Shōichi Ozawa
was a Japanese actor, radio host, singer, and prominent researcher and expert on Japanese folk art. He also founded the Shabondama-za theater company. Ozawa, who was born in Tokyo, graduated from Waseda University. He began acting after college, beginning with his debut stage role in 1951. He also appeared in television and film roles, acting quite frequently in films directed by Shohei Imamura and Yūzō Kawashima. In 1971, Ozawa launched his long running radio show. A respected folk art expert, Ozawa also researched traditional Japanese performing arts. He recorded and released "Nihon no Horo Gei" ("Japan's Itinerant Arts") based on his research. In 2004, Ozawa became the "mayor" of Meiji Mura, an open-air museum in Aichi Prefecture which showcases Meiji Era architecture. The Japanese government awarded Ozawa the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2001 and the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1994 for his body of work. Shōichi Ozawa died on December 10, 2012, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shoichi Ozawa
was a Japanese actor, radio host, singer, and prominent researcher and expert on Japanese folk art. He also founded the Shabondama-za theater company. Ozawa, who was born in Tokyo, graduated from Waseda University. He began acting after college, beginning with his debut stage role in 1951. He also appeared in television and film roles, acting quite frequently in films directed by Shohei Imamura and Yūzō Kawashima. In 1971, Ozawa launched his long running radio show. A respected folk art expert, Ozawa also researched traditional Japanese performing arts. He recorded and released "Nihon no Horo Gei" ("Japan's Itinerant Arts") based on his research. In 2004, Ozawa became the "mayor" of Meiji Mura, an open-air museum in Aichi Prefecture which showcases Meiji Era architecture. The Japanese government awarded Ozawa the Order of the Rising Sun, Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2001 and the Medals of Honor (Japan), Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1994 for his body of wo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Foundry Town
is a 1962 Japanese drama film directed by Kirio Urayama. It was entered into the 1962 Cannes Film Festival and won the Blue Ribbon Awards in 1962. Cast * Sayuri Yoshinaga as Jun * Mitsuo Hamada as Tsukamoto, Katsumi * Eijirō Tōno as Ishiguro, Tatsugoro (Jun's father) * Shoichi Ozawa * Tokuko Sugiyama as Tomi (Jun's mother) * Takeshi Katō * Tanie Kitabayashi * Akiji Kobayashi as Heisan * Kin Sugai * Yoshio Ichikawa * Taiji Tonoyama * Kawai Okada is a Japanese former actress and businesswoman. Filmography Films * 1962 ''Foundry Town'' - Kaori * 1963 '' A Legend or Was It?'' * 1969 '' Red Lion'' * 1972 ''Gecko Kung Fu'' * 1973 ''A Man Called Tiger'' - Yoshida Ayako. * 1974 ''Karafut ... as Kaori References External links * 1962 films 1962 drama films Japanese black-and-white films Japanese drama films 1960s Japanese-language films Films directed by Kirio Urayama 1960s Japanese films {{1960s-Japan-film-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gonza The Spearman
is a 1986 Japanese drama film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It was entered into the 36th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for outstanding artistic contribution. Cast * Hiromi Gō as Gonza Sasano * Haruko Kato as Oyuki's nanny * Hideji Ōtaki as Iwaki * Kuniko Miyake as Iwaki's wife * Choichiro Kawarazaki as Jinbei * Naoto Takenaka as Fumiemon * Jun Hamamura * Shoichi Ozawa * Shōhei Hino as Hannojo * Shima Iwashita as Osai * Kaori Mizushima as Okiku * Misako Tanaka as Oyuki Other Credits *Sword fight arranger - Hiroshi Kuze *Art Direction - Yoshinobu Nishioka was a Japanese jidaigeki production designer, art director, producer, and set decorater from Asuka, Nara Prefecture who won three Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction. Nishioka joined Daiei Kyoto film in 1948. H ... References External links * 1986 films 1986 drama films 1980s Japanese-language films Samurai films Jidaigeki films Films dire ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Ballad Of Narayama (1983 Film)
is a 1983 Japanese film by director Shōhei Imamura. It stars Sumiko Sakamoto as Orin, Ken Ogata, and Shoichi Ozawa. It is an adaptation of the book ''Narayama bushikō'' by Shichirō Fukazawa and slightly inspired by the 1958 film directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. Both films explore the legendary practice of ''ubasute'', in which elderly people were carried to a mountain and abandoned to die. Imamura's film won the Palme d'Or at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. Production ''The Ballad of Narayama'' was filmed in Niigata Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture. Plot The film is set in a small rural village in Japan in the 19th century. According to tradition, once a person reaches the age of 70 he or she must travel to a remote mountain to die of starvation, a practice known as ubasute. The story concerns Orin, who is 69 and of sound health, but notes that a neighbor had to drag his father to the mountain, so she resolves to avoid clinging to life beyond her term. She spends a year ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tora-san's Promise
, also called ''Torasan and a Paper Balloon'' in some regions, is a 1981 Japanese comedy film directed by Yoji Yamada. It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Mikiko Otonashi as his love interest or "Madonna". ''Tora-san's Promise'' is the twenty-eighth entry in the popular, long-running ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series. Synopsis Tora-san returns to his family's home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he embarrasses himself by getting drunk and insulting all his ex-classmates, he resumes his travels. In Kyushu he meets an outspoken 18-year-old girl who becomes enamored of Tora-san and follows him around. One of Tora-san's old friends is terminally ill and makes Tora-san promise him to marry his wife once he is gone. Cast * Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō * Chieko Baisho as Sakura * Mikiko Otonashi as Mitsue Kuratomi * Kayoko Kishimoto as Aiko Odajima * Shimojo Masami as Kuruma Tatsuzō * Chieko Misaki as Tsune Kuruma (Torajiro's aunt) * Hiroshi Inuzu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eijanaika (film)
is a 1981 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. Plot The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ee ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society. Cast * Kaori Momoi - Ine * Shigeru Izumiya - Genji * Shigeru Tsuyuguchi - Kinzo * Masao Kusakari - Itoman * Mitsuko Baisho - Oko * Yōhei Kōno - Hara Ichinoshin * Taiji Tonoyama * Junzaburō Ban - Toramatsu * Nenji Kobayashi - Matakichi * Hideo Takamatsu - Koide Yamato no Kami * Ako - Oyoshi * Kazuo Kitamura - Koide Yamatonokami * Jirō Yabuki - Senmatsu * Yasuaki Kurata - T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Summer Soldiers (film)
is a 1972 Japanese drama and anti-war film written by John Nathan and directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. It follows U.S. army deserter Jim who tries to seek refuge in Japan during the Vietnam War. Plot G.I. Jim has deserted from the U.S. Army and is seeking refuge in Japan. While he constantly changes his hide-outs, Jim, who does not speak the language, is confronted with cultural differences, meeting average Japanese people, political radicals who want to use him for their purposes, and other deserters. Cast * Keith Sykes as Jim * Reisen Ri as Reiko * Kazuo Kitamura as Tachikawa * Toshiko Kobayashi as Mrs. Tachikawa * Shōichi Ozawa as Tanikawa * Tetsuko Kuroyanagi as Mrs. Tanikawa * Teruko Kishi as Mother * Hideo Kanze as Shimezu * Hisashi Igawa as Ota * Kunie Tanaka as Fujimura * Takeshi Katō as Driver * Greg Antonacci as Miguel * Barry Cotton as Daryl * John Nathan as Pete Production and release ''Summer Soldiers'' was Teshigahara's first feature film in four years, produci ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Human Bullet
is a 1968 Japanese satiric anti-war film about a soldier who becomes assigned to a suicide mission against the US Forces during the late stage of World War II. It was written and directed by Kihachi Okamoto. Plot During the last days of the war, a nameless young cadet is assigned to a suicide mission, ordered to blow himself up with an ammunition crate under the expected enemy tanks. While awaiting the enemy's invasion, he makes the acquaintance of a young orphaned woman, who runs a brothel formerly owned by her parents, and two kid brothers. He falls in love with the young woman, who is later killed in an air raid, as is the elder of the brothers. Vowing revenge for the dead, he receives new orders from the deteriorating commanding staff, ordering him to manually steer a torpedo into the awaited enemy battleships. Twenty years after the war has ended, his skeletal remains float in an oil drum off the beach, his offscreen voice shouting "rabbit", the nickname he had given the gi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Naomi (novel)
is a novel by Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965). Writing of the novel began in 1924, and from March to June, published the first several chapters of the serial. Four months later, the periodical started to publish the remaining chapters. The novel was first published in book form, by Kaizosha, in 1925. Narrated in the first person by the protagonist, a salaryman named Jōji, the novel follows his attempt to groom a Eurasian-looking girl, the eponymous Naomi, to be a Westernized woman. ''Naomi'' is a significant work in its comic depiction of Japanese culture of the era and its fascination with the West. The clash between older and newer generations over the more progressive depictions of women, such as Naomi, has been viewed as a clash over Japan's transition into the modern period. Plot summary ''Naomis story is focused around a man's obsession for a '' modan garu'' or modern girl. The narrator, Jōji, is a well-educated Japanese man who is an electrical eng ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Pornographers
is a 1966 satiric Japanese film directed by Shōhei Imamura. It is based on the novel ''Erogotoshitachi'' by Akiyuki Nosaka. Plot ''The Pornographers'' tells the story of porn filmmaker Mr. Subuyan Ogata, whose business is under threat from thieves, the government, and his own family. Cast * Shōichi Ozawa as Subuyan Ogata * Sumiko Sakamoto as Haru Matsuda * Keiko Sagawa as Keiko Matsuda, Haru's daughter * Haruo Tanaka as Banteki * Nakamura Ganjirō II as Elderly executive from Hakucho Company * Masaomi Kondō as Kōichi Matsuda, Haru's son * Akira Nishimura as Detective Sanada * Ichirō Sugai as Shinun Ogata, Subuyan's father * Akiji Kobayashi * Shinichi Nakano as Kabō * Chōchō Miyako as Virgin House Madame * Kazuo Kitamura as Doctor Production and reception The film is a dark comic satire, depicting the underbelly of the Japanese post-war economic miracle, in this case pornographers and small time gangsters in Osaka. It has been called Imamura's best-known film outside J ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gulliver's Travels Beyond The Moon
, also known as ''Space Gulliver'', is a 1965 Japanese animated feature that was released in Japan on March 20, 1965 and in the United States on July 23, 1966. Plot The story concerns a homeless boy named Ricky, or Ted in the Japanese version. Whilst seeing a movie about Lemuel Gulliver he is discovered to have entered without buying a ticket and he is thrown out onto the street. Ejected and dejected, he is then nearly run over by a truck, but is knocked unconscious when he is thrown against a wall. He awakes to find a talking dog and then the Colonel, a talking clockwork toy soldier who has been discarded in a rubbish bin. The dog suggests the trio amuse themselves at an amusement park that is closed for the night. The trio enjoy themselves on the rides and in a planetarium but are pursued by three security guards. The boy, his dog and the Colonel escape on fireworks rockets that land them in the countryside. They meet Professor Gulliver himself in a forest. Gulliver is now a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Story Of A Prostitute
is a 1965 Japanese romantic war drama film directed by Seijun Suzuki. It is based on a story by Taijiro Tamura who, like Suzuki, had served as a soldier in the war. Plot Disappointed by the marriage of her lover to a woman he does not love, prostitute Harumi drifts from the city to a remote Japanese outpost in Manchuria to work in a "comfort house," or brothel, during the Sino-Japanese War. The commanding adjutant there takes an immediate liking to the new girl, but she is fascinated by and comes to love Mikami, the officer's aide. At first he is haughty and indifferent to the girl, which enrages her, but they are eventually drawn together. Abused and manipulated by the adjutant, she grows to hate the officer and seeks solace in Mikami's arms. They carry on a clandestine affair, which is a dangerous breach of code for both of them. Tragedy strikes when Chinese guerrillas attack the outpost and Mikami is severely wounded in a trench. Harumi runs to him and they are both captured ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |