The Best Japanese Films of All Time

Kurosawa, Ozu, Miyazaki and beyond — Japanese cinema ranked by composite score, including Japan's own Kinema Junpo critics' lists.

Spirited Away (2001) leads with a composite score of 4.98. Top 100 of 915 films in our library.

1
Spirited Away2001 · Hayao Miyazaki · Japan · fantasy, animation, drama
4.98
Berlin Golden Bear winner 2002 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2002 · Kehr's annual top 10 2002 #1
2
Tokyo Story1953 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · drama
4.91
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #4 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1953 #2
3
Ikiru1952 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama
3.78
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1952 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #157
4
Seven Samurai1954 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama, action, adventure
3.60
Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #14 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #20 · Letterboxd Top 250 #5
5
Shoplifters2018 · Hirokazu Koreeda · Japan · drama
3.56
Palme d'Or winner 2018 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2018 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2019
6
Rashomon1950 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama, crime
3.38
Venice Golden Lion winner 1951 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #20 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #41
7
Kagemusha1980 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama, war
3.23
Palme d'Or winner 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1980 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 1980 #3
8
Ugetsu1953 · Kenji Mizoguchi · Japan · fantasy, drama
3.22
Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1959 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1953 #3 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #90
9
Drive My Car2021 · Ryusuke Hamaguchi · Japan · drama
3.17
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2021 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2022 · Film Comment year-end poll 2021 #2
10
Late Spring1949 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · drama
3.08
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1949 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #21 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62
11
Ran1985 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan / France · war, drama
3.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1985 #2 · Kehr's annual top 10 1985 #1 · Siskel's annual top 10 1985 #1
12
The Eel1997 · Shohei Imamura · Japan · drama
3.00
Palme d'Or winner 1997 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1997 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1997 #4
13
Sansho the Bailiff1954 · Kenji Mizoguchi · Japan · drama
3.00
Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1960 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #75 · Sarris's annual top 10 1969 #2
14
Hana-bi1997 · Takeshi Kitano · Japan · crime, drama
2.68
Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1997 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1998 #1 · Venice Golden Lion winner 1997
15
The Ballad of Narayama1983 · Shohei Imamura · Japan · comedy, drama
2.39
Palme d'Or winner 1983 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1984 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1983 #5
16
Gate of Hell1953 · Teinosuke Kinugasa · Japan · drama
2.33
Palme d'Or winner 1954 · Locarno Golden Leopard winner 1954 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
17
Harakiri1962 · Masaki Kobayashi · Japan · action, drama
2.29
Letterboxd Top 250 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1962 #3 · Criterion Collection spine #302
18
Black Rain1989 · Shohei Imamura · Japan · drama
2.08
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1989 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1990 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1989 #7
19
Shall We Dance?1996 · Masayuki Suo · Japan · comedy, drama
2.07
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1996 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1997 · Sarris's annual top 10 1997 #2
20
Vengeance Is Mine1979 · Shohei Imamura · Japan · drama, crime
2.04
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1979 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1980 · Criterion Collection spine #384
21
The Funeral1984 · Jūzō Itami · Japan · comedy
2.02
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1984 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1985 · Criterion Collection spine #1125
22
High and Low1963 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama, film-noir, crime
2.01
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1963 #2 · Letterboxd Top 250 #6 · Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films
23
My Neighbor Totoro1988 · Hayao Miyazaki · Japan · fantasy, drama, animation
1.98
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1988 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #72 · Empire 500 (2008) #275
24
Princess Mononoke1997 · Hayao Miyazaki · Japan · fantasy, animation, action
1.97
Japan Academy Prize winner 1998 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1997 #2 · Letterboxd Top 250 #72
25
A Taxing Woman1987 · Jūzō Itami · Japan · comedy
1.92
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1987 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1988 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
26
Yojimbo1961 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama
1.90
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1961 #2 · TIME All-TIME 100 · Empire 500 (2008) #95
27
Departures2008 · Yōjirō Takita · Japan · drama, musical
1.88
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2008 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2009 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
28
The Woman in the Dunes1964 · Hiroshi Teshigahara · Japan · drama
1.88
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1964 #1 · Letterboxd Top 250 #28 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
29
The Yellow Handkerchief1977 · Yōji Yamada · Japan · comedy, drama
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1977 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1978
30
Zigeunerweisen1980 · Seijun Suzuki · Japan · horror
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1980 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1981
31
Fall Guy1982 · Kinji Fukasaku · Japan · drama
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1982 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1983
32
My Sons1991 · Yōji Yamada · Japan · comedy, romance
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1991 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1992
33
Sumo Do, Sumo Don't1992 · Masayuki Suo · Japan · comedy
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1992 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1993
34
A Last Note1995 · Kaneto Shindō · Japan · drama
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1995 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1996
35
The Twilight Samurai2002 · Yōji Yamada · Japan · drama
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2002 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2003
36
Hula Girls2006 · Sang-il Lee · Japan · comedy
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2006 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2007
37
Two Seasons, Two Strangers2025 · Shō Miyake · Japan
1.75
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2025 #1 · Locarno Golden Leopard winner 2025
38
Red Beard1965 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama
1.56
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1965 #1 · Letterboxd Top 250 #52 · Criterion Collection spine #159
39
Fires on the Plain1959 · Kon Ichikawa · Japan · drama, war
1.54
Locarno Golden Leopard winner 1961 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1959 #2 · Criterion Collection spine #378
40
Throne of Blood1957 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama
1.52
Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #93 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1957 #4 · Letterboxd Top 250 #201
41
Nobody Knows2004 · Hirokazu Koreeda · Japan · drama
1.45
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2004 #1 · Letterboxd Top 250 #60 · Film Comment year-end poll 2005 #33
42
Bushido, Samurai Saga1963 · Tadashi Imai · Japan · action, drama
1.39
Berlin Golden Bear winner 1963 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1963 #5
43
Childhood Days1990 · Masahiro Shinoda · Japan · drama
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 1991 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1990 #2
44
Crest of Betrayal1994 · Kinji Fukasaku · Japan
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 1995 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1994 #2
45
Begging for Love1998 · Hideyuki Hirayama · Japan · drama
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 1999 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1998 #2
46
Always Sanchōme no Yūhi2005 · Takashi Yamazaki · Japan · drama
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 2006 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2005 #2
47
Confessions2010 · Tetsuya Nakashima · Japan · drama, thriller
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 2011 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2010 #2
48
The Kirishima Thing2012 · Daihachi Yoshida · Japan · comedy, drama, romance
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 2013 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2012 #2
49
The Great Passage2013 · Yuya Ishii · Japan · romance, comedy, drama
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 2014 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2013 #2
50
Shin Godzilla2016 · Hideaki Anno · Japan / United States · sci-fi, action, drama
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 2017 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2016 #2
51
A Man2022 · Kei Ishikawa · Japan · drama
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 2023 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2022 #2
52
Kokuho2025 · Sang-il Lee · Japan · drama
1.38
Japan Academy Prize winner 2026 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2025 #2
53
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer1961 · Masaki Kobayashi · Japan · war
1.38
Letterboxd Top 250 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1961 #4
54
Rickshaw Man1958 · Hiroshi Inagaki · Japan · comedy, action
1.33
Venice Golden Lion winner 1958 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1958 #7
55
The Ballad of Narayama1958 · Keisuke Kinoshita · Japan · drama
1.29
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1958 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #645 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
56
Samurai Rebellion1967 · Masaki Kobayashi · Japan · drama
1.29
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1967 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #310 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
57
The Sting of Death1990 · Kōhei Oguri · Japan · drama
1.25
Cannes Grand Prix winner 1990 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1990 #3
58
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy2021 · Ryusuke Hamaguchi · Japan · drama
1.22
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2021 #3 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2022 #5 · Film Comment year-end poll 2021 #7
59
Evil Does Not Exist2023 · Ryusuke Hamaguchi · Japan · drama
1.19
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2024 #3 · Film Comment year-end poll 2024 #6 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2024 #7
60
Grave of the Fireflies1988 · Isao Takahata · Japan · drama, animation, war
1.19
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #225 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1988 #6 · Letterboxd Top 250 #26
61
The Incident1978 · Yoshitarō Nomura · Japan · drama
1.18
Japan Academy Prize winner 1979 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1978 #4
62
Station1981 · Yasuo Furuhata · Japan · drama
1.18
Japan Academy Prize winner 1982 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1981 #4
63
Poppoya1999 · Yasuo Furuhata · Japan · drama
1.18
Japan Academy Prize winner 2000 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1999 #4
64
Our Little Sister2015 · Hirokazu Koreeda · Japan · drama
1.18
Japan Academy Prize winner 2016 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2015 #4
65
Tsuchi1939 · Tomu Uchida · Japan · drama
1.18
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1939 #1 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films
66
Floating Clouds1955 · Mikio Naruse · Japan · drama
1.18
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1955 #1 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films
67
Her Brother1960 · Kon Ichikawa · Japan · drama
1.18
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1960 #1 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films
68
Sandakan No. 81974 · Kei Kumai · Japan · drama
1.18
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1974 #1 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films
69
The Family Game1983 · Yoshimitsu Morita · Japan · drama
1.17
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1983 #1 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
70
Drunken Angel1948 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama, film-noir
1.16
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1948 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #413
71
Early Summer1951 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · drama
1.16
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1951 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #240
72
Twenty-Four Eyes1954 · Keisuke Kinoshita · Japan · drama
1.16
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1954 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #442
73
The Insect Woman1963 · Shohei Imamura · Japan · drama
1.16
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1963 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #473
74
Double Suicide1969 · Masahiro Shinoda · Japan · romance, drama
1.16
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1969 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #104
75
An Autumn Afternoon1962 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · drama
1.16
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #185 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1962 #8 · Criterion Collection spine #446
76
House on Fire1986 · Kinji Fukasaku · Japan · drama
1.14
Japan Academy Prize winner 1987 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1986 #5
77
Shizumanu Taiyō2009 · Setsurō Wakamatsu · Japan
1.14
Japan Academy Prize winner 2010 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2009 #5
78
Rebirth2011 · Izuru Narushima · Japan · thriller, drama
1.14
Japan Academy Prize winner 2012 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2011 #5
79
Sonatine1993 · Takeshi Kitano · Japan · crime, drama, action
1.12
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1993 #4 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1995 #7 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1998 #4
80
I Was Born, But...1932 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · comedy, drama, silent
1.11
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1932 #1 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
81
Passing Fancy1933 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · silent
1.11
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1933 #1 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
82
Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family1941 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · drama
1.11
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1941 #1 · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
83
Mujo1970 · Akio Jissōji · Japan · drama
1.11
Locarno Golden Leopard winner 1970 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1970 #6
84
A Class to Remember1993 · Yōji Yamada · Japan · drama
1.11
Japan Academy Prize winner 1994 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1993 #6
85
The Life of Oharu1952 · Kenji Mizoguchi · Japan · drama
1.10
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1952 #9 · Sarris's annual top 10 1964 #4 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films
86
Zatōichi2003 · Takeshi Kitano · Japan · action, drama
1.08
TIFF People's Choice winner 2003 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2003 #7
87
The Third Murder2017 · Hirokazu Koreeda · Japan · drama
1.07
Japan Academy Prize winner 2018 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2017 #8
88
Godzilla Minus One2023 · Takashi Yamazaki · Japan / United States · action, sci-fi, adventure
1.07
Japan Academy Prize winner 2024 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2023 #8
89
Dr. Akagi1998 · Shohei Imamura · Japan / France · comedy, drama
1.06
Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1998 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1998 #4
90
After the Rain1999 · Takashi Koizumi · Japan / France · drama
1.05
Japan Academy Prize winner 2001 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2000 #9
91
Gray Sunset1985 · Shunya Itō · Japan · drama
1.04
Japan Academy Prize winner 1986 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1985 #10
92
Death by Hanging1968 · Nagisa Ōshima · Japan · drama
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1968 #3 · Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films · Criterion Collection spine #798
93
The Woman Who Touched The Legs1926 · Yutaka Abe · Japan · silent
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1926 #1
94
Beheading Place1929 · Masahiro Makino · Japan
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1929 #1
95
What Made Her Do It?1930 · Shigeyoshi Suzuki · Japan · silent, drama
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1930 #1
96
The Neighbor's Wife and Mine1931 · Heinosuke Gosho · Japan · comedy
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1931 #1
97
A Story of Floating Weeds1934 · Yasujirō Ozu · Empire of Japan · silent, drama
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1934 #1
98
Wife! Be Like a Rose!1935 · Mikio Naruse · Japan · drama
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1935 #1
99
Sisters of the Gion1936 · Kenji Mizoguchi · Japan · drama
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1936 #1
100
Kagirinaki Zenshin1937 · Tomu Uchida · Japan · drama
1.00
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1937 #1

The golden age the West discovered late

Japan built one of the world's great film industries in near-total isolation from Western attention — by the 1930s it was producing more films per year than Hollywood — and the West found out all at once. When Kurosawa's Rashomon won the Golden Lion at Venice in 1951 (submitted, the story goes, without its own studio's confidence), it opened a decade in which Japanese cinema's three masters were revealed to have been working in parallel: Kurosawa the dynamist, whose Seven Samurai (1954) invented the men-on-a-mission template half of Hollywood still uses; Ozu the minimalist, whose Tokyo Story (1953) — low camera, no melodrama, a family quietly failing each other — now trades the #1 spot in directors' polls with the noisiest films ever made; and Mizoguchi the tragedian, whose long takes taught the European art film its patience.

Crucially, Japan kept its own score the whole time. The magazine Kinema Junpo has polled critics annually since 1924 — the world's longest-running critics' list — and this site ingests it as a first-class source. The double bookkeeping is revealing: Tokyo Story placed second in Kinema Junpo's own year (behind a film the West barely knows), Seven Samurai third in its year. Domestic and international canons disagree in detail while converging on the masters — exactly the kind of parallax a composite score is built to capture rather than flatten.

The second empire: animation

Japan's other canonical export took a different route. Studio Ghibli, founded 1985, put animation into the adult canon: My Neighbor Totoro (1988) topped Kinema Junpo's Japanese list in its year — an animated film beating all live-action competition, decades before Western critics would consider such a thing — and Spirited Away (2001) won the Golden Bear at Berlin, still the only animated film to take a major European festival's top prize. Miyazaki's films now anchor community canons worldwide. Meanwhile the live-action tradition renews itself: Kurosawa's late Ran (1985), financed from France when Japan wouldn't fund him; and Hamaguchi's Drive My Car (2021), Kinema Junpo's film of the year and an Oscar Best Picture nominee — the two national canons, domestic and international, finally reading from the same page.