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DOCUMENTARY
1300 Years of Prayers The Rebirth of the East Pagoda
2023 55 min.
Yakushiji Temple is a World Heritage site in Nara. Its East Pagoda is a National Treasure of Japan and the only remaining building from the Heijo-kyo capital, built in the year 730. Yet due to severe deterioration and the potential threat of earthquakes, it became necessary for it to be completely dismantled and restored for ...
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MAHOROBA ASUKA – Japan’s Ancient Capital –
2023 52 minutes
Japan’s capital 1400 years ago, Asuka is one of its oldest villages and a symbol of its intrinsic beauty. In recognition of its special history, a law was established to preserve the natural environment of the village. This documentary, filmed over the span of a year, captures Asuka’s beauty in four seasons and follows Ken ...
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Castle in the Sky and Granddad’s Cherry Tree
2021 60 minutes
The Takeda Castle ruins in Asago City are known as the “Castle in the Sky” as they are located on a mountain top and look to be floating in the sky. Wild cherry trees growing on the mountain slope are another symbol of the city. The trees, preserved over generations, have bloomed every spring for ...
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Call Me Dad – In Search of a Treatment for Rett Syndrome –
2020 55 minutes
This documentary follows Tetsuji Tanioka over a period of 3 years, as he cares for his daughter with Rett Syndrome. A rare neurological refractory disease that occurs almost exclusively in females, the condition leads to regression in physical and linguistic ability. Worldwide, only one in fifteen thousand are afflicted and there are estimated to be ...
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Finding the Strength to Live
2022
2022
2023 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival REMI Award (Special Jury Award) Known as the Kobe Serial Child Murders, in 1997 two children in Kyoto were brutally murdered by a 14-year-old boy who used the pseudonym Seito Sakakibara. Still a minor, by law the killer was jailed anonymously to protect his identity. Kenji Yamashita, father of one ...
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No Gambling!
2022
2022
2022 World Media Festivals Silver Yokohama, a cosmopolitan metropolis close to the capital city of Tokyo, appeared to be the perfect location for major casino operators of the world to develop a new resort location. However, one man stood up to their casino development plans - 91-year-old Yukio Fujiki, a.k.a. the “Don of Hama.” The ...
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I’m Taking a Little Trip to North Korea
2023
2023
2023 World Media Festivals Gold 2023 New York International Film Festival Silver 2023 US International Awards Silver The Repatriation Project saw nearly 93,000 people migrate from Japan to North Korea between 1959 and 1984. While the project was mainly aimed at native-born Koreans looking to return to their homeland, approximately 1800 Japanese wives also opted ...
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The Sake that Bonds – “Unite 311” A Sake of Gratitude
2021 46 minutes
Niizawa Sake Brewery and its long history were on the verge of ending after its facilities were destroyed in the Great Tohoku Earthquake of March 2011. At that time, though, workers from other breweries across Japan rushed to their aid. This documentary follows the owner and workers of Niizawa Sake Brewery as they attempt to ...
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Real Shots of Good – The Legacy of Tetsu Nakamura, M.D.
2020
2020
2021 World Media Festival Intermedia-globe Silver 2021 New York Festival Finalist In December 2019, Dr. Tetsu Nakamura was gunned down and killed in Afghanistan, where he had been providing humanitarian aid. During his 35 years working on-site, Dr. Nakamura did much more than provide medical care. He dug wells, built irrigation canals, and gave life-saving ...
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Colors in Japan
2021 25 min
Japan's landscape overflows with various colors from its four seasons. This array of rich "coloring" is presented in vivid 4K through the stories of traditional arts and crafts that symbolize the regions across the country from which they were born. Episode List (click title to preview): 1. Paint It Black! A Calligrapher's Challenge - Yamaguchi ...
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Rikuzentakata City: 10 Years in the Rebuilding of a Town from Zero
2021 49 mins
The city of Rikuzentakata in Iwate Prefecture had a two-kilometer stretch of shoreline covered with 70,000 pine trees that was ranked among the top 100 landscapes of Japan. On March 11, 2011, the city and shoreline were obliterated by the infamous tsunami which struck that day. This documentary follows the people of Rikuzentakata for 10 ...
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Chimugurisa ~Nanohana’s Okinawa Diary ~
2018
2018
Grand Prize at The Age of Regionalism Video Festival 2018 News program award winner at The Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association 2018 Nanohana Sakamoto, a 15-year-old girl born and raised in northern Japan, came to the island of Okinawa to attend a free school, Sangosya Score. Through her interactions with elderly residents in the night course, ...
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At the Top of the Sky ~The Yarigatake Hut’s 100 Years Story ~
2019 104 min
In April 2017, Daisuke decided to quit his job at a major mobile phone company and become the 4th generation successor of the "Yarigatake Sanso" mountain hut located on one of the most renowned mountains in the Japanese Alps. From an early age, he was brought to Yarigatake by his father and always harbored dreams ...
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Trap Master Kunio Katagiri and His Secrets to the Finest Gibier
2018
2018
Kunio Katagiri is a master trapper and has been the legendary owner-chef of a gibier (wild game) restaurant for 45 years. Katagiri, who hunts all of his game meats by himself, never uses a gun. Instead, he uses homemade traps of his own design to capture wild deer and wild boar alive, risking severe injury ...
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Tracking the Snipe God -Two Stories of the Latham’s Snipe-
2017 55 mins
“Ojishigi” (the Latham Snipe) is a small bird that travels between Hokkaido and Australia. Through many years of study, it was discovered that they mate in Hokkaido during summer in the northern hemisphere and travel all the way to Australia to spend the summer in the southern hemisphere. But their migratory route has remained a ...
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Arita Ware Reborn -Beyond the Tradition of 400 years –
2018 25 minutes
The first porcelain in Japan was made in Arita-cho 400 years ago. The porcelain was named “Aritayaki”. In the late 17th century Arita ware was exported to Europe, and its technicality and beauty were appreciated. The process goes through different phases such as molding the clay and coloring it. the final step is to burn it at a high temperature. The way the Arita ware has been created has not changed during the last 400 years. Enjoy the history and craftsman technique in high definition.
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--> The first porcelain in Japan was made in Arita-cho 400 years ago. The porcelain was named "Aritayaki". In the late 17th century Arita ware was exported to Europe, and its technicality and beauty were appreciated. The process goes through different phases such as molding the clay and coloring it. the final step is to burn ...
Valens’s Return Home – A Rwandan Genocide Offender, 22 Years On
2017 49min
In 1994, the conflict between the Tutsi and Hutu lead to the Rwandan genocide where more than 800,000 people were killed. Now in Rwanda, a country with no capital punishment, offenders that were involved in the genocide have been released one after another after their sentences. Can they coexist with society? Their number has reached ...
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Okinoshima
2017
2017
2018 World Media Festival Intermedia-globe Silver Okinoshima is not only an island of national treasure but also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its beauty and history. This documentary expresses the beauty of nature on the island and the treasures found there, and also follows the lives of the many people close ...
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Reintroducing Arita Ware to the World
2017 49 minutes
‘Aritayaki’ originates from pottery brought back and baked by Toyotomi Hideyoshi from Korea in 1616. This specific style of pottery has been passed down through many generations for over 400 years. This documentary shows the beauty of ‘Aritayaki’ and the history behind it. Check here to preview the program!
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Zuigan-ji (2016)
2016 48 minutes
Majestic Zuigan-ji Temple in northeast Japan is a national cultural treasure. Completed 400 years ago by the feudal lord of the region, Date Masamune, it’s famous as a lavish and glorious example of the culture of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (mid-1500s to 1600). The main hall is decorated with beautiful period-style art created by painters and ...
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Tasha Tudor
2017 105 minutes
Tasha Tudor is one of America’s best author-illustrators of children’s literature. This documentary film features a humorous lifestyle full of flowers, animals, and heart-warming words for the future. The "mother of the slow life" provides you with a key to fully enjoying your life. Click here to preview the program!
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An Eden for Two
2016
2016
US International Film & Video Festival 2017 Entertainment Category Gold Camera Award After World War 2, Japan experienced an economic boom and became a wealthy society. One couple fought against materialism, choosing otherwise to live deep in the mountains without electricity, a telephone, or plumbing. This program shows how these two lived their lives in ...
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Dad’s War
2016 47min
“Warship-Musashi” is a nonfiction novel that was written based on many testimonies from those involved in the construction as well as those who survived the sinking of Musashi. One of the witnesses is Haruo Nomura. He is my dad. We knew very little about him. Born in 1921, he graduated from the Naval Academy and ...
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Yakuza and Constitution
2016 96 mins
Since the enactment of the Anti-Boryokudan Act and Yakuza exclusion ordinances, the number of Yakuza members has reduced to less than 60,000. In the past 3 years, about 20,000 members have left Yakuza organizations. However, the numbers alone does not explain the reality. What are they thinking? How are they living now? Our camera follows ...
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The Fall of Manchuria Began Here
2016
2016
2017 US International Film and Video Festival - Silver Screen 2017 New York Festival - Finalist For 70 years, three enormous Soviet Army bases remained undiscovered on the plains of Mongolia. The discovery of these bases supports speculation of Stalin's intent to invade Japan, completely overturning the Japanese Army's previously held conceptions of the Soviets' ...
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Just an Ordinary Family: 22 years of a married couple with disabilities
2014
2014
ABU Prizes 2015 TV Winner for Documentary Coverage that follows a severely disabled married couple from their marriage, giving birth, and raising their children, for 22 years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Akimoto have cerebral palsy. They got married in 1992 as they sought independence from their parents. Before long, the couple had two children. Child ...
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New Life Blossoms in an Old Village: Seven Years of Struggle and Hope
2013
2013
The aging of Japan's population is steadily hollowing out the country's agriculture. Realizing the gravity of the situation, a struggling farming community in Ishikawa Prefecture called Sugaike began trying to attract young residents. Hiroyuki Yago is one of the people who came. He moved from Osaka to Sugaike in order to grow organic vegetables, but ...
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Shiretoko Peninsula
2002
2002
2002 New York Festival Awards. Nature and Wildlife Documentary: Silver Medal Into the Sea of Okhotsk, off the northern Japan’s island of Hokkaido, protrudes the Shiretoko Peninsula. The severe nature of the peninsula deters human intrusion and development. With no roads reaching the edge of the peninsula, it seems more like a small island floating ...
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Shiretoko Peninsula’s Kingdom of Brown Bears
2003
2003
“Era of Local” TV Festival 2010 Grand Prize. Shiretoko Peninsula, Japan’s final frontier, is the last kingdom of brown bears where their life in the wild can be observed. Surrounded by the ocean, the Shiretoko Peninsula is densely inhabited by brown bears, which is proof that Shiretoko is blessed with abundant nature that can support ...
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Ms. Chii’s Little Band: Bringing Songs and Smiles to the Children of Cambodia
2012
2012
2013 New York Festivals Silver Award. In this program, a female teacher from Hokkaido travels to Cambodia alone to teach music at the country’s largest elementary school in Siem Reap. She reveals the struggles she encounters in her efforts to help her students. Chigusa Tanaka (33) is a volunteer for JICA’s Overseas Cooperation program, and ...
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Laugh It Away and Say Goodbye
2010
2010
Winner of Best News Documentary at Monte-Carlo TV Festival 2011 Grand Prize at The Age of Regionalism Video Festival 2011 Grand Prize at “Era of Local” TV Festival 2010 Small and medium-sized businesses are the back bones of Japan that support the economy from the bottom-up. However, as work decreased sharply after the Lehman Shock, ...
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Tsunami Disaster: Heartache and Hope Through the Viewfinder – 49 Days of Life and Death –
2011
2011
2012 New York Festivals United Nations DPI Bronze Award. On March 11th, 2011, the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake of magnitude 9.0 leveled northeastern Japan. Kesennuma City of Miyagi Prefecture was torn apart. The subsequent tsunami and fires that broke out from fuel leakage led to 1,500 people dead or missing from this town. Shinichi Chiba, a ...
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Golden Field in China
2009
2009
Sichuan TV Festival Golden Panda Award. China has achieved remarkable development. One driving force behind its growing prosperity is a Japanese man who devoted his life to passing on his rice farming expertise bringing about an agricultural revolution in China. That man is Shoichi Hara, an agricultural engineer from Hokkaido. In 1982, at the age ...
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ENGAWA 1 & 2
2010
2010
Grand Prize at NAB Awards 2010. Japan has a large population that is aging rapidly. A Japanese woman's average life span is 86 years old, which has been at the top of the world record for 25 years. This documentary shows the life of four sisters whose average age is 90 years old. All of ...
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Costume Play Family Photograph
2009
2009
Grand Prize at NAB Awards 2009 / Local TV Festival 2009. The rapid economic growth in Japan during the last century has taken its toll on the health of family life. This documentary focuses on the "modern family image" in Japanese society, where family ties are becoming thin. Masashi Asada (29) is a popular photographer ...
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Pyrotechnicians: Laying All on the Line for a Flash of Light
2012 30 mins
Yamazaki is a pyrotechnician who has won numerous accolades for his fireworks skills. All his time and effort goes into creating a flash in the sky that lasts just an instant. We introduce his intricate designs at the Tsuchiura All-Japan Fireworks Competition, one of the three biggest in Japan.
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Oni-kenbai: Prayer in Motion
2012 30 mins
The Oni-kenbai demon sword dance has been passed down from fathers to sons to grandchildren, with no additions or amendments for generations. Not simply a dance to pray for happiness, it's to ensure the spirits of ancestors of both dancers and viewers are kept alive, while driving away evil. This is the demons' gift they ...
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