the historical Edo period, and centered on Fujieda Bayan, a medicine man and doctor by day, but ruthless killer for hire by night. His tools of the trade are the same in either job: acupuncture needles that leave no trace.

Izo 2004

Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.

Kah-chan 2001

Okatsu is a widow raising five children - adults but still mama-dependent - in mid-eighteenth century Edo, Japan. Her frugality attracts unflattering comment even amid national tough times (the region is in famine) What Okatsu tells no one is that she saves so that a friend can start his own business once he's released from prison.

The Firefly 2001

Japanese film icon Ken Takakura, who has starred in over 100 films, stars in this elegiac look at war and remembrance. Hideji Yamaoka (Takakura) was a suicide pilot during the war who somehow survived Japan's surrender. After decades of working as a fisherman in Kumamoto, a provincial seaside city in southern Kyushu, Yamaoka remains reluctant to discuss his wartime experiences with anyone, much less an intrusive reporter looking for a feature story. Then a series of events shake Yamaoka to the core, forcing him to re-evaluate his past.

Crossfire 2000

Junko was born with a type of ESP called pyrokinesis which she can use to incinerate anyone and anything at will. Junko is secretly in love with Kazuki, a young man who works with her. His sister is killed and a boy named Masaki suspected but the police don't arrest him. Junko tells Kazuki about her powers and takes revenge.

Shinsengumi 2000

Produced for Fuji TV in 2000, the film reinterprets the story of a special samurai force - the Shinsengumi - at the end of the Edo period.

Diary of Early Winter Shower 1998

Kounosuke Mibu and Tae Horikawa are unable to forget each other, even though they met and fell in love 20 years ago. They had promised each other that they would build a retreat in Shiguretei, but Ushio was hospitalized after a stroke a few days later, and when his wife, Takako, rushed to the hospital, she discovered their love affair, which in reality had not gone beyond kissing. Now, 20 years later, against the advice of her ikebana mentor, Tae rushes to meet Ushio at Shiguretei, only to see him clutching his chest in pain. Eventually, the design and plans for the dream retreat are seen by Tae, but she has to visit Kyoto alone... or maybe she's heading for somewhere else.

A Brief Message from the Heart 1995

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

Kappa 1994

As famous photographer, Yuta Suzumori's (Tatsuya Fuji) health is worsening he tells a childhood story of when he saw a kappa in his hometown village of Kitagawa.