Natsume Sōseki

Botchan

Botchan (Kazunari Ninomiya) has sense of strong justice and does not lie. He is offered a teaching job at a middle in a small village far away from his hometown of Tokyo. Botchan accepts the position and begins to work as a math teacher. The assistant principle there wields absolute power. Botchan has a hard time dealing with his fellow teachers and the students.

Ten Nights of Dreams

Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, this outstanding anthology delves into the surreal subconscious with ten madly imaginative, reality-subverting visions that range from wonderfully wacky to nightmarishly unsettling.

And Then

Daisuke is supposed to be out looking for a respectable job and equally respectable wife. He is 30 years old and devotes his attention to music and literature; his family is wealthy and can support his interests. When his friend Hiraoka returns with his wife Michiyo, problems arise.

Botchan

Botchan, a recent graduate, sets out for his first teaching assignment - never anticipating what awaits him. He must contend with students who spy on him and pull nasty stunts and with a landlord who constantly tries to sell him worthless antiques. While on a fishing trip to boost his spirits, Botchan suspects Hotta, his one friend in the village, as the cause of all of his misery. But this is just beginning of his problems - During a meeting to discuss the students' disrespectful behavior towards Botchan, the proposed punishment is surprisingly mild despite the severity of the acts. Yet, Botchan's suspected adversary defends him. Were the other faculty members lying about Hotta? Botchan may soon discover the truth, for when evidence of the dean's activities surface, Botchan and Hotta must team up to corner the dean in his own scandalous game. Based on Natsume Soseki's 1906 novel, which was one of Japan's best-selling books.

Botchan

1977 Shochiku adaptation of Natsume Soseki's novel.

I Am a Cat

Nakadai is an English teacher at a local school. He’s put-upon like the patron figure of dozens of films and televisions shows. Viewers who are especially fans of Nakadai will appreciate how the actor comically rants about here. His home life is almost disastrous, with a ditzy (but attractive) wife, three young children, a loud school nearby that’s controlled by a corrupt businessman he loathes, and frequent visits from layabout friends. And the grey-furred, green-eyed cat!

The Heart

The relationship between a rich young student and his lower class friend changes when they start to live both at a guest house. Both will be attracted towards Iko, the beautiful daughter of their landlady.

Genjitsu

Noh mask maker is unable to carve the young Noh masks he has ordered, and when a beautiful woman invites him to join her in town for a change of pace, he has a mysterious experience, which may be a dream or reality. The film "Genjitsu" (幻日) was completed in the autumn of 1966, but has not been shown to the public. Adapted from Soseki Natsume's novel "Ten Nights of Dreams" with experimental music by Joji Yuasa, the film was long considered lost but re-surfaced in 2017 and was shown for the first time at Kobe Planet Film Archive.

Mr. Greenhorn

1966 Shochiku adaptation of Natsume's novel.

Botchan

1958 Shochiku adaptation of Natsume's novel.

The Heart

In the dying months of the Meiji era, a sympathetic student befriends a married couple, but soon realizes they share a curiously strained relationship stemming from an unknown incident in their past.

Stray Sheep

1955 Toho adaptation of Natsume's novel.

Bot-chan

1953 Toho adaptation of Natsume's novel.

The Poppy

1941 Toho adaptation of Natsume's novel.

I Am a Cat

1936 P.C.L. adaptation of Natsume's novel.

Poppy

Based on Soseki Natsume’s 1908 novel of the same title, Poppy is an ornately complicated story of desire and ambition. Fujio is beautiful, talented, well-heeled, and engaged to Munechika, a rising young diplomat. She has promised him a gold watch, a family heirloom, as an emblem of their engagement. But she falls in love with Ono, a student employed to tutor her in English, who is attracted by her beauty and wealth. Ono is himself bound by an engagement to Sayoko, the daughter of his mentor, Professor Inoue. The self-centered Fujio is ready to forsake everything for Ono, but he is prevailed upon to go ahead with his marriage to Sayoko. Fujio then offers the watch to Munechika who, perceiving Fujio’s true feelings, hurls the watch into the sea.

Botchan

1935 P.C.L. adaptation of Natsume's novel.