A list of films released in Japan in 1981 (see 1981 in film). 
  Japanese films released in 1981   | Title  |  Director  |  Cast  |  Genre  |  Notes  | 
  | 21emon–Uchu e irashai |  Tsutomu Shibayama |   |  — |  Animated feature  | 
  | Abandoned |  Shiro Moritani |  Kinya Kitaoji, Tsunehiko Watase, Yoshiko Mita |  — |    | 
  | Amoore no kane |  Kunihiko Watanabe |  Maako Kido, Hideto Matsumoto, Akira Oda |  — |    | 
  | Blue Jeans Memory |  Yoshiyuki Kawasaki |  Masahiko Kondo, Yoshio Nomura, Toshihiko Tahara |  — |    | 
  | Buriki no kunsho |  Setsuo Nakayama |  Katsuo Nakamura |  — |    | 
  | Choko |  Masashi Sada |  Masashi Sada, Seiji Miyaguchi |  Semi-documentary |    | 
  | Doraemon: The Records of Nobita, Spaceblazer |  Hideo Nishimaki |   |  — |  Animated feature  | 
  | Doraemon–Boku Momotaro no nannanosa |  Takeyuki Kanada |   |  — |    | 
  | Eijanaika |  Shohei Imamura |   |   |    | 
  | Flames of Blood |  Tai Kato |  Bunta Sugawara, Mitsuko Baisho, Tomisaburo Wakayama |  — |    | 
  | Furiten-kun |  Taku Sugiyama |   |  — |  Animated feature  | 
  | The Gate of Youth |  Kinji Fukasaku, Koreyoshi Kurahara |  Bunta Sugawara, Keiko Matsuzaka |  — |    | 
  | Guddo rakku Love |  Yoshiyuki Kawasaki |  Masahiko Tahara, Yoshio Nomura, Masahiko Kondo |  — |    | 
  | Honō no Gotoku |   |   |   |    | 
  | The Imperial Navy |  Shue Matsubayashi |  Keiju Kobayashi, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Kenichi Kaneda |  — |    | 
  | Jarinko Chie |  Isao Takahata |   |  — |  Animated feature  | 
  | Kaibutsu-kun |  Hiroshi Fukutomi |   |  — |  Animated feature  | 
  | Kagero-za |  Seijun Suzuki |   |   |    | 
  | Kamen Rider Super-1 |   |   |   |    | 
  | The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold |  Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin, Jr. |  Art Carney, Peggy Cass, Bob McFadden |  Animation comedy family |    | 
  | Lonely Heart |  Kon Ichikawa |  Yutaka Mizutani, Toshiyuki Nagashima, Rie Nakahara |  — |    | 
  | Mobile Suit Gundam the Movie |  Yoshiyuki Tomino |   |   |    | 
  | Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow |  Yoshiyuki Tomino |   |   |    | 
  | Muddy River |  Kōhei Oguri |   |   |    | 
  | Nerawareta gakuen |  Nobuhiko Obayashi |  Hiroko Yakushimaru, Ryoichi Takayanagi, Masami Hasegawa |  — |    | 
  | Nihon no atsui hibi bôsatsu: Shimoyama jiken |  Kei Kumai |   |   |    | 
  | Office Lady Rope Slave |  Katsuhiko Fujii |  Junko Mabuki |  Roman porno |    | 
  | Return of the Champ |  Tsugunobu Kotani |  Yūzō Kayama, Kunie Tanaka, Ryoko Sakaguchi |  — |    | 
  | Sailor Suit and Machine Gun |  Shinji Sōmai |  Hiroko Yakushimaru |  Comedy/Action |    | 
  | Seishun gurafitii–Suniikaa buruusu |  Yoshiyuki Kawasaki |  Masahiko Kondo, Yoshio Nomura, Toshihiko Tahara |  — |    | 
  | Shikake-nin Baian |  Yasuo Furuhata |  Katsuo Nakamura |   |    | 
  | Station |  Yasuo Furuhata |  Ken Takakura, Chieko Baisho, Ayumi Ishida |  Drama |    | 
  | Sukkari...Sonokide! |  Tsugunobu Kotani |  Setsuko Karasumu, Takeshi Kitano, Hitoshi Ueki |  — |    | 
  | Swan Lake |  Kimio Yabuki |   |  Anime |    | 
  | Sun Vulcan Movie |  Shohei Tōjō |   |   |    | 
   | This is Noriko |  Zenzo Matsuyama |  Noriko Tsuji |  — |    | 
  | Tora-san's Love in Osaka |  Yoji Yamada |  Kiyoshi Atsumi |  — |    | 
  | Tora-san's Promise |  Yoji Yamada |  Kiyoshi Atsumi |  — |    | 
  | Woman Who Exposes Herself |  Masaru Konuma |  Maiko Kazama |  Roman Porno |    | 
 
  See also
  References
   Sources
  - Galbraith IV, Stuart (1996). The Japanese Filmography: 1900 through 1994. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0032-3.
  - Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1461673743.
 
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