Flower Shop Curtain

Nightingale

An episodic film about life in and around a rural police station and the people it serves.

The Maid Story

Nine maids serve the household of a writer and his wife. The couple treat their maids like daughters and marry them off to eligible men. So, they are forever looking for new maids. As the years go by maid servants become hired help and more bossy and independent, so Chikura and his wife find themselves adjusting their lives to keep up with changing times.

River of Forever

A truck driver from Toyama discovers he has contracted leukemia, a condition linked to his past exposure to nuclear fallout while working as a fisherman. Initially despondent and feeling like a medical curiosity, he eventually finds solace in the unwavering devotion of a young nurse who abandons her own plans to care for him.

Kin no tamago: Golden Girl

Once an average and seemingly ordinary Tokyo girl, she suddenly finds herself as a TV star owing to her discovery by a casting company, which noticed photographs that her cousin had sent. When another actress falls ill she is given the role instead. Her first film is a success propelling the young actress to popularity, her own fans, money and a house. While everything looks dandy from the outside not all is well within the family however.

The Twilight Story

In this Japanese drama, a village girl goes to Tokyo and becomes a sex worker to support her ailing mother. While there she meets an unmarried teacher (at least he says he's unmarried) and falls in love.

Sweet Sweat

This film by Toyoda depicts the hard life of an unmarried mother in Tokyo. Umeko (Machiko Kyo), at 36, is working in a bar, struggling valiantly to keep her family together. Her 17-year-old daughter Takeko becomes increasingly upset by her mother's constant drinking and yakuza boyfriend, and runs away from home. Kyo's performance was highly praised.

The Diplomat's Mansion

A Japanese film from 1963, Directed by Shirô Toyoda.

Nami kage

Ayako Wakao won the Blue Ribbon and the Kinema Jumpo for this film.

Portrait of Hell

The story, set in the Heian era, depicts the conflict between Korean painter Yoshihide (Nakadai) and his Japanese patron, the cruel and egotistical daimyo Horikawa (Nakamura). It is based on the 1918 short story Hell Screen by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

Our Neighbor, Miss Yae

Keitaro is a law student and Yaeko is a high school girl. They are neighbors, and their friendship is starting to develop into something more romantic. Then, Yaeko's sister Kyouko has a breakup with her husband and returns home. Kyouko is clearly interested in Keitaro and Yae becomes anxious.

A Certain Woman

Between Women and Wives

Depicts various relationships between four beautiful sisters, their husbands, and their second daughter's husband's mistress.

Madame Aki

A Film By Shiro Toyoda

Okoto and Sasuke

A period piece about the love of a wealthy blind woman, a teacher of koto and shamisen, and her devoted manservant. Based on a novella by Tanizaki Junichiro.

Snow Country

It's a man's world. Shimamura, an artist, comes to this snowbound town to rejuvenate himself. He connects with Komako, a geisha he met on a previous trip, and it seems like love. She's the foster daughter of a local family, almost engaged to the family's son Yukio, now dying of consumption. He's tended by his sister Yuko who's angry at Komako for abandoning her brother. Shimamura returns to Tokyo but promises he will be back soon. In anticipation of his return, Komako breaks with her patron and her family loses their home. Complications arise when Shimamura doesn't come back as promised. Then Komako discovers that he and Yuko knew each other in Tokyo. Can Komako escape destiny?

Shozo, a Cat and Two Women

Shozo is plagued by the needs of his ex-wife and his current one, but prefers the company of his cat.