In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.
Set in the late 21st century, an MRI scanner is introduced at the National Research Institute of Police Science's 9th Forensics Laboratory. The machine is able to scan the memories from even the deceased. As ethical questions arise over the machine's use, the 9th Forensics Laboratory members, including rookie Ikko Aoki and Chief Tsuyoshi Maki, struggle to solve cases.
Masaatsu Naito successfully completes Sankin-kotai (required ritual to visit the shogun). On his way home, he hears that an insurrection by peasants has taken place in his hometown of Yunagaya. Masaatsu Naito knows that it is a counterattack by Matsudaira. He returns to Yunagaya, but finds that his castle is gone.
Okajima, a senior at Toridesaka University who has dedicated himself to the sport of bouldering, is facing a crisis. With his graduation imminent, he is the only member of the bouldering club. It needs at least seven members to stay in existence. Determined not to let the long history of the club end at his generation, Okajima desperately solicits new students and, after a lot of hard work, manages to recruit six new members: Arai, Momoda, Takaido, Nakamichi, Kuwamoto, and Kawaguchi. However, with the exception of Kawaguchi, they are all beginners…
27-year-old Eto Kana lives in Tokyo and has never been out of the city before. She used to work as a designer and stay in a company dormitory but moved back to her family home after resigning due to the stress from interpersonal relationships. Meanwhile, Kana’s family gets a call about an elderly granduncle who got injured. She goes to Kyoto where he lives at the request of her worried mother and stays there for several days to take care of him.
A provincial bus driver plans to marry his conductress, but one night he glimpses the woman he once loved, which throws him into turmoil.
A samurai returns to his homeland after a three year absence and finds his fiance is now one of the prince's concubines.
Kotobuki-za is a story of the Naniwa-bushi singer Baichuken Tsurumaru.
In the age of priests and warriors which the film denounces, a woman revolts after she is sold as a prostitute.
Based on the comic by Yutaka Asou
A mournful masterpiece by Kinugasa Teinosuke
