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Naoto Takenaka
is a Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director from Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, affiliated with From First Production. He is married to idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi. He is also known as the voice of Samuel L. Jackson in the dubbed version of the ''Avengers'', as Nicholas "Nick" Fury. Filmography Film ;Director *''Munō no Hito'' (1991) *''119'' (1994) *''Tōkyō Biyori'' (1997) *''Rendan'' (2001) *''Sayonara Color'' (2005) *''Yamagata Scream'' (2009) *'' Downfall'' (2023) ;Actor *''Gonza the Spearman'' (1986) *''Fancy Dance'' (1989) *'' Best Guy'' (1990) *''Chizuko's Younger Sister'' (1991) *''Hiruko the Goblin'' (1991) *''Until the end of the World'' (1991) *'' Sumo Do, Sumo Don't'' (1992) *''Like a Rolling Stone'' (1994) *'' Rampo'' (1994) *''Tokyo Fist'' (1995) *''Gonin'' (1995) *'' East Meets West'' (1995) *'' Shall We Dance?'' (1996) – Tomio Aoki *''By Player'' (2000) – Taiji Tonoyama *''Agitator'' (2001) *''Waterboys'' (2001) *''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama
is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 209,565 and a density of 6,760 persons per km². The total area was . The ward symbol, established 1987, expresses the image of sea, waves, and a sea gull. History The area around present-day Kanazawa Ward has been inhabited for thousands of years. Archaeologists have found stone tools from the Japanese Paleolithic period and ceramic shards from the Jōmon period at numerous locations in the area. Under the Nara period Ritsuryō system, it became part of Kuraki District in Musashi Province. By the Kamakura period it was part of a '' shōen'' controlled by the Hōjō clan, who established a major seaport for the Kamakura shogunate at Mutsuura, and a noted library and educational center at Kanazawa Bunko. During the Edo period, much of the area was part of the ''tenryō'' territory in Musashi Province controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo Fist
is a 1995 Japanese film. It was directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, who also stars in the film along with his brother Kōji Tsukamoto and Kahori Fujii. The film had its premiere in September 1995 at the Turin Film Festival in Italy. Plot The film tells the story of a Japanese door-to-door insurance salesman, Tsuda Yoshiharu, who takes up boxing after a chance meeting with a former high school friend, Kojima Yakuji. Tsuda is shown to be under immense stress due to having to support both himself and his fiancée, Hizuru, who quit her job after they became engaged. One day, Hizuru invites Kojima into Tsuda's apartment. Kojima comes onto Hizuru, who rejects him. Still, Tsuda finds out and becomes enraged at Kojima, but Kojima beats Tsuda badly and humiliates him in front of Hizuru. Hizuru is intrigued by the animalistic Kojima, and, after a confrontation in a restaurant with Tsuda, breaks up with him and moves in with Kojima. She also starts to pierce herself and get tattoos. She wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midnight Sun (2006 Film)
is a 2006 Japanese film directed by Norihiro Koizumi starring Yui (singer), Yui. Upon release, ''A Song to the Sun'' was financially successful and helped launch Yui's music career. In addition, Yui also won the Best Newcomer Actress at the 30th Japan Academy Film Prize for her role. Several adaptations of the film were made, including a 2006 television series, a 2018 American Midnight Sun (2018 film), remake, and stage plays. Plot Kaoru has Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a medical condition that forbids its bearer from being exposed to direct sunlight. She sleeps during the day, and is active at night. She busks every night in front of a station, playing the guitar. Outside her bedroom window, she spots a high school boy with a surfboard. She watches him and his friends visit the ocean every morning before going to sleep. One day, she introduces herself to him without letting him know about her medical condition. The man identifies himself to be Kōji Fujishiro. When her friend drags h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sayonara Color
''Sayonara'' is a 1957 American Technicolor drama film starring Marlon Brando in Technirama. It tells the story of an American Air Force fighter pilot during the Korean War who falls in love with a famous Japanese dancer. The picture won four Academy Awards, including acting honors for co-stars Red Buttons and Miyoshi Umeki. The supporting cast also features Patricia Owens, James Garner, Martha Scott, Ricardo Montalbán, and Miiko Taka. The screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn from the 1954 novel of the same name by James Michener, and was directed by Joshua Logan and produced by William Goetz. Unlike most 1950s romantic dramas, it deals squarely with racism and prejudice. Plot Fighter ace Major Lloyd "Ace" Gruver, of the United States Air Force, the son of a U.S. Army general, is stationed at Itami Air Force Base near Kobe, Japan. He has been reassigned from combat duties in Korea by General Webster, the father of his fiancée, Eileen. While Ace and Eileen have been togethe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swing Girls
is a Japanese 2004 teen comedy film directed and co-written by Shinobu Yaguchi. The plot follows a group of inept high school girls who form a big band. The cast includes Juri Ueno, Yuta Hiraoka, Shihori Kanjiya, Yuika Motokariya and Yukari Toyashima. The film ranked 8th at the Japanese box office in 2004, and won seven prizes at 28th Japan Academy Prize, including "Most Popular Film" and "Newcomer of the Year" for Yuta Hiraoka and Juri Ueno. Plot A class of schoolgirls are bored during their summer make-up class. When the school brass band leaves to perform at a baseball game without their bento lunches, Tomoko and the other girls persuade their math teacher, Mr. Ozawa, to let them deliver the lunches. On the train, the girls fall asleep after eating one of the lunches and miss their stop. They walk back to deliver the lunches to the band, but they have spoiled in the summer heat, and all but their cymbal player, Takuo Nakamura, who missed out on his meal, becomes sick. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Azumi (film)
is a 2003 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Ryûhei Kitamura and starring Aya Ueto, Yuma Ishigaki, Shun Oguri, Hiroki Narimiya, Takatoshi Kaneko, Eita, Shogo Yamaguchi and Joe Odagiri. ''Azumi'' is an adaptation of Yū Koyama's manga series of the same title, and was followed by the sequel '' Azumi 2: Death or Love'' in 2005. Plot As in the manga, the old master Jiji is tasked by the Tokugawa shogunate to raise a band of assassins. Their task is to finish off Toyotomi Hideyoshi's three allies: Nagamasa Asano, Kiyomasa Kato and Masayuki Sanada, to prevent an outbreak of the new civil war. Azumi is discovered as a little girl kneeling without visible emotion next to the body of her dead mother by Gessai and his entourage of young students. She is then raised by him in the martial skills of sword fighting and the art of assassination. Azumi and her classmates, now at young adult age, are constantly being told about a "mission" they must accomplish, though they have no idea wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ping Pong (2002 Film)
is a 2002 sports film directed by Japanese filmmaker Fumihiko Sori. It is based on Taiyō Matsumoto's manga of the same name and is about the friendship between two high school table tennis players. The film concentrates on these two friends, their two mentors, and three players who they encounter at high school table tennis tournaments. It explores the different motivations and philosophies that they have towards table tennis and tries to portray the excitement and subtlety of the sport. Plot Peco (real name Yutaka Hoshino) and Smile (real name Makoto Tsukimoto) are members of Katase High table tennis club. Peco is charismatic and has a passion for the sport, while Smile is introverted. Tsukimoto's friends in the table tennis club nicknamed him "Smile" as he does not smile often. The characters have known each other, and Demon (Akuma 悪魔, real name Manabu Sakuma), since primary school. Despite Smile's greater natural talent, he sees the sport as simply a way to pass the tim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Happiness Of The Katakuris
is a 2001 Japanese Musical film, musical comedy horror film directed by Takashi Miike, with screenplay by Kikumi Yamagishi. It is loosely based on the South Korean film ''The Quiet Family''. The film is a Surrealism, surreal horror-comedy in the farce tradition, which includes claymation sequences, musical and dance numbers, a karaoke-style sing-along scene, and dream sequences. The film won a Special Jury Prize for its director at the 2004 Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer, Gérardmer Film Festival and has received generally positive reviews from critics. Plot The Katakuris are a four-generation family of failures: patriarch Masao Katakuri (Kenji Sawada), his wife Terue (Keiko Matsuzaka), his father Jinpei (Tetsurō Tamba), his formerly criminal son Masayuki (Shinji Takeda), his divorced daughter Shizue (Naomi Nishida), her child Yurie (Tamaki Miyazaki, who narrates the film), and their dog, Pochi. The family uses the father's Layoff, redundancy pay to pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterboys (film)
is a 2001 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Shinobu Yaguchi, about five boys who start a synchronized swimming team at their high school. The film stars Satoshi Tsumabuki (Suzuki, the leader of the team), Hiroshi Tamaki (Sato), Akifumi Miura (Ohta), Koen Kondo (Kanazawa), Takatoshi Kaneko (Saotome) and Naoto Takenaka (the dolphin trainer). The film was a success in Japan, and was nominated for eight prizes at the Japan Academy Prize, winning awards for 'Best Newcomer' and 'Best Music Score'. A spin-off television series entered its third season in 2005. Plot Suzuki is a high-school student who aspires to become a great swimmer; however, he is the only person in the school's swimming team. Soon, a beautiful new swimming teacher starts work at the high school. Dozens of boys decide to join the swimming team, but when they realize that she teaches synchronized swimming (which is generally a women's sport), all but Suzuki and four other boys drop out. The teacher soon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agitator (film)
is a 2001 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike. Plot Mr. Kaito, head of the Kaito Group of over 2,000 soldiers under the umbrella of the Tenseikai Syndicate, seeks to absorb the 500 soldiers of the Shirane Group as well as the 400 soldiers of that group's rival, the Yokomizo Family, and become the largest group in the syndicate in order to ensure that he will be chosen as the successor to the hospitalized leader of the syndicate. Kaito enlists the aid of Mizushima and Muroi of the Shirane Group, promising that Mizushima will thereby take over as leader of the Shirane Group. Muroi hires Shinozake, who assaults hostesses on Yokomizo turf and is then killed by the Higuchi Gang. Higuchi is reprimanded by the Yokomizo Family but Mizushima and Muroi hire an outside assassin named Numata to kill the leader of the family, Yokomizo Takanori, and claim that the assassin was an overzealous Shirane soldier seeking revenge. Mr. Kaito mediates on behalf of the Tenseikai but Tsuchiya of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taiji Tonoyama
was a Japanese character actor who made many appearances in films and on television from 1939 to 1989. He was a close friend of Kaneto Shindo and one of his regular cast members. He was also an essayist. In 1950 he helped form the film company Kindai Eiga Kyokai with Shindo and Kōzaburō Yoshimura. He served in the Japanese military in China in the Second Sino-Japanese War and considered himself to have narrowly escaped from death. He was married but also had a mistress and maintained relationships with both women until the end of his life. He was a keen reader of detective stories and a fan of jazz music. He wrote a series of semi-autobiographical essays under the title , meaning "third rate actor". Kaneto Shindo wrote a biography of Tonoyama called ''Sanmon yakusha no shi'',三文役者の死 meaning "The death of a third-rate actor", which he also filmed as ''By Player is a 2000 Japanese biographical film directed by Kaneto Shindo based on the life of actor Taiji Tonoyama. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
By Player
is a 2000 Japanese biographical film directed by Kaneto Shindo based on the life of actor Taiji Tonoyama. The film is a series of vignettes from Taiji Tonoyama's life and film clips, interspersed with a dialogue to camera by Nobuko Otowa, addressing the camera as if she is addressing Tonoyama himself, recollecting events in his life. The film focuses on Tonoyama's alcohol dependence and his various sexual relationships, as well as his film work with Shindo. Plot The first part of the film shows Tonoyama talking to a waitress, Kimie (Keiko Oginome), in a coffee shop. He then meets her father and asks him for permission to marry Kimie. The father asks him to first divorce his existing wife, Asako (Hideko Yoshida). In fact he is not married to Asako. To prevent him marrying Kimie, Asako then registers them as married. The film moves through various episodes of Tonoyama making films with director Kaneto Shindo. At the time of ''The Naked Island'', Tonoyama is close to death from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
