Yōichi Higashi

Directing

Yōichi Higashi

Born November 14, 1934 · Nokami, Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan

Died January 21, 2026 · aged 91

Yōichi Higashi (東陽一 Higashi Yōichi) was a Japanese film director. He began his career working on documentaries at Iwanami Productions but, after going independent, turned to fiction film. He won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for Yasashii Nipponjin in 1971, and then the award for Best Director at the 17th Hochi Film Awards for The River with No Bridge. In 1996, he won the Silver …

Known For

Village of DreamsVillage of Dreams · 1996
Village of Dreams
6.01996
MovieFamilyDrama
Tells of the childhood of two nine-year-old twins in a rural village in Japan after World War 2. Includes the boys relationships with their schoolteacher mother, civil servant father, elderly landlord, a rough new boy at the school, and three mysterious spirits in the form of old women.
The RapeThe Rape · 1982
The Rape
4.51982
MovieDrama
Yahagi Michiko is accosted and raped walking home one evening. From there she maneuvers the logistics of the police, hospital, and criminal justice system while balancing her home life including romantic relationships.
The Second LoveThe Second Love · 1983
The Second Love
6.31983
MovieDrama
Kazumi - whose sensitivity does not undermine her strength when she handles her second husband's emotional conflicts with the wisdom of an adult. Kazumi's younger and more inexperienced husband Hideo is continually suspicious of her fidelity.
A Tale of HappinessA Tale of Happiness · 1988
A Tale of Happiness
5.31988
MovieDramaComedy
A department manager at his company, buys a one-room apartment to have some space to himself. He signs an agreement with a young woman and has an affair with her once a week at the apartment.
Love LetterLove Letter · 1981
Love Letter
4.31981
MovieDramaRomance
Yuko is in love with an old poet who happens to be also a married man. She waits patiently for him and only him, yet she is constantly being lust by others.
MetamorphosisMetamorphosis · 1986
Metamorphosis
5.11986
MovieRomanceDrama
A sensuous movie based on a literary work. Hitomi Kuroki stars as the film’s heroine.
ManonManon · 1981
Manon
9.01981
MovieDrama
A story about a woman who is a research student of a theater company and the three men who are at the mercy of her.
Third BaseThird Base · 1978
Third Base
6.41978
MovieDrama
Third is an aimless young man who hangs around with a couple of girls who are amateur hookers. One day, while acting as their pimp, he gets into a conflict with a young gangster and winds up killing him.

Filmography

Sort
The River with No BridgeThe River with No Bridge · 1992
The River with No Bridge
7.01992
MovieDrama
A widow and her two sons, Seitaro and Koji, live in the small town of Komori, where Buraku people are forced to reside. The two boys are continuously harassed by their teachers and classmates through their childhood as a result of their Buraku heritage. In the midst of the 1918 Great Rice Riots in Osaka, Seitaro meets with Asako, the daughter of a rice shop owner, and falls in love with her. She too is of Buraku descent. At the same period, Hideaki, an old friend of the brothers returns to Komori, and he along with Koji and the townspeople create "Zenkoku Suiheisha", the National Levelers Association, an organization pledged to build a bridge over the river of discrimination, making all people equal in every way.

Director