UCSB Libraries Japanese Film List





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A


  • Acting techniques of the Noh Theatre of Japan
    Media Collection PN2924.5.N6 A28 1980
    Performance/Instructional; 1 VHS, 30 minutes; 1980
    Dir. Larry McMullen
    In Japanese and English with English voiceover.
    Instructor Akira Matsui demonstrates some of the difficult and complicated movements the Nōh actor must master.

  • Akahige = Red beard
    Media Collection PN1997 .A3155 1986
    Feature Film; 2 VHS, 191 minutes; 1965
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Under the guidance of an aging, autocratic doctor (Mifune), an idle and socially ambitious new intern (Kayama) learns the rewards of healing the poor clinic patients in the 19th-century Japan.

  • Akasen chitai = 赤線　地帯 = Street of shame
    Media Collection PN1997 .A31632 1997
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 87 minutes; 1956
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Set in 1955, the film examines the dreams and problems of the prostitutes living in one Tokyo brothel. "Many believe that Street of shame was key to the 1957 abolition of prostitution in Japan."

  • Akira Kurosawa’s dreams Kon na yume o mita
    Media Collection PN1997 .A3165 1991 [Limited 7-day]
    VHS. 1 videocassette (120 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in
    Explores the costs of war, the perils of nuclear power and especially humankind’s need to harmonize with nature
  • Always sanchōme no yūhi
    Media Collection PN1997.2 .A46 2006 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD. Region code. 22 videodiscs (133 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 inch. 1 CD-ROM, 1 booklet (129 p. : ill. chiefly col. ;19 cm), 1 stereoscope with 5 cards, 3 postcards
    In Japanese with optional Japanese and English subtitles
    In 1958, the year Tokyo tower is to be completed, Mutsuko comes to Tokyo to work in a small family operated automobile repair shop. Based on the story by Saigan Ryōhei in Biggu Komikku, the film shows the lives of the residents of Sanchōme with love and humor

  • Aspects of the Kabuki theatre of Japan
    Media Collection PN2924.5.K3 A76 1980
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 12 minutes; 198-?
    Shows scenes from the Kabuki play Kanjincho (The subscription list) by Namiki Gohei to demonstrate and analyze Kabuki movements, costume and makeup.

  • Atarashii kenpo no hanashi
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD; 2000


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    B



  • Bakushū = 麥秋 = Early summer
    Media Collection PN1997 .B342 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 135 minutes; 1951
    Dir. Ozu Yasujirō
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    The story of Noriko, a young woman who refuses to give up her job to get married because of her age.

  • Between two worlds: a documentary
    Media Collection E184.O6 B489 1998
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 29 minutes; 1998
    Dir. Chul Heo
    This documentary examines the difficulties experienced by first generation Asian American youth who struggle with "living in two worlds"--the Asian family culture and the American culture. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean American young adults and members of their families expound upon the generational and cultural gaps existing in Asian American families and stereotypical perceptions of Asians in American society.

  • Bideo kōza Nihongo = ビデオ講座日本語 = Video-cued structural drills
    Media Collection PL519 .B53 1988
    Instructional; 12 VHS, 15 minutes each; 1988

  • Bideo kōza Nihongo: nichijō seikatsu ni miru Nihon no bunka = ビデオ講座日本語  : 日常生活に見る日本の文化 = Cultural video series: safe and sound in Japan
    Media Collection PL519 .B533 1992
    Instructional; 5 VHS, 18 minutes each; 1992
    An American female college student in Japan makes cultural errors because she doen’t understand the Japanese customs.

  • Boy’s choir
    East Asian Collection
    Feature Film; 1 DVD, 139 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Akira Ogata
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    This debut film from Japanese director Akira Ogata centers on the friendship between two young boys who are obsessed with singing. Young Michio, a chronic stutterer, is sent to a remote Japanese boarding school after the death of his father. While there, he bonds with Yasuo, the star soprano in the boy’s choir.

  • Butoh: body on the edge of crisis
    Media Collection GV1783.2.B87 B874 2002
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 90 minutes; 1990
    Dir. Michael Blackwood
    In Japanese and English with English voiceover.
    Using contemporary footage of leading Butoh performers, this documentary presents the history of the development of butoh dance, interviews the creator of this Japanese modern dance form, Tatsumi Hijikata, and explores the cultural significance of the Butoh dance form in Japan.

  • Butoh: piercing the mask
    Media Collection GV1783.2.B87 B877 1991
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 49 minutes; 1991
    Dir. Richard Moore
    In Japanese and English with English subtitles.
    Using archival and contemporary footage of leading Butoh performers, this documentary presents the history of the dance and explores the relationship between post-World War II Japanese culture and the primal images and emotions expressed in Butoh.


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    C


  • Casshern
    Media Collection PN1997.2 .C377 2004
    DVD. 3 videodiscs (140 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    In Japanese with optional Japanese and English subtitles; optional commentary in Japanese
    A race of mutant humans is created as the result of a research accident. Only Casshern can defend the world against them

  • Chikamatsu monogatari = 近松物語
    Media Collection PN1997 .C43786 2002
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 110 minutes; 1954
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    "In 17th century Japan, illicit love between a merchant’s wife and her servant leads to tragedy."--Container.


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    D


  • Dance of darkness
    Media Collection GV1783.2 .D35 1990
    Documentary; 1 videodisc, 55 minutes; 1990
    Dir. Edin Velez
    In English and Japanese with English voiceover.
    Describes the beginnings of butō, chiefly the work of Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ōno, and shows its development into a dark dance theater that oversteps conventional social behavior and stage to play in underground theater and in the street.

  • Densha otoko Train_man
    Media Collection PN1997.2 .D46743 2007
    DVD, region 1, anamorphic widescreen (16:9) presentation; Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround
    1 videodisc (ca. 102 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    Japanese dialogue, English subtitles
    The U.S. arrival of Japan’s novel-comic-motion picture smash hit! Hopeless nerd Densha Otoko falls hard for the girl he rescued on the commuter train, and seeks dating advice from net-friends through an online forum - igniting an Internet phenomenon
  • Discovering the music of Japan
    Arts Library, Music M1812 .D583 1987
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 19 minutes; 1987
    Dir. Bernard Wilets
    The five-toned music of Japan tries to reflect the beauty of nature and the integration of dramatic movement and dance.

  • Dodesukaden = どですかでん
    Media Collection PN1997 .D555 1986
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 140 minutes; 1970
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A group of Tokyo slum dwellers overcome adversity while retaining their hopes and dreams.

  • Donzoko = どん底 = The lower depths
    Media Collection PN1997 .D66 1998
    Feature Film; 125 minutes; 1957
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    The story of a group of social outcasts living together in a filthy rooming house, some trying to escape, some attempting to adjust, and others hoping to maintain their illusions.

  • Dream girls
    Media Collection PN2924 .D742 1994
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 50 minutes; 1994
    Dir. Kim Longinotto & Jano Williams
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A documentary film illustrating the ways that the all-female Takarazuka Music School and its annual musical revue reflect Japanese puritanism and sexual politics.


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    E


  • Eighth-grade mathematics lessons: United States, Japan, and Germany
    Government Information Center, U.S. -- ED 1.33/42:M 42/VIDEO
    Documentary; 1 VHS; 1997?
    In English, Japanese and German with English subtitles.
    Excerpts from six mathematics lessons taped in eighth-grade classrooms in the U.S., Japan, and Germany. The first three are geometry lessons. The second three are algebra lessons. Intended to demonstrate teaching in the three countries, but not to prescribe how teachers should teach. With beginning commentary from Dr. James Stigler concerning the video study that was part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. Japanese and German segment have English subtitles. Voice-over narration explains the teaching methods in each segment.


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    F


  • Faces of Japan II
    Media Collection DS822.5 .F334 1989
    Juvenile/Documentary; 5 VHS, 15 minutes each; 1989
    Prod. Tom Dudzinski
    Provides in-depth profiles of people from five very different sectors of Japanese society and offers insight into Japanese culture.

  • Fifty years of silence: the untold story of Japanese American soldiers in the Pacific Theater, 1941 – 1952
    Media Collection D753.8 .F54 1992
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 60 minutes; 1992
    Dir. Sheryl K. Narahara
    Tells about Japanese Americans being used as intelligence agents during World War II attached to American military units in the Pacific.

  • The fog of war: eleven lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara
    Media Collection E840.5.M36 F64 2004
    Documentary; 1 DVD, 107 minutes; 2003
    Dir. Errol Morris
    In English with French, Portuguese, Spanish and Japanese subtitles.
    The story of American politics and military policies as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense, under President Kennedy and President Johnson, Robert S. McNamara. McNamara is a controversial and influential political figure. He offers a candid journey through some of the most seminal events in contemporary American history. He offers insights into the 1945 fire bombing of Tokyo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the effects of the Vietnam War.

  • Forgotten dances
    Media Collection GV1695 .F67 1971
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 28 minutes; 1968
    Dir. Bud Myers
    The third part of a three-part series on the culture of Japan. Ancient forms of ritualistic dances are demonstrated by members of the Japan Folk Dance Group.


  • From a different shore: an American identity
    Media Collection F870.J3 F766 1996
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 50 minutes; 1994
    Dir. Jeremy Cooper
    By exploring the lives of three families, this documentary examines the experiences of Japanese immigrants in the United States, including the internment of many during World War II. Focuses on how the Japanese immigrants’ experiences were distinct from other immigrants.

  • Fuji musume = 藤娘
    Media Collection PN2924.5.K3 F85 2004
    Performance; 1 DVD, 95 minutes; 1993
    In Japanese with Japanese and English commentary.
    Features a selection of kabuki dances.


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    G


  • Gaea girls
    Media Collection GV1198.77.A2 G34 2000
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 100 minutes; 2000
    Dir. Kim Longinotto & Jano Williams
    This documentary follows the physically grueling and mentally exhausting training regimen of several young ’Gaea Girls,’ a group of Japanese women wrestlers, living in a country where women are usually regarded as docile and subservient.

  • Gagaku: the court music of Japan
    Arts Library, Music ML340 .G23 1989
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 29 minutes; 1989
    Dir. Eugene Encrico & David Smeal
    Allows the viewer to experience the haunting sounds of the Japanese court orchestra and see the magnificent costumes and masks of its stately dances.

  • Genroku chūshingura = The 47 ronin
    Media Collection PN1997 .G42445 1990z
    Feature Film; 2 VHS, 224 minutes; 1941
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    This fact-based account, created to inspire patriotic spirit during WWII, is a cinematic exploration of heroism and self-sacrifice which provides a rare glimpse at the price heroes sometimes paid to preserve their honor. When Lord Asano is forced to commit harakiri, his 47 samurai become ronin, men without a master, and make plans for revenge.

  • Genshu: eat the kimono
    Media Collection GV1785.H268 G46 1989
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 60 minutes; 1989
    Dir. Claire Hunt & Kim Longinotto
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Film profiles Hanayagi Genshu, an unconventional Japanese dancer, who mixes radical politics into her avant-garde performances as she defys right-wing threats and denounces Emperor Hirohito during his lifetime.

  • Gion no shimai = 祈園　の　姉妹 = Sisters of Gion
    Media Collection PN1997 .G465 1997
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 66 minutes; 1936
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    "Filled with compositions as exquisite as they are realistic, the story of two geisha sisters illuminates the plight of women in Japan."--Videocassette container.

  • Global villages
    Media Collection HM621 .G578 2005
    Documentary; 1 DVD, 59 minutes; 2005
    Dir. Tamar Gordon
    "Depicts ethnic theme parks of China and Japan where official narratives of tradition and history are translated into colorful dances and interactive routines. ... Moving between five sites in two countries, ... [the film] captures the different narratives of globalization and identity that shape the experiences of ethnic minorities and foreign nationals as they perform their indigeneity for tourists"--Container.

  • Godzilla vs Biollante
    Media Collection PN1997 .G578 1989
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 105 minutes; 1989
    Dir. Kazuki Omori
    Dubbed in English.
    A genetically engineered plant, the indestructible Biollante, must fight Godzilla to save her creator and the land she loves.

  • Godzilla vs. King Ghidora
    Media Collection PN1997 .G5782 1998
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 103 minutes; 1991
    Dir. Kazuki Omori
    Dubbed in English.
    A UFO is sighted over present day Tokyo; in reality, it is a time travel device carrying representatives from the 23rd century with an urgent message about the future of Japan: there is no future. Godzilla is about to destroy the whole nation. To stop the birth of Godzilla, the travellers return to the past, where they are confronted by an even greater threat, King Ghidra, a horrific three-headed reptile with breath of fire.

  • The Go masters = Mikan no taikyoku
    Media Collection PN1997 .G5583 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 134 minutes; 1982
    Dir. Duan Ji-Shun & Junya Sato
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Story of a Chinese father searching for his long lost son in a devastated post World War II Japan. Story about champion go gamesman from China, Kuang Yi-Shan who lets Japanese go master Matsunami adopt his son in order that the son might have a better life and chance to become a go master. When Japan invades China, Kuang’s son is pressured to renounce his Chinese citizenship and become Japanese.

  • Gonza the spearman = Yari no Gonza kasane
    Media Collection PN1997 .G593 1990
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 126 minutes; 1986
    Dir. Masahiro Shinoda
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    During the Tokugawa shogunate Japanese provincial lords were obliged to spend alternative years in Edo, the capital city. Wives and children were left behind, often causing tragic results. This classic tale of love, honor and tragedy was written by well-known bunraku playwright Monzaemon Chikamatsu.

  • The good wife of Tokyo
    Media Collection HQ1763 .G66 1992
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 52 minutes; 1992
    Dir. Claire Hunt and Kim Loginotto
    In Japanese and English with English subtitles.
    Kazuko Hohki goes back to Tokyo with her rock band after living in England for 15 years. This film records her re-experiencing of Japan after a long absence, examining traditional attitudes towards women and those of Kuzuko’s friends who are trying to expand their roles as Japanese women.

  • Gunju kojo wa, ima
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD; 2000

  • Guntai no kage ni riken ari
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD; 2000


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    H


  • Hachigatsu no kyōshikyoku = 八月　の　狂詩曲 = Rhapsody in August
    Media Collection PN1997 .H217 1998
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 100 minutes; 1991
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A visit from her grandchildren and the discovery of a half-American relative cause an elderly woman to relive her memories of the atomic bomb that fell on Nagasaki.

  • Hakuchū no tōrima = 白昼　の　通リ魔 = Violence at noon
    Media Collection PN1997 .H2534 1999
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 109 minutes; 1966
    Dir. Ōshima Nagisa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    "Following the failure of a colletive farm, the husband of an idealistic socialist teacher goes beserk, becoming a sex criminal and murder. From there, Violence at noon focuses upon his actions and their effect upon two women who are close to him"--Container.

  • Heart of the country
    Media Collection LA1314.7 .H437 1998
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 60 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Leonard Kamerling
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Story of Shinichi Yasutomo, principal of a rural elementary school in Kanayama, Hokkaido. Follows Yasutomo, his teachers and staff, students and their families over the course of one entire year.

  • Hellfire, a journey from Hiroshima: a film
    Media Collection ND1059.M3 H4 1986
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 58 minutes; 1986
    Dir. John Junkerman & John W. Dower
    Looks at the lives and work of two Japanese muralists, Ira and Toshi Maruki, who weave into their art the effects of the bomb dropped at Hiroshima on their lives and the lives of the Japanese people as a whole.

  • Hinomaru to kimigayo
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD; 2004

  • Hiroshima mon amour
    Media Collection PN1997 .H511 1986
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 90 minutes; 1959
    Dir. Alain Resnais
    In French with English subtitles.
    A provoking movie about a French movie actress and a Japanese architect whose sensual love affair in 1950 Hiroshima brings about strange memories of the past and thoughts of the future.

  • Hiroshima no pika
    Reserve Book Service, Desk D767.25.H6 H57 2005 [1-day Loan]
    DVD, NTSC. 1 videodisc (ca. 83 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    In English and Japanese with English subtitles or dubbing; Hiroshim no pika credits are in Japanese and English
    "Hiroshima no pika is an animated film based on the award-winning children’s book by the Japanese artist Toshi Maruki. Through Maruki’s heart-rending but beautiful water color illustrations, the film tells the story of a young girl and her family who live through the horrific bombing of Hiroshima"--Container
    "Hellfire : a journey from Hiroshima captures the artists Iri and Toshi Maruki in their decades-long collaboration to create a monumental testament to the effects of the atomic bomb--the Hiroshima murals, which have been viewed by over 100 million people around the world. With engaging interviews and extended sequences of the Marukis at work, Hellfire reveals a message of hope in our nuclear age, and is a reminder of the power of art to render visible and meaningful what still seems unimaginable"--Container

  • Hoshina Gomusai: kimi hito no ko o sokonau koto nakare = 保科五無斉: 君, 人の子を賊うことなかれ
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.13
    Biography; 1 VHS, 39 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Hirasawa Nobuyasu

  • Hotaru no haka Grave of the fireflies
    Media Collection PN1997 .H71122 2002 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD. 2 videodiscs (88 min. ; 71 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    Includes English dubbed and Japanese versions and English subtitles
    Two orphans in war-time Kobe, Japan, face fire-bombs, hunger, homelessness, and despair as the war and their lives come to an end


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    I


  • Ikimono no kiroku = 生きもの　の　記錄
    Media Collection PN1997 .I418 2000
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 103 minutes; 1955
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    An elderly and wealthy industrialist is driven to madness over fears of a nuclear attack. In a futile attempt to save his family he pressures them to leave Japan and move to the rainforest in Brazil where he believes they will be safe. His family, complacent and cynical, is outraged and move to have him declared insane.

  • Ikiru = 生きる = To live
    Media Collection PN1997 .I42 1985
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 134 minutes; 1952
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A drama about the last days of a minor government worker who learns he is soon to die of cancer.

  • Imanishi Kinji: shizen kagaku kara shizengaku e = 今西錦司 : 自然科学から自然学へ
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.20
    Biography/Documentary; 1 VHS, 49 minutes; 2000
    Dir. Matsukawa Yasuo

  • Inside Japan, Inc
    Media Collection HF3828.U5 I67 1992 [Limited 7-day]
    VHS. 1 videocassette (VHS) (60 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in
    Summary: Development of a close and successful relationship between government and industry in Japan since World War II is shown with the U.S. reaction
  • The immigrant experience, 1900-1940
    Media Collection JV6455 .I527 2000
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 29 minutes; 1999
    The promise of material abundance and freedom drove millions of people from Europe and Asia to America in the early 20th century. The program tells the story of the transformation of America into a multicultural nation and also looks at the movement of African Americans to northern cities as well as incidents of racism, including the Japanese internment during World War II.

  • Inō Tadataka: rashin no saki ni mita Nihon = 伊能忠敬 : 羅針の先に見た日本
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.7
    Biography; 1 VHS, 35 minutes; 1998
    Dir. Watanabe Ichirō

  • In the name of the emperor
    Media Collection DS796.N2 I53 1996
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 52 minutes; 1996
    Dir. Nancy Tong
    In Chinese, English, Japanese and Italian with English subtitles.
    Summary: Development of a close and successful relationship between government and industry in Japan since World War II is shown with the U.S. reaction.
    The film is a matter-of-fact account of the Nanking Massacre that integrates diary entries, actual film footage of the massacre shot by an American missionary, Rev. John Magee, interviews with Japanese scholars and former soldiers who recalled in detail how they savagely killed and raped Chinese civilians, and the related story of the comfort women.

  • In the realm of the senses = Ai no korīda = Dans l’empire de sens
    Media Collection PN1997 .E6257 1991
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 104 minutes; 1976
    Dir. Ōshima Nagisa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Based on one of Japan’s most notorious scandals, this is the story of an ex-prostitute who becomes involved in an all consuming love affair with the master of the household where she is employed as a servant.


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    J


  • Japan memoirs of a secret empire
    Media Collection DS871 .J37 2004 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD. 1 videodisc (160 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    An historical documentary of Japan between the 16th and 19th centuries, from the "Warlord Period" to the end of its isolation from the West in the 19th century. Looks at the cultural and military aspects of Japanese society -- the rule of the Shogun, traditions of Samurai and geisha, the effect of exposure to Western culture

  • Japanese dance: succession of a kyomai master
    Media Collection GV1696.K94 J37 2001
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 53 minutes; 2001
    Dir. Nobuyuki Oka
    "With a gracefulness equal to its subject, this intriguing program goes behind the scenes to film for the first time the private world of kyomai, Kyoto-style dance. The efforts of the 95-year-old reigning master, Inoue Yachiyo IV, to prepare her 43-year-old granddaughter to become her successor are deftly captured amidst footage of training sessions and performances; rare film clips of Yachiyo IV and her predecessor, Yachiyo III, on stage; background on the history of kyomai; and insights into the education of geisha, chief practitioners of this centuries-old form of Japanese dance"--Container.

  • Japanese history and literature
    Media Collection DS835 .J395 1996
    Documentary; 3 VHS, 160 minutes; 1996
    This three-program series provides an overview of a fascinating time in Japanese history, covering the years 552 to 1868. For each period, key historical themes are integrated with notable works of literature of the time.

  • Japanese style papermaking
    Special Coll., Printers Collection TS1130 .J374 1994
    Arts Library, Music Service Desk TS1130 .J374 1994
    Instructional; 3 VHS, 143 minutes; 1994
    Dir. Scott Drake

  • Japan past and present
    Media Collection DS835 .J387 1989
    Documentary; 5 VHS, 53 minutes each; 1989
    Dir. Jean Antoine
    A five part series that explores Japan’s history and civilization from the 7th century to the present.

  • Japan reaches for the 21st century
    Media Collection HN723.5 .J3 1986
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 58 minutes; 1986
    Dir. Philip S. Goodman
    Tells how Japan is coping with automation, an exploding population of elderly, restless youth, changing roles for women, and frustrated foreign competitors, as they prepare for world leadership in the 21st century.

  • Japan surrenders
    Internet Resource [Online]
    On line

  • Japanese go to polls in first free election
    Internet Resource [Online]
    on line

  • Japanese routed from Buna stronghold
    Internet Resource [Online]
    on line

  • Jigokumon = Gate of hell
    Media Collection PN1997 .J4485 1992
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 86 minutes; 1953
    Dir. Kinugasa Teinosuke
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    The story of a samurai who accidentally murders the woman he loves and becomes a monk to expiate his offense. Based on a real crime committed in Japan in 1159.


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    K


  • Kabuki techniques
    Media Collection PN2924.5.K3 K23695 1995
    TV Series/Documentary; 1 VHS, 27 minutes; 1969
    "Two of the greatest stars of Japan’s kabuki theater reveal what has only rarely been seen, the actual acting techniques used in the most difficult and splendid of theater forms. Onoe Shoroku II and Onoe Baiko VII discuss and demonstrate their craft in conversation with the well-known author of works on Asian arts, Faubion Bowers"--Container.

  • Kagamijishi = 鏡獅子
    Media Collection PN2924.5.K3 K34 2004
    Performance; 1 DVD, 89 minutes; 2004
    In Japanese with English and Japanese commentary.
    "[Lion Dances] features a young castle maid who is ordered to perform with a wooden lion head that she holds in one hand" -- Container.

  • Kagemusha
    Media Collection PN1997 .K3214 1993
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 160 minutes; 1980
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    An epic film of feudal conflict in 16th century Japan. The kagemusha is a petty criminal forced into becoming the successor of a powerful warlord.

  • Kakushi toride no san akunin = The hidden fortress
    Media Collection PN1997 .K3267 1993
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 139 minutes; 1958
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A princess must escape across enemy lines with the royal treasure, guarded only by a loyal general and two greedy peasants.

  • Karayuki-san : the making of a prostitute
    Media Collection HQ242.6.A5 K3 1987
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 70 minutes; 1975
    Dir. Shohei Imamura
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    "Karayuki-san" are Japanese women abducted from their homeland and forced to labor in the brothels of the Malay peninsula. Through talks with these unfortunates, now aged and impecunious, director Imamura came to understand not only their plight but also the cause of it.

  • Kazoku gēmu = The family game
    Media Collection PN1997 .K389 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 107 minutes; 1983
    Dir. Morita Yoshimitsu
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A film that pokes fun at contemporary Japanese ideals, portraying a middle-class family as it battles against the Japanese educational system.

  • Kitchin=キッチン
    [ON ORDER]Media Collection
    DVD. 1 videodisc (117 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    A girl, who loves kitchens, lost her parents and grandma. She goes to live with a queer young man who lives with his mother in a curious way

  • Kodō: heartbeat drummers of Japan
    Arts Library, Music Service Desk M146 .K63 1991
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 58 minutes; 1983
    Dir. Jacques Holender

  • Kon-na yume o mita = こんな　夢　ぉ　みた = Akira Kurosawa’s dreams
    Media Collection PN1997 .A3165 1991
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 120 minutes; 1990
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese and some English with English subtitles.
    Explores the costs of war, the perils of nuclear power and especially humankind’s need to harmonize with nature.

  • Kuari
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD; 2004

  • Kumonosu-jo = 蜘蛛巢城 = Throne of blood
    Media Collection PN1997 .K86 1991
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 105 minutes; 1957
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, set in feudal Japan. Tells the story of a Samurai lord who kills his master and usurps his power in fulfillment of a witch’s prophecy.

  • Kyōkanoko musume Dōjōji = 京鹿子娘道成寺
    Media Collection PN2924.5.K3 K96 2003
    Performance; 1 DVD, 70 minutes; 2003
    In Japanese with English commentary and Japanese commentary and subtitles.
    "The Kabuki dance, first performed in Edo in 1754 by one of Kabuki’s legendary onnagata, female role specialist, Nakamura Tomijuro I"--Container.


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  • Lady from Chungking
    Media Collection PN1997 .L14 2005
    Feature Film; 1 DVD, 69 minutes; 1943
    Dir. William Nigh
    "At the height of World War II, Kwan Mei, a beautiful Chinese aristocrat, is forced to work in the rice paddies as a slave. She and the rest of her village are subject to the brutal whims of their Japanese captors, whose sadism is matched only by their greed. When the Japanese general is bewitched by Kwan Mei’s beauty, she sees her chance for vengeance. Endangering her life and inviting the mistrust of her comrades, Kwan Mei becomes the general’s lover in hopes of gathering information that will help the struggle against their masters. On the eve of a massive Japanese invasion, Kwan Mei risks everything on a bloody insurrection that will protect her country from the invading horde"--Container.

  • Living on Tokyo time
    Media Collection PN1995.9.C55 L58 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 85 minutes; 1987
    Dir. Steven Okazaki
    A rock guitarist with no talent feels little connection to his Japanese heritage until he marries a Japanese girl who wants to stay in America but maintain a Sushi attitude.

  • The long search
    Volume 9
    Media Collection BL80.2 .L664 1980z
    TV Series; 13 VHS, 52 minutes each; 1977
    Prod. Peter Montagnon
    Tells about various religions of the world by showing actual practicing congregations in worship services.

  • Looking like the enemy
    Media Collection UB418.A85 L66 1990z
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 52 minutes; 199-?
    Dir. Robert A. Nakamura
    American soldiers of Asian descent who fought in World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars share their personal experiences with prejudice and discrimination in the military.


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  • Madadayo
    Media Collection on Order
    Feature Film; 1 DVD, 154 minutes; 1992
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Set in postwar Japan, the film follows the last two decades in the life of Hyakken Uchida, a free spirited writer and teacher, highlighted by his relationship with his students who venerate him in his old age.

  • The Makioka sisters
    Media Collection PN1997 .M525 1983
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 140 minutes; 1983
    Dir. Kon Ichikawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Four daughters of an old merchant family unknowingly face the end of a gentler way of life in Osaka, Japan in 1938.

  • Marines raise flag over Iwo Jima
    Internet Resource [Online]
    on line

  • The Meiji revolution
    Media Collection DS882 .M44 1992
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 60 minutes; 1992
    Dir. Alex Gibney
    Japan’s history and the influence of its economic development are shown.

  • The men who made Meiji architecture: Josiah Conder and his four apprentices
    Arts Library NA1555 .M46 1999
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 54 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Junsei Tanabe
    Tells the story of Josiah Conder, an English architect, who went to Japan in 1877 and at the age of 25 assumed the professorship of the architectural course at the Imperial College of Engineering. There he taught Kingo Tatsuno (1854-1919), Tōkuma Katayama (1853-1917), Tatsuzō Sone (1852-1937), and Shichijirō Satachi (1856-1922).

  • Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
    Media Collection PN1997 .M43578 1999
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 124 minutes; 1982
    Dir. Nagisa Oshima
    In English and Japanese with English subtitles.
    World War II drama. British army officers Jack Celliers and John Lawrence engage in a battle of wills with Japanese officers in a Japanese P.O.W. camp in Java.

  • Minakata Kumagusu: suiten wa mieta ka ... = 南方熊楠  : 萃点は見えたか ...
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.1
    Biography; 1 VHS, 38 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Tanigawa Ken’ichi

  • Mission in Manila: the Sakakida story
    Media Collection D753.8 .M58 1994
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 28 minutes; 1994
    Dir. Paul Hara
    Richard Sakakida relates his experience as a Japanese American intelligence agent sent on a mission to Manila during World War II. On April 17, 1941 he was sent to the Philipines to conduct surveillance of Japanese military agents sent from Japan to act as sleepers.

  • Miyamoto Tsuneichi: minshū no chie o tazunete = 宮本常一 : 民衆の智恵を訪ねて
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.15
    Biography; 1 VHS, 47 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Tamura Zenjirō

  • Miyatake Gaikotsu : ware Meiji o shūshūseiri = 宮武外骨 : われ, 明治を蒐集せり
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.5
    Biography; 1 VHS, 40 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Kida Jun’ichirō

  • Mori Senzō: Chi wa shisei ni ari = 森銑三 : 知わ市井に在り
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.8
    Biography; 1 VHS, 42 minutes; 1998
    Dir. Kida Jun’ichirō

  • Muhōmatsu no isshō = Muhomatsu, the rikisha-man
    Media Collection PN1997 .M798 1986
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 105 minutes; 1958
    Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A simple rikisha man falls in love with the beautiful mother of a young boy he has befriended, but knows he can never have her because of their class differences.

  • The Music of bunraku
    Media Collection PN1978.J3 M8 1991
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 29 minutes; 1991
    Dir. Eugene Enrico & David Smeal
    William P. Malm discusses the music and performance styles of bunraku, Japanese puppet theater; and Sidney D. Brown describes its social-cultural roots. Members of the National Bunraku Theater in Osaka, Japan, demonstrate the various styles while performing of selections from the puppet-play Ise ondo koi no netaba, The massacre at a geisha house in Ise.

  • Music of Noh drama
    Media Collection PN2924.5.N6 M87 1997
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 30 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Eugene Enrico
    "Artists from the Noh troupe led by Kinzo Komparu demonstrate the styles and forms of Noh music. [The program] explains the variety of musical traditions in Noh, the use of musical instruments, and the relationships between music, drama, and dance. [The program also] surveys the rich historic tradition of Noh and explains the connections to Buddhism and Shinto"--Container.

  • My neighbor Totoro
    Media Collection PN1997 .T598 2006 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD, widescreen (1.85:1), region 1; Dolby digital 2.0 stereo
    In Japanese, dubbed English or dubbed French; with optional English subtitles
    Closed-captioned
    Deep inside a tree trunk, two children discover a fascinating new world inhabited by Totoros, amazing, charming creatures who become their friends


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  • Nagauta: the heart of Kabuki music
    Arts Library, Music Service Desk ML340 .N25 1999
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 30 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Eugene Enrico & David Smeal
    In Japanese with English narration and subtitles.
    Outlines the history of kabuki theater and the lyrical style of nagauta. Discusses and presents the comic kyogen "Sue Hirogari" by Kineya Rokuzaemon X performed by students of the National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo, under Prof. Ajimi Tooru. Demonstrates the expressive variety of vocal and instrumental styles in nagauta.

  • Naitō Konan: mori fukaku ni ni aratanari = 內藤湖南  : 森深く日に新たなり
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.6
    Biography; 1 VHS, 44 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Okumura Ikuzō

  • Najŭn moksori 1=낮은목소리 1
    Media Collection D810.C698 N35 2005 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD, all region, NTSC; 4:3 screen format, Dolby digital
    In Korean dialogue with optional subtitles in Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, and Spanish
    "A documentary about the past and present experiences of a group of "comfort women" who during World War II were abducted and forced into sexual servitude for the Japanese army. In the course of making this documentary, director Byun Young-joo gradually becomes close to the now-elderly women who meet every week to protest in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul."--Container

  • Najŭn moksori 2=낮은목소리 2
    Media Collection D810.C698 N352 2005 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD. 1 videodisc (61 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    In Korean with optional subtitles in Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish

  • Naniwa erejī = 浪華　悲歌 = Osaka elegy
    Media Collection PN1997 .N327 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 71 minutes; 1936
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    "With graceful images, Kenji Mizoguchi tells the haunting tale of a young telephone operator who consents to become her boss’ mistress in order to support her family."--Container.

  • Nanjing da tu sha = 南京大屠殺 = Nanking 1937 
    Media Collection on Order
    Feature Film; 2 VCD, 118 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Wu Ziniu
    In Mandarin and Japanese with Chinese and English subtitles.
    Features Nanking Massacre.

  • Nawa Yasushi: bara no hitokabu konchū sekai = 名和靖 : 薔薇之壹株昆虫世界
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.18
    Biography; 1 VHS, 45 minutes; 2000
    Dir. Konishi Masayasu
    In Japanese.

  • Nihon no bi, Nihon no kokoro: eizō de tsuzuru dentō geinō to sairei gyōji hyakusen = 日本の美,日本の心 : 映像で綴る伝統芸能と祭礼行事百選
    Media Collection BL2211.R5 N54 1990
    Documentary; 14 VHS, 897 minutes; 1990

  • Niijima Jō: "Ask and ye shall receive" = 新島襄
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.10
    Biography; 1 VHS, 44 minutes; 1998
    Dir. Okita Yukuji

  • Nippon, senso, watashi 2002
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD; 2000

  • Nippon, senso, watashi 2003
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD; 2000

  • Nippon war myself
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD; 2000

  • Nitobe Inazō: Everlasting no-everlasting-yea = 新渡部稻造
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.11
    Biography; 1 VHS, 44 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Satō Masahiro

  • Nobi = Fires on the plain
    Media Collection PL835.O5 N62 1987
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 105 minutes; 1959
    Dir. Kon Ichikawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    In the most powerful of all Japanese anti-war films, acts of cannibalism bring home the terrifying brutality of war. Japanese troops are in retreat in the Philippines. Supplies run out and discipline crumbles.

  • Nora inu = 野良犬 = Stray dog
    Media Collection PN1997 .N536 1998
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 122 minutes; 1949
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Set in Tokyo during the late 1940’s, the film captures the chaos and humiliation that existed in Japan immediately after World War II. When detective Murakami loses his revolver, he must descend into Tokyo’s underworld and face the killer who has taken it.


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  • Oedipus Rex
    Arts Library, Music Service Desk M1500.S7 O3 2005 [In-library Use]
    DVD 9, widescreen letterbox (15:9) (opera), full screen (4:3) presentation (documentary); LPCM stereo., DTS digital 5.1 surround
    1 videodisc (117 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    Sung in Latin, spoken in Japanese; subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Chinese (opera only)

  • Ogata Kōan: unshūsuru hikai tekiteki ni ari = 緖形洪庵  : 雲聚する光適々にあり
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.4
    Biography; 1 VHS, 43 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Umetani Noboru & Shiba Tetsuo

  • Ohayō = お早よう = Good morning
    Media Collection PN1997 .O366 1996
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 93 minutes; 1959
    Dir. Ozu Yasujiro
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Satiric comedy in which two young brothers refuse to talk until their parents agree to buy them a television set. Set in a 1950s residential suburb of Tokyo.

  • Okakura Tenshin: kokū wa hikari ni afure ... = 岡倉天心 : 虛空は光にあふれ ...
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.2
    Biography; 1 VHS, 37 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Kumakura Isao

  • One step on a journey: Tadashi Suzuki in Australia
    Media Collection PN2928.S89 O54 1993
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 50 minutes; 1993
    Dir. Tony Chapman & Ziyin Wang
    In English and Japanese with English subtitles.
    Presents Tadashi Suzuki’s teaching method, a series of exercises that serve to focus the energy of the actor to restore the wholeness of the human body in the theater.

  • On to eizō ni yoru Nihon koten geinō taikei = 音と映像による日本古典芸能大系
    Media Collection M1812 .N54 1992
    Arts Library, Music Service Desk M1812 .N54 1992
    Documentary/Performance; 25 VHS; 1991
    Dir. Kishibe Shigeo
    Examples of classical Japanese entertainment forms with background history (Bekkan 1-2), general remarks ([Bk. 1]), and commentary ([Bk. 2]).

  • Onna ga kaidan o agaru toki=女が階段を上る時
    Media Collection PN1997 .O467 2007 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD, NTSC, region 1; enhanced for 16:9 widescreen TVs (2.35:1 aspect ratio); Dolby Digital mono, Dolby Digital 3.0 stereo
    1 videodisc (111 min.) : sd., b&w ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet (36 p. : ill. ; 19 cm.)
    In Japanese with optional English subtitles
    A young widow with family obligations, Keiko is the madam of an upstairs bar in the exclusive Ginza district of Tokyo in 1960. As she approaches 30, she realizes that her life is at a crossroads: she must either go into business and open her own bar or marry

  • Onoe Baiko the seventh as The salt-gatherer
    Reserve Book Service, Media Shelf PN2924.5.K3 O56 1997 [2-hour Loan]
    VHS. 1 videocassette (29 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in
    Chiefly English, with some Japanese with English translation
    Tribute to the Kabuki actor Onoe Baikō VII upon his being named one of Japan’s Living National Treasures. Baikō, a noted onnagata (female impersonator) is seen in footage filmed in 1969 during the Grand Kabuki’s U.S. tour, playing the role of the courtesan Agemaki in the play Sukeroku, first in costume onstage, then in street clothes in the television studio. In a series of still photographs, he is seen coaching his eldest son Kikunosuke in the role of Sagami, General Kumagai’s wife. The final segment of the program shows Baikō in the role of a woman abandoned by her lover, filmed onstage in the 1960s in an extended excerpt from The salt gatherer, an 18th-century Kabuki play based on a 14th-century Nō drama

  • Origuchi Shinobu: ningen o fukaku aisuru kami arite
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.17
    Biography; 1 VHS, 46 minutes; 2000
    Dir. Okano Hirohiko

  • Osaka story: a documentary
    Media Collection HQ681 .O584 1994
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 75 minutes; 1994
    Dir. Toichi Nakata
    In Japanese with English narration and subtitles.
    An autobiograhpical look at the cultural and generational clashes within Nakata’s Korean-Japanese family.

  • Osōshiki = The funeral: a deadly comedy
    Media Collection PN1997 .O748 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 124 minutes; 1987
    Dir. Itami Jūzō
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A satire about a family’s struggles with the complex rituals of a Buddhist funeral ceremony.

  • Ōya Sōichi: mushisō no shisō = 大宅壮一 : 無思想の思想
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.14
    Biography; 1 VHS, 38 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Kida Jun’ichirō


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  • The Pacific century
    Media Collection HC460.5 .P23 1992
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 60 minutes; 1992
    Dir. Marc Levin
    Outlines the economic struggle between East Asian countries and the United States in the latter twentieth century.

  • Peachboy
    Curriculum Lab, Juvenile Media PZ8.1.M518 Pe 1995b
    Juvenile; 1 VHS, 33 minutes; 1995
    Dir. C.W. Rogers
    Found floating on the river inside a peach by an old couple, Momotaro grows up and fights the terrible demons who have terrorized the village for years. Preceded by "Backstage pass", in which artist Jeffrey Smith discusses the technique he used to create the drawings for the story and techniques of Japanese art.

  • The Polished stones: K-5 math achievement in Japan and Taiwan
    Media Collection QA135.5 .P637 1989
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 35 minutes; 1989
    Dir. John K. Corser
    Filmed in Sendai, Japan and Taipei, Taiwan in 1988, this program presents scenes from typical first- and fifth-grade mathematics classes and interviews with teachers and parents. Investigates the reasons why Chinese and Japanese students lead the world in mathematical skills and compares children’s math achievement in Japan, Taiwan and the United States.

  • Portrait of an Onnagata
    Media Collection PN2924.K3 P678 1995
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 30 minutes; 1995
    Dir. Tineke Hulsbergen
    In English and Japanese with English subtitles.
    Examines the role of the Onnagata in Kabuki theater, the male actor who plays a female role, who exemplifies ideal and ultimate womanhood. Because Kabuki theater is played entirely by men, the role of the Onnagata is very important.


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  • Quiet duel = Shizukanaru Ketto = 静かなる決鬪
    Media Collection PN1997 .S47459 1996
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 95 minutes; 1949
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    During the war, the doctor,Kyoji Fujisaki was infected by syphilis from a patient. Kyoji refrains from physical intimacy with his girlfriend. By chance Kyoji encounters his wartime syphilitic patient at the police station and urges him to receive full treatment, but he refuses.


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  • Rabbit in the moon
    Media Collection D769.8.A6 R33 1999
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 85 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Emiko Omori
    A documentary/memoir about the lingering effects of the World War II internment of the Japanese American community. Visually stunning and emotionally compelling, the film examines issues that ultimately created deep rifts within the Japanese American community, reveals the racist subtext of the loyalty questionnaire and exposes the absurdity of the military draft within the camps. These testimonies are linked by the filmmakers’ own experiences in the camps and placed in a larger historical context by the director.

  • Ran
    Media Collection PN1997 .R23513 1993
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 160 minutes; 1985
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Kurosawa’s brillant rendition of Japanese history, Shakespeare’s plot of "King Lear", and his own personal feelings about loyalty. Set in 16th century Japan, an aging ruler, Lord Hidetora, attempts to peacefully divide his kingdom among his three sons. Instead, they turn against each other and betray their father. Ruthless ambition, plots woven by scheming advisors and Hidetora’s own past savagery combine in a whirlwind of chaos, ultimately driving the old man insane, shattering his kingdom, and destroying his family.


  • Rashōmon = 羅生門
    Media Collection PN1997 .R243 1990
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 83 minutes; 1950
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Four different versions of an incident in which a man is murdered and his wife is raped.

  • Reinventing Japan
    Media Collection DS889 .R45 1992
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 60 minutes; 1992
    Prod. Alex Gibney
    Shows the influence of the U.S. on Japan’s democratization following World War II. Japan’s unique economic development system is also chronicled.

  • Ripples of change
    Media Collection HQ1763 .R56 1993
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 57 minutes; 1993
    Dir. Nanako Kurihara
    In Japanese and English with English subtitles.
    "Director Nanako Kurihara left her homeland in the 1980’s, frustrated by the lack of interesting roles for women in Japan. In New York, she met a Japanese woman who had been involved in the women’s liberation movement in Japan in the 1970’s. Kurihara returned to Japan, bringing together interviews with veterans of the movement, fascinating archival footage and her personal impressions to produce a film which explores the meaning of the liberation movement, the factors that motivated it and the effect it has had on people’s attitudes."--Distributor’s website.


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  • Saikaku ichidaionna = 西鶴　一代女 = Life of Oharu
    Media Collection PN1997 .S247 1996
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 137 minutes; 1952
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.

  • Sanma no aji = 秋刀魚の味 = An autumn afternoon
    Media Collection PN1997 .S1726 1991
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 112 minutes; 1962
    Dir. Ozu Yasujirō
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    "This serenely beautiful film tells the timeless, moving tale of a father giving up his only daughter in marriage."

  • Sanshō dayū = 山椒　大夫 = Sansho the bailiff
    Media Collection PN1997 .S173 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 132 minutes; 1954
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Two children set off with their mother to find their father, a noble banished for protecting farmers. Their guide separates them and sells the children as slaves to Sansho, a tyrant. After years, they escape. The daughter commits suicide; the son becomes a great lord, displaces Sansho, and sets out to find his mother.

  • Seishun zankoku monogatari = 青春　酷　物語 = Cruel story of youth
    Media Collection PN1997 .S3234 1992
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 96 minutes; 1960
    Dir. Ōshima Nagisa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A teenage girl and her criminal boyfriend perform sexual shakedowns on well-to-do middle-aged men.

  • The seven samurai
    Media Collection PN1997 .K8513 1984
    Feature Film; 2 VHS, 197 minutes; 1954
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    For years, a 16th century Japan farm village has been constantly at the mercy of bandits. Anticipating a raid, the community hires professional warriors for protection.

  • Shall we dance
    [ON ORDER]Media Collection PN1995.9.C55 S5355 2005
    DVD, region 1, widescreen (1.85:1, enchanced) presentation; Dolby Digital, dual-layer, digitally mastered, NTSC
    1 videodisc (119 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    Japanese dialogue, English, French or Spanish subtitles; closed-captioned
    A middle-aged workaholic’s incredibly dull life takes a funny turn when he signs up for a ballroom dance class. When he finally muscles up the nerve for the lessons, he winds up with a different instructor than the sexy one that lured him in, and is placed in her colorfully eccentric class of beginners

  • Shiko funjatta=シコふんじゃった
    [ON ORDER]Media Collection PN1997 .S5556 2005
    DVD. 1 videodisc (103 + 28 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    In Japanese with optional Japanese subtitles
    Comedy about a group of students in a sumo club

  • Shin Heike monogatari = The Taira clan saga
    Media Collection PN1997 .S4735 1980
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 100 minutes; 1955
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Set in the 12th century, film recounts the history of a samurai son who cannot endure to be treated as an inferior and is willing to risk all in defense of life’s fundamental values.

  • Shinjuku boys
    Reserve Book Service, Media Shelf HQ77.2.J3 S55 1996
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 53 minutes; 1996
    Dir. Kim Longinotto & Jano Williams
    In Japanese with English commentary and subtitles.
    A documentary about three onnabes who work as hosts at the New Marilyn Club in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; the club is patronized almost exclusively by heterosexual women. Onnabes are women who live as men and have girlfriends, although they don’t usually identify themselves as lesbians. Follows them at home and at their jobs, where all three discuss their lives, and views about women, sex, transvestitism, and lesbianism.

  • Shinjū ten no Amijima=心中天網島
    Media Collection PN1997 .S4737 2000 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD, NTSC, region 1; 1.33:1 aspect ratio; Dolby digital mono
    1 videodisc (104 min.) : sd., b&w ; 4 3/4 in
    In Japanese with optional English subtitles
    In this stylized dramatization of a bunraku puppet theater play, Jihei, a paper merchant, abandons business, family and self-respect for a passionate love affair with a geisha whose freedom he cannot afford. As the world closes in upon him, he finds his only course of action to be death together with the lover he is unable to obtain in life

  • Shinto festival music
    Arts Library, Music Service Desk ML340.S55 1993
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 30 minutes; 1993
    Dir. Eugene Enrico & David Smeal
    An overview of the Shinto religion via festivals at three Tokyo shrines. Highlighted are the roles of the various instruments used, and the music accompanying the attendant rituals, in its local setting.

  • Shiro Toyoda’s Snow country = Yukiguni
    Media Collection PN1997 .S6171 1992
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 134 minutes; 1957
    Dir. Shiro Toyoda
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    An artist travels to the snow country to rediscover himself. While there he becomes involved in an ill-conceived love affair.

  • Silence broken: Korean comfort women
    Media Collection D810.C698 S585 2000
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 57 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Dai Sil Kim-Gibson
    In Korean, Japanese and English with English subtitles.
    A documentary on Korean comfort women who were forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

  • The stonecutter
    Curriculum Lab, Juvenile Media PZ8.1 .S863 1980z
    Juvenile/Animated; 1 VHS, 6 minutes; 198-?
    Retells a Japanese folktale asserting that not even the mightiest mountain is immune to a determined stonecutter. Animated.

  • Strawberry fields
    Media Collection PN1997 .S7766 2000
    Feature Film; 1 DVD, 86 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Rea Tajiri
    Tells the story of 16-year-old Japanese American Irene Kawai, whose rebellion explodes in the wake of the death of her younger sister. After a clash with her mother, Irene flees her home and meets up with ghost of her sister who leads her to the desert where she makes some important discoveries about her family’s past in the internment camps during World War II.

  • Sugata Sanshirō = 姿三四郎 = The Judo saga
    Media Collection PN1997 .S828 1996
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 79 minutes; 1943
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Story of a handsome, bumptious young man who wishes to learn judo as a path to philosophical knowledge, rather than a mere set of self-defense techniques.

  • Sukiyaki and chips: the Japanese sounds of music
    Arts Library, Music Service Desk ML340.S85 1994
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 60 minutes; 1994
    Dir. Jeremy Marre
    "Sukiyaki and Chips is a giddy kaleidoscope of the Japanese music scene." It deals with all of the influences on the country’s music, from the traditional to the music of the teenybopper.

  • Suna no onna = 砂　の　女 = Woman in the dunes
    Media Collection PN1997 .S8328 1998
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 127 minutes; 1964
    Dir. Teshigahara Hiroshi
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    An entomologist is tricked by villagers into spending the night in a shack in a sandpit with a widow whose task is endlessly to haul away sand. He finds he cannot escape and gradually accepts his fate.

  • Suwarōteiru=スワロウテイル
    Media Collection PN1997 .S887 2000 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD; encoded for region 3
    2 videodiscs (148 min. ; 60 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in
    In Japanese, with Japanese and English subtitles
    After a young girl’s mother dies, she is cared for by Griko, a hooker, who gives the girl the name "Ageha" (Butterfly). Griko and her buddies are all "Yentowns" immigrants who’ve come to Japan looking for fortune and fame. They live in a shantytown on the outskirts of Tokyo. Ageha transforms from a shy girl into a well-rounded woman through trials


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    T


  • Takamure Itsue: fudan no shuppatsu = 高群逸枝  : 不断の出発
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.19
    Biography; 1 VHS, 45 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Kano Masanao
    In Japanese.

  • Talking history
    Media Collection E184.O6 T356 1984
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 30 minutes; 1984
    Dir. Spencer Nakasako
    In Chinese, Japanese and English with English subtitles.
    A film that combines oral histories and historical footage of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Laotian women, featuring their unique immigration stories.

  • Tengoku to jigoku = 天国　と　地獄 = High and low
    Media Collection PN1997 .T3956 1998
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 143 minutes; 1963
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    A complex crime thriller in which a wealthy shoe manufacturer’s chauffeur’s son is kidnapped in mistake for his own, and he faces a moral dilemma -- should he pay the ransom anyway and risk losing his position?

  • Tokyo girls
    Media Collection HD6197 .T6455 2000
    Reserve Book Service, Media Shelf HD6197 .T6455 2000
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 58 minutes; 2000
    Dir. Penelope Buitenhuis
    In English and some French with English subtitles.

  • Tōkyō monogatari = 東京物語 = Tokyo story
    Media Collection PN1997 .T595 1989
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 134 minutes; 1953
    Dir. Ozu Yasujirō
    In Japanese with English subtitles.

  • Tokyo pop
    Media Collection PN1997 .T59175 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 99 minutes; 1988
    Dir. Fran Rubel Kuzui
    In English and some Japanese with English subtitles.
    This program explores the phenomenon of attractive women from the West who work as nightclub hostesses in Japan. A cheaper version of the geisha, a hostess is hired to talk and flirt with her customers. Although she is well paid, sex is usually not part of the transaction. The film traces the stories of several Canadian women.

  • Tora no o o fumu otokotachi = 虎　の　尾　を　踏む　男逹 = Men who step on the tiger’s tail
    Media Collection PN1997 .T63 1990
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 60 minutes; 1953
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    An elderly couple visit their grown-up children in Tokyo, but find themselves a burden to the family. They return home, and the mother dies, leaving the father to face the future alone.

  • Torii Ryūzō: fīrudo ni kaketa shōgai = 鳥居龍蔵  : フィ一ルドに賭けた生涯
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.16
    Biography; 1 VHS, 45 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Akazawa Takeru

  • The tradition of performing arts in Japan: the heart of Kabuki, Noh and Bunraku
    Media Collection PN2921 .T733 1989
    Documentary/Performance; 1 VHS, 38 minutes; 1989
    Dir. Hajime Funatsu
    With English subtitles and narration.
    Presents a variety of traditional Japanese theater, including seldom-seen backstage preparations and performances by some of Japan’s most illustrious performers.

  • Tsunoda Ryūsaku: Amerika ni okeru Nihongaku no so = 角田柳作  : アメリカにおける日本学の祖
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.3
    Biography; 1 VHS, 39 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Satō Yoshimaru


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    U


  • Ugetsu monogatari = 雨月　物語
    Media Collection PN1997 .U37 1990
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 94 minutes; 1954
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    "[The motion picture is based] on two stories from Ueda Akinari’s Ugetsu monogatari and a short story by Guy de Maupassant, ’La Décoration’. Set in 16-century Japan [during the Warring States period, 1467-1568], Ugetsu monogatari tells of two brothers-in-law, Genjuro and Tobei, who set out for Kyoto to take advantage of the unsettled conditions in the war-torn capital. ... Genjuro, formerly a potter, returned to his now-ruined home to find the spirit of his wife, killed by soldiers. Tobei, once a farmer, discovered his wife in a brothel."--Japan, an illustrated encyclopedia.

  • Ukigusa = 浮草 = Floating weeds
    Media Collection PN1997 .U42 1988
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 119 minutes; 1959
    Dir. Ozu Yasujirō
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    An aged actor with a hidden past returns with his Kabuki theatre company to a small Japanese town. There his secret is uncovered and his troupe disbands due to lack of funds, but the actor finds the strength to continue living.


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    V


  • Visas and virtue
    Media Collection D804.66.S84 V58 1997
    Short Film; 1 DVD, 26 minutes; 1997
    Dir. Chris Tashima
    Adapted from a fact-based play, Consul General Chiune Sugihara defies his own government and risks his career by issuing life-saving transit visas to Jewish refugees outside the Japanese Embassy in Lithuania in 1940.


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    W


  • Waga seishun ni kuinashi=わが　靑春　に　悔なし
    [Missing]Media Collection PN1997 .W246 1999
    VHS. 1 videocassette (111 min.) : sd., b&w ; 1/2 in
    In Japanese with English subtitles
    A drama of self-discovery set against the backdrop of prewar Japanese society. An idealistic young woman marries one of her father’s students, a leftist activist who publishes illegal antiwar pamphlets. After his arrest and execution, she takes his ashes to the farming village of his parents. There she finds a new sense of strength and independence, working the land and helping the community

  • Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru=悪い奴ほどよく眠る
    Media Collection PN1997 .W34 2006 [Limited 7-day]
    DVD, NTSC, region 1, widescreen (2.35:1) presentation; Dolby Digital mono, NTSC
    1 videodisc (ca. 150 min.) : sd., b&w ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 booklet ([14] p. ; 18 cm.)
    Japanese dialogue, with optional English subtitles
    A young executive hunts down his father’s killer. A tale about corruption in the boardrooms of postwar corporate Japan as seen through the rising executive eyes

  • When Mrs. Hegarty comes to Japan
    Media Collection DS822.5 .W455 1992
    Documentary; 1 VHS, 58 minutes; 1992
    Dir. Noriko Sekiguchi
    In Japanese and English with English subtitles.
    When filmmaker Noriko Sekiguchi attended school in Australia she was befriended by "second parents" Jack and Joyce Hegarty. In this program Joyce Hegarty visits Japan, and is hosted by Noriko’s family. Viewers will see an examination of cross cultural existence and exchange during the three week visit.

  • The world at war
    Media Collection D743 .W635 1990z
    TV Series; 9 VHS, 156 minutes each; 1973
    Prod. Jeremy Isaacs
    Examines the events of World War II using documentary footage, photographs, and reminiscences of individuals involved in the conflict.

  • World peace now
    Media Collection on Order
    1 DVD, 2000

  • World War II
    Curriculum Lab, Juvenile Media D743 .W675 1984
    Documentary/Juvenile; 1 VHS, 80 minutes; 1972
    Covers the highlights of World War II from the rise of Hitler to the surrender of Japan. Includes the personalities, battles, politics, and treaties.

  • Writers & revolutionaries
    Media Collection DS735 .W75 1992
    Documentary; 1 VHs, 60 minutes; 1992
    Prod. Alix Gibney & Steven Talley
    Shows influence of intellectuals in China and Japan on the emergence of their societies from domination by poverty, despots and the West.


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    Y


  • Yanagi Muneyoshi: bishi ichinyo
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.12
    Biography; 1 VHS, 42 minutes; 1999
    Dir. Mizuo Hiroshi

  • Yanagita Kunio: minzoku no kokoro o saguru tabi = 柳田国男 : 民族の心を探る旅
    Media Collection DS834 .G35 1997 v.9
    Biography; 1 VHS, 42 minutes;1998
    Dir. Okumura Ikuzō

  • Yoidore Tenshi = 醉いどれ　天使 = Drunken angel
    Media Collection PN1997 .Y518 2000
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 98 minutes; 1948
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    The story of a physician who tries to be a healer in a world of hoodlums.


  • Yojimbo = the bodyguard
    Media Collection PN1997 .Y5184 1987
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 110 minutes; 1961
    Dir. Akira Kurosawa
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    Two warring clans vying for power bid for the services of a wandering samurai-for-hire. He becomes embroiled in the dispute and orchestrates the town’s self-destruction. A humorous parody of a classic western.


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  • Zangiku monogatari = 菊　物語 = The story of the last chrysanthemum
    Media Collection PN1997 .Z3434 1997
    Feature Film; 1 VHS, 115 minutes; 1938
    Dir. Mizoguchi Kenji
    In Japanese with English subtitles.
    "When Kikunosuke, a mediocre actor from a famous kabuki family, falls in love with a maid, he is cast out. The faithful Otoku supports her husband as he struggles to perfect his art. In the end, she is quite ill, yet willing to leave her husband so that he may take his rightful place at the head of the Kabuki community."--Videocassette container.

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    Last update Oct 17 2007.