Yōichi Higashi

Somebody's Xylophone

A married woman obsesses over a hairstylist she becomes involved with.

Somebody's Xylophone

A married woman obsesses over a hairstylist she becomes involved with.

Mad Sultry Sisters

One day, Yoko visits her long-distance lover on a whim, but finds her older sister Mikiko sleeping in his bed. Brokenhearted, Yoko begins a relationship with a man she meets by chance…

Mad Sultry Sisters

One day, Yoko visits her long-distance lover on a whim, but finds her older sister Mikiko sleeping in his bed. Brokenhearted, Yoko begins a relationship with a man she meets by chance…

Wandering Home

War photjournalist Yasuyuki Tsukahara married popular manga artist Yuki Sonoda and had children. Because of Yasayuki's drinking problems the couple divorced. Yasuyuki is now coughing up blood, hospitalized, and violent. Even with all of these problems Yasuyuki can't give up drinking alcohol. His family gets tired. Yasuyuki is then hospitalized in an alcoholic ward. There he finds comfort living with other patients and having conversations with doctors. With the help of his family, Yasuyuki recovers mentally and physically, but his body has already paid a heavy toll.

Wandering Home

War photjournalist Yasuyuki Tsukahara married popular manga artist Yuki Sonoda and had children. Because of Yasayuki's drinking problems the couple divorced. Yasuyuki is now coughing up blood, hospitalized, and violent. Even with all of these problems Yasuyuki can't give up drinking alcohol. His family gets tired. Yasuyuki is then hospitalized in an alcoholic ward. There he finds comfort living with other patients and having conversations with doctors. With the help of his family, Yasuyuki recovers mentally and physically, but his body has already paid a heavy toll.

The Crying Wind

Seikichi, makes his living fishing from a small boat off the coast of Okinawa. He and his 12-year-old grandson Akira live in a small, tree-lined village in the northern part of the island which is surrounded by a white-sand beach and plots of pine and flowering bushes. On the cliff that skirts the shore sits an open-air burial ground containing the skull of a kamikaze pilot who was shot down during the last days of World War II. When the wind blows through the bullet hole in the skull, it produces a whistling sound. The locals call it the "Crying Head."

My Grandpa

Kenzo was behind bars for killing a gangster. Upon his release, he goes to live with his son, whose marriage is on the rocks. His 14-year-old granddaughter Tamako is ostracized when she discovers that her grandfather is a murderer. Kenzo soon helps defend Tamako from bullies at school. When Tamako stands up for herself, she comes to believe that she has inherited some of her grandfather’s great strength. Eventually, an associate of the man Kenzo killed comes looking for revenge, along with the dead man’s son.

My Grandpa

Kenzo was behind bars for killing a gangster. Upon his release, he goes to live with his son, whose marriage is on the rocks. His 14-year-old granddaughter Tamako is ostracized when she discovers that her grandfather is a murderer. Kenzo soon helps defend Tamako from bullies at school. When Tamako stands up for herself, she comes to believe that she has inherited some of her grandfather’s great strength. Eventually, an associate of the man Kenzo killed comes looking for revenge, along with the dead man’s son.

The Crossing

14-year-old Takuya lives in a rural town near mountains and rivers. His 29-year-old uncle Koji works as a graphic designer in urban Tokyo. Koji's father dies and Takuya is arrested for attempted robbery-the two young men must now face a crucial crossing in their lives. The concluding chapter to director Higashi Yoichi's "boy and river" trilogy, the film highlights contemporary themes like family, adolescence, and the healing properties of nature. The wild but beautiful Kuma River stars as a threatening symbol for the boy's rite of passage. Supernatural beings reign in the mountains above the village.

The Crossing

14-year-old Takuya lives in a rural town near mountains and rivers. His 29-year-old uncle Koji works as a graphic designer in urban Tokyo. Koji's father dies and Takuya is arrested for attempted robbery-the two young men must now face a crucial crossing in their lives. The concluding chapter to director Higashi Yoichi's "boy and river" trilogy, the film highlights contemporary themes like family, adolescence, and the healing properties of nature. The wild but beautiful Kuma River stars as a threatening symbol for the boy's rite of passage. Supernatural beings reign in the mountains above the village.

Village of Dreams

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.

Village of Dreams

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 River with No Bridge

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.

The River with No Bridge

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.

A Tale of Happiness

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.

Metamorphosis

A sensuous movie based on a literary work. Hitomi Kuroki stars as the film’s heroine.

The Wangan Highway

Based on the novel of the same name by Yoshio Kataoka.

The Wangan Highway

Based on the novel of the same name by Yoshio Kataoka.

The Second Love

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.

The Second Love

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.

Jealousy Game

Set in the wilderness of Hokkaido, the story of a couple in their 30s and a couple in their 20s is drawn, and the subtle emotions of the two men and women are depicted with intense Eros and delicate images under the theme of marriage exchange.

The Rape

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 Rape

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.

Manon

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.

Manon

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.

Love Letter

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.

Four Seasons: Natsuko

A young woman breaks off her long-term relationship with her boyfriend to move to Tokyo in search of new experiences.

No More Easy Life

Mariko is living the life of a typical Japanese college student in the 70's, spending far more of her time balancing boyfriends and part-time jobs than on her schoolwork. She finds herself torn between a former boyfriend who's the tough, insensitive-but-sexy, type, and a new acquaintance who's more sensitive to her feelings, but who still acts childishly selfish at times. Will she choose one of them, or decide to go her own way?

No More Easy Life

Mariko is living the life of a typical Japanese college student in the 70's, spending far more of her time balancing boyfriends and part-time jobs than on her schoolwork. She finds herself torn between a former boyfriend who's the tough, insensitive-but-sexy, type, and a new acquaintance who's more sensitive to her feelings, but who still acts childishly selfish at times. Will she choose one of them, or decide to go her own way?

Third Base

Third and Shinbunbu embark on a plan to make money by Third becoming a pimp and Shinbunbu a prostitute.

The Gentle Japanese

A survivor of the tragic mass suicides on Tokashiki Island in 1945 falls in love with a near-mute motorcycle engineer.

The Gentle Japanese

A survivor of the tragic mass suicides on Tokashiki Island in 1945 falls in love with a near-mute motorcycle engineer.

The Gentle Japanese

A survivor of the tragic mass suicides on Tokashiki Island in 1945 falls in love with a near-mute motorcycle engineer.

Okinawa Islands

A film documenting life in Okinawa under the domination of American military bases

Okinawa Islands

A film documenting life in Okinawa under the domination of American military bases

Toi et Moi

Movie-installation by graphic-designer AQUIRAX UNO.

Hokkaido, My Love

A college graduate falls in love with a woman during a business trip in Hokkaido