In addition to Kurosawa's stuff there have been a few really fantastic and more obscure japanese cinema releases I'd wholeheartedly recommend:
THE SAMURAI TRILOGY
THREE OUTLAW SAMURAI
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PALE FLOWER (basically a Yakuza themed 60s film noir)
MAKIOKA SISTERS (a war-time period drama - slow but moving)
I didn't really get on with Suzuki's two films BRANDED TO KILL and TOKYO DRIFTER, although they're both held in high regard among western critics