Japanese films of the 1930s - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An incomplete list of films produced in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ordered by year in the 1930s. For an alphabetical list of films see :Category:Japanese films. Also see cinema of Japan

Cinema of Japan

The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

1930s

Title	Director	Cast	Genre	Notes
1930 1930 in film -Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
The Army Advances'	Kiyohiko Ushihara Kiyohiko Ushihara was a Japanese film director most famous for his gendaigeki of the silent era.-Career:Born in Kumamoto Prefecture and graduating from Tokyo University, Ushihara joined the Shochiku studio in 1920 on the invitation of Kaoru Osanai...	Denmei Suzuki Denmei Suzuki was a Japanese film actor most famous for starring roles in gendaigeki of the silent era.- Career :Suzuki was born in Tokyo and was a championship swimmer at Meiji University when he first appeared in Souls on the Road in 1921 under the name Zeya Tōgō . After graduating in 1924, he joined the... Kinuyo Tanaka Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and director.Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She became a leading actress at an early age, appearing in Yasujirō Ozu's I Graduated, But... in 1929...
Aiyoku no ki Aiyoku no ki is a 1930 Japanese silent film directed by Heinosuke Gosho and written by Akira Fushimi. The film starred Kinuyo Tanaka and Ichirô Yuki.-Cast:Kinuyo TanakaIchirô YukiKikuko HanaokaJun AraiKimiko HikariHikaru Yamanouchi...	Heinosuke Gosho Heinosuke Gosho was a Japanese film director who directed Japan's first talkie, The Neighbor's Wife and Mine, in 1931. He once served as president of the Directors Guild of Japan.- Selected filmography :* Aiyoku no ki...	Kinuyo Tanaka Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and director.Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She became a leading actress at an early age, appearing in Yasujirō Ozu's I Graduated, But... in 1929... Ichiro Yuki
What Made Her Do It?	Shigeyoshi Suzuki Shigeyoshi Suzuki (film director) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter.Born in Tokyo, Suzuki graduated from Meiji University and entered the Shōchiku studio in 1925. He debuted as a director the next year with Tsuchi ni kagayaku, a film starring Denmei Suzuki...	Keiko Takatsu Rintaro Fujima
Furusato (1930 film)	Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...	Yoshie Fujiwara Yoshie Fujiwara was a Japanese tenor singer. He took part in 5th and 6th Kōhaku Uta Gassen.He was born in Osaka. His mother Kinu Sakata was geisha, who worked in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. His father Neil B. Reid was Scottish, however, he was not raised by his father. Tokuzaburō Fujiwara adopted him,... Shizue Natsukawa		Japan's second feature-length talkie (after Taii no Musume (The Captain's Daughter))
1931 1931 in film -Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:Best Picture: Cimarron - MGMBest Actor: Lionel Barrymore - A Free SoulBest Actor: Wallace Beery - The ChampBest Actor: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
The Neighbor's Wife and Mine The Neighbor's Wife and Mine was the first Japanese narrative film to fully employ sound. A 1931 release, it was directed by Heinosuke Gosho.Sound came later to Japanese cinema than in many other countries because of the enduring popularity of the benshi, also known as katsuben, cinema lecturers/narrators who would accompany...	Heinosuke Gosho Heinosuke Gosho was a Japanese film director who directed Japan's first talkie, The Neighbor's Wife and Mine, in 1931. He once served as president of the Directors Guild of Japan.- Selected filmography :* Aiyoku no ki...			Japan's first commercially successful talkie
Tokyo Chorus Tokyo Chorus was a 1931 silent movie produced by Shochiku Company, directed by acclaimed and influential Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu and starring Tokihiko Okada and Emiko Yagumo. It was based on various stories in the Shoshimin-gai series and also shares influences with King Vidor's The Crowd...	Yasujirō Ozu Yasujiro Ozu was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...	Tokihiko Okada Tokihiko Okada was a Japanese silent film star in Japan during the 1920's and early 1930's. A Tokyo native, he first started at the Taikatsu studio and later he was a leading player for such legendary Japanese directors as Yasujiro Ozu and Kenji Mizoguchi. Film critic Tadao Sato recounts that Okada was among the...	Drama
1932 1932 in film -Events:Cary Grant's film career beginsKatharine Hepburn's film career beginsShirley Temple's film career beginsDisney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
I Was Born, But... I Was Born, But... is a 1932 black-and-white Japanese silent film directed by Yasujiro Ozu. It became the first of six Ozu films to win the Kinema Junpō Critics' Prize...	Yasujiro Ozu Yasujiro Ozu was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...	Tatsuo Saito	Comedy drama
1933 1933 in film -Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
Dragnet Girl Dragnet Girl Dragnet Girl is a 1933 Japanese Gangster film directed by Yasujirô Ozu. The film tells the story of a gangster and his girl finding redemption through the actions of an innocent girl.-Cast:Kinuyo TanakaJoji OkaSumiko MizukuboKôji Mitsui...	Yasujirô Ozu Yasujiro Ozu was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...	Kinuyo Tanaka Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and director.Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She became a leading actress at an early age, appearing in Yasujirō Ozu's I Graduated, But... in 1929...	Crime Crime film Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
The Life of Bangaku	Sadao Yamanaka Sadao Yamanaka was a Japanese film director and writer who directed 24 films during a seven-year period in the 1930s. He was a contemporary of Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi and one of the primary figures in the development of the jidaigeki, or historical film. Yamanaka died of dysentary in...
Nightly Dreams	Mikio Naruse Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
Passing Fancy Passing Fancy is a 1933 silent movie produced by Shochiku Company, directed by Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu and starring Takeshi Sakamoto, Nobuko Fushimi, Den Obinata and Chouko Iida....	Yasujiro Ozu Yasujiro Ozu was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
Wasei Kingu Kongu Wasei Kingu Kongu was a 1933 Japanese black-and-white silent film directed by Torajiro Saito. The film is a now lost silent short based on King Kong and produced by Shochiku Studios . It has been suggested, without any strong evidence, that the film was lost as a result of US atomic bombing in 1945.- Cast :...	Torajiro Saito Torajiro Saito was a Japanese film director known for his comedy films. Born in Akita Prefecture, he entered Shōchiku's Kamata studio in 1922 and debuted as a director in 1926. He later worked at the Shintōhō and Tōhō studios...
1934 1934 in film -Events:January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
A Story of Floating Weeds A Story of Floating Weeds is a 1934 silent film directed by Yasujiro Ozu which he later remade as Floating Weeds in 1959 in color.-Plot:The film starts with a travelling kabuki troupe arriving by train at a provincial seaside town. Kihachi Ichikawa , the head of the troupe, is a very popular actor...	Yasujiro Ozu Yasujiro Ozu was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
Our Neighbour Miss Yae	Yasujiro Shimazu Yasujirō Shimazu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who was one of the major creators of the shōshimingeki genre at the Shōchiku studios in pre-World War II Japan....
1935 1935 in film -Events:Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .Seven year old Shirley Temple wins a special Academy Award.*The Bantu Educational Kinema Experiment started in order to educate the Bantu peoples.-Top grossing films:-Academy Awards:...
The Girl in the Rumour	Mikio Naruse Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
An Inn in Tokyo An Inn in Tokyo is a 1935 silent film directed by Yasujiro Ozu. The film is Ozu's last extant silent film.The script of the film is credited to a person by the name of Uinzato Mone, which means in Japanese, "Without Money"...	Yasujiro Ozu Yasujiro Ozu was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...	Takeshi Sakamoto
The Million Ryo Pot The Million Ryo Pot is a 1935 black and white Japanese film comedy directed by Sadao Yamanaka and starring Denjirō Ōkōchi....	Sadao Yamanaka Sadao Yamanaka was a Japanese film director and writer who directed 24 films during a seven-year period in the 1930s. He was a contemporary of Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi and one of the primary figures in the development of the jidaigeki, or historical film. Yamanaka died of dysentary in...
Kimiko Kimiko Kimiko is a Japanese feminine personal name, and may refer to:-People:* Kimiko Date, a professional tennis player* Kimiko Ikegami, an actress* Kimiko Itoh, a singer* Kimiko Hahn, a poet* Kimiko Koyama, a seiyū* Kimiko Yo, a Japanese actress...	Mikio Naruse Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
The Village-Tattooed Man	Sadao Yamanaka Sadao Yamanaka was a Japanese film director and writer who directed 24 films during a seven-year period in the 1930s. He was a contemporary of Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi and one of the primary figures in the development of the jidaigeki, or historical film. Yamanaka died of dysentary in...
Wife! Be Like a Rose!	Mikio Naruse Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
1936 1936 in film The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
The Only Son The Only Son (1936 film) is a 1936 film directed by Yasujiro Ozu, starring Chouko Iida and Shinichi Himori. The film was Ozu's first "talkie" feature.-Plot:The film starts in the rural town of Shinshū in 1923. A widow, Tsune Nonomiya , works hard at a silk production factory to provide for her only son, Ryosuke...	Yasujiro Ozu Yasujiro Ozu was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...	Chishu Ryu Chishu Ryu was a famous Japanese film actor, a favourite of the director Yasujiro Ozu. From 1928 to 1992 he appeared in at least 155 films, including Ozu's Tokyo Story and Yoshitaro Nomura's Castle of Sand...	Drama Drama film A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
Osaka Elegy Osaka Elegy is a 1936 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Mizoguchi considered the film his first serious effort as a director, and it was also his first commercial and critical success in Japan...	Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...	Isuzu Yamada Isuzu Yamada is a Japanese actress on stage and screen whose career has spanned eight decades.-Career:Yamada was born in Osaka with the name Mitsu Yamada. Her father, Kusuo Yamada, was a shinpa stage actor specializing in onnagata roles and her mother, Ritsu, was a geisha... Yoko Umemura	Drama Drama film A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
Sisters of the Gion Sisters of the Gion is a 1936 black and white Japanese film drama directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.The film is based on the novel Yama by Aleksandr Kuprin....	Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...
1937 1937 in film The year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
Avalanche	Mikio Naruse Mikio Naruse was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
Humanity and Paper Balloons Humanity and Paper Balloons is 1937 black-and-white film directed by Sadao Yamanaka. It is his last film. Largely unknown outside of Japan until recent years, the film has been hailed by critics , and a number of other Japanese filmmakers as one of the most influential examples of jidaigeki, or Japanese period films...	Sadao Yamanaka Sadao Yamanaka was a Japanese film director and writer who directed 24 films during a seven-year period in the 1930s. He was a contemporary of Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi and one of the primary figures in the development of the jidaigeki, or historical film. Yamanaka died of dysentary in...	Chojuro Kawarazaki	Drama Drama film A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
The New Earth The New Earth The New Earth is an expression used in the Book of Isaiah , 2 Peter , and Book of Revelation in the Bible to describe the final state of redeemed humanity...	Mansaku Itami Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck was a pioneer of the German mountain film....	Setsuko Hara Setsuko Hara is a Japanese actress who appeared in six of Yasujirō Ozu's films, most notably as Noriko in the 'Noriko Trilogy': Late Spring , Early Summer and Tokyo Story . Her other films for Ozu were Tokyo Twilight , Late Autumn and finally The End of Summer in 1961.She was born 会田昌江 Masae Aida in... Sesshu Hayakawa	Drama Drama film A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...	Japanese/German production
1938 1938 in film The year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
King Kong Appears in Edo King Kong Appears in Edo is a kaiju film released in Japan in 1938, but is now considered to be a lost film.-Production:This film was produced by studio Zenshō Cinema without the permission of RKO Radio Pictures, which owned the rights to the King Kong character...				(Possibly) Japan's first kaiju Kaiju is a Japanese word that means "strange beast," but often translated in English as "monster". Specifically, it is used to refer to a genre of tokusatsu entertainment.... film.
1939 1939 in film The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums , 1939) is a Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.The film is regarded as one of Mizoguchi's greatest pre-war achievements. Especially notable is Mizoguchi's now mature mise-en-scène compositions and extreme long takes.-Synopsis:...	Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...	Kakuo Mori	Romantic drama

External links

Japanese film at the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
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