Movies Like Empress

If you liked Empress (1994), a movie directed by Junichi Suzuki, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Kamome Diner (2006)
★ 7.4/10
On a quiet street in Helsinki, Sachie has opened a diner featuring rice balls. For a month she has no customers. Then, in short order, she has her first customer, meets Midori, a gangly Japanese tourist, and invites…
2
Midnight Diner (2014)
★ 7.7/10
A restaurant opens at midnight. Both the menu offerings and personality of the owner draw a series of flawed patrons including Tamako, whose boyfriend has passed away, live-in worker Michiru, and ruckus-raising Kenzo.
3
Tampopo (1985)
★ 7.8/10
In this humorous paean to the joys of food, a pair of truck drivers happen onto a decrepit roadside shop selling ramen noodles. The widowed owner, Tampopo, begs them to help her turn her establishment into a paragon of…
4
Midnight Diner 2 (2016)
★ 7.6/10
The Master's late-night diner welcomes a woman troubled by funeral fans, an elderly scam victim, and a noodle delivery man struggling with love.
5
Sweet Bean (2015)
★ 7.5/10
The master of a dorayaki pastry store hires a 76-year-old woman whose talents attract customers from all over. But she's hiding a troubling secret. Life's joys are found in the little details, and no matter what may be…
6
A Taxing Woman (1987)
★ 6.7/10
Intrepid tax investigator Ryoko Itakura sets her sights on the mysterious and philandering Hideki Gondo, a suspected millionaire and proprietor of a thriving chain of seedy hourly hotels, who has for years succeeded at…
7
Rising Sun (1993)
★ 6.2/10
When a prostitute is found dead in a Los Angeles skyscraper occupied by a large Japanese corporation, detectives John Connor and Web Smith are called in to investigate. Although Connor has previous experience working…
8
The Lady Eve (1941)
★ 7.3/10
It's no accident when wealthy Charles falls for Jean. Jean is a con artist with her sights set on Charles' fortune. Matters complicate when Jean starts falling for her mark. When Charles suspects Jean is a gold digger…
9
Sakuran (2006)
★ 6.5/10
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
10
Blood and Bones (2004)
★ 6.6/10
In 1923, teenager Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island, in South Korea, to Osaka, in Japan. Along the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of kamaboko, processed seafood products, in…
11
Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
★ 7.7/10
Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.
12
Sex and Fury (1973)
★ 6.2/10
Sex & Fury chronicles Ocho's exploits as she searches for her father's killers, each identified by unique tattoos on their backs (a deer, a boar, and a butterfly). Along the way, she also crosses paths with Shunosuke…
13
In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
★ 6.6/10
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
14
The Ramen Girl (2008)
★ 6.5/10
An American woman is stranded in Tokyo after breaking up with her boyfriend. Searching for direction in life, she trains to be a ramen chef under a tyrannical Japanese master.
15
The Street Fighter (1974)
★ 6.8/10
Takuma Tsurugi takes on the government, the police, the mafia and an international ring of kidnappers who aim to dispossess a beautiful young heiress of her millions.
16
Tokyo Decadence (1992)
★ 6/10
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that…
17
The Big Short (2015)
★ 7.4/10
The men who made millions from a global economic meltdown.
18
Guilty of Romance (2011)
★ 6.9/10
While police investigate a woman found dead in a derelict love hotel, a romance novelist's wife lives a life that seems simply a daily repetition without romance. To escape the loveless monotony, she follows her…
19
Street of Shame (1956)
★ 7.7/10
Follows five sex workers employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation debates the passage of an anti-prostitution law.
20
The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
★ 6/10
A Florida con man uses the recent death of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a last name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, the U.S. Congress, where the money flows…