Directing
Osamu Katayama
Born August 25, 1965 · Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan (age 60)
No biography available.
Known For
Happy! · 2006Happy!
2006
MovieTV MovieDrama
After her parents' death, Umino Miyuki was forced to give up a promising future in tennis to take care of her three younger siblings. Her elder brother, in a plan to become rich, disappears, leaving a 250 million debt on his sister's shoulders. Two debt collectors seek her out for payment and inform her that she will be forced to work as a bath hostess at a bath house if she cannot come up with the money. Miyuki makes up her mind to become a professional tennis player in order to win the prize money. She seeks for help from the son of a famous tennis family, Ootori Keiichiro, who was also her senior in middle school and fellow tennis player. Will Miyuki be able to become a pro and pay off the debt?
Peak: The Rescuers · 2011Peak: The Rescuers
★ 6.32011
MovieDrama
Shimazaki Sanpo is an experienced mountain climber and rescue team volunteer. Sanpo loves the mountains and wants as many people as possible to experience everything they have to offer so much so that he never holds a grudge against anyone for causing an accident due to their own negligence. Even if a fellow rescuer dies, he's the kind of man who can look toward the corpse and say "You did your best." One spring, newcomer Shiina Kumi is assigned to the Nagano prefecture mountain rescue team where she experiences growth thanks to Sanpo's guidance and the seemingly harsh training methods of the team's captain, Noda. However, she becomes depressed when she's unable to translate her skills to a real-life situation. As her confidence wanes, multiple accidents occur simultaneously due to a mountain blizzard, forcing the entire team into action.
Tiger & Dragon Special · 2005Tiger & Dragon Special
★ 10.02005
MovieComedyTV Movie
The prequel to the TV series "Tiger and Dragon" broadcast as a two-hour special before the series.
Devoted Cookbook · 2012Devoted Cookbook
★ 8.72012
MovieTV MovieDrama
The film is set in Edo period. As an orphan child Mio starts working at a restaurant in Osaka where she learns how to cook. When she turns 18, she moves to Edo (today's Tokyo) where she opens her own restaurant.
Devoted Cookbook · 2014Devoted Cookbook
★ 7.82014
MovieTV Movie
It is the Spring of 1814. The restaurant “Tsuru-ka” is gaining much popularity after its chef, Mio, won the prestigious cooking competition. One day, the owner of “Tsuru-ka”, Taneichi, employed young Fuki to be the attendant for customers’ shoes. Mio could fully empathize with young Fuki, who was an orphan and yet was courageous enough to survive on her own. Around the same time, the famous novelist Seiemon started coming to “Tsuru-ka”. Even though Seiemon criticized Mio’s cooking each time, he always returned to the restaurant daily.
The Last Town We Saw · 2024The Last Town We Saw
★ 5.72024
MovieTV MovieWar
The narrative centers on Taichi Tamiya, a television scriptwriter living in modern-day Tokyo with his family. Their ordinary lives are disrupted when they inexplicably time-travel to June 1944, during the height of World War II. Confronted with the harsh realities of wartime Japan—scarcity of resources, constant air raids, and societal pressures—the family struggles to adapt and survive. The story delves into their attempts to navigate this perilous era while seeking a way back to their original time.
Heat Island · 2007Heat Island
★ 7.52007
MovieCrime
A gang of underground street fighters calling themselves "Guilty" think they've hit the mother load when they mug a thief and discover he's carrying a bag filled with cash, unaware it's been ripped off the notoriously ruthless Yakuza who'll stop at nothing to reclaim what's theirs.
Mr. Housekeeper, Mitazono · 2016Mr. Housekeeper, Mitazono
★ 7.32016
SeriesDramaMystery
Kaoru Mitazono (Masahiro Matsuoka) is a talented housekeeper with an usual secret. Kaoru is actually a guy! Besides cooking, cleaning and babysitting Kaoru Mitazono has the unusual habit of discovering secrets held within the family of her employers.
Movies
Happy! · 2006Happy!
2006
MovieTV MovieDrama
After her parents' death, Umino Miyuki was forced to give up a promising future in tennis to take care of her three younger siblings. Her elder brother, in a plan to become rich, disappears, leaving a 250 million debt on his sister's shoulders. Two debt collectors seek her out for payment and inform her that she will be forced to work as a bath hostess at a bath house if she cannot come up with the money. Miyuki makes up her mind to become a professional tennis player in order to win the prize money. She seeks for help from the son of a famous tennis family, Ootori Keiichiro, who was also her senior in middle school and fellow tennis player. Will Miyuki be able to become a pro and pay off the debt?
Peak: The Rescuers · 2011Peak: The Rescuers
★ 6.32011
MovieDrama
Shimazaki Sanpo is an experienced mountain climber and rescue team volunteer. Sanpo loves the mountains and wants as many people as possible to experience everything they have to offer so much so that he never holds a grudge against anyone for causing an accident due to their own negligence. Even if a fellow rescuer dies, he's the kind of man who can look toward the corpse and say "You did your best." One spring, newcomer Shiina Kumi is assigned to the Nagano prefecture mountain rescue team where she experiences growth thanks to Sanpo's guidance and the seemingly harsh training methods of the team's captain, Noda. However, she becomes depressed when she's unable to translate her skills to a real-life situation. As her confidence wanes, multiple accidents occur simultaneously due to a mountain blizzard, forcing the entire team into action.
Tiger & Dragon Special · 2005Tiger & Dragon Special
★ 10.02005
MovieComedyTV Movie
The prequel to the TV series "Tiger and Dragon" broadcast as a two-hour special before the series.
Devoted Cookbook · 2012Devoted Cookbook
★ 8.72012
MovieTV MovieDrama
The film is set in Edo period. As an orphan child Mio starts working at a restaurant in Osaka where she learns how to cook. When she turns 18, she moves to Edo (today's Tokyo) where she opens her own restaurant.
Devoted Cookbook · 2014Devoted Cookbook
★ 7.82014
MovieTV Movie
It is the Spring of 1814. The restaurant “Tsuru-ka” is gaining much popularity after its chef, Mio, won the prestigious cooking competition. One day, the owner of “Tsuru-ka”, Taneichi, employed young Fuki to be the attendant for customers’ shoes. Mio could fully empathize with young Fuki, who was an orphan and yet was courageous enough to survive on her own. Around the same time, the famous novelist Seiemon started coming to “Tsuru-ka”. Even though Seiemon criticized Mio’s cooking each time, he always returned to the restaurant daily.
The Last Town We Saw · 2024The Last Town We Saw
★ 5.72024
MovieTV MovieWar
The narrative centers on Taichi Tamiya, a television scriptwriter living in modern-day Tokyo with his family. Their ordinary lives are disrupted when they inexplicably time-travel to June 1944, during the height of World War II. Confronted with the harsh realities of wartime Japan—scarcity of resources, constant air raids, and societal pressures—the family struggles to adapt and survive. The story delves into their attempts to navigate this perilous era while seeking a way back to their original time.
Heat Island · 2007Heat Island
★ 7.52007
MovieCrime
A gang of underground street fighters calling themselves "Guilty" think they've hit the mother load when they mug a thief and discover he's carrying a bag filled with cash, unaware it's been ripped off the notoriously ruthless Yakuza who'll stop at nothing to reclaim what's theirs.
TV Shows
Mr. Housekeeper, Mitazono · 2016Mr. Housekeeper, Mitazono
★ 7.32016
SeriesDramaMystery
Kaoru Mitazono (Masahiro Matsuoka) is a talented housekeeper with an usual secret. Kaoru is actually a guy! Besides cooking, cleaning and babysitting Kaoru Mitazono has the unusual habit of discovering secrets held within the family of her employers.
The Travel Nurse · 2022The Travel Nurse
★ 7.32022
SeriesDrama
Nasuda Ayumi is a young travel nurse who gives a bad first impression. In fact, he had been an excellent nurse practitioner in the US. He has the qualifications to carry out certain medical procedures and assist doctors in surgeries. However, some circumstances trigger his return to Japan where nurse practitioners are relatively unknown and nurses are still expected to do what doctors order. Ayumi ends up working at Amano General Medical Centre where he encounters a mysterious, legendary nurse Kuki Shizuka who will become his partner. Shizuka cleans “quietly” just like his name suggests and gets mistaken for a cleaner by the hospital staff including Ayumi. But he is actually a super nurse with boggling skills.
Black Leather Notebook · 2017Black Leather Notebook
★ 6.62017
SeriesDrama
Haraguchi Motoko works as a temp at a bank. To pay off debt that she inherited from her parents, she also works as a hostess at a club in Ginza.
Tiger and Dragon · 2005Tiger and Dragon
★ 7.12005
SeriesDramaComedy
A young yakuza thug apprentices with an indebted comic "rakugo" performer, whose not-so-fashionable son runs a clothes shop in the Harajuku backstreets.
Forbidden Love · 1999Forbidden Love
★ 7.51999
SeriesDrama
Michi, a 26 year old high school math teacher, tentatively accepts her boyfriend’s proposal of marriage, uncertain of her love for him but feeling pressure from her father and society to do what is expected of her. Hikaru, a 17 year old boy frustrated by his home life with his single mother and having been expelled from many high schools for bad behavior, enters Michi’s class as a new transfer student. As their relationship grows they realize that they both feel that they have lost themselves to the pressures of those around them, and it is this common bond that draws them dangerously close. What follows is a heart-wrenching story of forbidden love where Michi must face society’s judgement for corrupting a minor, abandoning her fiance, and disappointing her parents and co-workers.
Kisarazu Cat's Eye · 2002Kisarazu Cat's Eye
★ 6.82002
SeriesDrama
When 21-year-old Kohei learns he has six months to live, he recruits his friends to form a group of cat burglars who steal for the good of the community.
The Weather Girl Knows · 2013The Weather Girl Knows
★ 7.02013
SeriesMystery
Haruko Abe (Emi Takei) received her meteorologist license at the age of 11. She is a genius weatherwoman. Haruko now works as a meteorologist on a morning information program. Due to her incredibly blunt personality, a lot of people at her workplace dislikes her. Meanwhile, Haruko tries to solve cases with Detective Gota Aoki (Tadayoshi Okura), using her extensive knowledge of the weather.
Tower of Justice · 2021Tower of Justice
★ 7.02021
SeriesDramaCrime
Ren Kamijō is the director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Liaison Division. His father is a former police officer. An incident in Ren's childhood triggered his thirst for power, and he has his sights set on heading the police force by becoming its Superintendent General someday. Ren believes topping the faction that he belongs to is the shortcut to fulfilling his aspiration. He is driven by ambition and has no qualms carrying out work, no matter how dirty it is. His childhood friend Sawa Mizuki, a senior detective in the First Investigation Division, often opposes his stance and mindset as a detective but is the only one who knows about his past.
Mars: Zero's Revolution · 2024Mars: Zero's Revolution
★ 6.52024
SeriesDramaMystery
Zero Mishima is a mysterious 19-year-old transfer student who incites dropout high school students to "destroy this world with me." Although he is a mysterious person, he is adept at controlling people's hearts, and has the charisma to slip into the gaps in people's hearts and manipulate them with his skillful words. Instigated and guided by Zero, high school students eventually form a video group called Mars, and attempt to destroy the society created by adults then rebuild it...
Oyaji · 2000Oyaji
★ 7.52000
SeriesDramaComedy
At 55, Kan-ichi Kanzaki is the old-fashioned and overbearing father of the Kanzaki family: his wife Miyako, his son Tadashi, and his two daughters Sayuri and Suzu. Being an “oyaji,” a stubborn middle-aged man that cannot keep his opinion to himself, Kan-ichi is particularly bothered when he views what he believes to be a failure in the public’s morals. But unlike the occasional stranger, his kids have to live under his scrutiny every day, and there are plenty of family crises to draw his ire. Although he can be strict, his actions are driven by his love for his family, and one can’t help but be touched and amused by the loving efforts of such an “oyaji.”
Hitman from Today · 2023Hitman from Today
★ 3.02023
SeriesMysteryComedy
Shy, clumsy ordinary salaryman Inaba Toukichi is forced into living a dual life as an office worker and a hitman, in order to protect his family.
Odd Family 11 · 2011Odd Family 11
★ 6.92011
SeriesFamilyComedy
Minoru Sanada is a cameraman with little skills in his profession. His wife Megumi runs a cafe, but the cafe doesn't have any customers. Yet, the couple has 8 chidren.
Wave, Listen to Me! · 2023Wave, Listen to Me!
★ 7.72023
SeriesDramaComedy
Minare Koda, a floor manager at a small restaurant in Sapporo, tries to deal with her bad breakup with an ex-boyfriend. In the process, she drunkenly vents her frustrations to an older man sitting next to her at a local bar. The following day, she discovers that the man works as a producer at a nearby radio station, which broadcast her drunken ramblings over the airwaves.
As Minare's voice gains her more attention than her work at the restaurant, she ends up becoming a late-night radio talk show host at the same station, trying to balance her talk show with her daytime life to make ends meet.
Jiu: Special Investigation Team · 2011Jiu: Special Investigation Team
★ 7.02011
SeriesCrimeMystery
The show is based on the "Jiu" suspense novel series by Honda Tetsuya. Motoko (Kuroki) is a fierce, physically capable investigator with a strong battle instinct, while Misaki (Tabe) is more intellectual, kind-hearted, and naive. The two of them are both working to track down Jiu, the ringleader responsible for a series of brutal crimes.
Always Smiling · 2003Always Smiling
★ 8.02003
SeriesDramaComedy
Yumi, a 23-year-old office worker, is fired from her job out of the blue. A few days later, coming from a friend's wedding and having no time to change out of her kimono, she is rushing to an interview for a job at a publishing company. Yumi stumbles into the room, looking for somewhere to change out of her kimono, and finds popular comic book writer Reijiro Sakurai is having an editorial meeting with some staff. He is planning to lock himself away at a hot spring for the next three months to concentrate on his next project. Sakurai comments that if Yumi were to join him he wouldn't mind being away for so long..., and so their adventure begins.
Samurai Sensei · 2015Samurai Sensei
★ 6.42015
SeriesComedyDrama
Takechi Hanpeita, a samurai from Bakumatsu period time-travels 150 years to modern day Japan.
The Kidnapping Day · 2025The Kidnapping Day
★ 6.52025
SeriesDramaMystery
To secure his daughter’s heart surgery funds, Masamune Shinjo, urged by his wife, attempts to kidnap heiress Rin Nanase. When Rin loses memory, he pretends to be her father—only to become a murder suspect after her parents are killed. Forced to flee with the genius girl, he must unravel the truth behind the crimes.
Bartender · 2011Bartender
★ 7.02011
SeriesDrama
Upon return from Paris, Sasakura Ryu spends some time wandering amiss, but after some time he decides to start anew by becoming a bartender. On a daily basis as a bartender, he helps solve the various problems burdening his customers, including work and love and family troubles, one cocktail at a time.
Furthermore, what will happen to the romantic relationship between Ryu, who seeks the best cocktail, and Kurushima Miwa, who ispertinent to his growth as a person. Also in the drama you'll see the fateful showdown between Kuzuhara Ryuichi, referred to as Mr. Perfect, and Master Kase Goro. -- TV Asahi
Unexpected - Love Story in Maison Ginseiso - · 2023Unexpected - Love Story in Maison Ginseiso -
★ 6.02023
SeriesDramaComedy
Shitara, a man who fell from his elite life overnight. His new "place of employment", which has lost his job, house, and wife, is a boarding house?! Under one roof, a perverted love begins from the worst encounter with one of those living there!
Manhattan Love Story · 2003Manhattan Love Story
★ 8.02003
SeriesComedyDrama
Next door to Chuo TV's offices is "Manhattan," a coffee shop for aficionados. The owner's passion for coffee is almost a sickness and all he wants is for his customers to enjoy their coffee. He is a man of few words. If he has to say something, he gets his waiter Shinobu Gamo to speak on his behalf. Owner's real name is unknown. He would prefer to be addressed as the shops' "Master" rather than its owner - not that anyone is aware of this. He gives his all to coffee. Despite his wishes, his regular customers don't really come to taste the coffee. They are there because of love. They use his shop as a place for dates, marriage proposals and break-ups. He doesn't show it, but it saddens him that his customers are so preoccupied with affairs of the heart and not the coffee.
I Prefer Tomorrow's You · 2018I Prefer Tomorrow's You
★ 5.02018
SeriesDrama
Matsuo Ryo works at a gardening company. He thinks women are annoying. At a client’s office, he meets Satogawa Akane who works as a CEO’s secretary. She is admired by the male employees due to her attractiveness and smarts, but, due to a bad experience, she is not interested in finding love. She only has sex with married men. A new male employee, Kinosaki Haruto, approaches Akane.
One evening, Matsuo Ryo’s boss asks him if he is interested in marrying his daughter Tanno Ayaka and eventually taking over the gardening company. But, Ryo is embarrassed by the suggestion. He views Ayaka as a sister. Meanwhile, Ayaka works at a construction site during the day but works at a girl's bar at night. She has lost her sexual identity. While working at the girl's bar, female customer Kuroda Azusa approaches Ayaka.
A Forever Love · 1997A Forever Love
1997
SeriesDrama
One summer night, sixth-year medical student Natsume Toru is propositioned by Shinozaki Aki. He coldly brushes her off and tells her to look for someone with money. Several days later, while on duty at Keiyu University Hospital, Toru comes across Aki once more. It turns out that she is the sister of Shinozaki Jun, Toru's first official patient. Jun is waiting for a costly operation and in order to pay for it, Aki has been forced to sell herself on the streets. Toru falls in love with Aki, but will he be able to take her off the streets and more importantly, convince her that she deserves his love?
Forbidden Fruit · 1997Forbidden Fruit
1997
SeriesDrama
Mayako, a married woman, finds her life of comfort and casual affairs thrown into disarray when she unexpectedly falls in love with a younger man. Here is a modern fable of the moral dilemmas facing today's women, in a time where the expectations of love, marriage, and divorce from earlier generations no longer seem true.
Erai Tokoro ni Totsuide Shimatta! · 2007Erai Tokoro ni Totsuide Shimatta!
★ 8.02007
SeriesComedyFamily
Makimura Kimiko, freelance journalist and city-girl extraordinaire, marries into a traditional Japanese family. Most overbearing of the Yamamoto Family members is Isojiro's mother, Shimako, who seems to think Kimiko is the perfect wife whose knowledge of the traditional Japanese arts knows no bounds. Kimiko on the other hand is sloppy, a bad cook unless it happens to be microwavable, and couldn't tell a shamisen from a bagpipe if her life depended on it. Bombarded by customs, Kimiko's only desire is to never step foot in the Main House again. But with the interference of her husband, Isojiro, who can't seem to say no to his mother, Kimiko finds herself back in a place she calls Hell and smack in the midst of some crazy tradition her in-laws want her to participate in.