Classic Japanese Cinema Discussion Thread

I am starting this new thread as I don't want to hijack that "OZU fans" thread by discussing films of other directors in that thread.

Fox in the Snow said that outside of American movies, he has seen more movies from Japan than from any other country. I think the same is true for me too. I love films from all over the world but Japanese films (particularly from 50s-70s period) are very close to my heart. I am intrigued by Japanese culture, particularly the pre-eighteenth century time period when they had not yet opened up to cultural influences from outside.

Movies like The Ballad of Narayama (1958) & Ugetsu Monogatari make me think about complexity of life. I think irrespective of the good sides of Japan, extreme amount misogyny had infiltrated Japanese culture during the medieval age. Their society had become extremely feudal and Buddhist monks were greedy hypocrites. As a result there was a hierarchy in their society and people of peasant class were literally powerless. Of course, all societies throughout the world suffered from feudalism, religious hypocrisy and misogyny. But the Japanese directors of classic age were far more bold in depicting the flaws of their society than were the directors of most other countries. Luis Bunuel was one of the directors outside of Japan who dealt with various social and religious issues just as boldly as Japanese directors did. But there was more soul and warmth in Japanese cinema than there was in European cinema.

In this thread please share with us your views on Japanese cinema and comment on your favourite films from Japan. If there is any interest in this thread then I will keep updating it with discussion of various directors of Japan.