Ring / The Ring / Ringu (1998)
Horror | Mystery
A reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it.
Starring: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada, Yûko Takeuchi, Hitomi Satô, Takashi Takayama
Director: Hideo Nakata
The Legend & Butterfly (2023)
Drama | History | Romance
The story of a man and a woman that extends over 30 years in the Warring State period.
Starring: Takuya Kimura, Haruka Ayase, Hideaki Itô, Miki Nakatani, Kin'ya Kitaôji, Hio Miyazawa
Director: Keishi Otomo
Zero Focus / Zero no shôten (2009)
Drama
Spurred by the disappearance of a newly-wed husband, three women in post-war Japan are drawn into a murder mystery.
Starring: Ryôko Hirosue, Miki Nakatani, Tae Kimura, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Takeshi Kaga, Tetta Sugimoto
Director: Isshin Inudô
The First Gentleman / Sori no Otto (2021)
Comedy | Drama
A zoologist and expert on birds is on a trip to an isolated locale to study the native species. He is expected to be in relative isolation given his destination. His wife is the leader of a political party in Japan. His wife asks him how he would feel should she become Prime Minister. Lo and behold she is the leader of the country upon his return.
Starring: Kei Tanaka, Miki Nakatani, Shihori Kanjiya, Asuka Kudô, Airi Matsui
Director: Hayato Kawai
Miyamoto Musashi (TV Mini-Series 2014)
Drama
Musashi Miyamoto left his village and ended up fighting in the battle of Sekigahara with his friend Matahachi, but Musashi Miyamoto lost Matahachi. He goes back to the village to inform Matahachi's family about what happened. At the village, he is persecuted by people there. Musashi Miyamoto becomes worn down physically and mentally. At this time, Soho Takuan appears in front of Musashi Miyamoto . He then rebuilds his life with his sword. Musashi begins to travel for warrior training. He meets many masters of the sword and grows as a person.
Starring: Takuya Kimura, Ikki Sawamura, Yôko Maki, Yûsuke Santamaria, Teruyuki Kagawa, Shôta Matsuda, Miki Nakatani
Creator: Shimako Sato
A Stitch of Life / Tsukuroi tatsu hito (2015)
Drama
Ichie, a dressmaker who has inherited her grandmother's shop. Like her grandmother, Ichie makes and repairs each dress by hand, avoiding mass production or creating a brand name. Through her interactions with her clients, Ichie reminisces about the events in her past.
Starring: Miki Nakatani, Takahiro Mizushima, Hairi Katagiri, Haru Kuroki, Hana Sugisaki, Masatô Ibu
Director: Yukiko Mishima
Memories of Matsuko / Kiraware Matsuko no isshô (2006)
Comedy | Drama | Musical | Mystery
When a bored college student learns that a long lost aunt has been found dead in a park, he begins piecing together her life to see if it had any value. What he finds is a revelation. Talented film director, Tetsuya Nakashima ("Kamikaze Girls" 04), wield a host of cinematic tools to make "Memories of MATSUKO" a memorably entertaining and emotionally powerful "fairytale tragedy," weaving together realistic human drama with offbeat comedy and spectacular (Bob Fosse-like) production numbers to tell the heartbreaking story of Matsuko Kawajiri, a starry-eyed woman who spends her entire life serching for a worthy "prince" capable of returning her limitless love. Versatile actress, Miki Nakatani, renders a virtuosic performance in the lead role of Matsuko.
Starring: Eita, Miki Nakatani, Ko Shibasaki, Yûsuke Iseya, Teruyuki Kagawa, Mikako Ichikawa
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Ask This of Rikyu / Rikyû ni tazuneyo (2013)
Drama
Sen no Rikyu (Ebizo Ichikawa) is the son of a fish shop owner. Sen no Rikyu then studies tea and eventually becomes one of the primary influences upon the Japanese tea ceremony. With his elegant esthetics, Sen no Rikyu is favored by the most powerful man in Japan Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Nao Omori) and becomes one of his closest advisors. Due to conflicts, Toyotomi Hideyoshi then orders Sen no Rikyu to commit seppuku (suicide).
Starring: Ebizô Ichikawa, Miki Nakatani, Danjuro Ichikawa, Yûsuke Iseya, Nao Ômori, Riko Narumi, Seiji Fukushi, Clara
Director: Mitsutoshi Tanaka
When the Last Sword is Drawn / Mibu gishi den (2003)
Drama
Yojira Takita's excellent 2003 samurai epic takes place in Meiji-era Japan, when the few remaining samurai were forced to choose sides and fight for either the Emperor or the Tokugawa Shogunate (a time period familiar to American audiences from THE LAST SAMURAI, but explored with more complexity and nuance here). Kiichi Nakai stars as Kanichiro Yoshimura, a principled Bushido warrior whose difficult decisions and complicated path are skillfully revealed through flashback.
Starring: Kiichi Nakai, Kôichi Satô, Yui Natsukawa, Takehiro Murata, Miki Nakatani, Yûji Miyake
Director: Yôjirô Takita
The Spiral / Ring: The Spiral / Rasen (1998)
Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Following the events of Ring, the body of Ryūji Takayama, former husband of Reiko Asakawa and father of Yōichi Asakawa, is examined by his friend and rival, pathologist Mitsuo Andō. After he finds a cryptic note in Takayama's stomach, Reiko and Yōichi also turn up dead. Andō soon learns of a mysterious cursed videotape, haunted by the spirit of a murdered young woman. Rumor has it that anyone who watches the video will die exactly one week later. Despondent over the death of his own child, and believing that he is being guided by his rival's ghost, Andō decides to see the video for himself. After watching the tape, strange things begin to happen around him, and he soon discovers that the tape's restless spirit has different plans in store for him.
Starring: Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kôichi Satô, Hinako Saeki, Shingo Tsurumi, Shigemitsu Ogi
Director: Jôji Iida
The Kiyosu Conference / Kiyosu kaigi (2013)
History
After the forced suicide of Nobunaga Oda at the Incident at Honnō-ji, powerful figures Katsuie Shibata (Koji Yakusho), Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Nagahide Niwa and Tsuneoki Ikeda meet to decide on a successor. The conference would become Japan's first group made political decision. The meeting was known as the Kiyosu Kaigi.
Starring: Fumiyo Kohinata, Kôji Yakusho, Yô Ôizumi, Kôichi Satô, Eisuke Shinoi, Kyôka Suzuki, Yûsuke Iseya, Miki Nakatani, Kankurô Nakamura, Ayame Gôriki
Director: Kôki Mitani
Ring 2 / The Ring 2 / Ringu 2 (1999)
Horror
In the third film in the "Ring" series, Reiko takes Yoichi into hiding when her son begins to display frightening powers. Meanwhile, Mai Takano and the authorities begin a desperate search for them, as the mysterious Ring curse spreads.
Starring: Miki Nakatani, Hitomi Satô, Kyôko Fukada, Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada
Director: Hideo Nakata
JIN / Time Slip Dr. Jin (TV Series 2009- )
Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
The story follows a brain surgeon named, Minakata Jin, who has spent the last two years in anguish, as his fiancee lies in a vegetative state after an operation he performed. One day, he faints at the hospital and awakens to find himself transported back in time to the Edo period. He is soon attacked by a samurai, but he escapes with the help of a man named Kyotaro. Kyotaro suffers a serious injury to the head while trying to protect him, but Jin manages to save his life despite a lack of proper medical equipment. Because of that, Kyotaro's sister Saki begins taking an interest in Jin and becomes his assistant. Meanwhile, Jin is determined to find a way back to the present.
Starring: Takao Ohsawa, Miki Nakatani, Haruka Ayase, Keisuke Koide, Kenta Kiritani, Masaaki Uchino, Hiromasa Taguchi, Tetsu Saiki, Daiki Nakae, Yumi Asô, Erena Mizusawa, Takahiro Fujimoto, Aki Mizusawa, Saki Takaoka
Creator: Yoshiko Morishita, Motoka Murakami
JIN / Time Slip Dr. Jin (TV Series 2009- )
Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
The story follows a brain surgeon named, Minakata Jin, who has spent the last two years in anguish, as his fiancee lies in a vegetative state after an operation he performed. One day, he faints at the hospital and awakens to find himself transported back in time to the Edo period. He is soon attacked by a samurai, but he escapes with the help of a man named Kyotaro. Kyotaro suffers a serious injury to the head while trying to protect him, but Jin manages to save his life despite a lack of proper medical equipment. Because of that, Kyotaro's sister Saki begins taking an interest in Jin and becomes his assistant. Meanwhile, Jin is determined to find a way back to the present.
Starring: Takao Ohsawa, Miki Nakatani, Haruka Ayase, Keisuke Koide, Kenta Kiritani, Masaaki Uchino, Hiromasa Taguchi, Tetsu Saiki, Daiki Nakae, Yumi Asô, Erena Mizusawa, Takahiro Fujimoto, Aki Mizusawa, Saki Takaoka
Creator: Yoshiko Morishita, Motoka Murakami
Real: A Perfect Day for Plesiosaur / Real / Riaru: Kanzen naru kubinagaryû no hi (2013)
Drama | Sci-Fi
Koichi (Sato) and Atsumi (Ayase) are childhood friends who have become lovers. Despite this closeness when Atsumi attempts suicide Koichi is at a loss to understand the circumstances that drove her to do such a thing. Now she is in a coma and Koichi needs to find out the reason. Since Koichi is a neurosurgeon he has access to the latest studies and so he takes part in a medical procedure that will allow him to enter Atsumi's subconscious. Through 'sensing', a type of neurosurgical procedure allowing contact with the intentional aspect of a comatose patient's mind, Koichi tries to discover why Atsumi tried to kill herself, and to bring her back to consciousness. When he enters her mind she asks him to find a picture which she drew as a child. It is the key to a suppressed memory connected to a childhood trauma, an incident buried in their past which will bring their minds together and allow him to get close to truly knowing his love.
Starring: Takeru Satô, Haruka Ayase, Miki Nakatani, Jô Odagiri, Shôta Sometani, Keisuke Horibe, Yutaka Matsushige, Kyôko Koizumi
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
7 Days of Sunflower & Her Puppies / 7 Days of Himawari & Her Puppies / Himawari to koinu no nanokakan (2013)
Drama
Set within an animal shelter, where if the owner of an animal doesn't claim their pet in 7 days, the animal is put to sleep. Himawari, is a female dog and a mother. She tries to desperately save her baby dogs.
Starring: Masato Sakai, Miki Nakatani, Denden, Masayasu Wakabayashi, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Director: Emiko Hiramatsu
Genji monogatari: Sennen no nazo / Tale of Genji: A Thousand Year Engima (2011)
Drama
"Genji Monogatari" focuses on the love and hate relationships surrounding Genji Hakaru. Lady Fujitsubo is Genji's first love. Ryokuzono Miyasutokoro is obsessed with Genji and eventually becomes a spirit. Yu Kao, who is from the lower class, give comfort to Genji's emotional wounds. Writer Murasaki Shikibu is jealous of Genji and is eventually ordered by Seime Abe to write a work…
Starring: Tôma Ikuta, Miki Nakatani, Yôko Maki, Mikako Tabe, Sei Ashina, Rena Tanaka, Noriyuki Higashiyama, Yôsuke Kubozuka
Director: Yasuo Tsuruhashi
