Judo Saga (1943)

This, the very first masterpiece created by the legendary film director Akira Kurosawa at age 33, was driven by his determination to create masterful moving pictures on the screen. Kurosawa's ingenuity can be seen in the final scene, a life or death struggle with gennosuke Higaki at Ukyougahara. These intense scenes of the two character's jujitsu techniques are boldly depicted by the innovative camera techniques used by Kurosawa.

The Most Beautiful (1944)

A documentary-style film staged in the defeatist atmosphere of 1944, the film depicts the lives of a devoted corps of female employees who were drafted to work in a munitions factory. The film set was an operating optics factory. There are no existing posters or fliers of this film's release during World War II. An advertisment printed in the March 19, 944 edition of the Asahi Graph was used for this collection.

Judo Saga II (1945)

This is a sequel to Kurosawa's first film, the very successful Judo Saga. In it, Tesshin and Genzaburo, the two brothers of Gennosuke Higaki, challenge Sanshiro to a duel to extract vengeance on behalf of their brother who suffered defeat in the earlier film. The final duel was performed by the actors barefoot at Shigakogen under severe winter conditions. Susuma Fujita, playing the role of Sanshiro, gives an outstanding performance in this film.

They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail (1945)

This distinctive film, based on the traditional kabuki pla. Kanjincho, is Kurosawa's fourth film and was created to have the atmosphere of a musical. The fim transforms the episode of Yoshitune Minamoto trying to pass through a checkpoint. Kenichi Enomoto, who plays Gouriki, a character not in the original work, acheives a splendid performance. This film, produced in 1945, was finally screened in 1952, seven years afterwards because the subject of loyalty emphasized in this film was seen as advocating the feudalistic ideas of prewar Japan.

No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)

The first film Kurosawa made after the war, the script is based on an actual incident of political suppression, which occurred at Kyoto Imperial University in the early Showa period and has a woman in the lead role. During the post-war age when freedom and democracy were still considered novel, the strong will which Setsuko Hara portrayed on the screen gained sympathy from the young generation of the time.

One Wonderful Sunday (1947)

Keinusoke Uegasa, a close friend of Kurosawa from his elementary school days, wrote the script for this film based on a day spent by an optimistic young couple in the bleak postwar period. The film shows the attempts made by the couple to fulfill their dreams. Movingly portrayed, this film warmed the hearts of many audiences. An experimental scene, where the audience is requested to applaud, became the focus of considerable attention.

Drunken Angel (1948)

Toshiro Mifune, who makes his first appearance in a Kurosawa film, is given a supporting role for the intriguing facial expressions shown in his first movie appearance in Ginrei No Hate (directed by Senkichi Taniguchi in 1947). As the filming progressed, Mifune, with his swift reactions and fine sensibilities, allowed Kurosawa to surpass his original concept for the film. Kurosawa later described Mifune as an ideal actor to work with. Both director and actor, later to gain world-wide attention, encounter their destinies through this film.

The Quiet Duel (1949)

A dedicated doctor working at a field hospital contracts syphilis from a patient during surgery. Forced by this condition to live chaste, he breaks his engagement with his fiance. The agony and inner conflict the young doctor encounters is depicted on screen with Kurosawa's descriptive originality. The film was named Tsumi Naki Batsu while the script was being written.

Stray Dog (1949)

The film begins with a young detective from the Tokyo Police Department having his fully loaded gun stolen while on a bus. Victims are soon found, slain with bullets from his gun. The detective, in desparate pursuit, becomes the one to be subconsciously cornered. Two men, both de-mobilized soldiers, are driven to lead contrasting lives in this film, which brutally reflects the times of postwar Japan.