Yōichi Sai

Directing

Yōichi Sai

Born July 6, 1949 · Nagano, Japan

Died November 27, 2022 · aged 73

Yōichi Sai (born 6 July 1949 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan) was a Japanese film director. His mother is Japanese, His father is zainichi Korean. His 2004 film Chi to hone won four Japanese Academy Awards, including two for Sai himself, for Best Director and Best Screenplay. He had previously received two nominations in the same categories for Tsuki wa dotchi ni dete iru. In 1999 he shot Buta no muk…

Known For

In the Realm of the SensesIn the Realm of the Senses · 1976
In the Realm of the Senses
★ 6.61976
MovieDramaRomance
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
TabooTaboo · 1999
Taboo
★ 6.61999
MovieDramaHistory
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Blood and BonesBlood and Bones · 2004
Blood and Bones
★ 6.62004
MovieDrama
In 1923, teenager Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island, in South Korea, to Osaka, in Japan. Along the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of kamaboko, processed seafood products, in his poor Korean-Japanese community exploiting his employees.
The Mosquito on the Tenth FloorThe Mosquito on the Tenth Floor · 1983
The Mosquito on the Tenth Floor
★ 6.61983
MovieDrama
A lower-middle-class policeman lives decadently, chasing cheap beer and girls at the same time he's running from loan sharks and his personal expectations.
The Night of Martial LawThe Night of Martial Law · 1980
The Night of Martial Law
1980
Movie
Quill: The Life of a Guide DogQuill: The Life of a Guide Dog · 2004
Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog
★ 7.12004
MovieDrama
A Labrador retriever named Quill begins specialized training as a guide dog from an early age, then the canine is paired with a blind man who is initially reluctant to rely on his new partner.
All Under the MoonAll Under the Moon · 1993
All Under the Moon
★ 6.91993
MovieDramaComedy
A Korean taxi-driver interacts both humorously and tragically with his customers and employers in '90s Tokyo.
The Stairway to the Distant PastThe Stairway to the Distant Past · 1995
The Stairway to the Distant Past
★ 7.21995
MovieDramaCrime
Broke, with his vintage Nash convertible repossessed, private eye Mike Hama is reduced to combing the mean streets of the Yokohama waterfront on a borrowed bicycle. But when Lily, a beautiful stripper from out of Hama's past, returns to town, the fuse is lit on a criminal powder keg set to blow the lid off the Yokohama underworld.

Filmography

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Heisei Irresponsible Family: Tokyo de LuxeHeisei Irresponsible Family: Tokyo de Luxe · 1995
Heisei Irresponsible Family: Tokyo de Luxe
★ 8.01995
MovieComedy
The members of the Ameya family are all scammers. After their election scheme goes bust in their hometown, they move from Shikoku to Tokyo and resume their fraudulent activities. Everything carries on smoothly until the eldest and the fourth sons' modus operandi go awry, the mother's lover runs off with another woman, and disasters strike one after another. This film is a collaboration between Yoichi Sai and Goro Kishitani following "All Under the Moon." The family business of the Ameya family is defrauding people. The matriarch, who keeps getting married and divorced, has five children with different fathers. The Ameya family chases after fortune and leaves a trail of trouble on their path.

Director