Japanese movies won honorary honors for Best Foreign Language Film before they became officially classified. Among Japanese people to receive Oscars, Umeki Miyoshi succeeded the 1958 award for Best Supporting Actress in the US movie Sayonara, while Sakamoto Ryūichi was among those memorialized in 1988 for Best Score for Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor.
1. Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke was even the most prosperous Japanese and international (non-US) film ever created. Mononoke was formed when Disney and Tokuma marked an understanding in 1996, giving Disney exclusive worldwide rights to several Ghibli films. The protagonist, young Ashitaka - infected by an animal attack, seeks a cure from the deer-like god Shishigami.
2. The Harp Of Burma
The story revolves around a Japanese platoon surrendering to British forces in Burma in 1943. The platoon's harp player, Mizushima, is selected from the prisoners of war to deliver a request for surrender to a Japanese regiment holed up on a mountain. Mizushima conceals himself as a Buddhist monk and starts a voyage toward ease of mind amid the chaos.
3. Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior)
In the story of a warlord who dies, a peasant thief is called upon to impersonate him and then finds himself haunted by the warlord's spirit and ambitions. Kurosawa creates a historical epic that is also a meditation on the nature of power. Kagemusha is the Japanese phrase for a political decoy, directly representing "shadow warrior." The movie concludes with the pivotal 1575 Battle of Nagashino. Kagemusha.
4. Muddy River
Two boys, whose parents ply their work by the mug of a muddy river in Osaka, evolve into close friends. The two families' "businesses" are dining and prostitution. It was selected for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It also joined the 12th Moscow International Film Festival, winning the Silver Prize.
5. Sandakan No. 8
Tanaka won the Best Actress Award at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival for what may be considered her last significant role, in Kei Kumai's Sandakan No. 8. this transformation of Tomoko Yamazaki's pioneering work takes on the subject of karayuki-san, the young women forced into sexual slavery throughout Pacific Rim territories in the early 20th century.
6. The Wind Rises
The movie was released in 2013. Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises was considered the final film for the legendary animation director. When Jiro was just a youthful boy, the film charts his passion for airplanes in his youth through his involvement in designing the Mitsubishi A5M and the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. he also makes time to develop a tender romance between Jiro and his wife, Naoko.
7. The Twilight Samurai
The Twilight Samurai ensues Seibei Iguchi (Hiroyuki Sanada), a widowed, low-ranking samurai who, as he cares for his two young daughters and senile mother, has no interest in remarrying. The structure is something you've witnessed a million times before, but Yamada uses those anticipations to his benefit as he spins an affective, inflammatory story about a tragic protagonist.
8. Kwaidan
Kwaidan is a strange and staggering film. Kwaidan's title references "Kaidan," which translates to "ghost story" in archaic Japanese. Kobayashi utilizes his long runtime to tell four folk stories about the topic. Telling stories around penniless samurais and random musicians, each one holds a haunting spin. He was a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1966. Kobayashi's harrowing gear shift did not go unnoticed.
9. Kagemusha
Numerous of Akira Kurosawa's films have acquired an Oscar nomination or two, and any of them – whether they were selected for an Academy Award or not – is certainly worth checking out. As one of the latest films Kurosawa produced in his sprawling career, the Japanese genius is firing on all cylinders with Kagemusha, deftly balancing its epic scale with piercing, intimate moments. As the central thief realizes how out of his depth, Kurosawa's filmmaking becomes more chaotic but never any less precise.
10. Shoplifters
Director Hirokazu Kore-Eda has created a name for himself with his tender, humanist acts. The movies are usually low stakes and take a peek at everyday life for homes in Japan. Selected for Best International Feature in 2019, Shoplifters is one of just 16 movies ever that scored that nomination and won the Palme D'or at the Cannes Film Festival. Kore-media's characteristic softness blankets the film in cozy surroundings, but by the time the third act moves around, the film goes for the heartstrings and makes every tear.
