Synopsis

Tokyo Rhapsody is an omnibus film of 11 shorts inspired by 12 popular songs enjoyed by the public during Japan’s Showa period (1926~1989). Like it tells in the film’s original title, *Kayokyoku Life Itself*, Kayokyoku means Japan’s popular songs. This music genre is based in Japanese folk music but partially influenced by 50s, 60s, and even more contemporary western music. It still exists but was especially enjoyed by two postwar generations. Producer of *Shall We Dance* and *Swing Girls*, Masui Shoji, was inspired to make this film when he recalled the hit songs everyone sang when he was a young man. 11 filmmakers of diverse age groups and backgrounds, from veteran directors such as Isomura Itsumich and Yaguchi Shinobu to cartoonists, joined this project to make 11 shorts with daring subject matters and a creative approach. To the tunes of the past, this film presents various life stories from love, departure, dreams and desperation, revenge, and memories postwar Japanese have experienced in diverse genres that span melodrama, comedy, action, and fantasy. (Chung Woochung)

Directors

• 
  • Isomura Itsumich
  • I Cried
• 
  • Shinchiji Yukihisa
  • This Is Youth
• 
  • Tanaka T.
  • Memories of the Little Finger
• 
  • Kataoka Eiko
  • Love You Tokyo
• 
  • Mihara Mitsuhiro
  • The Path of a Woman
• 
  • Mizutani Toshiyuki
  • Not Worth Repenting
• 
  • Ebisu Yoshikazu
  • Lovely Max; Max Go-Go
• 
  • Miyajima Ryuji
  • Waltz of the Young Lady
• 
  • Yaguchi Shinobu
  • I Want to See You, I Want to See You
• 
  • Osada Tatsuya
  • We Are All in a Dream
• 
  • Yamaguchi Koji
  • Tokyo Rhapsody