Art house cinema

While Kurosawa and Ozu dominate discussions of Japanese cinema, a constellation of extraordinary filmmakers remains in their shadow. From Shinya Tsukamoto’s visceral body horror to Mikio Naruse’s subtle social dramas, these five underrated directors have expanded the language of cinema in ways that continue to resonate with contemporary filmmakers. Their relative obscurity represents one of film criticism’s most significant blind spots—and an opportunity for profound discovery.