Sometimes the best movies are based on true stories. After all, there are plenty of movies and TV shows out there that take inspiration from real life, whether it tries to be as factual as possible or takes specific elements from different events. Some true stories also can be quite stranger than fiction and so out there, that no filmmaker can’t possibly pass up the opportunity to make a film out of it.
For these reasons, many filmmakers have dipped their toes into adapting real stories into movies and series. And for some works based on true stories, the tales told can be country-specific like Korea or the U.K., for example, giving viewers a look inside another culture. Japan is no stranger to having an array of movies based on true stories. After all, Japan is known for having the scariest cinema, finding inspiration from some of their terrifying folklore. From uplifting to downright horrific, here are Japanese films that on are based on real life stories.
16 Hachi-ko (1987)
The movie Hachi-ko, also known as Hachikō Monogatari, was based on a real Akita dog of the same name in Tokyo in the early 1900s who waited at the Shibuya train station for his owner each day for around nine years unknowing that he had died. Fans of the animated sci-fi comedy Futurama might already be familiar with Hachi-ko’s story from the show’s season four episode seven titled “Jurassic Bark” which played homage to the dog’s story by having Fry’s dog go through a similar situation.
Hachi-ko clearly struck a chord with audiences as the tear-jerking movie was the highest-grossing film in Japan of the year. In 2009, a remake, Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, would follow up with Hachi-ko’s story, this time being made and taking place in America.
15 Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
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Grave of the Fireflies is one of Studio Ghibli’s more heart-wrenching types of movies. Taking place in Kobe, Japan during World War II, the film tells the story of how siblings Seita and Setsuko care for each other and survive the final months of the war. The film has earned much recognition over the years and has been hailed by the renowned late film critic Roger Ebert as “one of the greatest war films ever made.” The movie also sparked two live-action adaptations: one in 2005 and the other in 2008.
Grave of the Fireflies is based on a semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by author Akiyuki Nosaka. Nosaka’s story was about his experiences during and after the firebombing of his hometown Kobe in 1945. During the war, he ended up losing his father and his two sisters; Nosaka’s story was written as an apology for his sister Keiko about her death. However, Nosaka’s experiences aren’t the only thing the animated film is based on. According to an article in FreshersLIVE, director Isao Takahata included his memories during World War II in the movie such as in the air raid scene.
14 Nobody Knows (2004)
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Nobody Knows is a film based on a real-life incident in Japan known as the Sugamo child abandonment case that happened in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward in which a mother abandons her children leaving them alone in an apartment for nine months. The children would eventually be found by the Sumago police, though sadly, one of the siblings would be found dead due to an assault caused by one of the children’s friends. Similar to the case, Nobody Knows follows a group of siblings as they try to survive alone after their mother doesn’t come home one day and the story ends on a somber note.
13 Hula Girls (2006)
Hula Girls tells the real-life story of how back in the mid-60s a group of girls saved their small coal mining town, Iwaki, from economic downfall by learning to hula dance to attract tourists. Due to their efforts, they helped launch the Joban Hawaiian Center, now known as the Spa Resort Hawaiians, and hula dancing has continued to be one of the theme park’s main attractions. The heartwarming film about the real-life grit coal-mining town’s hula girl has earned a lot of praise and awards such as winning the Best Film Award at the Japan Academy Awards in 2007 according to Spa Resort Hawaiians.
12 My Darling is a Foreigner (2010)
My Darling is a Foreigner is a funny rom-com set in Tokyo about the relationship between a Japanese manga artist named Saori Ogura and an American man named Tony Laszlo and all the cross-cultural experiences that come with being an international couple. The film is based on the experiences of the real-life Saori Oguri and her relationship with her husband from the manga series of the same name. In fact, some of Oguri’s drawings from the manga are featured quite a bit in the film.
11 The Wind Rises (2013)
The Wind Rises is another Studio Ghibli inspired by a true story, this time from the life of the Japanese aircraft engineer Jiro Horikoshi, who was most famous for creating the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane used by the Japanese military during World War II. While the animated historical fiction is based on Jiro Horikoshi’s life, it does take some inspiration from the 1937 novel The Wind Has Risen by the Japanese author Tatsuo Hori. The blending of the two stories along with other works can be seen in the resort scene where the morals of Horikoshi’s designs are questioned as pointed out by Polygon.
10 Flying Colors (2015)
Flying Colors is based on true experiences written by Japanese author and educator Nobutaka Tsubota in his 2013 novel about his student Sayaka Kobayashi and how she managed to pass her entrance exam to get into Keio University. The movie stays pretty faithful to Tsubota’s novel, even downright keeping some of the first names of people mentioned in the book according to Eastern Kicks. Many fans of the movie have praised it for its motivational message about overcoming adversity and encouraging positive teaching methods.
9 Foujita (2015)
As indicated by the film’s title, Foujita is a biopic based on the Japanese artist of the early 1920s Tsuguharu Foujita. Foujita was well-known for mixing traditional Japanese art with the European Modernism style in his painting, which according to Bonhams, was famously associated with his works of nudes and cats. The movie dives into many aspects of the painter’s life from his time finding success in Paris to his art tonal change due to World War II.
8 Miss Hokusai (2015)
Production I.G’s Miss Hokusai takes an interesting approach to the biopic genre in a similar vein to Studio Ghibli’s The Wind Rises in that it takes artistic liberties by telling a historical figure’s story through imaginary animations. The film focuses on the life of the real-life famous Japanese artist Hokusai’s daughter Ōi Katsushika, who becomes a painter in her own right during the early Edo period. The animated biopic is based on the historical manga series created by author and illustrator Hinako Sugiura which chronicles Ōi’s time working as an apprentice under her father’s guidance.
7 The 8-Year Engagement (2017)
The 8-Year Engagement is a remarkable love story that defies all odds. It’s a true story about the couple Hisashi Nishizawa and Mai Nakahara who were supposed to get married in 2007. Before they could tie the knot, however, Mai got sick and fell into a coma until 2011 when she woke up with no memories of her fiance. Regardless, Hisashi held on hope that his fiancee would remember him and their love would be rekindled.
Mai would later regain her memories of Hisashi and the couple eventually got married in 2014. Much of the events in The 8-Year Engagement come from the couple’s autobiographical book of the same name published in 2015. The touching love story would go on to be nominated for seven awards with four from the Japanese Academy Awards in 2018.
6 Dad’s Lunch Box (2017)
Due to the popularity of social media apps like Twitter and Instagram, anyone can have the chance to go viral especially if they have a compelling story. Movies inspired by social media and viral sensations are starting to be created such as the case with Janicza Bravo’s Zola which came from a Twitter thread, for example. And director Fukatsu Masakazu’s Dad’s Lunch Box is another one of those movies as well.
Based on a tweet that received 80,000 re-tweets and 260,00 likes, Dad’s Lunch Box is a sweet story about a divorced father who makes bento boxes for his teenage daughter each day until she finishes high school. The father’s creations are often a little odd due to him not being used to making a bento box, but regardless, the viewer gets to watch him try his best to improve over the course of the film.
5 Kiseki: Sobito of That Day (2017)
What makes biopics about musicians so interesting to many is that they offer viewers a front-row seat to see the journey of how their favorite artist rose to fame. Not to mention, they also show any, if not, all the trials and hurdles artists had to go through. Kiseki: Sobito of That Day is no exception to this. The film details the story of the real-life vocal group GReeeeN and how they went from dentist students to singers who eventually created the song “Kiseki” — one of the best-selling downloaded singles in Japan.
4 The Forest of Love (2019)
The director behind the horrifying films Love Exposure and Cold Fish Sion Sono added another twisted tale to his lineup in 2019 with the release of his thriller drama The Forest of Love on Netflix. The movie is a tense, violent watch about how anyone can fall for the charm of a manipulator. A con artist, Joe Murata, manages to charm his way into a group of young filmmakers, soon making them devoted to him in an almost cult-like way to the point of even being influenced to murder. A lot of the story is based on the serial killer Futoshi Matsunaga, who like Joe Murata, managed to coerce others to do his bidding for him.
3 Tengaramon (2020)
Historical films have the power to give viewers a peek into the past life of an important figure, giving them the ability to learn more about them and what the period was like back then. Tengaramon does just that. Set in the Meiji period, the film tells the story of the man Tomoatsu Godai, a samurai turned business man, who goes on using his expertise to help establish Osaka as a commercial city. For anyone interested in learning more about the economic history behind Japan, Tengaramon is a hidden gem of a historical film that one might want to watch.
2 Mother (2020)
Mother is a dark movie about the toxic bond between an abusive mother and her loyal son. It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from showing the cruel reality and dangers of codependency. Through a series of events, the viewers see how dysfunctional the mother, Akiko, is as she tries to manipulate her way into getting money, and how her son, Shuhei, bears witness to all of her antics. All of this, of course, results in dire consequences.
The story is based on a true crime case in Japan of the “murder of grandparents by a boy” as reported by Real Sound. In 2014, a teenager was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering his grandparents due to what he said was pressure from his mother according to Japan Today.
1 Asakusa Kid (2021)
Takeshi Kitano is one of Japan’s well-known prolific comedians; before his rise to fame, however, he was mentored in the 70s by Senzaburo Fukami, a famous Asakusa comedian during the time. The Netflix film Asakusa Kid is based on Takeshi’s autobiography of the same name and dives into more of his personal life and his start performing at the Asakusa club, France-za. The film adaptation doesn’t forget to dive into more about Takeshi’s mentor as viewers get to learn more about him as the story goes on.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
