Akira Hayasaka

Haruko's Doll

In the early days of the Showa era in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture a newborn baby is abandoned with a doll under the eaves of a merchant house along the pilgrimage route in Shikoku. It seems to be a pilgrim struggling to make a living. This baby girl is named Haruko and brought by Tomita Shizuko and Katsuji as the younger sister of their son Ryosuke who is three years apart. When the war begins, 16-year old Ryosuke qualifies for the naval academy and crosses the Seto Inland Sea. After some consideration, Shizuko tells Haruko the truth that they are not real siblings for the first time. Haruko who has had a secret crush on her brother ever since he said that he would protect her, is innocently overjoyed and heads to Hiroshima to convey this to him. The next day, an atomic bomb explodes in the sky…

Love of a Thousand Years - Story of Genji

Set in 900AD and tells the story of a famous female writer of the time, Murasaki Shikibu. Her story begins from the death of her husband, a Japanese noble, then moves on to her recruitment to train the Prince's young 'wives in waiting'. It is dotted throughout and actually composed mainly of one of the fictional stories she wrote, the tale of Genji. Genji is a rich playboy who falls in love and has a son to his stepmother. He falls in love often and has many wives whom are all completely subservient to him.

The Peking Man

In 1929 the fossil of a 500,000 year old man is discovered in China. In 1941 the Japanese army confiscates this find, but during the war the remains disappear. Based on these factual events, this movie takes off with a science fiction story involving a space rocket which places a satellite in orbit containing a secret cargo. The satellite crashes on a remote island and footprints are found in the sand leading away from the crash site. A story of how an ancient primitive cave-dwelling family contends with the scientists who want to study them.

The detective whose path was crossed by a snake

Starring Ken Takakura, this TV special depicts a detective (Akira Hayasaka) who lives in a harsh life with pride and conviction. Minoru Akiba, Chief of the Investigation Division 1 of the Metropolitan Police Department, is a veteran detective who has passed through the shrine in numerous incidents. His wife was killed by a criminal he caught 13 years ago as revenge. There is a report that his former subordinate, Constable Murasawa, was stabbed to death under Akiba... Suzuki Kyoka plays his daughter.

Last Friends

Following the lives of three college rugby players drafted to serve in the military during WWII. Though they believe their service will help to benefit their loved ones back home, they are unprepared for the hardships of war. Through their shared trials and sacrifices, they grow closer as friends, and hope to return together to better days. This movie was released in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII.

Psychic: Traveler to the Unknown

Hikaru, an ordinary man, discovers a way to unleash the supernatural powers hidden inside his soul, allowing him to cure others with his newfound “ki” healing power.

Kim's War

After shooting a gangster in self-defense, Kim Hui Ro takes refuge at a hotel and takes the guest hostages. Realising his position, he invites the press inside and explains why he was driven to his crime.

Cats on Park Avenue

A story about the lives of young aspiring dancers who strive to create their own musical about stray cats.

Cats on Park Avenue

A story about the lives of young aspiring dancers who strive to create their own musical about stray cats.

Downtown Heroes

The adventures and tribulations of a group of students during the years following the II World War.

Spectacle of Buds

A weak willed man teams up with a stripper after her stage show partner runs off with another dancer. He is obsessed with her unique inverted nipples and they soon develop a successful stage show around them. But then the old partner returns…

Yume-Chiyo

Yumechiyo, a geisha house madam recently diagnosed with a terminal illness, yearns to do something constructive with the little time she has left. Though her responsibility lies in taking care of her girls, she finds purpose in helping a man wrongfully accused of murder and in the process discovers love.

Station to Heaven

From a true incident that happened in 1960s Japan. This drama is contemporary in setting but medieval in its characters and emotions as it focuses on a tangled web of murder and deceit encountered by a beautiful woman, Kayo (Sayuri Yoshinaga) after her abusive husband is murdered.

Kukai

The life and times of Kûkai, a Japanese monk who studies Esoteric Buddhism in the far reaches of India, China and Tibet, then uses their combined influence to establish the Shingon school during the Heian period in early 9th Century AD.

Lover, Come Back to Me

Ken Ota is a Japanese-American GI. He comes to Hiroshima after WW2 looking for his big sister, but finds Keiko, a bomb victim with a keloid scar on her shoulder.

The Gate of Youth Part 2

Mid 50s: the trials and tribulations of Shinsuke Ibuki, freshly arrived in Tokyo from Kyushu.

The Gate of Youth

Mainly the story of Shinsuke and his stepmother, ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens. Coal workers and the mines dominate nearly every aspect of the life of the characters. Shinsuke's father dies while bravely using dynamite to rescue a group of trapped Korean miners. Several older men attempt to help he and his mother cope, including a kind Korean and a Harley-riding yakuza.

Japan for Sale

The sixth "Japan's No. 1 Man" feature. Followed by "Japan’s No. 1 Disconnected Man".

The Forgotten Imperial Army

Oshima exposes the fact that many wounded soldiers cannot receive compensation from the Japanese government because of their Korean nationality, while questioning if this is a just way for the Japanese to act. The documentary uses TV to problematize the apathy of the Japanese people. According to Oshima’s 'The Idea of Evil and Cruelty' and Sato Tadao’s 'History of Japanese Documentary Film', the actual situation was much more serious and harsher than the documentary depicts.