A Japan based media company
❖WHO ARE WE？
Kintsugi Media Japan is a Japan based film company producing both fiction and non-fiction films for Japan and the greater global audience.
キンツギ・メディア・ジャパンは、日本を拠点とする映画制作会社です。フィクションとノンフィクションの両方の映画を、日本国内およびより大きな世界の観客に向けて制作しています。
❖WHAT IS ‘KINTSUGI’？
The Japanese word “Kintsugi” 金継ぎ literally translated ‘golden joinery’, is a traditional Japanese form of pottery repair. A method employed by skilled craftsmen to mend broken pottery using lacquer mixed with gold.
日本語の「金継ぎ（きんつぎ）」は、直訳すると「黄金の継ぎ手」
❖WHAT STORIES DO WE TELL?
Kintsugi Media Japan tells the stories of people often discarded by society.
キンツギ・メディア・ジャパンは、社会からしばしば見捨てられてしまう人々の物語を語ります。
❖WHAT DO WE BELIEVE?
We believe in the value of restoring broken things in an age where so much is discarded in favor of newer, better models. We believe no story is more beautiful than a broken life restored. The stories of people who change the world, not in spite of their brokenness, but because of it. We believe brokenness repaired and proudly visible – and held together by gold – becomes the strength and catalyst for our heroes to help restore others and in so doing, all of society as well. We believe the past is not something to disguise or hide. Rather, as part of our heroes’ history, it is redeemed becoming the power drawn from to find the strength to fulfill their destiny.
私たちは、常に新しいより良いものに置き換えられ、
壊れた人生が修復されること以上に美しい物語はないと信じていま
彼らの「壊れていたからこそ」世界を変える人々の物語を。
壊れていた部分が修復され、
過去は隠したり偽ったりするものではなく、
FILMS
Children of Yamato – 大和の赤子(せきし)
Feature documentary 80 min. © Kintsugi 2025
Logline
A journey to restore the heart of a nation.
An American journalist raised in Japan embarks on a quest to rediscover the country’s lost identity and re-establish the cultural treasures that were lost after WWII.
Synopsis:
Japan’s identity was severed at the roots amid U.S. reeducation policies following World War II, leaving the nation adrift and untethered from its origins. Modern generations are now disconnected from their collective memory and struggle to find purpose and belonging, chasing trends in a directionless search for meaning.
In this bilingual documentary, an American journalist raised in Japan with a Japanese heart embarks on a deeply personal and historical journey to unearth what has been buried and cast aside. Through intimate interviews with scholars, priests, and locals, the film explores the devastating effects of post-war policies that erased Japan’s cultural foundation. It reveals how the loss of generational memory threatens not only a nation’s identity but its survival. As the journalist uncovers forgotten traditions and fragments of Japan’s rich history, he highlights the profound connection between memory and identity-asking whether a nation can truly thrive when its roots have been severed.
Visually compelling and emotionally charged, this multi-generational documentary is a call to action for Japan-and the world-to reconnect with their cultural memory before it’s too late. Posing the haunting question, “If Japan continues on this path for another century, will it cease to exist?” the film is not just a story of the past but a reflection on how memory shapes the future.
Mommy or Daddy? ママかパパか
Feature documentary 51 min. Kintsugi Pictures 2021
Logline:
親の離婚を経験した一人の女性が、結婚し一児をもうけるも離婚。一歳の時に別れた息子を想い続け、1２年の時を経て息子に会いに行くことを決断する。
息子のそばに行ったとき、彼女がとった行動とは？
A film about loneliness, and one mother’s journey toward connection by facing her demons and discovering her purpose and destiny.
Synopsis:
Japan is known for cute characters like Mario, Hello kitty, and Totoro, but there is a darker side. Annually, over 150 thousand children of divorce are forcibly separated from their parent. ‘Mommy or Daddy’ explores the deep scars brought on by alienation and one mother’s journey to overcome her trauma from isolation.
Shimanchu 島人 People of the Isles (Coming 2028)
Feature documentary
Logline: An American raised in Japan voyages across the Pacific islands to rediscover ancient oral traditions preserved in dance, song, and chant—unveiling epic prehistoric voyaging feats, reclaiming lost cultural treasures, and forging a path toward a more sustainable, connected future.
Synopsis: People of the Isles is a feature-length documentary that explores the rich cultural traditions of the Pacific’s first peoples. The film journeys across Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian islands to examine how oral traditions—preserved through dance, song, and chants—hold the keys to the extraordinary stories of Pacific voyaging and settlement.
Long before European maritime exploration began, the indigenous peoples of the Pacific demonstrated remarkable seafaring abilities, navigating vast oceans to connect distant island communities. Through thoughtful interviews with scholars, elders, and practitioners actively involved in reviving and preserving these cultural traditions and heritage, the documentary seeks insights into how these ancestral wisdoms can guide humanity toward a more sustainable and connected future.
PODCAST
Tokyo Shishi
Israeli History and Culture through the Lens of Food
Get ready to set out on a journey that spans millennia to explore what the land of Israel means for the Jewish people through the delicious lens of food.
Join filmmakers John Ladue and Melissa, with friends from Israel, here in the heart of Tokyo, as we celebrate heroic tales and miraculous returns to the Land of our Fathers and the Heritage of our people.
Listen on Spotify, Apple, Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts.
John H. LaDue Jr.
Founder & CEO
John H. LaDue Jr. is a filmmaker and TV producer focused on documentaries that connect Japan and the world. Born in Hawaii and raised in Japan, he is fluent in Japanese, English, and Chinese. He studied film in Los Angeles before returning to Japan. Since 2008, he has produced news features and documentaries for Japan’s public and private broadcasters. In 2018, he founded the Tokyo-based production company Kintsugi Media Japan. His feature films include: Mommy or Daddy? (2020), exploring the importance of parent-child bonds after divorce; Children of Yamato (2025), examining General MacArthur’s postwar reeducation policies and Japan’s journey to reclaim its severed spiritual roots; People of the Isles (2028), chronicling Japan and Pacific Islands’ indigenous struggles against colonialism and their efforts to restore First Peoples’ spiritual heritage.
Jennifer LaDue Miyagawa
Director & content creator
Jennifer LaDue Miyagawa has been working as a documentary film director in Tokyo, Japan since 2018. Since joining Kintsugi Media Japan, she has been directing feature films for them. Her debut feature-length film ‘Mommy or Daddy’ (2020) confronts the sensitive topic of parent-child relationships after divorce. Jennifer’s latest work ‘Children of Yamato’ (2025), which she co-directed alongside her brother and producer John H. LaDue Jr, sheds light on Japan’s post-war reconstruction journey, depicting a quest to reclaim the ‘heart of Japan’ that risks being lost under American-influenced values post WWII. Tracing Japan’s roots and exploring the origins of its spiritual culture, this film poses profound questions to those living in the modern era. She is co-directing ‘People of the Isles’ due out Summer 2028. Jennifer is a Japanese national.
