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13 things you may not know about Japanese Cinema

From Akira Kurosawa to Yasujiro Ozu, from Takeshi Kitano to Hirokazu Koreeda, from samurai to yakuza to the Japanese New Wave, and from anime to J-horror to pink films, this is the place to go for reviews, interviews and features about movies both classic and new from Japan.

Asian cinema: Japanese films

SCMP Reporters

Published: 7:30pm, 30 Mar 2021

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1. What are the best movies of modern Japanese cinema?

These 25 titles would be a great place for you to start exploring. Learn more

Takeshi Kitano (left) in a scene from Zatoichi (2003), one of the picks for our list of the best Japanese films of the 21st century.

2. How did the beloved Studio Ghibli begin to dominate the animation business?

Studio Ghibli was formally set up in June 1985, and it has been making history ever since. Learn more

Hayao Miyazaki is the powerhouse behind Studio Ghibli, the world-beating anime studio. Photo: Getty Images

3. Is the iconic actor-director Takeshi Kitano still working today?

Yes but perhaps not for long, as he is reportedly making his last film. Learn more

Takeshi Kitano directed, starred in and scripted Outrage Beyond.

4. Which movie is the biggest-ever box office hit in Japan?

Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, and here's your complete guide to the film before watching it. Learn more

A poster for Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, the animated feature that has proved a blockbuster hit in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong in the past month.

5. What makes animator Hayao Miyazaki's films so special?

The stories he animates may be full of whimsy, but the Japanese genius is a hard taskmaster who sets exacting standards for himself, his peers and studio staff. Learn more

A still from Spirited Away (2001). Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki won the best animated film Oscar in 2003 for the spooky and surreal film. Photo: Studio Ghibli

6. Who was the creator behind the seemingly never-ending Ju-On: The Grudge series?

Takashi Shimizu, and he has turned one scary premise into a horror franchise that’s spanned decades. Learn more

A still from the Japanese horror film, Ju-On: The Grudge (2002). Japanese film director Takashi Shimizu has turned one scary premise into a decades-spanning horror franchise.

7. How did Akira Kurosawa come to be considered Japan’s most famous film director of all time?

Kurosawa studied the Westerns of John Ford, and put what he learned from them into his films about samurai. Here are his best movies. Learn more

Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa took what he learned from watching director John Ford’s films and applied it to his own work. In turn, his movies have inspired, and continue to inspire, Hollywood. Photo: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

8. Which classic animation predicted Tokyo hosting the 2020 Olympics – and cancelling them?

Akira, and the 1988 movie also influenced a wide range of titles that include Stranger Things and The Matrix, too. Learn more

Akira is one of Japan’s most influential anime and sci-fi films ever.

9. How does J-horror classic Ring (1998) compare to its 2002 Hollywood remake?

The original low-budget Japanese version of the horror film used dread instead of jump scares, was claustrophobic and had a great ending. Learn more

Naomi Watts in a still from The Ring (2002). This US remake was a box office success, but many prefer the Japanese original.

10. What does The Last Samurai star Hiroyuki Sanada think about working in Hollywood?

Sanada works behind the scenes too, as a kind of cultural adviser ensuring that the various productions in which he appears get the Japanese elements right. Learn more

Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada at the premiere of Minamata. Photo: John MacDougall/AFP

11. Why is Ghost in the Shell (1995) sometimes labeled the greatest and most philosophical anime ever made?

Not only that, but this story of an artificial intelligence that evolves to such an extent that it demands to be treated as a new life form is more relevant today than when the film was made. Learn more

A still from Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell (1995).

12. What does Memoirs of a Geisha star Koji Yakusho think about today's Japanese cinema?

Compared to the glory days of the 1990s when he made his name internationally, Yakusho believes that Japanese cinema has been in a slump in recent times. Learn more

Japanese actor Koji Yakusho, who stars in upcoming Chinese production Wings Over Everest, received a lifetime achievement award and the best actor award at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong in March. Photo: Nora Tam

13. Which are the best Godzilla films from the long-running Japanese series?

Like a Japanese Star Trek, they have been vehicles for social, political and ecological commentary. Here are the 10 most worth watching. Learn more

A scene from Godzilla II: King of the Monsters (2019), the latest in the famous monster movie series.

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