List of Japanese films of the 1940s

This film-related list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

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Cinema of
Japan

List of Japanese films
Pre-1910
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

* v
* t
* e

A list of films produced in Japan ordered by year in the 1940s. For an A-Z of films see Category:Japanese films. Also see cinema of Japan.

Title  | Director  | Cast  | Genre  | Notes

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1940
Kaze no Matasaburo | Koji Shima | Akikhiko Katayama | Drama |
Nobuko | Hiroshi Shimizu |  | Drama |
Shina no yoru | Osamu Fushimizu | Kazuo Hasegawa, Shirley Yamaguchi | Propaganda |
Travelling Actors | Mikio Naruse | Kamatari Fujiwara, Kan Yanagiya | Comedy | [1]
1941
The 47 Ronin | Kenji Mizoguchi | Chojuro Kawarasaki | Samurai film |
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family | Yasujirō Ozu | Mieko Takamine | Drama |
Hideko the Bus-Conductor | Mikio Naruse | Hideko Takamine, Kamatari Fujiwara | Drama |
Ornamental Hairpin | Hiroshi Shimizu | Saito Tatsuo, Tanaka Kinuyo | Drama | [2]
1942
Hawai Mare oki kaisen | Kajiro Yamamoto | Susumu Fujita, Setsuko Hara | Propaganda |
There Was a Father | Yasujirō Ozu | Mitsuko Mito, Chishū Ryū | Drama |
1943
Sanshiro Sugata | Akira Kurosawa | Denjiro Okochi, Susumu Fujita | Drama
Martial arts | Akira Kurosawa's first film
Momotarō no Umiwashi | Mitsuyo Seo |  | Propaganda Animation |
1944
Army | Keisuke Kinoshita | Chishū Ryū, Kinuyo Tanaka | Drama |
Miyamoto Musashi | Kenji Mizoguchi | Chojuro Kawarasaki, Kinuyo Tanaka | Jidaigeki | [3]
The Most Beautiful | Akira Kurosawa | Ichirō Sugai | Propaganda drama |
1945
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail | Akira Kurosawa | Susumu Fujita | Samurai film |
Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei | Mitsuyo Seo |  | Propaganda Animation |
Sanshiro Sugata Part II | Akira Kurosawa | Denjiro Okochi | Martial arts film |
1946
Aru yo no Tonosama | Teinosuke Kinugasa |  |  |
A Descendant of Taro Urashima | Mikio Naruse | Susumu Fujita, Nobuo Nakamura | Drama | [4]
Josei no Shori | Kenji Mizoguchi | Kinuyo Tanaka, Michiko Kuwano | Drama | [5]
Minshū no Teki | Tadashi Imai | Susumu Fujita, Akitake Kōno | Drama |
No Regrets for Our Youth | Akira Kurosawa | Masao Shimizu | Drama |
Those Who Make Tomorrow | Akira Kurosawa | Kenji Susukida |  |
Utamaro and His Five Women | Kenji Mizoguchi | Kinuyo Tanaka | Biopic |
1947
Ima Hitotabi no | Heinosuke Gosho |  |  |
The Love of Sumako, the Actress | Kenji Mizoguchi | Kinuyo Tanaka, So Yamamura | Drama | [6]
One Wonderful Sunday | Akira Kurosawa | Isao Numasaki | Romantic comedy |
The Record of a Tenement Gentleman | Yasujirō Ozu | Chouko Iida, Hohi Aoki | Drama |
Snow Trail | Senkichi Taniguchi | Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura |  |
These Foolish Times | Kajiro Yamamoto | Roppa Furukawa, Kenichi Enomoto | Comedy | [7]
1948
Drunken Angel | Akira Kurosawa | Toshirō Mifune | Crime drama |
A Hen in the Wind | Yasujirō Ozu | Kinuyo Tanaka | Drama |
President and a female clerk | Hideo Ôba  | Taiji Tonoyama | Comedy  | music by Akira Ifukube
1949
Aoi sanmyaku | Tadashi Imai | Setsuko Hara, Ryō Ikebe | Comedy drama |
Jakoman and Tetsu | Senkichi Taniguchi | Toshiro Mifune |  | [8]
Jigoku no kifujin | Motoyoshi Oda | Michiyo Kogure, Eitaro Ozawa, Ichiro Ryuzaki | — | [9]
Kane no naru oka: Dai san hen, kuro no maki | Keisuki Sasaki | Keiji Sada, Masao Inoue |  |
Late Spring | Yasujirō Ozu | Haruko Sugimura | Drama |
The Quiet Duel | Akira Kurosawa | Toshirō Mifune |  |
Stray Dog | Akira Kurosawa | Toshirō Mifune | Crime drama |
Zoku aoi sanmyaku | Tadashi Imai | Setsuko Hara, Ryō Ikebe | Comedy drama | [10]

## References

[edit]

### Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ "Movie-times.co".
2. ^ "Japan Navigator: Japanese film: "Ornamental Hairpin" (1941) and other films by Shimizu Hiroshi". www.japannavigator.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-14.
3. ^ "Miyamoto Musashi (1944)". Archived from the original on May 22, 2017.
4. ^ "MUBI: Watch and Discover Movies".
5. ^ "Josei No Shori (1946)". Archived from the original on May 22, 2017.
6. ^ http://www.villagevoice.com/movies/the-love-of-the-actress-sumako-joy-sumako-no-koi-1947-6616557 [dead link]
7. ^ "These Foolish Times (1947)".
8. ^ "Toshiro Mifune: Films by Year, Page 1".
9. ^ Galbraith IV 2008, p. 70.
10. ^ "Blue Mountains, Part II (1949)".

### Sources

[edit]

* Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1461673743. Retrieved October 29, 2013.

## External links

[edit]

* Japanese film at the Internet Movie Database

* v
* t
* e

Cinema of Japan

* Studios

Awards|

| Major seven|

* Kinema Junpo Awards (since 1926)
* Mainichi Film Awards (since 1946)
* Blue Ribbon Awards (since 1950)
* Hochi Film Awards (since 1976)
* Japan Academy Film Prize (since 1978)
* Yokohama Film Festival (since 1980)
* Nikkan Sports Film Awards (since 1988)

|

Others|

* Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition
* Bunshun Kiichigo Awards
* Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award
* Elan d'or Awards
* Golden Arrow Award
* Japanese Movie Critics Awards
* Japanese Professional Movie Awards

Genres|

* Anime
* Gendai-geki
* Horror
* Jidaigeki
* Samurai cinema
* Pink film
* Science fiction
* Cyberpunk
* Kaiju
* Tokusatsu
* Shoshimin-eiga
* Tendency film
* Yakuza film (Gokudō)

Films|

| By decade|

* pre-1910
* 1910s
* 1920s
* 1930s
* 1940s
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s

|

By year|

* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Lists|

* List of highest-grossing Japanese films
* List of highest-grossing films in Japan
* List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
* List of Japanese film directors

Other|

* Box office
* Anime News Network
* Crunchyroll
* Japanese New Wave
* Zainichi cinema

* v
* t
* e

Lists of films by country

Africa|

| Central|

* Angola
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Congo (Democratic Republic)
* Zaire
* Congo (Republic)
* Gabon

|

Eastern|

* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Ethiopia
* Kenya
* Madagascar
* Mauritius
* Mozambique
* Rwanda
* Somalia
* Tanzania
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Northern|

* Algeria
* Egypt
* Libya
* Morocco
* Sudan
* Tunisia
* Western Sahara

Southern|

* Botswana
* South Africa

Western|

* Benin
* Burkina Faso
* Cape Verde
* Côte d'Ivoire
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Senegal
* Togo

Asia|

| Central|

* Kazakhstan
* Kyrgyzstan
* Tajikistan
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan

|

Eastern|

* China
* Hong Kong
* Macau
* Japan
* Korea
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Mongolia
* Taiwan

Southern|

* Afghanistan
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* India
* Assamese
* Bengali
* Bhojpuri
* Gujarati
* Hindi
* Kannada
* Malayalam
* Marathi
* Odia
* Punjabi
* Tamil
* Telugu
* Maldives
* Nepal
* Pakistan
* Urdu
* Punjabi
* Pashto
* Sindhi
* Sri Lanka
* Sinhala
* Tamil

Southeastern|

* Burma
* Cambodia
* Indonesia
* Laos
* Malaysia
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Thailand
* Vietnam

Western|

* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Cyprus
* Georgia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Palestine
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Syria
* Turkey
* United Arab Emirates
* Yemen

Europe|

| Eastern|

* Belarus
* Bulgaria
* Czech Republic
* Hungary
* Moldova
* Poland
* Romania
* Russia
* Slovakia
* Soviet Union
* Ukraine

|

Northern|

* Denmark
* Estonia
* Faroe Islands
* Finland
* Iceland
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Norway
* Sweden

Southern|

* Albania
* Andorra
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Greece
* Italy
* Macedonia
* Malta
* Montenegro
* Portugal
* Serbia
* Serbia and Montenegro
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Yugoslavia

Western|

* Austria
* Belgium
* France
* Germany
* East Germany
* Ireland
* Liechtenstein
* Luxembourg
* Monaco
* Netherlands
* Switzerland
* United Kingdom

Americas|

| Central America
and the Caribbean|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Aruba
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Cuba
* Costa Rica
* Dominican Republic
* Guatemala
* Guadeloupe
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Martinique
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Puerto Rico
* Trinidad and Tobago

|

North|

* Canada
* Greenland
* Mexico
* United States

South|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Colombia
* Ecuador
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Niue
* Papua New Guinea
* Tonga

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