Best Japanese Films Kinema Junpo (1926-2025)

A playwright moves to a rural neighborhood to avoid the distractions of the city, but he discovers there are plenty of ways to get sidetracked in his new home, too.

During the Depression, a young man struggles to provide for his family after he is sacked for defending an older colleague.

Sumiko's father sends her to live with her alcoholic uncle. He sells her to a circus, which is the start of a downward spiral in an unforgiving world.

A young woman seduced by a rich man, takes revenge on him with the help of a young idealistic worker. Considered a lost film.

After falling in love with a courtesan, Rikiya is blinded by ash during a fight in a brothel. Believing the blindness permanent and his opponent dead, Rikiya goes back home to his sister. Okiku, desperate to protect her brother who thinks himself a murderer, wants to sacrifice herself for him and become a prostitute to pay for Rikiya's treatment.

A Diary of Chuji's Travels is a silent Japanese jidaigeki made in 1927 starring Denjirō Ōkōchi and directed by Daisuke Itō. It was originally released in three parts, all of which were long thought to be lost until portions of the second part and much of the third part were discovered and restored in 1991. Since the film had once been voted in a 1959 Kinema Junpō poll as the best Japanese film of all time, its discovery was significant. At the time of its release, Itō was the leader of a new style of samurai films that featured outlaw heroes and fast-cut sword fighting scenes.

Directed by Yutaka Abe.

The Japanese equivalent of penny dreadfuls glorifying Jesse James, A Diary of Chuji’s Travels gives a unique gloss to the tale of Chuji Kunisada, the legendary bakuto (or gambler, the precursors to modern-day yakuza). One of the two remaining segments of Ito’s original four-hour trilogy, it depicts Chuji’s attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. With socialist overtones, it’s a passionate artifact of early Japanese film.

Directed by Yutaka Abe (as Jack Abe).

1926 film by Teinosuke Kinugasa

Otane, the daughter of a thread shop owner in Ryogoku, is in love with Sumio, the son of an ivory craftsman who lives nearby. The two are united in a tatami room on the second floor of a soba restaurant. Soon Sumio goes to study in Paris, but during that time Otane realizes that she is pregnant with Sumio's child. Considered a lost film.

本片改编自吉田为了采访3年，穿着歌舞伎的黑衣进入后台的经验而写出的长篇小说，出生于任侠一门、投身于歌舞伎世界、将青春献给演艺之路的喜久雄，赌上自己的生命去追求无尽的梦想的宏伟故事：舞台是从战后到高度经济成长期的日本。出生于任侠家族的喜久雄，遭遇了数奇的命运，被拽到歌舞伎演员的家中。不久后，在动荡的人生中，他作为歌舞伎演员的才能开花结果。

Gisuke is a retired college professor. His wife has passed away, and he is now living alone in an old Japanese-style house. One day, an unsettling message appears on his computer saying that the enemy is coming.

Grade schooler Yuishi falls for his classmate Kokoa after she passionately channels Greta Thunberg in a speech about environmental activism. Teaming up with the class troublemaker, Yuishi embarks on a self-righteous crusade and finds himself in a precocious love triangle. Their antics soon spiral into unintended consequences, forcing the trio to confront hard truths.

Set in post-war Okinawa, Japan, Gusuku had 3 close childhood friends: On, Yamako and On's younger brother Rei. On was the oldest of the group and he was like a leader to everybody else. He was also a heroic figure to them. On led his friends into the U.S. military base and they stole supplies to give away to the local residents. Everybody in the neighborhood praised On. One night, they entered the U.S. military based to steal supplies. During their raid, On was chased by U.S. soldiers and went missing. Years later, Gusuku now works as a police officer. Yamako is an elementary school teacher. Rei is a member of the yakuza. These three people are still unable to get over the disappearance of On. They chase after the truth behind On's disappearance and uncover a shocking answer.

Takuya and Mamoru are two young men from disadvantaged backgrounds who've been sucked into Japan's criminal underworld. Their job involves posing as women on social media to exploit isolated men and sell their personal identities. When they're not working, they're just ordinary friends who like hanging out together and sometimes letting loose. But when Takuya turns to Kajitani—a big brother figure who introduced him to the world of underground crime—to help him and Mamoru escape, they discover it isn't so simple.

On January 25th, 2024, Hiroshi Uchida, a 70-year-old man with terminal cancer made a deathbed confession to the Kamakura hospital staff treating him: “I am Satoshi Kirishima.” On January 29th, he died. For 49 years, Kirishima was a fugitive pursued by the police for his involvement with the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front’s bombing campaign that terrified Tokyo in the 70s. While others from the group were caught and sentenced to death, Kirishima remained on the run and off the radar by working as a day-labourer and living a solitary life amongst neighbours who affectionately dubbed him “Ucchan,” a quiet guy known to like a beer and rock music.

In a coastal town attracting artists, 14-year-old Sosuke and his friends stay busy painting and helping with school projects. As carefree children interact with secret-laden adults, the sunlit ocean reflects their contrasting struggles—kids embracing challenges while adults seek elusive answers.

The romance between a lonely college student and who seems to be the girl of his dreams is burdened by the sudden arrival of cruel fate.

In the ever-changing landscape of redeveloping Shibuya, Tokyo, Ren works as a delivery driver for moth orchids. Haunted by the childhood loss of his mother, Yumiko, to suicide, he has long been estranged from his father, Hajime, a landscape designer. One day, during a routine delivery, Ren unexpectedly comes face to face with Hajime…