As a reminder that you still have a month to join the poll “Best 10 Japanese documentaries of a time” I’ve put together my list. I left out many good and inspiring documentaries made in recent years (Genpin, No Man’s Zone, Flashback Memories and others) and I’ve cheated twice, but anyway:
Fighting Soldiers (戦ふ兵隊, 1939 Kamei Fumio)
Children Who Draw (絵を描く子どもたち, 1956 Hani Susumu)
A.K.A. Serial Killer (略称・連続射殺魔, 1969 Adachi Masao, Iwabuchi Susumu, Nonomura Masayuki, Yamazaki Yutaka, Sasaki Mamoru, Matsuda Masao)
Onikko (鬼ッ子 闘う青年労働者の記録, 1969) and
Motoshinkakarannu (沖縄エロス外伝 モトシンカカランヌー 1971) by NDU/Nunokawa Tetsurō
Minamata: The Victims and Their World (水俣 患者さんとその世界, 1971 Tsuchimoto Noriaki)
Sanrizuka: Heta Village (三里塚 辺田部落,1973) and
Magino Village – A Tale / The Sundial Carved With A Thousand Years of Notches (1000年刻みの日時計 牧野村物語, 1986) by Ogawa Pro
Song of the Akamata–The life histories of the islanders, Komi, Iriomote Islands, Okinawa (海南小記序説・アカマタの歌-西表・古見, 1973 Kitamura Minao)
Extreme Private Eros 1974 Love Song (極私的エロス・恋歌1974, 1974 Hara Kazuo)
The Cherry Tree with Gray Blossoms (薄墨の桜, 1977 Haneda Sumiko)
Memories of Agano (阿賀の記憶, 2004 Satō Makoto)
Asian Docs 
Do you know if any of them are available on VOD or DVD, thanks.
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Fighting Soldiers is available on DVD (only in Japan, no Eng sub)
same for Children Who Draw, it’s included in a very pricy Iwanami DVD box. and The Cherry Tree With Grey Blossoms (J DVD no Eng). Extreme Private Eros, Minamata and Memories of Agano all are on DVD with Eng sub. Check here for more details: https://storiadocgiappone.wordpress.com/2015/02/05/best-japanese-documentaries-poll-results/
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