Ken Watanabe
Birthday: Born in 1959-10-21 in Koide, Niigata, Japan
Deathday: Alive
Ken Watanabe (born October 21, 1959) is a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. To English-speaking audiences he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in The Last Samurai, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Among other awards, he has won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Actor twice, in 2007 for Memories of Tomorrow and in 2010 for Shizumanu Taiyō. He is also known for his roles in director Christopher Nolan's Hollywood blockbusters Batman Begins and Inception.
TV Credits
池袋ウエストゲートパーク
Character: Yokoyama
Living in an area known for its juvenile crime, 21-year-old Makoto has become a member of a youth gang called the G-Boys. Known for his cool head and ability to get things done, Makoto becomes a key troubleshooter for the gang by diffusing tense situations and keeping his friends out of harm's way. However, the death of his girlfriend and an escalating turf war with a rival gang threaten to be more than Makoto can handle....
鍵師
Character:
A locksmith who can open any kind of lock with his well-honed fingertip skills is caught up in a case in which his nephew is put in danger just because he played a role in exposing political bribery due to his special skills, and his love for his sister-in-law....
砂の器
Character: Shuichiro Imanishi
Eiryo Waga is well-known musician who has begun a rapid climb to stardom, but he must keep his terrible past a secret. One day someone who knows all about his past confronts him, and Waga kills him in order to protect the fame he has obtained. Unfortunately, as Waga is leaving the scene, he runs into Asami, a budding stage actress. An investigation team is established led by two detectives, but they have difficulty making any headway. Meanwhile, by coincidence Waga bumps into Asami again. She al...
世にも奇妙な物語特別編
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川、いつか海へ 6つの愛の物語
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NHK's 50th-anniversary memorial drama serial. This drama consisting of several short stories starring some of the well-known actors and actress of Japan today. A ball floats from the river's source to the sea, unlocking the portrayal of six love stories across the four seasons of the year....
NHK WORLD PRIME
Character: Self - Presenter
NHK WORLD PRIME brings you a world of mainly documentaries, and more. Tune in to see special select programs on all sorts of topics and genres....
横山秀夫サスペンス シリーズ (TBS)
Character:
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独眼竜政宗
Character: 伊達政宗
Broadcast TV drama NHK broadcast on January 4 to December 13, 1987 (Showa 62). In the questionnaire survey conducted by NHK, it is shining in the most favorite river drama. The original is Yamaka Sosaichi's novel "Date Masamune", the biggest drama on the theme of the Date house was the first time in 17 years since the "Shinnogi remained" (1970), which painted Datejo in the Edo period. It depicts the life of Matsudo Date of Sengoku warrior · Date Masamune who built the foundation of Sendai clan ...
西郷どん
Character: Shimazu Nariakira
Saigo Takamori, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, was born to a poor, low-ranking samurai family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture). His simple honesty caught the attention of its charismatic feudal lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. Nariakira’s assertion that the love of people is what will enrich and strengthen the nation captivated Saigo who took on Nariakira’s secret mission and eventually became a key person for Satsuma. Not a portrait of him survives today and much ...
居酒屋兆治
Character:
The special drama depicts the sad and joyful life of a single-minded izakaya owner in a small yakitori restaurant....
御家人斬九郎
Character: Zankuro Matsudaira
Zankuro Matsudaira (Ken Watanabe) is a low-grade vassal of the Tokugawa Shogun, forced to moonlight as a bodyguard and executioner to make ends meet. He also has a drinking problem, an overeating mother, and a propensity to protect the oppressed, all of which eat into his finances. His confident mother Masajo (Kyoko Kishida) is the descendant of a famous family of shogunate retainers and a mistress of the pen and sword, who regards her son as a failure....
わが町
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Based on Ed McBain's "87th Precinct" series. The drama series is set in Tsukishima, a popular town near downtown Tokyo, and is composed of content that incorporates the storyline of the original work while also incorporating current events and social issues in Japan....
Tokyo Vice
Character: Hiroto Katagiri
A first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat following Jake Adelstein, an American journalist who embeds himself into the Tokyo Vice police squad to reveal corruption. Based on Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction book of the same name....
壬生義士伝 新選組でいちばん強かった男
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Based on the novel by Jirō Asada, the TV movie depicts the lives of the Shinsengumi warriors during the turmoil of the late Edo period....
仕掛人 藤枝梅安
Character: Fujieda Baian
During the day, Dr. Baian is the friendly and trusted village acupuncturist. At night, he becomes Baian, the assassin. Using his acupuncture needles as weapons, he takes on deadly assignments, killing evildoers with an undeniable skill and precision....
五年目のひとり
Character: 키자키 슈지
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おやじの背中
Character: Takamura Kouji
A 10-part omnibus drama by 10 different scriptwriters on the theme of fathers and their sons and daughters....
はね駒
Character: Genzo Onodera
Rin Tachibana, nicknamed Hanekonma, grew up in Soma, Fukushima. Together with her parents, her sister and brother, and her grandparents, the story revolves around the Tachibana family and Rin's life throughout many years....
北条時宗
Character: Hojo Tokiyori
The 40th NHK Taiga Drama is Hojo Tokimune. It tells the dramatic and turbulent life of young shikken Hojo Tokimune, and his successful defense of Japan from invasion by Mongolia in the 1200's. It is a tragic story of betrayal and clan wars and Hojo Tokimune is at the center of it all. The main focus of the story is Hojo Tokiyori's older sons, their relationship, and their views and actions concerning Kublai Khan's attempted invasion. The two brothers, Tokimune and Tokisuke, are torn apart by pol...
炎立つ
Character: Fujiwara Tsunekiyo
This drama tells the story of the Oushu Fujiwara clan spanning generations, 140 years in the late Heian era. They established their domain in Touhoku area (North-east area of Japan), independent from the rule of Minamoto clan....
逃亡者
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A remake of the American show "The Fugitive."...
行列のできる相談所
Character: Regular
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息子のご帰還
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Daisuke Ogaki, who ran away from home 11 years ago, returns to his mother Tsuru. Tsuru takes out her accumulated anger of 11 years on her son, but he says he wants to show filial piety......
べらぼう ～蔦重栄華乃夢噺～
Character: Tamema Okitsugu
In 18th-century Edo, Tsutaya Juzaburo rises from a poor background to become a leading publisher. Despite political changes threatening his career, he works to shape Edo’s cultural scene through innovative books and collaborations with artists....
トゥルー カラーズ
Character: Taichirou Tsujimura
A top fashion photographer who, after being diagnosed with a life-altering illness, must overcome overwhelming challenges and find hope and strength in her journey of transformation....
Movie Credits
Batman Begins
Character: Ra's al Ghul
Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman....
Letters from Iwo Jima
Character: General Tadamichi Kuribayashi
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it....
The Last Samurai
Character: Moritsugu Katsumoto
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist....
Tampopo
Character: Gun
In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of the "art of noodle-soup making". Interspersed are satirical vignettes about the importance of food to different aspects of human life....
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Character: Mr. Tall
Darren Shan is a regular teenage kid. He and his friend Steve find out about a Freak Show coming to town and work hard at trying to find tickets. They do, and together they go to "Cirque du Freak" where they see many strange acts including a wolf-man and a bearded lady...
Inception
Character: Saito
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious....
Shanghai
Character: Tanaka
An American man returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor and discovers his friend has been killed. While he unravels the mysteries of the death, he falls in love and discovers a much larger secret that his own government is hiding....
T.R.Y.
Character: Masanobu Azuma
At the turn of the 20th Century amongst tension between China and Japan, a Japanese swindler in Shanghai plans to profit by selling weapons. He steals arms from the Japanese military and sells them to the rich Chinese....
Space Travelers
Character: Sakamaki ("Crusher")
Three bank robbers, who declare themselves to be Space Travelers, take six persons as hostages when they are surrounded by the police. Among the hostages, there is a terrorist with a hidden bomb. In order to escape, the robbers ask the hostages to pretend to be part of the gang. Surprisingly, the hostages soon enjoy doing so. On that strange day, the bank becomes a tropical paradise......
第三の時効
Character:
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The Creator
Character: Harun
Amid a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war—and mankind itself....
Unforgiven
Character: Jubee Kamata
An old swordsman, his former comrade and a young braggart are hired by prostitutes to track down bandits who mutilated one of the women....
Godzilla
Character: Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Ford Brody, a Navy bomb expert, has just reunited with his family in San Francisco when he is forced to go to Japan to help his estranged father, Joe. Soon, both men are swept up in an escalating crisis when an ancient alpha predator arises from the sea to combat malevolent adversaries that threaten the survival of humanity. The creatures leave colossal destruction in their wake, as they make their way toward their final battleground: San Francisco....
Memories of Tomorrow
Character: Masayuki Saeki
After being stricken with Alzheimer's disease in the prime of his life, a successful young businessman slips slowly away from his loving family....
The Making of "Tampopo"
Character: Self
Documentary about the making of Juzo Itami's film "Tampopo" (1985)....
劇場の灯を消すな！PARCO劇場編
Character:
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The Unbroken
Character: Hajime Onchi
Onchi was exiled to posts around Asia and Africa due to his work as head of a labor union for National Air Line. He is ordered to return to head office after ten years, and continues to struggle. When a National Air Line plane is involved in the worst air disaster in Japanese history, he is assigned to console and provide restitution to the families of the victims....
A School Behind Bars
Character:
"A School Behind Bars" centers around Asahi Junior High School, which is located within Nagano Matsumoto Boy's prison in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture - the only public school in Japan that is located inside a prison. The school's students are all prisoners ranging in age from 20-70. The students are carefully selected after taking an entrance exam and being selected by the school's admission board....
Year One in the North
Character: Komatsubara Hideaki
In 1868, after the fall of the Shogun-dominated Japan, the new government orders people from Awaji, near Kobe, to re-locate to the northern part of Hokkaido. These people once supported the now displaced Samurais of the older days. After two years, over 500 of them settled in their new land under the leadership of Hideaki, husband of Shino. However, as crops fail he is to go to Sapporo to learn new techniques of farming, leaving his wife and daughter for 5 years. All this time, the new community...
Hayabusa: The Long Voyage Home
Character: Junichiro Kawaguchi
In May 2003, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (or JAXA) launched an unmanned spacecraft of their own development to retrieve samples from an asteroid. Seven long years later, Hayabusa achieved its goal and was the first of any kind of craft launched from Earth to safely return samples of this kind to home base. The story was one of such great national pride for Japan, and in the wake of the tsunami and resulting tragedies in Japan it’s strong nationalistic message became the subject of no ...
Dawn of a New Day: The Man Behind VHS
Character: Okubo
A Japanese film that tells the tale of the birth of VHS. It follows Kagatani Shizuo, an electronics employee who rallies his coworkers to save their jobs by increasing sales. They do this by developing the VHS standard. They battle with Sony and their standard and ultimately prevail....
Earth
Character: Narrator (voice)
An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, awaits you in EARTH. Disneynature brings you a remarkable story of three animal families on a journey across our planet – polar bears, elephants and humpback whales....
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Character: Drift (voice)
As humanity picks up the pieces after the battle of Chicago, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to control the direction of history…while an ancient, powerful new menace sets Earth in its crosshairs. With help from Cade Yeager, Optimus Prime and the Autobots rise to meet their most fearsome challenge yet....
True Love: Making The Creator
Character: Self
Join director Gareth Edwards and crew for nearly an hour look behind the scenes. Hear from actors about the filming experience, and learn about the production's documentary-style approach, the innovative camera and lighting work, and much more....
The Whispered City
Character: Ishida
Director Jun Ichikawa spins this affectionate portrait of the people who populate Shimokitazawa, a bohemian corner of Tokyo filled with small theater companies and smoky coffeehouses....
Drowning Fish
Character: Miyota
When corporate executives are blackmailed into public displays of nudity on the busy streets of Shinjuku, the big guns are called out to locate "Oboreru Sakana". The "big guns" are a misfit duo of ethically questionable characters who must infiltrate a gay nightclub and "fit in" while they search for clues. What ensues is both hilarious and action-packed. Oboreru Sakana is a rather ambitious and often hilarious contemporary crime thriller. Its narrative swings from the grisly to the humorous an...
The Sea and Poison
Character: Toda
Two interns and a nurse are interrogated by American MPs for their involvement in an atrocity during the war: the vivisections of a downed American air crew....
Dirty, Clean, & Inbetween
Character: Restaurant Patron
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MacArthur's Children
Character: Tetsuo Nakai
In this drama at the end of World War II, the inhabitants of a small Japanese fishing village must come to terms with their nation's defeat and the sudden occupation of General MacArthur and his troops....
Evolution Within Extinction
Character: Self
The definitive feature-length documentary on the creation of "Transformers: Age of Extinction"....
Hanzo, the Razor
Character:
During Tenpo period, Bakuhu announced a law regulating expenditures in order to improve the financial situation. However, Doshin of a government office Itami Hanzo, called Kamisori Hanzo, challenged Bakuhu's oppressive way. Because of this, his father Magobei was told to kill himself by the Bakuhu and Hanzo himself was demoted. Five years later, Hanzo came back to the government office and implement a law regulating expenditures. He stands up for revenge Torii Kainokami who desires power as he l...
All Lives
Character:
TV Tokyo's 60th anniversary special drama. This is a human drama about a doctor struggling with his life and a patient who has been told he has little time left to live, as they travel around the world in search of answers to the eternal questions of what people live for and what they leave behind....
Transformers: The Last Knight
Character: Drift (voice)
Humans and Transformers are at war. Optimus Prime is gone. The key to saving our future lies buried in the secrets of the past, in the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Saving our world falls upon the shoulders of an unlikely alliance: Cade Yeager; Bumblebee; an English Lord; and an Oxford Professor....
Snow Jack
Character: Reiji Kurata
A blackmail arrives at Appi ski resort. “We demand 30,000,000 yen as consolation money for the destruction of the environment. If you do not respond to the demand, a time bomb set on the ski slope will be detonated.” If the bomb goes off, it will not only hurt the skiers but trigger an avalanche and cause a major catastrophe. The general manager of the ski pistes, Kurata (Ken Watanabe) pleads for an immediate shutdown of the ski site and reporting to the police, but the president of the ski reso...
Rage
Character: Yohei Maki
A man brutally murders a married couple and leaves the word “ikari” (“rage”) written with their blood. The killer undergoes plastic surgery and flees. At three different locations in Japan, a male stranger appears. People suspect that the stranger might be the murderer....
Ganryujima: Kojiro and Musashi
Character: Kojirō
In the 16th Year of Keityo (1611), the lord of Ogura Castle in Kyushu admitted Sasaki Kojiro's because of his great sword techniques. However, a group within the feudal clan which supported to use guns considered Kojiro an obstacle in their goals and has the well-known ronin, Miyamoto Musashi, fight him. Now because of political gain and greed, two honorable men are to fight to the death on Ganryu Island....
Kekkon Annai Mystery
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A 19-year-old girl Hiroko Terasawa working in a matching agency promises her client Masakazu Sekine that she'll pose as his fiancée for a remarkable cash reward. Hiroko moves to Sekine's mansion and prepares to attend the family's meeting. However, this only turns out to be a prelude of a bloody fight over the family's legacy....
The Sea of Trees
Character: Takumi Nakamura
In Japan's Aokigahara Forest, a troubled teacher meets a mysterious lost stranger who takes him on a life-changing journey of love and redemption....
Commando Invasion
Character:
The leader of a group of American commandos has 5 days to kidnap a VC General to prove his innocence after all his men are killed in an abortive raid....
Ai inochi - Shinjuku Kabukicho Kakekomi Dera -
Character:
Japanese TV movie...
Oda Nobunaga
Character:
Among the great ‘Warlords’ in Japanese history, Oda Nobunaga holds a unique place. In effect, his military success led to the ultimate unification of the country. This historically accurate portrayal of Nobunaga’s life and times is highlighted by many of Japan’s biggest stars, most notably Watanabe Ken in the lead role. Bloody realistic fighting, massive battles, and castle intrigues all drawn from historical sources bring this 2 part drama to new heights in storytelling....
Chronicle of the Town Magistrate
Character: Mochizuki Koheita
In a maelstrom of evil, can a new magistrate, samurai Mochizuki Koheita, with a reputation like an alley cat, bring order to the town of Horisoto, or is he, too a corrupt villain looking to gain wealth from the oppressed people? From the pen of famed samurai author Yamamoto Shugoro, this exciting tale turns the tables on the standard samurai story with a unique lead character previously portrayed in Ichikawa Kon’s “Dora Heita.”...
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Character: Dr. Ishiro Serizawa
Follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species, thought to be mere myths, rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance....
Bruce's Fists Of Vengeance
Character: Samurai Master
To compete in his friend Peter's martial arts tournament, Jack flies into Manila from Hong Kong and brings along a book of secret Jeet Kune Do techniques that was entrusted to him by the late martial arts legend Bruce Lee. During the competition, Jack witnesses Peter's defeat at the hands and feet of his academy's rival master, Miguel. Peter gets the book from Jack, just as Miguel learns about its existence. Miguel sends his best fighters to seize the book. Instead, they kidnap Jack and Peter's ...
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Character: Lieutenant Hide Yoshida
In a world where people collect pocket-size monsters (Pokémon) to do battle, a boy comes across an intelligent monster who seeks to be a detective....
Isle of Dogs
Character: Head Surgeon (voice)
In the future, an outbreak of canine flu leads the mayor of a Japanese city to banish all dogs to an island used as a garbage dump. The outcasts must soon embark on an epic journey when a 12-year-old boy arrives on the island to find his beloved pet....
Bel Canto
Character: Katsumi Hosokawa
A famous opera singer is held hostage in South America by a guerrilla rebel group after performing at a Japanese businessman's lavish birthday party. Unexpected bonds are forged in the standoff that ensues....
Fukushima 50
Character: Masao Yoshida
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi facility in Japan risk their lives and stay at the nuclear power plant to prevent total destruction after the region is devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011....
The Memories of Happiness
Character: Taro Miura
Taro's business failed and he got divorced. He also left his family's home. 5 years later, his oldest daughter Natsumi, second daughter Yuka and ex-wife Junko still live in the same house which Taro left. One day, Taro, who has been having difficulties paying his rent, visits his daughter Natsumi's office to ask for a loan. Natsumi is the bread winner for the family since he left., so she becomes angry at him. Later, Taro arrives at his former house unannounced and begins to live there....
The King and I
Character: The King of Siam
Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King....
Kensuke's Kingdom
Character: Kensuke (voice)
A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the ol...
Bonds
Character: Detective Sako Akio
Tetsuro Haga is a troubled gangster, living under the assumed identity Ise for ten years, to escape jail for gunning down his cruel adoptive father. His life begins to unravel when a journalist following him takes an interest in the wife of a boyhood chum, and the wife of another close friend takes an interest in Ise. A couple of murders later, Ise/Haga goes on the run and also sets out for revenge....
Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald
Character: Raita Onuki
A love story written by an ordinary housewife is going to be broadcast as a radio drama and almost everyone among the crew insists on changing various parts of the play to their liking....
Baian the Assassin
Character: Dr. Baian
Fujieda Baian is admired during the day as a skilled acupuncturist. However, his nighttime persona is that of a highly skilled assassin. For money, he eliminates those whose existence is considered harmful, quietly disposing of them. One night, Baian is mistaken for another doctor by the young swordsman Kosugi Jūgorō and is attacked. He manages to avoid harm, but the doctor Kosugi originally intended to target is connected to the assassination target assigned by Baian’s boss, Hanzaemon Otowa. Ba...
Baian the Assassin: Showdown
Character: Dr. Baian
Fujieda Baian is admired during the day as a skilled acupuncturist. However, at night, he is a highly skilled assassin, taking on contracts to quietly eliminate those whose existence is deemed toxic to society. Baian's latest target, assigned by his boss Otowa, is Shirakoya Kikuemon, the head of a powerful organization in Osaka. In the past, Baian had been indebted to Shirakoya, but due to a conflict involving the swordsman Kosugi Jūgorō, their relationship has turned adversarial. After his lov...
Memoirs of a Geisha
Character: Chairman
In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house....
7 Guardians of the Tomb
Character: Father
An innocent discovery of a well-preserved mummified Emperor from 200 BC China unearths a 2000 year old nightmare - a secret that should have remained buried....
Another Battle/Conspiracy
Character: Fujimaki Hiroaki
Katsunori Takahashi and Ken Watanabe star in a modern yakuza tale in the classic Japanese film series, Battles Without Honor and Humanity, directed by Hajime Hashimoto....
An Artist of the Floating World
Character: Ono Masuji
In the face of the misery in his homeland, the artist Masuji Ono was unwilling to devote his art solely to the celebration of physical beauty. Instead, he put his work in the service of the imperialist movement that led Japan into WWII....
A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era
Character: Ryoma Sakamoto
In the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, there was a cute warrior, Souji Okita, who belonged to the armed police of the shogunate in Kyoto. Very few knew that Souji was not a boy, but a woman. Souji loved the vice-leader of the armed police, Toshizou Hijikata. Souji suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and coughed up blood during a battle. Toshizou helped her but said that he did not care for the girl with a smell of blood. Souji had a real talent for swordsmanship and no one but Ryouma Sakam...
National Treasure
Character:
Set after the war in Japan, when the country experienced rapid economic growth, Kikuo is born into a yakuza family. His strange fate leads him to be eventually taken in by a kabuki theater actor. He experiences turbulent times, but his talent as a kabuki actor blossoms....