Masahiko Tsugawa Movies

Jin (Koji Yakusho of Shall We Dance?), a straight-laced but unfocused cop, works in the robbery division. A widower for two years, Jin does his best to be there for his young daughter, Misaki (Rio Sugano), while remaining dedicated to his work. One day, Misaki is in the park and a kindly older man (Akira Emoto) fixes her bike. Jin inadvertently stumbles upon a clue in a recent robbery, and makes an arrest. The older man turns out to be the legendary burglar, Nekota. Over several days of questioning, Jin and "Neko" have a few discussions about Jin's personal life and about their respective jobs. Neko eventually confesses, telling Jin, "I'll make your name for you." Jin gets a promotion, although it turns out that Neko is suffering from piles, and apparently confessed to get free medical care. Once cured, Neko is taken on a lengthy investigation of his crimes and grows closer to Jin, teaching him the ways of a skilled burglar. With Neko's mentoring, Jin begins to excel in his work. After Neko goes to prison, Jin develops a romantic relationship with Makiko (Yui Natsukawa), the kind young woman who runs his daughter's daycare center. But when they get too intimate, Misaki reacts badly, refusing to eat for several days. Jin reluctantly breaks off the relationship. Years later, Neko is released from prison and stops by to let Jin know that he is not retiring from his life of crime. Jin soon learns that his old mentor is committing robberies again, and concealing a secret. The Hunter and the Hunted was shown at the 2004 New York Asian American International Film Festival and marks the feature debut of director Izuru Narushima. It was scripted by Yoshiko Kaomatsu and Satoshi Fukushima, based on a story by Satoshi Iizuka. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Following the release of his Minbo No Onna -- less a film than a textbook on how to extricate oneself from yakuza harassment -- veteran director Juzo Itami was attacked and almost killed by the mob for his effort. In this crime-comedy, he voices his outrage at the attack, which he viewed as an attack on his right for self-expression. The film centers on Hiwako (played, as always, by Itami's wife, Nobuko Miyamoto), a grand dame of the stage who witnesses a murder while exercising on a lonely country road. The victim turns out to be a lawyer who was snooping around in a shadowy cult clearly modeled on the subway-gassing sect Aum Shinrikyo. Hiwako manages to get a good look at the perpetrator's face and identifies him as a cult member. Later, she volunteers to testify in court. Hiwako also makes the mistake of informing the media of her plans, which of course alerts the cult -- making her a marked woman. Accordingly, a pair of cops are assigned to protect her: overly perky Chikamatsu (Takehiro Murata) who is a major fan of Hiwako's, and the strong but silent Tachibana (Masahiko Nishimura), who is not. Considering the bodyguard duo as unwanted intrusion, Hiwako resumes her live as a spoiled diva and continues to see her secret lover (Masahiko Tsugawa). Then the cult starts to play hard ball; her secret liaison is suddenly splashed on every tabloid in the land, followed by threats on her life. Marutai No Onna proved to be the last film of Itami's long and checkered career, he died of an apparent suicide in the winter of 1997. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Juzo Itami's Minbo no Onna -- a virtual textbook on how to beat yakuza harassment -- was a big hit and almost got its director killed in the wake of a gangland knife-attack. Itami's follow-up is a light-hearted meditation on death and dying, strongly recalling Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Ikiru. Buhei Mikai (Rentaro Mikuni) is a middle-aged film director afflicted with stomach cancer, though true to convention, he is not informed of his malady. Instead, the hard-drinking Mikai continues to direct and star in a maudlin tearjerker about, ironically, a couple stricken with cancer. Though married to his long-suffering wife (played by Itami regular and wife of the director Nobuko Miyamoto), Mikai is having an affair with his onscreen spouse (Haruna Takase). Mikai's feelings of health and well-being give way to anger and confusion when he is suddenly told that he needs an urgent operation. While in a hospital waiting room, a fellow cancer patient tells Mikai of how doctors conceal the truth from their patients. Just as Watanabe does in Ikiru, Mikai grows pale and quickly learns that he too has been a victim of the hospital's ruse. His wife -- who had cottoned on to her husband's extramarital dalliances and who was on the brink of leaving him -- rallies to his side. After a couple of desperate attempts at suicide Mikai awakes for the first time to the joys of life and family. Soon the director returns home to die, surrounded by friends and loved ones. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Noted filmmaker Kaneto Shindo directs this erotic drama adapted from the autobiographical book by renowned writer Nagai Kafu. Kafu, a noted rake and whoremonger, became one of Japan's more celebrated literary figures by documenting fleeting pleasures and subtle human interactions as he frequented Ginza cafes and Yoshiwara brothels. For this film, Shindo captures the essence of Kafu's work with an episodic structure detailing Kafu's search for his feminine ideal. One day, Kafu (played by Masahiko Tsugawa), while walking along the rain-slicked streets of Tokyo's red light district, happens upon Oyuki (Yuki Sumita), a geisha with a heart of gold. Strikingly beautiful, patrons flock to her in the house she shares with her madame (played by film legend Haruko Sugimura). Kafu too becomes beguiled by Oyuki's beauty, but as years pass and their relationship deepens, he realizes that indeed she is the woman he has been looking for. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Japan's answer to Don Simpson -- a flamboyant and brash producer drawn to make flamboyant and brash films -- Haruki Kadokawa takes a turn at the director's chair with this sprawling historical epic featuring a massive budget: a record-breaking five billion yen, and thousands of extras comprising most of the student population from the University of Calgary. Set during the Warring States era (1482-1558), the film opens on the real-life rivalry between feuding warlords Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. The latter (Takaaki Enoki) begins the film as Nagao Kagetora, the younger brother of the lord of Echigo Province. Encouraged by court retainer Usami Tadayuki (Tsunehiko Watase), he challenges his inept brother for the reigns of power and kills him in an ensuing duel. Soon after becoming lord of the province, he faces a new threat with Takeda Harunobu (Masahiko Tsugawa), lord of the neighboring Kai province. Both have grand dreams of uniting their war-torn land and ruling from the imperial capital of Kyoto. Ultimately, this clash of egos, personalities, and ambitions leads to the cataclysmic 1561 battle of Kawanakajima. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This comedy satire is the sequel to the third biggest box office draw in Japan during the 1987 season. Ryoko (Nobuko Miyamoto) is the diligent female tax collector who exposes a fake religious cult using their status to avoid paying their share of taxes. She sets out to collect the evidence that will prove the cult's culpability. Ryoko discovers the cult was set up by a shady real estate speculator to take advantage of their tax exemption. Director Juzo Itami takes satirical jabs at unscrupulous entrepreneurs, Tokyo University, and sexual exploitation. This sequel is even funnier that the original, which was the third biggest box office draw in Japan in 1987. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The sophomore directorial effort from ill-fated Japanese filmmaker Juzo Itami, Tampopo is an off-beat comedy featuring several intersecting stories all related to food. Tsutomu Yamazaki plays Goro, a truck driver who helps a young widow named Tampopo (Nobuko Miyamoto) improve her noodle restaurant. Over the course of the film, the story drifts around, not only following the stories of Tampopo, her son, and Goro, but also a number of customers who come through the diner, including an old woman (Izumi Hara) who insists on squeezing the cheese at a market and a criminal (Ken Watanabe) with a food-based kink. Tampopo was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1988 Independent Spirit Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Mitsuko (Setsuko Karasuma) is a woman who moves from one lover to the next -- some of whom get angry at her willingness to turn to other men, others who have been around the block more than once do not particularly care. Even when one of her lovers sacrifices his construction job to be with Mitsuko, it fails to come across as very much of an exchange. In short, Mitsuko may be nicknamed "Manon" after the lead character in Abbe Prevost's Manon Lescaut, but she does not seem to share anything beyond the name and multiple relationships. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This exciting action film from prolific director Teruo Ishii stars Sonny Chiba as Kouga, a descendant of a long line of ninja warriors who has put his amazing physical abilities behind him and lost his way. Eventually, however, Kouga teams up with a hitman named Sakura (Mitsuru Sato) and his friend Hayato (played by former world lightweight boxing champion Shozo Saijo) to rip off the Japanese mob. Yutaka Nakajima co-stars in this gritty martial arts film, followed by a sequel, Executioner 2: Karate Inferno (Chokugeki Jigokuhen: Dai Gyakuten)(1975), also directed by Ishii. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Aiyako Wakao stars in this drama about an actress whose life experiences mirror those of the late Marilyn Monroe. The dedicated actress is befriended by an elderly producer, poses nude for a calendar, goes back to school, and marries a baseball player. After her divorce, she turns into an intellectual playwright before taking too many sleeping pills. The unoriginal story is taken from a novel by Aiyako Sono. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The epidemic of juvenile delinquency in the mean streets of a Tokyo slum is depicted in this sordid story of sex and violence. The group is dwindled by suicide, murder, gang warfare and accidents as they engage in arson and gunplay. Plagued by drug and alcohol problems, the members of the gang head down the dead-end street to oblivion, despair and certain death. The film attempts at the beginning to give some semblance of a stance on morality before the depraved characters begin the inevitable downward spiral. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this powerful drama with comic undertones from Japan, a lazy summer by the beach develops a sinister undercurrent when two brothers' (Masahiko Tsugawa and Yujiro Ishihara) hedonistic pursuits of alcohol and gambling are interrupted by the arrival of a beautiful young woman, Eri (Mie Kitahara). The younger brother quickly becomes infatuated with the girl, but the older brother also develops an attraction to her, and becomes determined to take her away -- even after learning she's already married. Controversial upon initial release for its portrayal of delinquent Japanese youth, Kurutta Kajitsu (also known as Crazed Fruit and Juvenile Jungle) has since been acknowledged as a trailblazing work in the Japanese "taiyozoku" (sun tribe) subgenre; it was the first feature for celebrated filmmaker Ko Nakahira. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide