Koji Yamamura

An animated film based on one of the renku (collaborative linked poems) in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō. The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material – the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. As well as many Japanese animators, Kawamoto assembled leading names in animation from across the world. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long).

Legendary Crocodile, Jake and His Fellows (伝説のワニ ジェイク) is a Japanese surreal fantasy media project. Originally a 2001 TV series and an illustrated book, it was adapted into a feature film in 2001 for DVD and again in 2004 for theaters. It blends live-action interviews with unique short animations. The people who have witnessed Jake come from completely different backgrounds, countries, ages, and circumstances. A young American woman spotted Jake in the opening of a waterway. An elderly Japanese man, confined to his sickbed, saw Jake on his ceiling. A Singaporean woman saw Jake sitting on a swing in a park while waiting to meet her lover... Jake suddenly appears in the midst of their ordinary lives, and each time he takes on a different form and appears in a different place. Yet only certain chosen people are able to see him.

A bizarre medical exam of a nude woman by several doctors and scientists reveals that their latest subject has committed suicide before giving birth to one of the mutant creatures they had placed within her body. So, an investigative crew of scientists (along with a large human mutant cyclops creature) heads out to the city streets to obtain a new donor/victim in the form of a young girl. Gore and Z-Grade mayhem ensue.

A child whose head is numerals, a child who winds his own face and has it under his arm. What was left is his identity, a child whose eyes are provided by fishes, a child who cannot say anything because of a zipper across his mouth. Ecology and philosophy of children with sadness and humor.

A romantic melodrama about the shifting relationship between Ryosuke and Miki as their precarious employment and social circumstances shift around them.

Inuyama is intrigued by the existence of "Jake," a mysterious crocodile that has been sighted in many countries around the world. He continues to travel around the world, listening to the testimonies of various people of different ages, nationalities, and sighting situations who have seen "Jake".

One spring, Eri, a Holstein cow, falls in love with Sawa, a Jersey newcomer. Eri idolizes Sawa and longs to be close to her, to become one with her. To refine her intense feelings for Sawa, Eri subjects herself to ascetic practices and rituals of her own making. In a world where those who do not bear children are disposed of, Eri has fallen for someone who shares the same fate.

A hapless country doctor describes with breathless urgency a night-time summons to attend a young patient. Events soon take on a surreal aspect as "unearthly horses" transport him instantaneously to the bedside. The doctor, preoccupied with personal distractions and grievances against those he is employed to care for, fails to find what is revealed to be a vile, fatal wound. He is humiliated by the villagers, who are "always expecting the impossible from the doctor," and doomed to an endless return trip, losing everything.

The movie "Jump Out of the Window" is a heartwarming work that depicts the interaction between two families. Shusuke Tokuyama (Den Obinata) runs an agricultural and livestock industry, and has his father Ritaro (Hiroshi Shiomi), younger brother Yuji (Keiju Kobayashi), wife Fujiko (Kiko Todoroki), and four children (three of whom are Obinata's sons). They lived in a large family of 8 people, including 2 children and 2 daughters. The Fujieda family next door is Chieko (Ayako Okamura), whose husband, a captain, died in a shipwreck at sea, her daughter Mariko (Kyoko Kagawa), and her son Michio (Oohinata's son), who has a leg disability and is undergoing rehabilitation. ) We were a family of three. Through the interaction between the Tokuyama family and the Fujieda family, the importance of family and the kindness of people are reflected on the screen.

A little girl reflects on her last summer with her father at his funeral.

I'm the only one who can't live without an oxygen tank in the underwater world. No matter how suffocated I feel, I preserve peace and harmony by pretending the selfish girl and my friends with complicated family backgrounds don't bother me.

In the moments before death, one of the Battling Gods recalls his defeat in a magnificent fight. That battle transcended meta worlds, time and parallel universes as the Battling God faced off with another of his kind. All living creatures celebrated their fight with cries of joy.

Two American secret agents - Frank and Wendy - are sent to the world's hotbed of danger, known as Estonia. Estonia is a silly place, perhaps even sillier than the agents themselves. Frank and Wendy, for whom saving the world is their daily work, achieve both mental and manual feats with the greatest of ease. It appears that nothing can prevent their ultimate victory, but go figure. The axis of evil does not wither and attacks the super-agents from where they can least expect it...

Heartbroken, I bought a bottle of wine and drank it walking home. A tipsy journey reconstructed using the Japanese traditional storytelling method "rakugo."

How to make this mysterious cake? The ingredients include blue eggs, cookie flowers, pillow stuffing and much more.

A miserly man eats the pits of some cherries he can't stand throwing out. A tree starts growing from the top of his head. He cuts it off; it grows back. After a while, he gives up and lets it grow, but the crowds that gather on top of his head to enjoy the tree (and leave huge mounds of trash) eventually drive him to uproot the tree. This leaves a crater on top of his head, which fills with water, which becomes a popular lake.

A mother goat rescues her kids from the belly of a wolf, but where is her eldest son Toruku?

Here, everything is The North. This is an account of the people I met in The North. However, my fragmented memory doesn't capture the essence at all.

Okinawa is ominous right before the arrival of a typhoon. At first, Anri is excited by the unusual turn of events, but gradually she becomes fearful of the threatening typhoon. Then, her big sister tells her that typhoons have an eye...

Collaborations between some of contemporary Japan's finest musicians and filmmakers. The Nihon no Uta Executive Committee produced a series of original short films inspired by the classic Japanese songs included in the albums Nihon no Uta Vol. 1–4, released by commmons (founded by Ryuichi Sakamoto). Each film pairs a celebrated musician with an acclaimed filmmaker, creating a unique fusion of music and visual storytelling. Artists: Takoko Oshinaki, Tomoyo Harada, Keiichi Suzuki, Miyuki Hayama, Blue Hats, Kenji Endo, cero, Yoshihiro Takahashi, Tomohiko Mito, Mush Kamayatsu, Nokazu Takemura, Kaori Konishi, Kiyhiko Senami, Rooji Nakanana, ASA-CHANG

Mizuki Kiyama's short animation utilizes a paint on glass technique to render a young girl's visit to a neighborhood sento (bath house) with her mother with dazzling sensuous wonder. Evoking childish fascination at daily rituals, this quotidian act amidst feminine intimacy becomes a space of otherworldly fantasy.

The girl wished to transcend her own body and become a jellyfish. She was drawn to the figure of the jellyfish floating freely in the sea.

Summer is coming to an end. A little girl on the beach remembers the days spent giggling and dancing with her friend. The goodbyes and memories intertwine in a mesh of sorrow and joy.

The two of them, all alone at home. All alone with her father's corpse. Memories, ideals, and reality all sink beneath the muck. Everyone is alone. Everyone is in solitude.

toco toco is a program where Japanese artists and creators introduce places in Japan that inspire them. No scripted text or guidance, guests speak naturally and are free to choose any place they like. “toco toco” is the onomatopoeia to describe the sound of footsteps in Japanese, for the walks we go on together with our guests.