Os filmes chegaram ao Japão por volta de 1897, e desde então muito material vem sendo realizado numa das maiores indústrias do mundo do entretenimento. Fizemos uma lista dos maiores cineastas de todos os tempos do Japão. Essa lista está sempre se renovando.
Yasujirô Ozu (Tokyo Story, Early Summer, An Autumn Afternoon, Tokyo Twilight)
Akira Kurosawa (Ikiru, Ran, Rashômon, High And Low)
Kenji Mizoguchi (Sansho The Bailiff, The Life Of Oharu, Ugetsu, Street Of Shame)
Yasuzo Masumura (Red Angel, Irezumi, Blind Beast, Kisses)
Kon Ichikawa (The Heart, Alone On The Pacific, An Actor’s Revenge, The Burmese Harp)
Mikio Naruse (Floating Clouds, Yearning, When A Woman Ascends The Stairs, Sound Of The Mountain)
Masaki Kobayashi (Samurai Rebellion, Harakiri, The Human Condition, Kwaidan)
Kaneto Shindô (The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko, Children Of Hiroshima)
Hiroshi Shimizu (Mr. Thank You, Japanese Girls At The Harbor, Children In The Wind, The Masseurs And A Woman)
Sadao Yamanaka (Humanity And Paper Balloons, Tange Sazen And The Pot Worth A Million Ryo, Priest Of Darkness)
