Movies: Kaoru Kobayashi

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to a...

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying ...

Something bizarre has come over the land. The kingdom is deteriorating. People are beginning to act strange... What's even more strange is that people are beginning to see dragons, which shouldn't enter the world of humans. Due to all these bizarre e...

Two people meet each other after missing the last train home, leading to a beautiful relationship over five years....

During the Heian period, Abe no Seimei trains in magic but lacks interest, until a collaboration with Minamoto no Hiromasa arises to solve a strange phenomenon....

A magical realist story of the legendary Okinawan hero Untamagiru participating in efforts to form an independent Okinawa before the island was returned to Japan in 1972....

Lord Oda Nobunaga plans to control Japan where rival warlords battle by waging war against several clans. His vassal Araki Murashige stages a rebellion and promptly disappears....

When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home....

The bittersweet events in the lives of people in Hakodate, a regional city connected by a streetcar network. A laid-off man and his younger sister go up a mountain to see the first sunrise of the year. Meanwhile, Haruo has inherited his family's gas...

A Labrador retriever named Quill begins specialized training as a guide dog from an early age, then the canine is paired with a blind man who is initially reluctant to rely on his new partner....

A restaurant opens at midnight. Both the menu offerings and personality of the owner draw a series of flawed patrons including Tamako, whose boyfriend has passed away, live-in worker Michiru, and ruckus-raising Kenzo....

In this drama set on Shikina Island, a far-flung island of the Japanese archipelago located more than six hours from the Japanese main islands, the young physician Kensuke Goto arrives at the island and has to deal with the island's inhabitants, not ...

Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and ...

Detective Seiji Otaki is determined to find the psychopathic killer of a young woman who was ostensibly a student but in reality a high-priced prostitute. Even though he has been taken off the case for beating up a suspect, he refuses to let it go an...

The Master’s late-night diner welcomes a woman troubled by funeral fans, an elderly scam victim, and a noodle delivery man struggling with love....

The four Takezawa sisters discover that their father has an illegitimate child so they hire a private detective to investigate....

Near the end of WWII a lone U-Boat is sent from Germany to Japan carrying plutonium needed for a Japanese A-Bomb. During the long journey, news arrives on the radio that Hitler killed himself and Germany has surrendered. This causes a rift in the cr...

A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world imposes change around her....

A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family....

Toru grew up in alpine countryside around Mount Tate. As a child, he resented the yearly trek up the mountain with his father to prepare their mountain hut for the summer season of climbers. When Toru grows up, he leaves his hometown and enters the w...