Japan Academy Film Prize Main Category Winners
From the most prominent award categories:
Best Work
Best Animation
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Numerous other categories are awarded but not listed here (i.e. Newcomer of the Year, Lighting Direction, Popularity Award).
Best Work
Best Animation
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Numerous other categories are awarded but not listed here (i.e. Newcomer of the Year, Lighting Direction, Popularity Award).
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204 titles
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKen TakakuraChieko BaishôKaori MomoiThree complete strangers embark on a road-trip to Hokkaido.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKiyoshi AtsumiChieko BaishôSachiko MitsumotoTora-San, an itinerant peddler who is thrown out of his father's house twenty years before but reconnects with his aunt, uncle and sister Sakura. Tora wreaks some havoc in their lives, like getting drunk and silly at a marriage meeting.
- DirectorShirô MoritaniStarsShôgo ShimadaKen TakakuraHideji ÔtakiTwo infantry regiments of the Imperial Japanese Army tackled Mount Hakkoda in the winter of 1902 to prepare for war with Russia.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsShima IwashitaYoshio HaradaTomoko NaraokaA blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed while she tours the country, even though the modern world imposes changes on people's behavior.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsKeiko MatsuzakaShinobu ÔtakeToshiyuki NagashimaThe body of Sakai Hatsuko, a woman of 23 who has been slain with a knife, has been found in a forest. Some days later, Ueda Hiroshi, a 19-year-old shipyard worker, is arrested and charged with the murder. At Ueda's trial, a complex story unfolds. "The Incident" is a study in unrestrained passion and jealousy.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsShima IwashitaKen OgataHiroki IwaseAfter a married man stops providing for his mistress, she abandons their three young children with him and his wrathful wife.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsKen OgataRentarô MikuniChôchô MiyakoChronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsTomisaburô WakayamaHideko TakamineKen TanakaA man whose son has been murdered pushes to create laws to financially protect victims' families.
- DirectorYôichi MaedaStarsKaori MomoiTsunehiko WataseKanjûrô ArashiSayoko is desperate to have a child, but her boyfriend Shinsaku is horrified. One day, a six-year-old boy is left outside the door claiming Shinsaku to be its father.
- DirectorYôichi HigashiStarsKaori MomoiEiji OkudaLeo MorimotoA wistful slice-of-life drama about a college student's attempts to manage her relations with two men.
- DirectorKazuhiko HasegawaStarsBunta SugawaraKenji SawadaKimiko IkegamiA high school science teacher builds an atomic bomb and uses it to extort the nation, but cannot decide what he wants. Meanwhile, a determined cop is catching up to him, as is radiation poisoning.
- DirectorYoshitarô NomuraStarsShin SaburiNobuko OtowaMayumi OgawaA young Japanese-American man arrives at his grandmother's old hometown in Yamaguchi, begins to stay at her family's elite but dysfunctional household, and gets entangled in a sinister plot of murder.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsYoshio HaradaNaoko ÔtaniKisako MakishiA surreal period film following an university professor and his eerie nomad friend as they go through loose romantic triangles and face death in peculiar ways.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKen TakakuraChieko BaishôHidetaka YoshiokaA mysterious stranger appears at door of a farmhouse on a stormy night and asks for shelter.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKiyoshi AtsumiChieko BaishôMasami ShimojôTora receives a letter from Lily, telling him that she is terminally ill. He flies to see her in a Okinawa hospital, and the two get a chance to rekindle their old fling.
- DirectorToshio MasudaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTeruhiko AoiToshirô MifuneThe lives and battles of soldiers leading up to the 1904 siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War.
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsKen TakakuraChieko BaishôAyumi IshidaConstantly put to the test and faced with tragedy wherever he turns, can a man finally find solace and a modicum of love or rest with what is left of his hometown, his family, love or himself?
- DirectorKôhei OguriStarsTakahiro TamuraMariko KagaNobutaka AsaharaIn post-War Japan, a boy from a noodle store-owning family befriends a neighboring boy living in poverty.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuKoreyoshi KuraharaStarsBunta SugawaraKeiko MatsuzakaKôichi SatôThe story of Shinsuke, a young man who lives through a stormy life as a poverty-stricken coal miner.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKiyoshi AtsumiChieko BaishôKeiko MatsuzakaAfter the usual family fight, Tora leaves Shibamata and falls in love with a geisha from Osaka, who is struggling with her own problems. Tora tries to help her.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsYûsaku MatsudaMichiyo YasudaMariko KagaA 1920s playwright meets a beautiful woman who may be the ghost of his patron's deceased wife.
- DirectorYôichi HigashiStarsKeiko TakahashiKatsuo NakamuraMariko KagaYuko is in love with an old poet who happens to be also a married man. She waits patiently for him and only him, yet she is constantly being lust by others.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsKen OgataToshiyuki NishidaYûko TanakaThe famous woodblock artist Hokusai (1760-1849), a widower in need of a steady income, lives with his daughter Oei in the house of his friend Bakin.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsShigeru IzumiyaKaori MomoiMasao KusakariNear the turbulent end of the Edo era, a man returning to Japan after exile in America searches for his wife and becomes swept up in the current of revolution in this incisive period drama from the great Shohei Imamura.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKeiko MatsuzakaMorio KazamaMitsuru HirataA lowly obsequious member of a movie star's entourage agrees to marry his boss's pregnant mistress so he can continue his feckless lifestyle. He then takes up dangerous work as a stunt man to support his new family. Duty and loyalty turn into something deeper.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKeiko MatsuzakaHiroyuki SanadaTsutomu YamazakiA love story between a 29-year-old woman, who has once been a prostitute but is now the mistress of a wealthy jewelry merchant, and a 19-year-old college student.
- DirectorShun'ya ItôStarsKen'ichi HagiwaraRumiko KoyanagiKaori TakahashiHideyuki Mitamura, a student at a private school near Osaka, is kidnapped on his way home from school.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsKen OgataSumiko SakamotoTonpei HidariIn a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman is reaching close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsKen OgataKimiko IkegamiAtsuko AsanoThe loves and tragedies of a geisha in 1933 Japan.
- DirectorShinji SômaiStarsKen OgataMasako NatsumeKôichi SatôA young man tries to overcome the hostility of his girlfriend's father, a tuna fisherman, by getting the older man to teach him the secrets of his dangerous trade.
- DirectorHaruki KadokawaStarsMasao KusakariRebecca HoldenNana KinomiThe story of Kitano Akio competing in the All-Japan Road Race Championship, the International Class A 500cc class.
- DirectorJûzô ItamiStarsTsutomu YamazakiNobuko MiyamotoKin SugaiWhen Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.
- DirectorShûji TerayamaStarsTsutomu YamazakiMayumi OgawaYoshio HaradaA surreal, isolated village sees its inhabitants gradually leave behind their mutual traditions and superstitions as they leave for the city. Among them are two cousins who love each other and who get into a quarrel with other villagers.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsSayuri YoshinagaKôji IshizakaReiko Ôhara
- DirectorMasanobu DemeStarsSayuri YoshinagaToshiyuki NishidaTomokazu MiuraA woman plots her abusive husband's demise with the help of her lover, who only wants her as a prostitute.
- DirectorMakoto WadaStarsHiroyuki SanadaShinobu ÔtakeTakeshi KagaA mahjong neophyte loses everything to game master only to hone his skills, take on all challenges and plan for an ultimate revenge match.
- DirectorMasahisa SadanagaStarsMakoto FujitaKunihiko MitamuraIzumi AyukawaA group of seemingly ordinary merchants is really a band of assassins for hire. When they discover that all the assassins in Edo are being killed they must act quickly to find the culprit.
- DirectorShun'ya ItôStarsYukiyo ToakeMinoru ChiakiTeruhiko SaigôGrandfather Fuyukichi Takano, a former university professor, gets fired from his museum job when he is affected by Alzheimer's disease, but his affliction serves to deepen family ties.
- DirectorShin'ichirô SawaiStarsTomoyo HaradaRyûzô HayashiKunie TanakaA university student Hitomi falls in love with a middle-aged man Okawa, who was the lover of her deceased mother. Hitomi's feelings shift back and forth as she is not sure whether it is true love or just a realization of her mother's romantic dream...
- DirectorShin'ichirô SawaiStarsHiroko YakushimaruYoshiko MitaMasanori SeraYoung college student Shizuka is given the opportunity to act in a stage play with professionals. Shizuka is willing to go to great lengths to master this role of a lifetime, but as the plot unfolds, she realizes that real life events are beginning to parallel events in the play.
- DirectorAzuma MorisakiStarsMitsuko BaishôYoshio HaradaMitsuru HirataBarbara, a dancer, is coming home to Nagoya after a long absence. Upon her return, Barbara faces problems beyond her control.
- DirectorTatsumi KumashiroStarsKen'ichi HagiwaraMitsuko BaishôKeiko TakahashiA drama depicting the conflict between a man that ran to an old lover suffering from advanced leukemia, his wife and child that were left behind, and the friendship that develops between his wife and his former lover.
- DirectorYoshimitsu MoritaStarsYûsaku MatsudaMiwako FujitaniKaoru KobayashiDaisuke (Yusaku Matsuda) is supposed to be out looking for a respectable job and equally respectable wife. He is 30 years old and devotes his attention to music and literature; his family is wealthy and can support his interests. When his friend Hiraoka (Kaoru Kobayashi) returns with his wife Michiyo (Miwako Fujitani), problems arise.
- DirectorKoreyoshi KuraharaStarsKin'ya KitaôjiYûko KotegawaYoshiko MitaNarumi Rokuheita and his wife Noriko spend their lives separated. Soon they start looking for love elsewhere.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKen OgataAyumi IshidaMieko HaradaIn the 50s, the complicated life of a popular writer who must share his life with his family, his numerous mistresses and his work. Adapted from autobiographical story by Kazuo Dan, who published it a few months before his death.
- DirectorSô KuramotoStarsAyumi IshidaTomoko NakajimaTetsuya Watari
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsGô KatôHitoshi UekiReiko ÔharaA lighthouse keeper and his family follow work from town to town, each time making new friends and receiving a visit from his troublesome father.
- DirectorNobuhiko HosakaStarsKiichi NakaiMieko HaradaFurankî SakaiRemake of classic samurai film of 1932.
- DirectorHidenori TagaStarsKaori TakahashiKôji TamakiMieko Harada
- DirectorJûzô ItamiStarsNobuko MiyamotoTsutomu YamazakiMasahiko TsugawaIf tax evasion is an art, wheeler-dealer Hideki Gondo is Rembrandt. And so, a determined taxing woman gets the tough assignment of trying to catch him.
- DirectorTooru DobashiStarsYukiyo ToakeRino KataseHiroaki Murakami
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsYûko NatoriRino KataseJinpachi NezuA young woman is sold into the famous red light district brothel in Yoshiwara by her bankrupt father.
- DirectorJun'ya SatôStarsKôichi SatôToshiyuki NishidaAnna NakagawaIn 1026, students in western China are shanghaied into the forces of crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the length of the Silk Road. One student is Zhao Xingde, who becomes the favorite of his commander, Zhu Wangli. While sacking a fortress, Xingde discovers Tsurpia, princess of the Uighur. He hides her; they fall in love. When he's sent away to study Xixian, he leaves Tsurpia in Zhu's care, but returns to find her engaged to Li. Tragedy follows, and he and Zhu enter a pact to take revenge when Li arrives at Dun-Huang, the region's seat of learning and culture. Against overwhelming odds, they find a surprising way to leave a monument to their life and love.
- DirectorNobuhiko ÔbayashiStarsMorio KazamaKumiko AkiyoshiTsurutarô KataokaA recently divorced writer is reunited with the ghosts of his parents who died when he was a boy. However, every time he sees them he loses more life energy. Now, he must choose between starting a new life or staying forever in the past.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsSayuri YoshinagaHideki NodaTakuzô KawataniBased on the folk tales "Repayment from a crane". One snowy night a beautiful woman named Tsuru (Crane) visits poor peasant Taiju sand says she will become his wife...
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsSayuri YoshinagaKeiko MatsuzakaKen OgataPoet Akiko Yosano is a poor woman with many children, she composes while doing the housework. Her passion flows towards Takeo Arishima, a noted novelist.
- DirectorYoshishige YoshidaStarsYûsaku MatsudaYûko TanakaTatsuo NadakaA retelling of Emily Bronte's tale of vengeance and obsessive love, set in medieval Japan.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsYoshiko TanakaKazuo KitamuraEtsuko IchiharaThe story of the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing, based on Masuji Ibuse's novel.
- DirectorTomio KuriyamaStarsToshiyuki NishidaRentarô MikuniEri IshidaA man liking to fish is not unusual. A man liking to fish a lot if not unusual either. This man is obsessed with fishing, but he does hold down a day job as a salaryman. What next? He gets his company's lonely and bored stiff president hooked - and then the president's wife too. Prepare for hijinks, passion and compassion.
- DirectorKei KumaiStarsEiji OkudaToshirô MifuneKinnosuke NakamuraYears after the death of legendary tea master Rikyu, his disciple Honkakubo attempts to resolve the mystery of the master's death.
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsKen TakakuraEiji BandôSumiko FujiThe film tells story of a close friendship undone by love.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsTetsuya FujitaYuji HoriokaKatsuhisa YamazakiBombing during World War II resulted in whole urban populations fleeing to the countryside, and this created a meeting of urban and rural cultures. Shinji (a young boy evacuated from Tokyo) and his new schoolmates (who are villagers) don't exactly know what is going on in the war. They see the B-29 bombers and the glow of cities on fire, but the problems of being separated from one's mother and surviving among one's peers loom larger than international politics.
- DirectorKôhei OguriStarsKeiko MatsuzakaIttoku KishibeMidori KiuchiPeriod drama set in the 1950's about a couple isolating themselves from the outside world as they attempt to salvage their faltering marriage, no matter what the costs, after the husband has an affair.
- DirectorShin'ichi NakadaStarsNekohachi EdoyaAyumu HasegawaIzumi IgarashiA group of young dancers prepare for a stage musical based on the street cats of their neighborhood.
- DirectorKazuo KurokiMasahiro MakinoStarsYoshio HaradaKanako HiguchiRenji IshibashiA group of masterless samurai living in Edo's red light district must fend off a militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.
- DirectorKôji WakamatsuStarsYoshio HaradaKaori MomoiHsiu-Ling LuA middle-aged man discovers an injured refugee woman trembling in the corner of his bar in Kabukicho. He quickly becomes aware that her life is in his hands when he learns she is hiding from the yakuza.
- DirectorTomio KuriyamaStarsToshiyuki NishidaRentarô MikuniEri IshidaHama-chan gets Su-san hooked on fishing, but Su-san has some problems to deal with; a beautiful woman saves Su-san when he collapses while fishing.
- DirectorTomio KuriyamaStarsToshiyuki NishidaRentarô MikuniEri IshidaSu-San invites Hama-chan to go fishing at a place close to his heart after learning about Hama-chan and his wife's fertility problems.
- DirectorEizô SugawaStarsToshiyuki HosokawaEri IshidaMariko Kaga
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsRentarô MikuniMasatoshi NagaseEmi WakuiTetsuo is a young man living in Tokyo, who falls in love with a deaf-mute factory girl. He has always felt jealous of his college- educated brother, but ultimately wins both the girl and his father's acceptance and support in a touching and refreshing way.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTôru KazamaHiroshi NishikawaKatsuyasu UchidaA wealthy matriarch is kidnapped by a gang of three. She is insulted by the amount of money they propose to demand as ransom, and a strange interchange of roles takes place between captors and captive, to the difficulty and eventual astonishment of the prefecture's Chief of Police.
- DirectorTomio KuriyamaStarsToshiyuki NishidaRentarô MikuniEri IshidaHama-chan and his wife are ecstatic about their long-awaited pregnancy. Meanwhile, Su-san's nephew joins Hama-chan's department at the company.
- DirectorShûsuke KanekoStarsYûji OdaKôji MatobaNobuko SendôTakeo is a university graduate who stumbles his way through the idiosyncrasies of Japan's graduate recruitment market. Big and respectable corporations put him through the wringer, whilst smaller corporations try all manner of tricks and whiles to convince him to join. Mariko has always been there for him, as a friend, but when Takeo finds an ambitious girlfriend, she has to consider whether he is more than just a friend to her.
- DirectorMasayuki SuôStarsMasahiro MotokiMisa ShimizuNaoto TakenakaChronicling the turmoil and pandemonium that ensues at a derelict university sumo club, and the rise of some unlikely heroes.
- DirectorTakashi IshiiStarsShinobu ÔtakeMasatoshi NagaseHideo MurotaThe story about an extramarital affair between the wife of an estate agent and a 22 year old man.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsKanako HiguchiMiwako FujitaniShin'ichi TsutsumiA young man's frequent patronage of a prostitute leads to debt.
- DirectorKôji WakamatsuStarsYoshio HaradaMiwako FujitaniYoko Kuga
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsToshiyuki NishidaEiko ShinyaKeiko TakeshitaAt a night school a diverse group of students ranging from teenagers to elderly, smart to under-developed and of different races have been assembled to study and finally hopefully graduate.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsKiyoshi AtsumiChieko BaishôHidetaka YoshiokaAfter failing to find a job, Mitsuo becomes a fisherman on a small island, and develops a crush on a young nurse there. Tora-san, dispatched to bring Mitsuo back home, himself falls in love with an attractive but troubled woman visiting her father.
- DirectorTomio KuriyamaStarsToshiyuki NishidaRentarô MikuniEri IshidaHama-chan and Su-san go fishing during a business trip, but Hama-chan has to give a lecture on Su-san's behalf in a case of mistaken identity.
- DirectorZenzô MatsuyamaStarsEmi WakuiAtsuro WatabeYoshiyuki Ômori
- DirectorAkira InoueStarsMasakazu TamuraTatsuya NakadaiYushi Shoda
- DirectorAkira KurosawaIshirô HondaStarsTatsuo MatsumuraHisashi IgawaGeorge TokoroFollowing World War II, a retired professor approaching his autumn years finds his quality of life drastically reduced in war-torn Tokyo. Denying despair, he pursues writing and celebrates his birthday with his adoring students.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsKôichi SatôSaki TakaokaKeiko OginomeWhen Tamiya Iyemon joins the Asano Clan, he brings with him a legacy of death. Aside from Horibe Yasubei, he is the only one with fighting experience and could help the group carrying out their long-awaited vendetta against Lord Kira.
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsKen TakakuraKiichi NakaiRie MiyazawaA group of disgraced samurai plan a decade long revenge against a corrupt lord.
- DirectorTakayoshi WatanabeStarsKen'ichi HagiwaraTomoko YamaguchiShigeru MuroiOne night, as pub owner Sotaro is caring for his sick wife, Shizuko, she asks him to promise that if she dies, he will never remarry. Thinking she is just being dramatic, he promises and tells her to go to sleep. When he wakes the next morning, however, Shizuko is dead. Sotaro keeps his promise, until one day he meets Satoko. The two quickly fall in love, and agree to get married. Their first night together, however, is interrupted by Shizuko, who is angry over her husband's broken promise. Sotaro and Satoko must find some way of appeasing the spirit before she drives them from their home.
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsHaruko SugimuraNobuko OtowaHideo KanzeYoko is a famous actress who goes to a mountain chalet for a few days rest. There, she learns a secret from her companion Toyoko.
- DirectorSeijirô KôyamaStarsRentarô MikuniKanehiro RiYôko Minamino
- DirectorYasuo FuruhataStarsYûko AsanoSae IsshikiYui NatsukawaIn spite of a longstanding tradition forbidding women from working in a sake brewery, Retsu, a young blind woman, challenges herself to overcome her disability in order to save her family's sake business.