Masahiko Tsugawa

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.

Yokoyama Kenji, the president of an event company that organizes matchmaking parties, meets Mita Soichiro (Shunsuke Kubozuka) who works for a first-class trading company. The two plan to rob an art dealer, Kurokawa Haruo, of a large amount of money, but are discovered by his daughter, Kurokawa Chie. After that, the two meet Chie again, and are invited to join in her in a scheme to steal 1 billion yen.

A lowly drunken samurai finds an abandoned baby in the woods and takes it home. A gift from a fox. But there's something special about the boy.

Yakuza drama with Meiko Kaji directed by Masahiro Makino

Himuro (Yasukaze Motomiya), assistant Wakagashira of Kyowakai, joins Tamura (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi) and other Kyowakai executives to track down Fukumoto, chairman of the West Japan Mutsumikai, the mastermind behind the assassination plot against Kudo (Hakuryu), Kyowakai’s chairman. Himuro and his men infiltrate the meeting site, preparing to eliminate Fukumoto—but Yashiro, head of the Yashiro-gumi, pretends to cooperate while secretly leaking information to the Kudo-gumi. Seizing the opportunity, Zaizen, assistant Wakagashira of the Kudo-gumi, makes his move—not against Fukumoto, but against Himuro himself. Meanwhile, Kawatani, Kyowakai’s Wakagashira, is delivered a shocking revelation by Kudo.

When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of random events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.

No overview available.

Warlords Kagetora and Takeda each wish to prevent the other from gaining hegemony in feudal Japan. The two samurai leaders pursue one another across the countryside, engaging in massive battles of cavalry and infantry. Younger and less brutal, Kagetora must find the strength to be as brutal as his opponent, but at what cost?

Intrepid tax investigator Ryoko Itakura sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo, a suspected millionaire and proprietor of a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels, who has for years succeeded at hiding the true extent of his assets from the Japanese authorities. Itakura and Gondo soon find themselves engaged in a complicated, satirical battle of wits.

After bringing the Chubu region under his control, Himuro (Yasukaze Motomiya) faces a new upheaval when Akimoto (Sho Aikawa) of the Marugami Alliance is suddenly incarcerated. This triggers Takishima (Masahiko Tsugawa), chairman of the Marugami Alliance, to announce his retirement. Mita (Shun Sugata), the executive director, is appointed as the second chairman of the Marugami Alliance. However, Tsurumi (Mikio Osawa), head of the Tsurumi-gumi and deputy executive director, fiercely opposes the new leadership. Meanwhile in Hiroshima, Fukumoto (Keiji Matsuda), who previously failed to assassinate Kudo (Hakuryu), sets his sights once again—this time moving to eliminate Himuro.

Himuro (Yasukaze Motomiya), wakagashira assistant of Kyowakai, and Tamura (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi) eliminate Fukumoto, chairman of the West Japan Mutsumikai, in a chaotic firefight. Himuro’s nephew Sugaya is killed protecting him, leaving Himuro devastated. Taking responsibility for Zaizen’s assassination plot, Kudo retires. After absorbing the West Japan Mutsumikai, Kyowakai enters a new era under third chairman Kawatani (Hitoshi Ozawa). In the east, Takishima retires as Marugami-kai chairman and Mita becomes second chairman, leaving Kyowakai and Marugami-kai as the two dominant forces. Munakata (Takanori Kikuchi), assistant to the Marugami-kai chairman, is released from prison and reunited with Kawatani and Himuro, recalling their shared past. As Kyowakai restructures, Kawatani delivers a shocking message to Himuro.

The story follows Mamoru Masaki, a resort developer, and Koai, a career woman at a rival company. The appearance of Masaki, who does not live in work and in love, gradually loosens up.

Luzon Sukezaemon is a merchant who imports vases from the Philippines. The vases are highly valued as tea utensils and he makes a huge profit. This was the first taiga drama to concentrate on the lives of commoners and the reviled merchant class of the Tokugawa period. It documents the rise and fall of the merchant city of Sakai, as seen by its most famous resident, the semilegendary Luzon.

No overview available.

Yojiro Ishizaka's original work was made into a drama co-starring Masahiko Tsugawa and Chieko Matsubara. Centered around Misako Inoue, who runs a dressmaking school with her mother together, and Kentaro Kamijima, a high school physical chemistry teacher. The drama depicts the love between the two, their youth, and their growth.

The Ooku of Edo Castle was a mysterious existence that could not be seen from the outside for 300 years in Tokugawa. Love and hate, and fierce power struggles were fought among the women day and night.

The interactions of two families that have lived next door to each other for generations.