Movies by Ayako Wakao

The Radiant Prince
Hikaru Genji, the haunted romantic hero of Lady Murasaki Shikibu’s “Genji Monogatari” (Tale of Genji) comes to life in this new tale of his further romantic adventures. Young Genji, the emperor’s illegitimate son cuts a swath through the women of the imperial court, while still mourning the spirit of his late mother who died while he was still a child. Driven to an obsession with the emperor’s new concubine, Lady Fujitsubo, whose resemblance to his late mother originally caught the eye of the emperor, young Genji embarks upon a reckless affa...

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo
With a price on his head, Ichi seeks tranquillity in a favorite village. Since his last visit, it has fallen prey to Boss Masagoro, the son of a merchant rumored to have stolen gold from the shogunate. The boss has hired Yojimbo as his hard-drinking enforcer, but Yojimbo is both a spy for the shogunate, trying to find the gold, and in love with the merchant's unwilling mistress, Umeno. Ichi hires on as the merchant's masseur and buys Umeno's freedom with his employer's own money. This embarrasses Yojimbo who withdraws from a pact with Ichi t...

Vagabonds from Badgerville
A musical about the escapades of some tanuki passing themselves off as humans in human society.

Tora-san's Shattered Romance
Torajiro becomes homesick during his travels after watching a television report about his hometown and meeting a young woman that reminds him of his sister Sakura. Meanwhile, a new tenant moves into Toraya restaurant.

The Great Wall
In 221 BC, Qin Shihuangdi conquered the rest of China. Qin's great accomplishments and also his serious faults are showed in this film. Qin adopted autocratic dictatorship and led a luxurious life: abolition of feudalism and the centralization of power in the form of a now-hereditary bureaucracy loyal to himself; burning books and burying scholars; the construction of a sumptuous palace for his concubines and also the Great Wall.

Shinobi no Mono 4: Siege
[Period covered: 1614-1615] 4th film in the shinobi no mono series Tokugawa Ieyasu is now the ruler of all Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete -- the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now beseiged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu's ninja are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo (Ichikawa) and the other Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle ...

A Public Benefactor
The intense selfishness of a man brings him fame and fortune but not happiness.

The Tale of Genji
TV movie based on the novel "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu, which tells about the life of Prince Hikaru Genji, who was nicknamed "Shining" by people for his dazzling noble beauty. In 1991, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of TBS' founding, it was released with a total production value of around 1.2 billion yen and aired in two parts.

Victory and Defeat
After the boxing champion retires, the head of a powerful gym, Minegishi (So Yamamura), recommends Yamanaka (Hiroshi Kawaguchi), who is no longer in top form and is ranked number one, for a title fight, but his comrade Hata (Kojiro Hongo) is not happy with this choice, and so he moves to the gym run by the criminal businessman Goda (Toru Abe) and burning desire to beat Yamanaka.

The Priest and the Beauty
Princess Kiyo accidentally injures a local priest, Anchin, while on a hunt. She apologizes, but feels irritated by Anchin’s indifference to her in spite of her beauty. One night, while Anchin is recuperating in a hot spring, he is approached by Kiyo. She tells him that she is in love with him.

A Geisha's Diary
A young girl is rigorously trained in the feminine arts so that she can become a geisha. As she struggles through life, she learns to live not just as a woman but as a complete person.

Bamboo Doll of Echizen
Based on a novel by Tsutomu Mizukami, this haunting melodrama focuses on a young bamboo worker who takes his father's prostitute as his wife.

The Saga of Tanegashima
Well before “Shogun” as warring clans were fighting for power throughout Japan, a Portuguese vessel ran aground off Tanegashima. Lord Tokitaka helped Captain Pinto repair his ship. The grateful captain offered the lord a gift--a matchlock musket—the first firearm ever seen in Japan. But like a great stone hurled into placid waters, this simple gift will start a revolution. Tokitaka tasks Kinbei, his greatest swordsmith, to copy this musket and build guns for Japan. While Kinbei struggles to forge Japan’s first musket, a great love blooms bet...

Thousand Cranes
The entangled relations between the son of a seductive tea-ceremony teacher and the women in his father's life. Based on the novel by Kawabata Yasunari.

While Yet a Wife

Marriageable Age
Yoshimura's 48th film is the contemporary story of a well-to-do family showing the frailties and failings of the class, the egotism, and the complete lack of consideration under polite and superficially perfect manners.

Closing Time

Izakaya Moheji 2
A small, out-of-the-way izakaya in Tokyo has become the favorite hangout of people searching for nourishment for their bodies and their souls. The proprietor of Izakaya Moheji is Heiji. It is a place where regulars and strangers alike can find comfort and comfort food.

Izakaya Moheji 4
A small, out-of-the-way izakaya in Tokyo has become the favorite hangout of people searching for nourishment for their bodies and their souls. The proprietor of Izakaya Moheji is Heiji. It is a place where regulars and strangers alike can find comfort and comfort food.