Etsushi Toyokawa
is a Japanese actor. Biography Born in Yao, Osaka, he studied at Shimizudani High School is a prestigious Japanese public co-educational senior high school (secondary school), located in Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Japan. Overview Shimizudani is one of the oldest high schools in Osaka with a history of over 100 years. The school was foun ..., and eventually dropped out of Kwansei Gakuin University to pursue a career in acting. He began by joining the sho-gekijo theatrical troupe "Under Thirty," which was known for the membership of another famous actor, Watanabe Eriko, at the time. Though like many new theatre actors at the time, he struggled to make ends meet until he got his first big break in 1992, in the television drama '' Night Head'' alongside Shinji Takeda, as one of two brothers with supernatural powers. In 1993 he won the "Newcomer of the Year" award for his drama ''Kira Kira Hikaru'', and the Popularity Award in 1996 for his work in the drama '' Love Letter''. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yao, Osaka
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 263,436 in 126509 households and a population density of 6300 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is the birthplace of the Kawachi ondo style of folk singing. Geography Yao is locate adjacent to the central part of the Osaka Plain and southeast of Osaka metropolis. The west side of the city area is almost flat with an average elevation of only ten meters above sea level. The land rises in the east, with the Ikoma Mountains forming the prefectural border with Nara Prefecture. In addition to the Yamato River flowing at the southern end of the city, there are many small rivers. Neighboring municipalities Osaka Prefecture * Hirano-ku, Osaka * Higashiōsaka * Kashiwara * Fujiidera * Matsubara Nara Prefecture * Heguri * Sangō Climate Yao has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The averag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Inochi
is a 2002 Japanese movie directed by Shinohara Tetsuo starring Esumi Makiko and Etsushi Toyokawa. It is based on a memoir of the same title by the Korean-Japanese author Yu Miri. Plot summary Yu Miri (Esumi) is a writer who's just become pregnant by her married lover. When she decides to keep the baby without his help, her ex-boyfriend Yutaka (Toyokawa), now struggling with terminal cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ..., decides to help raise him, pledging to "live long enough to hear him say my name." External links * 2002 films 2002 drama films 2000s Japanese-language films Films directed by Tetsuo Shinohara 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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20th Century Boys
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was originally serialized in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Big Comic Spirits'' from 1999 to 2006, with the 249 chapters published into 22 ''tankōbon'' volumes. A sixteen chapter continuation, titled , ran in the same magazine from 2006 to 2007 and was gathered into two ''tankōbon''. It tells the story of Kenji Endo and his friends, who notice a cult-leader known only as "Friend" is out to destroy the world, and it has something to do with their childhood memories. The series makes many references to a number of manga and anime from the 1960s–1970s, as well as to classic rock music, its title being taken from T. Rex's song " 20th Century Boy". A trilogy of live-action film adaptations, directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, were released in 2008 and 2009. The manga was licensed and released in English by Viz Media from 2009 to 2012, and distributed in Australasia by Madman Entertainment. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Southbound (2007 Film)
is a 2007 Japanese movie directed by Yoshimitsu Morita and starring Toyokawa Etsushi and Yūki Amami. Based on the novel of the same name by Hideo Okuda, it tells the story of a schoolboy whose family moves from Tokyo to Okinawa. It began filming in May 2007 in Tokyo; the crew went to Okinawa for on-location filming at the end of June. Its theme song is " Eien no Uta" by Nakashima Mika. Cast * Etsushi Toyokawa as 'Ichiro Uehara' (as a father who was an extremism activist) * Yūki Amami as 'Sakura Uehara' (as a mother who was an extremism activist) * Keiko Kitagawa as 'Yoko Uehara' (as a Sakura's daughter) * Shuto Tanabe as 'Jiro Uehara' (as a Eldest son. 6th grade schoolboy. This movie's protagonist) * Rina Matsumoto as 'Momoko Uehara' (as a Second daughter. 4th grade schoolgirl. She loves being bitten by her father) * Ken'ichi Matsuyama as Officer 'Niigaki' (He fell in love with Yoko at first sight.) * Mitsuru Hirata as the Principal * Hideko Yoshida as Social Insurance Ag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Kiss (2007 Film)
''The Kiss'' ( ja, 接吻) is a 2007 Japanese crime drama film directed by Kunitoshi Manda, starring Eiko Koike, Etsushi Toyokawa and Toru Nakamura. Plot Kyoko Endo (Eiko Koike), a young and lonely female office worker, falls in love with Akio Sakaguchi (Etsushi Toyokawa), a man in prison for killing a whole family, at first sight when she watches a television news program telling about him. But Hasegawa ( Toru Nakamura), his lawyer, worries about their relationship. Cast * Eiko Koike as Kyoko Endo * Etsushi Toyokawa as Akio Sakaguchi * Toru Nakamura as Hasegawa Release The 9th Jeonju International Film Festival opened with the world premiere of ''The Kiss'' in May 2008. Reception Lee Hyo-won of ''The Korea Times'' said, "The film traces delicate human relationships and all its melodrama, all the while expressing ― or suppressing ― emotions with restraint." Japanese film critic Inuhiko Yomota said, "I think it's a fantastic film." The film was listed by the ''Film Comment' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dynamic style, strongly influenced by Western cinema yet distinct from it; he was involved with all aspects of film production. Kurosawa entered the Japanese film industry in 1936, following a brief stint as a painter. After years of working on numerous films as an assistant director and scriptwriter, he made his debut as a director during World War II with the popular action film '' Sanshiro Sugata''. After the war, the critically acclaimed ''Drunken Angel'' (1948), in which Kurosawa cast the then little-known actor Toshiro Mifune in a starring role, cemented the director's reputation as one of the most important young filmmakers in Japan. The two men would go on to collaborate on another fifteen films. ''Rashomon'' (1950), which premiered ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nihon Chinbotsu (2006 Film)
is a 2006 Japanese ''tokusatsu'' disaster film directed by Shinji Higuchi. It is an adaptation of the novel ''Japan Sinks'' and a remake of its earlier film adaptation '' Tidal Wave'', both released in the year 1973. It stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kou Shibasaki, Etsushi Toyokawa and Mao Daichi. Plot In 1995, Submersible pilot Toshio Onodera wakes up pinned inside his car in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, after an earthquake wreaked havoc in the city and nearby Suruga Bay. As an aftershock triggers an explosion, a rescue helicopter led by Reiko Abe saves him and a young girl named Misaki while a nearby mountain (possibly Mount Fuji) erupts. The 1990's have now passed: In Tokyo, geologists and volcanologists around the world become concerned about Japan; one predicts that the archipelagic nation will sink within 40 years. Japanese geoscientist Yusuke Tadokoro doubts the prediction and analyzes rocks in Kyushu, Hokkaido and Mangaia of the Cook Islands, where he hypothesizes that the rock ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hula Girls
is a Japanese film, directed by Sang-il Lee and co-written by Lee and Daisuke Habara, and first released across Japanese theaters on September 23, 2006. Starring Yū Aoi, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Shizuyo Yamazaki, Ittoku Kishibe, Eri Tokunaga, Yoko Ikezu and Sumiko Fuji, it is based on the real-life event of how a group of enthusiastic girls take on hula dancing to save their small mining village, Iwaki, helping the formation of Joban Hawaiian Center (now known as Spa Resort Hawaiians), which was later to become one of Japan's most popular theme parks. It received its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. ''Hula Girls'' was critically acclaimed upon release in Japan and nominated for a total of 12 awards at the 2007 Japan Academy Awards, going on to win five major awards, including that of best film, best director, best screenplay, best supporting actress (for Yū Aoi), and most popular film. It also won two major awards at the 80th Kinema Junpo a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Loft (2005 Film)
''Loft'' is a 2005 Japanese horror film directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, starring Miki Nakatani and Etsushi Toyokawa. Plot Reiko Haruna, a prize-winning writer, moves to a quiet suburban house to finish up her new novel. One night she sees a man in a storage room transporting an object wrapped in cloth. She finds out that he is Makoto Yoshioka, an archaeologist researching ancient mummies, and that object was a recently discovered mummy. Working late on her book, she sees a ghost and finds out that her room once belonged to a woman who disappeared. Cast * Miki Nakatani - Reiko Haruna * Etsushi Toyokawa - Makoto Yoshioka * Hidetoshi Nishijima - Koichi Kijima * Yumi Adachi - Aya * Sawa Suzuki - Megumi Nonomura * Haruhiko Kato - Murakami * Ren Osugi - Hino Reception Sky Hirschkron of '' Stylus Magazine'' gave ''Loft'' a "C" grade. However Julien Gester of Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' () is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yasunori Katō
is a fictional character, the protagonistHiroshi Aramata, ''Birds of the World: as painted by 19th century artists'' (Crown Publishers 1989), p. 11, Reider, Noriko T. ''Japanese Demon Lore: Oni from Ancient Times to the Present'' Utah State University Press, 2010. 113. () of the Japanese historical fantasy series ''Teito Monogatari'', created by Hiroshi Aramata. He first appeared in a 1983 issue of a science fiction magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten but gained more widespread attention with successive publications as well as his cinematic debut, and has since gone on to be referenced frequently in Japanese popular culture. His character is generally associated with onmyodo mysticism since ''Teito Monogatari'' was one of the first novels to popularize the art in modern Japanese fiction. In Japanese, he is commonly referenced with the prefix due to his incredible superhuman abilities and near immortality. Biography Katō is a supernatural Melmoth the Wanderer-style fig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Great Yokai War
is a 2005 Japanese fantasy film directed by Takashi Miike, produced by Kadokawa Pictures and distributed by Shochiku. The film stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Mai Takahashi. The film focuses largely on creatures from Japanese mythology known as ''yōkai'' (妖怪, variously translated as "apparition", "goblin", "ghoul", "spirit", or "monster"), which came to prominence during the Edo period with the works of Toriyama Sekien. It also draws inspiration from Aramata Hiroshi's ''Teito Monogatari'', with the novel's antagonist Katō Yasunori appearing as the main antagonist in the film. The film is considered a loose remake of the 1968 film '' Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare'', but also draws influence from Shigeru Mizuki's ''GeGeGe no Kitarō'' manga series of the same name. All three are retellings of the famous Japanese tale of Momotarō, which features the title character driving a group of demons away from Kikaigashima with the help of native anim ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hasami Otoko
is a 2005 film directed by Japanese director Toshiharu Ikeda. Based on a novel by Masayuki Shuno Masayuki (written: , ,, , , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese animator and director *, Japanese actor *, Japanese baseball player and manager *, Japanese politician *, ..., the film is a psychological thriller about series of murders committed using scissors, the people who carried out the murders, and the police who are trying to catch them. Plot The film opens with a female high school student meeting a man and woman in a remote location. She is stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors. This is followed by similar murder committed by the same people. The same couple follow another student who they have picked as their next target, but before they can kill her she is joined by an older man. Later they find her body in a park. She was also stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors in a copycat mu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |