Top Rated Japanese Movies, a list by salty

8.6

/398188/

84

/5714/

84

/4080/

4.6

/383477/

100

/103/

97

/6724/

98

/7/

4.0

age 13+

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

91

8.6

/88698/

85

/1882/

84

/1146/

4.7

/199789/

100

/10/

97

/415/

85

/9/

4.0

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

90

8.3

/100799/

82

/1711/

83

/1272/

4.5

/175635/

98

/57/

96

/1465/

92

/20/

4.0

age 11+

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

90

8.3

/19637/

79

/389/

81

/411/

4.4

/34418/

100

/20/

95

/266/

96

/17/

4.0

In medieval Japan, a woman and her children journey to find the family's patriarch, who was exiled years earlier.

90

8.4

/25025/

81

/540/

82

/500/

4.5

/59770/

100

/33/

93

/343/

4.0

A vacationing entomologist suffers extreme physical and psychological trauma after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village and made to live with a woman whose life task is shoveling sand for them.

90

8.1

/76663/

81

/1443/

81

/1174/

4.4

/136430/

100

/52/

93

/871/

100

/19/

4.0

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

90

8.2

/141615/

80

/2363/

80

/1615/

4.3

/162000/

96

/51/

96

/2271/

93

/17/

4.0

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

90

8.2

/149723/

80

/2542/

80

/1725/

4.5

/226531/

96

/94/

95

/2188/

97

/21/

4.0

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

89

8.1

/194513/

79

/3196/

80

/2436/

4.2

/266593/

98

/64/

93

/2665/

98

/18/

4.0

age 15+

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

89

8.2

/21208/

80

/450/

80

/454/

4.3

/57652/

100

/25/

92

/256/

93

/18/

4.0

Noriko is perfectly happy living at home with her widowed father, Shukichi, and has no plans to marry -- that is, until her aunt Masa convinces Shukichi that unless he marries off his 27-year-old daughter soon, she will likely remain alone for the rest of her life. When Noriko resists Masa's matchmaking, Shukichi is forced to deceive his daughter and sacrifice his own happiness to do what he believes is right.

89

8.4

/69761/

84

/1467/

83

/1059/

4.6

/185667/

97

/70/

95

/556/

90

/17/

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.

88

8.1

/27917/

78

/561/

80

/626/

4.3

/55624/

100

/34/

93

/412/

4.0

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

88

7.9

/93988/

79

/3577/

78

/2214/

4.3

/280254/

99

/230/

91

/197/

93

/40/

4.0

age 16+

In the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence begins to unravel. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and what makes a family.

87

8.0

/11789/

78

/272/

79

/311/

4.2

/31049/

95

/21/

90

/81/

91

/17/

4.0

Shuhei Hirayama is a widower with a 24-year-old daughter. Gradually, he comes to realize that she should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.

87

7.9

/20548/

80

/600/

78

/420/

4.3

/58245/

100

/66/

90

/301/

89

/21/

4.0

A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.

87

7.9

/26099/

80

/983/

78

/407/

4.3

/140198/

100

/58/

93

/725/

87

/18/

4.0

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle-soup making". Interspersed are satirical vignettes about the importance of food to different aspects of human life.

86

7.9

/98119/

79

/4036/

77

/1746/

4.3

/718618/

96

/186/

93

/34/

80

/38/

4.0

age 12+

Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.

86

8.3

/23073/

81

/379/

81

/392/

4.4

/29613/

73

/15/

95

/388/

90

/10/

4.0

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

86

8.0

/8295/

76

/138/

77

/188/

4.2

/12753/

100

/14/

89

/66/

4.0

In 17th century Edo Period Japan, a noblewoman's banishment for her love affair with a lowly page signals the beginning of her inexorable fall.

86

8.3

/15416/

81

/267/

82

/256/

4.3

/20243/

100

/9/

93

/171/

90

/9/

3.0

The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.

86

8.1

/26833/

80

/582/

77

/343/

4.1

/12071/

99

/69/

94

/817/

82

/25/

4.0

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

85

8.0

/45250/

79

/841/

80

/669/

4.1

/60355/

96

/52/

92

/830/

89

/16/

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

85

8.0

/34828/

80

/849/

79

/603/

4.4

/98249/

92

/92/

93

/907/

88

/31/

3.5

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

85

7.7

/8193/

78

/256/

75

/227/

4.3

/66105/

100

/22/

84

/49/

4.0

In 1960s Tokyo, Gonda owns a bar in which the gay, cross-dresser, and trans scenes meet. Gonda is in a relationship with the madam of the bar, Leda. As the younger Eddie starts a passionate affair with Gonda, she ignites the jealousy of Leda, unaware of another kind of history between them.

85

7.9

/9658/

77

/186/

75

/198/

4.1

/18074/

96

/23/

91

/122/

4.0

When a theater troupe's master visits his old flame, he unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

85

8.0

/43909/

80

/911/

80

/689/

4.1

/59774/

100

/29/

95

/760/

83

/15/

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

85

8.0

/59565/

78

/1065/

79

/947/

4.3

/103590/

96

/49/

93

/1068/

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

85

7.5

/8262/

76

/241/

74

/186/

4.1

/26100/

100

/24/

83

/101/

92

/8/

4.0

A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.

85

7.9

/40552/

77

/741/

78

/711/

4.2

/43692/

89

/27/

92

/710/

84

/15/

4.0

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

84

7.5

/75282/

75

/2757/

74

/1427/

4.2

/360182/

97

/216/

78

/269/

91

/42/

4.0

age 15+

Yusuke Kafuku, a stage actor and director, still unable, after two years, to cope with the loss of his beloved wife, accepts to direct Uncle Vanya at a theater festival in Hiroshima. There he meets Misaki, an introverted young woman, appointed to drive his car. In between rides, secrets from the past and heartfelt confessions will be unveiled.

84

7.7

/5133/

76

/116/

73

/110/

4.0

/14904/

92

/12/

92

/45/

4.0

A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.

84

7.6

/15362/

76

/399/

72

/258/

4.2

/51515/

88

/34/

90

/386/

91

/19/

4.0

On a cold Monday morning, a group of counselors clock in at an old-fashioned social services office. Their task is to interview the recently deceased, record their personal details, then, over the course of the week, assist them in choosing a single memory to keep for eternity.

83

7.7

/198728/

77

/11738/

75

/2945/

4.1

/827072/

99

/213/

98

/1981/

81

/34/

3.0

age 11+

In postwar Japan, Godzilla brings new devastation to an already scorched landscape. With no military intervention or government help in sight, the survivors must join together in the face of despair and fight back against an unrelenting horror.

83

7.8

/4089/

76

/101/

75

/84/

4.0

/7431/

86

/7/

88

/33/

4.0

In Kabuki style, the film tells the story of a remote mountain village where the scarcity of food leads to a voluntary but socially-enforced policy in which relatives carry 70-year-old family members up Narayama mountain to die. Granny Orin is approaching 70, content to embrace her fate. Her widowed son Tatsuhei cannot bear losing his mother, even as she arranges his marriage to a widow his age. Her grandson Kesa, who's girlfriend is pregnant, is selfishly happy to see Orin die. Around them, a family of thieves are dealt with severely, and an old man, past 70, whose son has cast him out, scrounges for food. Will Orin's loving and accepting spirit teach and ennoble her family?

83

7.8

/9834/

73

/192/

75

/192/

4.0

/10810/

93

/15/

88

/99/

4.0

In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.

83

8.0

/17618/

80

/703/

80

/499/

4.4

/76045/

90

/21/

88

/243/

78

/11/

The story of a teenage boy called Yu, who falls for Yoko, a girl he runs into while working as an `up-skirt' photographer in an offshoot of the porn industry. His attempts to woo her are complicated by a spot of cross-dressing - which convinces Yoko that she is lesbian - dalliances with kung-fu and crime, and a constant struggle with the guilt that's a legacy of his Catholic upbringing.

82

7.8

/25211/

76

/619/

76

/458/

4.1

/84706/

90

/20/

90

/378/

While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.

82

7.6

/18373/

76

/660/

75

/402/

4.1

/65916/

100

/10/

86

/416/

80

/6/

Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. She creates an instrument for this revenge by purposefully getting pregnant. Yuki never knows the love of a family but only killing and revenge.

86

82

8.0

/10527/

78

/206/

78

/200/

4.2

/20005/

100

/11/

92

/97/

94

/5/

A 28-year-old single woman is pressured to marry.

82

7.9

/22470/

76

/523/

77

/434/

4.2

/50771/

91

/46/

89

/336/

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

82

7.7

/35225/

77

/815/

77

/747/

4.2

/70277/

96

/24/

92

/612/

83

/17/

3.0

Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his business partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.

81

7.5

/11126/

74

/422/

71

/343/

4.1

/54861/

99

/115/

81

/18/

86

/19/

3.5

An unexpected love triangle, a seduction trap, and a random encounter are the three episodes, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.

81

7.7

/7924/

73

/178/

75

/148/

4.0

/12026/

100

/11/

88

/173/

85

/13/

3.0

A thief, a murderer, and a charming lady-killer, Iwao Enokizu is on the run from the police.

81

7.7

/4427/

73

/70/

73

/106/

4.0

/9074/

86

/437/

4.0

A silk factory worker is persuaded to support her son's education up to a college level despite their poverty. Many years later, she travels to Tokyo to visit her son.

84

81

8.5

/10836/

82

/306/

81

/270/

4.5

/32508/

73

/15/

95

/56/

After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.

84

81

7.9

/15326/

78

/267/

76

/273/

4.1

/24778/

100

/19/

91

/266/

In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death.

83

81

7.8

/12177/

78

/350/

77

/304/

4.2

/54895/

94

/16/

87

/177/

87

/9/

A lighthearted take on director Yasujiro Ozu’s perennial theme of the challenges of intergenerational relationships, Good Morning tells the story of two young boys who stop speaking in protest after their parents refuse to buy a television set. Ozu weaves a wealth of subtle gags through a family portrait as rich as those of his dramatic films, mocking the foibles of the adult world through the eyes of his child protagonists. Shot in stunning color and set in a suburb of Tokyo where housewives gossip about the neighbors’ new washing machine and unemployed husbands look for work as door-to-door salesmen, this charming comedy refashions Ozu’s own silent classic I Was Born, But . . . to gently satirize consumerism in postwar Japan.

83

81

7.8

/20529/

76

/368/

75

/339/

4.0

/35861/

100

/21/