Best Japanese documentary movies
A curated collection of popular documentary movies from Japan.
The Last Air Raid Kumagaya (1993)
The Last Air Raid Kumagaya (1993)
The central character is a 7 year old girl called Sachiko. She has just lost her immediate family in the firebombing of Tokyo and takes the train to her uncle’s family in Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture. She is not out of danger yet, for the train gets shot at by a plane along the journey. Her uncle meets her at the station and he and his whole family welcome her with open arms. With her cousins, Sachiko explores the beauty of the natural landscape around Kumagaya. Sadly, these beautiful days of late summer are not to last. The final movement of the film depicts the final air raid of the war. The city descends into fear and chaos and Sachiko gets separated from her family with tragic results.
Twice: The Extraordinary Life of Tsutomu Yamaguchi (2010)
Twice: The Extraordinary Life of Tsutomu Yamaguchi (2010)
Tsutomu Yamaguchi is a hibakusha. A survivor of both atomic bomb blasts in 1945. First at Hiroshima, then again at Nagasaki. Now nearing 90, Yamaguchi finally speaks out. Breaking taboos of shame and sorrow, he responds to a call to fight for a world without nuclear weapons by telling his story, so that no one else will ever have to tell one like it again. Twice reconstructs Yamaguchi’s experiences in 1945 Japan, interviews him on the after-effects of exposure and documents the last five years of the late-blooming activist’s life.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (2017)
Oscar winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto weaves man-made and natural sounds together in his works. His anti-nuclear activism grew after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and his career only paused after a 2014 cancer diagnosis.
Instruments of a Beating Heart (2024)
Instruments of a Beating Heart (2024)
First graders in a Tokyo public elementary school are presented with a challenge for the final semester: performing "Ode to Joy" at the ceremony for the new incoming first graders. Ayame, who often struggles to keep up with the group, is determined to play a major part — the big drum.
John Williams in Tokyo (2024)
John Williams in Tokyo (2024)
30 years after his last visit to Japan, John Williams has returned for a special concert – making his debut with the world-famous Saito Kinen Orchestra in renditions of his beloved film scores and reuniting with his longtime friend, world-renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa (1935-2024). Captured live on record at Suntory Hall last year, John Williams In Tokyo is now being be released by Deutsche Grammophon and follows his acclaimed concert albums, The Berlin Concert and John Williams in Vienna, which topped charts around the globe.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus (2023)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus (2023)
"Ars longa, vita brevis" – art is long, life is short. This is one of Japanese music icon Ryuichi Sakamoto's favorite quotes, and the message that he leaves for viewers at the end of his final concert film, shot before he succumbed to cancer in March 2023. Consisting of only Sakamoto and his piano, Opus features the final live performances of 20 songs that Sakamoto meticulously curated to encapsulate his distinguished 40-year career.
Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios (2024)
Fujii Kaze Love All Serve All Stadium Live (2023)
Fujii Kaze Love All Serve All Stadium Live (2023)
After making waves with fans all over the world, Fujii Kaze commemorates the release of his second album with his first ever outdoor stadium performance.
tricotMOVIE7月号 (2011)
tricotMOVIE7月号 (2011)
tricot movie july
1/2 Man (1986)
1/2 Man (1986)
A visual documentary of Einstürzende Neubauten, the German underground band, by Japanese cult director Sogo Ishii, made during their 1985 tour of Japan. The band makes an elaborate and remarkably choreographed appearance in the ruins of an old ironworks which was scheduled for demolition; footage of same was incorporated into the movie and a brief appearance on stage.
EXO Planet #3 The EXO'rDIUM in Japan (2017)
EXO Planet #3 The EXO'rDIUM in Japan (2017)
EXO Planet #3 – The EXO'rDIUM was the third tour of South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO. This is a recording of the concert date of either November 30th, 2016 or December 1st, 2016 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.
EXO PLANET #2 The EXO'luxion in Japan (2016)
EXO PLANET #2 The EXO'luxion in Japan (2016)
EXO PLANET #2 - The EXO'luXion was the second tour of South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO. The tour began in Seoul's Olympic Gymnastics Arena on March 7, 2015. The tour was officially announced in January 2015 with the first five dates in South Korea. The tour had 39 dates throughout Asia and five dates in North America.
SCANDAL Documentary film HELLO WORLD (2015)
SCANDAL Documentary film HELLO WORLD (2015)
The documentary film follows the group as they perform in countries across Europe, North America and Asia. It includes live and behind-the-scenes footage of their sold-out performances at the O2 Academy Islington in London, Le Bataclan in Paris and House of Blues in Los Angeles among others, bringing audiences closer to HARUNA, MAMI, TOMOMI, and RINA of SCANDAL like never before.
BOCCHI THE ROCK! Kessoku Band LIVE -Kousei- (2023)
BOCCHI THE ROCK! Kessoku Band LIVE -Kousei- (2023)
Kessoku Band brings a live video! Kessoku Band consists of four voice artists starring in the TV anime "Bocchi the Rock!". This video compiles their first solo concert held at Zepp Haneda on May 21, 2023.
Yuzuru Hanyu ICE STORY 2023 "GIFT" at Tokyo Dome (2023)
Yuzuru Hanyu ICE STORY 2023 "GIFT" at Tokyo Dome (2023)
Produced and directed by Yuzuru Hanyu. The first-ever solo ice show at Tokyo Dome "GIFT,” a story that self-portrays Yuzuru Hanyu's life and future on the ice. Featuring MIKIKO as the director. The show will finally open for one night only on February 26, 2023.
Lovebites - Daughters Of The Dawn - Live In Tokyo 2019 (2019)
Lovebites - Daughters Of The Dawn - Live In Tokyo 2019 (2019)
Features LOVEBITES' gig held at MyNavi BLITZ Akasaka held on January 27. Contains 17 songs total. 1 Clockwork Immortality 2 Addicted 3 Bravehearted 4 The Crusade 5 Pledge Of The Saviour 6 Rising 7 Scream For Me 8 Break The Wall 9 Shadowmaker 10 Above The Black Sea 11 Empty Daydream 12 M.D.O 13 Journey To The Otherside 14 Edge Of The World 15 We The United 16 Epilogue 17 Don't Bite The Dust 18 Under The Red Sky 19 The Everlasting
BUCK-TICK Climax Together on Screen 1992-2016 (2017)
BUCK-TICK Climax Together on Screen 1992-2016 (2017)
BUCK-TICK's "CLIMAX TOGETHER" which was done on the same date, the same place in 1992, 2004, 2016 and 12 years cycle. It is a track of "BUCK - TICK" evolution that will continue to operate in major scenes from the dawn of Japanese rock industry. Death of familiar people, global terrorism, threat of nature. A deep bond and affection with fans who keep closing together no matter how many years passed. By sharing sorrows that never can resist and the joy that anyone can not take, a message was born and a song was born. The work now approaches the core of "CLIMAX TOGETHER" and "BUCK - TICK", by interviewing the members, and re - editing the images released as works until now as unpublished scenes, for 32 years since the formation It became a work that can recognize the growth and ties of the members who have been walking.
Tokyo Phoenix (2017)
Tokyo Phoenix (2017)
In 150 years, twice marked by total destruction —a terrible earthquake in 1923 and incendiary bombings in 1945— followed by a spectacular rebirth, Tokyo, the old city of Edo, has become the largest and most futuristic capital in the world in a transformation process fueled by the exceptional resilience of its inhabitants, and nourished by a unique phenomenon of cultural hybridization.
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013)
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)
Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old veteran of the New Guinea campaign in World War II, sets out to conduct interviews with survivors and relatives to find the truth behind atrocities committed while the Japanese garrison was surrounded, in particular the unexplained killing of two Japanese privates in his unit.
Tokyo Olympiad (1965)
Tokyo Olympiad (1965)
This impressionistic portrait of the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics pays as much attention to the crowds and workers as it does to the actual competitive events. Highlights include an epic pole-vaulting match between West Germany and America, and the final marathon race through Tokyo's streets. Two athletes are highlighted: Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila, who receives his second gold medal, and runner Ahamed Isa from Chad, representing a country younger than he is.
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2016)
Kusama: Infinity (2018)
Kusama: Infinity (2018)
Now one of the world’s most celebrated artists, Yayoi Kusama broke free of the rigid society in which she was raised, and overcame sexism, racism, and mental illness to bring her artistic vision to the world stage. At 88 she lives in a mental hospital and continues to create art.
Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron (2024)
Ramen Heads (2017)
Ramen Heads (2017)
In Ramen Heads, Osamu Tomita, Japan's reigning king of ramen, takes us deep into his world, revealing every single step of his obsessive approach to creating the perfect soup and noodles, and his relentless search for the highest-quality ingredients.
Antonio Gaudí (1984)
Antonio Gaudí (1984)
Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí (1852-1926) designed some of the world's most astonishing buildings, interiors, and parks; Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara constructed some of the most aesthetically audacious films ever made. With camera work as bold and sensual as the curves of his subject's organic structures, Teshigahara immortalizes Gaudí on film.
Fukushima: A Nuclear Story (2015)
Fukushima: A Nuclear Story (2015)
A powerful documentary that sheds some light on what really happened at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the 2011 earthquake and the tsunami that immediately followed. A powerful documentary - shot from March 11th, 2011 through March 2015 - that sheds some light on what really happened at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the 2011 earthquake and the tsunami that followed.