Sumie Sasaki

One Million Yen Girl

A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.

Empire of Passion

In a small Japanese village at the end of the 19th century, a rickshaw driver's wife takes on a much younger lover and the two conspire to murder him.

A Full Life

A woman becomes dissatisfied with her marriage and joins a political theater troupe to protest the U.S. Security Pact.

Sayonara Midori-chan

Naive office girl Yuko supports her blithe big city lifestyle with a part-time job at a neighborhood cafe. Attracted to her manager there, the shallow but charming Yutaka, she willingly succumbs to his lascivious advances only to discover afterward that he already has a girlfriend by the name of Midori. Even so, Yuko's feelings for Yutaka continue to grow regardless of his aloofness. Before long she finds herself reluctantly cajoled into working as a hostess in a small karaoke bar. Fatalistically accepting his dalliances with flames old and new, she perseveres not so much in hope of a more substantial relationship, but rather out of fear of losing him. There are other men out there waiting for her -- kinder, more considerate and eagerly available. But for Yuko, there is only the non-committal, yet torridly magnetic Yutaka. Why him? Not even Yuko seems to know the answer.

The Desire of Angels

How did two sisters from Tsugaru survive in the big city of Tokyo? The older sister passed the nursing exam and works at a major hospital in Tokyo. Meanwhile, the younger sister works as a menial laborer for a grimy obstetrician in a working-class neighborhood. The older sister, with a saintly face, works as a nurse, but in secret, she is consumed by carnal desires for men, while the younger sister, a naive and innocent country bumpkin, is trampled upon in the hell of adult lust... For some reason, these two contrasting sisters end up fighting over the same man... What will be the outcome of their fate?

Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi ~ 2010 Summer Special: AKB48 Marugoto Jourei Special

The one where they perform an exorcism on Minami Takahashi and stuff. Also the first segment here is Tsuruta remaking the earring story from the original trilogy, so that's pretty cool.

The Flowers of Evil

A high school student steals the panties of a girl he likes but is witnessed, which sets off a chain of events that send his life and the lives of others around him out of control.

Tokyo Bordello

A ruined businessman was forced to sell his daughter, Hisano, to a brothel in Yoshiwara, the largest red-light district in Tokyo. The owner of the brothel has hopes to make her a great new addition which will attract the richest of customers. But after several months of training, she tries to flee Yoshiwara when the time has come for her to take her first customer...

One Million Yen Girl

A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.

Empire of Passion

In a small Japanese village at the end of the 19th century, a rickshaw driver's wife takes on a much younger lover and the two conspire to murder him.

A Full Life

A woman becomes dissatisfied with her marriage and joins a political theater troupe to protest the U.S. Security Pact.

Sayonara Midori-chan

Naive office girl Yuko supports her blithe big city lifestyle with a part-time job at a neighborhood cafe. Attracted to her manager there, the shallow but charming Yutaka, she willingly succumbs to his lascivious advances only to discover afterward that he already has a girlfriend by the name of Midori. Even so, Yuko's feelings for Yutaka continue to grow regardless of his aloofness. Before long she finds herself reluctantly cajoled into working as a hostess in a small karaoke bar. Fatalistically accepting his dalliances with flames old and new, she perseveres not so much in hope of a more substantial relationship, but rather out of fear of losing him. There are other men out there waiting for her -- kinder, more considerate and eagerly available. But for Yuko, there is only the non-committal, yet torridly magnetic Yutaka. Why him? Not even Yuko seems to know the answer.

The Desire of Angels

How did two sisters from Tsugaru survive in the big city of Tokyo? The older sister passed the nursing exam and works at a major hospital in Tokyo. Meanwhile, the younger sister works as a menial laborer for a grimy obstetrician in a working-class neighborhood. The older sister, with a saintly face, works as a nurse, but in secret, she is consumed by carnal desires for men, while the younger sister, a naive and innocent country bumpkin, is trampled upon in the hell of adult lust... For some reason, these two contrasting sisters end up fighting over the same man... What will be the outcome of their fate?

Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi ~ 2010 Summer Special: AKB48 Marugoto Jourei Special

The one where they perform an exorcism on Minami Takahashi and stuff. Also the first segment here is Tsuruta remaking the earring story from the original trilogy, so that's pretty cool.

The Flowers of Evil

A high school student steals the panties of a girl he likes but is witnessed, which sets off a chain of events that send his life and the lives of others around him out of control.

Tokyo Bordello

A ruined businessman was forced to sell his daughter, Hisano, to a brothel in Yoshiwara, the largest red-light district in Tokyo. The owner of the brothel has hopes to make her a great new addition which will attract the richest of customers. But after several months of training, she tries to flee Yoshiwara when the time has come for her to take her first customer...

Zigeunerweisen

A surreal period film following a university professor and his eerie nomad friend as they go through loose romantic triangles and face death in peculiar ways.

Miyuki

The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji

Reiji Kikukawa, who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan to set him up as an undercover cop in the Yakuza.

Tokyo Towers: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad

Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.

Spring Bell

Rokuheita Narumi is fascinated by oriental art and works as the director of the Saho Art Museum in Nara. His wife, Noriko, is unable to leave Tokyo, despite his wishes, and the two live separately. Feeling lonely and neglected by her husband, she immerses herself in the depraved life of the city and continues to have a loveless relationship with a doctor, Katsumori. One day, Narumi arrives in Tokyo and learns of Noriko's affair, but he cannot divorce her for the sake of their child, so he devotes himself to his work.

The Insect Woman

A woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.

Pitfall

A man wanders into a seemingly deserted town with his young son in search of work. But after a bit of bad luck, he joins the town's population of lost souls.

Gondola

Ryo finds employment cleaning windows of high-rises. Kagari lives inside one of the buildings. Ryo and Kagari lock gazes for a moment. It is a moment when one can help the other, but also when two persons who usually cannot communicate do.

Kikenna onna

Based on the Seichō Matsumoto's story The Woman Who Took the Local Paper.

Patisserie Coin De Rue

A disillusioned Natsume arrives at Coin de Rue, a popular Tokyo pastry shop, begging for work. Aiming to become a high-calibre pastry chef, she is determined to overcome both her past and the challenges ahead. Pastry critic Tomura is a frequent visitor to Coin de Rue. Moved by Natsume's persistence, he slowly begins to confront his own painful past aided, of course, by mouthfuls of tasty pastries.

Teacher and Stray Cat

Following the death of his wife professor Kyoichi leads a solitary life by the sea. A stray cat called Mii, who was being fed by his wife, not only continues to drop by, but also seems to be visiting the altar Kyoichi has set up for his deceased wife. While uncomfortable with the cat and its visits, he nonetheless takes up a search when Mii goes missing. The endeavour connects him with the town's folk and reveals that he is not alone.

Red Finger

A 7 years girl is found dead in the local park’s toilet. Kaga Kyouichiro, who was asked to find the girl, and his cousin Matsumiya Shuhei who’s assigned to investigate the murder case, have to work together to crack the case. Their evidence lead them to Maehara’s, a family with parents, a son and a senile grandmother.

The Oil-Hell Murder

The indolent son of an oil vendor becomes a regular customer of a prostitute, racks up a mountain of debt, and is disowned by his parents.

Farewell to the Land

Yukio is an ex-farmer working as a dump-truck driver in Kashima. Haunted by the drowning of his two young sons, whose names he has had tattooed on his back in penance, and locked in a sibling rivalry with his traditional but urbane younger brother who lives in Tokyo, Yukio has become an amphetamine-addicted loner at odds with his family, friends and colleagues.

Momi's House

Momi’s House is a facility to support self-reliance of young people with problems. The facility is run by Yasutoshi (Naoto Ogata) and his wife Megumi (Misato Tanaka). Ayaka (Sara Minami) is a 16-year-old girl. She has refused to go to school for about half a year. Her mother decides to send her to Momi’s House. While staying there, Ayaka begins to change.

The Woman Who Took the Local Paper

A man and a woman committed double suicide in Kanazawa City. Immediately after the incident, Yoshiko Shiota, a woman living in Tokyo, contacts the local newspaper of Kanazawa, saying she wants to read the novel serialized in it by Ryuji Sugimoto. How did this woman know the novel is serialized in the newspaper? And why does she want to start reading it in the middle of the story? Which article was she actually interested in? Sugimoto cannot help making his own investigations about Yoshiko, but the more he searches, the more astonishing facts come to light...

Kamen Rider

Takeshi Hongo is a promising young man with a passion for motorcycle racing. However, his dreams are suddenly ruined when he gets kidnapped by Shocker, the evil secret organization planning to dominate the world. After being remodeled into a cyborg, Takeshi escapes and swears to protect the world from the inhuman monsters.

Himawari

The story follows Minamida Nozomi, the charming female protagonist whose company's performance deteriorates due to the collapse of the bubble economy and who is forced to quit her job as she is prevented from getting married and starting a family. However, after her younger brother is involved in a theft incident within her family, she decides to become a lawyer. She passed the difficult bar exam and faced the harsh reality of legal training in Fukushima.

Kimi no na wa

A story of a man and a woman who meet amid the Great Tokyo Air Raid in 1945.

CSI: Crime Scene Talks

Satoshi Itomura is an assistant police investigator who belongs to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Scientific Investigation Team. Reenactments, fingerprint and voice data collections, profiling... His team collects scientific evidence and pieces together fragments of information in order to help build evidences. However, Itomura often does not care about the scientific approach and instead pays a great deal of attention to the things that the victims always carried with them or treasured. And he focuses on these things because they usually carry the victim’s dying wishes, understanding that last message not only helps solve the cases but also brings closure to the depressed family of victims.

My Husband is a Cartoonist

The 82nd NHK Asadora is Gegege no Nyobo. The story is based on a 2008 autobiography by Mura Nunoe, the wife of Gegege no Kitaro mangaka Mizuki Shigeru. The story revolves around the life of the married couple, told from the perspective of Mura. --Tokyograph

Segodon

Saigo Takamori, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, was born to a poor, low-ranking samurai family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture). His simple honesty caught the attention of its charismatic feudal lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. Nariakira’s assertion that the love of people is what will enrich and strengthen the nation captivated Saigo who took on Nariakira’s secret mission and eventually became a key person for Satsuma. Not a portrait of him survives today and much of his life is a mystery. He is a man who was twice exiled and thrice married. He overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate with exceptional bravery and action. Although he accomplished the restoration, he lost his life in a fight with the new Meiji government.

Atsuhime

The 47th NHK Taiga Drama is a life story of Princess Atsu, who was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, then called Satsuma, and became the wife of Tokugawa Iesada, the 13th shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. She accedes to the highest rank in Ooku, the inner palace of the Edo castle where women related to the reigning shogun resided. Iesada dies soon after their marriage and Atsuhime assumes the name Tenshoin at the age of 23. She exerts herself for the Tokugawa clan and for the nation during the upheaval in the Meiji Restoration, headed by those from Satsuma.

Clouds Over the Hill

Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and three, each with 4 episodes, were broadcast in late 2010 and 2011. While most episodes were shot in Japan, one of the episodes in series two was shot in Latvia. The TV series is based on the novel Saka no ue no kumo by Ryōtarō Shiba and adopted by Hisashi Nozawa. The theme song of the drama series is titled "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi, written by Kundo Koyama and performed by British soprano singer Sarah Brightman.

I Love Tokyo Legend - Kawaii Detective -

Tsukiko Otonashi is a fashionista who is too beautiful to be a detective. She is also intrigued by urban legends so much so that she believes all crimes are somehow linked to these legends. She even conducts her investigations in such a way as to prove them to be true. Tsukiko also likes to make use of whatever she can. She especially likes to enlist the help of crime lab officer Hitoro Katsuura, who happens to have a crush on her. Many other unique characters will make appearances as she investigates the crimes related to urban legends, using odd and exquisite techniques.

Matrilineal Family

A generations old family business is sent into turmoil when the sudden death of the head of the family opens the door to a fierce struggle between his three powerful and privileged daughters and the young mistress of modest means pregnant with his child.

稲垣吾郎の金田一耕助シリーズ

Sasurai Onsen Endo Kenichi

Endo Kenichi is rumoured to have announced his retirement from acting. Staff head somewhere to uncover the truth, only to see a shocking sight. Endo has concealed his identity and been working at little-known as well as famous hot springs in various regions across the country as a male attendant. He pokes his nose into the affairs of the imperfect beauties he encounters there and runs around trying to solve their problems. However, he loses his heart to them and gets involved in trivial incidents. Why on earth is he doing this?

Rinjo

Police coroner Kuraishi Yoshio and the crime lab team attempt to solve a serial murder case with a killer who seems to kill indiscriminately.

Precious Moments

In a red-light district, Nemoto Norio (Shibata Kyohei) is indiscriminately soliciting passersby. "Would you mind taking part in a survey? As a thank you, I'll give you a camera. Take this voucher and come to my office at Shinjuku West Exit later." "No way," replies Yoshikawa Kumiko (Furukawa Yuko). "That would be a problem," replies Saeki Nobuko (Mori Masako). "A camera?" asks Iketani Kaori (Tanaka Yuko), suspicious. The survey is about overseas travel. The three of them gather in a room in Shinjuku. This is how they get to know each other, and they gradually become good friends. Their desire is to find a youth they can be truly proud of. The drama depicts the daily lives of three women of the marriageable age who are desperately trying to make some memories before they get married.

Olympic Ransom

MIOKA –MY LAST DAYS WITH YOU–

One day, Taichi, an ordinary university student, meets Mioka, a girl who is like a storm. Taichi finds himself drawn to Mioka, who lives freely as she wishes without holding back, and they eventually fall in love. However, Mioka tells Taichi of her shocking truth. She has an incurable brain disease, with no medicine or treatment that can help her.

Yumechiyo Nikki

Yumechiyo is the madam of a geisha house in a remote hot spring in the San'in region. When Yumechiyo learns that she is dying of leukemia caused by the atomic bomb, she writes about her life in the form of a diary, which is a collection of human dramas and the joys and sorrows of her life.

Tokyo Tower

A story about a young man named Masaya, whose lifelong dream is to go build a life in Tokyo. Masaya thinks his life in his hometown is uncool. A few years later, he manages to move to Tokyo but not without any consequences. In Tokyo, he learns the hard way about the meaning of life, survival, love, insecurities, desperation and hope. He also learns the struggles of living in a big city and trying to fix his relationship with his parents, especially his mom.