Kōichi Mizuhara

Zatoichi comes upon a dying man who asks him to give a bag of money to "Taichi". Zatoichi has no idea who this is but when he comes upon a small town harassed by gangsters, he finds that "Taichi" was the man's young son. Along his travels he also met a blind monk who makes Zatoichi question his murderous lifestyle. In trying to help the town, Zatoichi kills some gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He must make a choice of whether to use non-violence and set a good example, or violence and set the boy on the wrong path in life.

Ichi travels to the village of Itakura to pay his respects at the grave of Kichizo, a man he killed two years ago. When some tax money is stolen while in transit to the governor he is accused and sets out to find the money and clear his name.

Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.

Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another young woman who is trying to help her brother, who has murdered someone at about the same time and place as the missing man was last seen.

Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant to get involved, because he knows how often such involvement has led to trouble in the past. But events conspire to thrust him repeatedly into involvement, and gradually he comes to believe in the man's innocence and determines to free him.

Hanpei is a gentle young samurai that loves flowers. One day, he witnesses an old man's quick draw of the sword. He is so impressed that he becomes the old man's pupil. Soon, Hanpei's skill of sword comes to attention of his lord. The lord orders him to assassinate a man...

Learning of his family's collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.

Features a haunted well with yet another blind masseur's vengeful ghost.

A kabuki actress is murdered. Her pet cat laps its mistress's blood and becomes a demon possessed by the vengeful murder victim.

This early gem starring the great Mifune Toshiro tells the tale of Katakana Yonetaro aka "The Shark," a rough-and-tumble horse trader in Japan's rugged northernmost territory of Hokkaddo.. ...

After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.

The film portrays a satirical view of today's heartless money-oriented society.

Legendary yakuza Shimizu Jirocho and his 28 henchmen travel the unruly path from a 'Fire Festival' in Akiba to a decisive battle by the Fujigawa.

Two amiable samurai wind up on opposite sides of the vendetta between Lord Asano's retainers and the family of Lord Kira that led to the famous revenge of the 47 Ronin.

The Dai-bosatsu toge trilogy is based on Kaizan Nakazato's unfinished long series of novels (41 books, written from 1913 to 1941). Set in the last period of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Daibosatsu Toge tells the story of Ryunosuke Tsukue , a nihilistic swordmaster who doesn't hesitate to kill anyone, bad or good.

The further adventures of Takeshi Nanjo, the Young Boss.

Ichikawa Raizo’s last film. He plays a Yakuza enforcer who kills a man on his boss's orders. He’s then sent to a provincial town to lie low, only to be caught in another war orchestrated by his original boss who has set him up.

Ronin samurai Ibuki-san enters a town and sells his skills to the warring families. He falls in love with the beautiful horse stable owner but like all heroes, cannot stay.

Eighth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Fifth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Onna no Toba, is the first film in long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin. The series gets cited on lists of action yakuza films or woman avenger films, but once the films are actually viewed, it is quickly obvious they are not generally about action except in the nominal sense of acts of gambling. And while Ogin is in fact sometimes motivated by revenge, she is not as a rule a martial artist or a killer, & this series tends to place its female hero as far away from the "action babe" method as she can get. Ogin is an honest dealer in the criminal underworld of yakuza-run gambling. She is samurai-like in that she sets out to become Japan's number one dealer, much as a samurai might go on his "warrior's pilgrimage" to become Japan's number one swordsman.

Fourth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Eleventh film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Twelfth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Third film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Seventh film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

A series of murders has been committed by someone with a new model gun, a Mord-Gessel X 38. Indeed, Daisuke himself is almost killed while investigating the case. This occurred while he was with Ritsuko, daughter of a company president. Detective Kimura thinks that the president himself, returned to Japan after an absence of fifteen years, might be the killer, or at least the man who supplied the gun. Ritsuko's father limps and though she explains this as the result of a traffic accident, Kimura remembers a narcotics smuggler named Suginami who shot himself in the ankle and then escaped from the hospital. He believes that the company president and the drug peddler are the same.

In the fourth film of series, Secret Assignment, Raizo again plays the Jiro Shiina. This time he's out to discover who is spying for the British in the Foreign Ministry, under the code name “Cat's Eye”.

Utaji heard that her ex-lover Seijirou would get married to Ochiyo a daughter of Ise-ya. She murdered Ochiyo and took over the Ise-ya's shop with Hikoroku a head clerk of Ise-ya. Moreover Utaji killed Hikoroku. But...

During the 1200's, legendary Buddhist monk Nichiren returns from his studies to lead Japan out of moral crisis and prepare to fight Mongol invaders by creating a new form of Buddhism. He runs afoul of the existing Buddhist sects and their government supporters and is persecuted. Can Nichiren persevere before the Mogol fleet reaches Japanese shores?

Well before “Shogun” as warring clans were fighting for power throughout Japan, a Portuguese vessel ran aground off Tanegashima. Lord Tokitaka helped Captain Pinto repair his ship. The grateful captain offered the lord a gift--a matchlock musket—the first firearm ever seen in Japan. But like a great stone hurled into placid waters, this simple gift will start a revolution. Tokitaka tasks Kinbei, his greatest swordsmith, to copy this musket and build guns for Japan. While Kinbei struggles to forge Japan’s first musket, a great love blooms between Captain Pinto and Kinbei’s daughter Wakasa. But for Kinbei, to let Wakasa marry Pinto and go to Portugal is unthinkable. And as Kinbei creates Japan’s first matchlock factory, Lord Oda Nobunaga will seize upon firearms as the key to sweep all other clans before him, tearing a blood-soaked path of destruction through Japan.

Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan. A young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu is manipulated by a ninja master into attempting to assassinate the warlord before he completes his task.

Kokubu Jiro is the captain of his university's Kendo team. Often standoffish, mild, stoic and minimalist, Kokubu is a mystery to those who know him. Kagawa wants to understand Kokubu, but being arrogant and flashy, has a hard time connecting with Kokubu.

Tenth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

A wandering gambler strolls into a village searching for his father's killer, unaware that the village is run by criminals who sell the poorest peasants into slavery.

[Period Covered: 1570-1573] Towards the end of the Tenmon Era, Shogun Ashikaga`s powers were weakening by the day and many were there who planned to overthrow him. It was the beginning of the Sengoku (Warring States) period. Three men attack a gunpowder maker in a farmhouse, the first chopping off his arm with his sickle-&-chain weapon, the second blinding him with sword, the third giving the killing blow. His son Kojiro Kosume escapes the attackers as everything he has known up to then explodes into conflagration. He grows up & enters the start of the Tokugawa Era, intent on avenging his father.

Based on a novel by Tsutomu Mizukami, this haunting melodrama focuses on a young bamboo worker who takes his father's prostitute as his wife.

[Period covered: 1637-1651] This is one of the most complicated plots of any of the Shinobi no Mono films! This film tells the story of Saizo’s son, Kirigakure Saisuke, who after seeing his father die at the Battle Of Shimabara, grows up to be an expert ninja. Before he dies, “Mist” Saizo tells his children Saisuke, and Yuri that they are not really brother and sister. She, in fact, is the daughter of the late lord Sanada Yukimura, and must be saved from the shogun’s forces. In the chess match of spy versus spy, can Saisuke defeat the shogun’s chief strategist, Matsudaira Izunokami at his own game? Showing many exciting ninja tactics, it is not to be missed.

Wandering samurai Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) finds a bulls-eye on his back after befriending the shogunate's tightfisted financial adviser, Asahina, who's earned the wrath of the shogun's self-indulgent daughter for cutting off her allowance. The enraged princess promptly hatches a scheme to have Asahina bumped off -- along with his protector, Kyoshiro. Shiho Fujimura also stars in this installment of the enormously popular film series.

A decapitation at the hands of the shogun's monstrous misbegotten son kicks off the action and draws nomadic Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) into more sword-fighting adventures when he's blamed for the beheading. Meanwhile, the head-chopper's mother is busy knocking off the shogun's lawful heirs to secure the shogunate for her son.

A fugitive christian "saint" (female, of course!) and a sadistic drug-addled princess both have their eye on Kyoshiro. The fact that a bunch of ruthless smugglers also want him dead is the least of his problems!

Fifth film in the series. When Kyoshiro, in a moment of weakness, saves the life of a woman being attacked on the road, he quickly finds himself entangled in a conspiracy involving a corrupt chamberlain, a wily merchant, the survivors of a pirate gang, and a missing treasure trove.

As winds of change sweep Japan, an honest man joins the Shinsengumi out of admiration for its leader, and because he wants to live and die as a samurai. However, as his involvement grows, reality and idealism come into deadly conflict.

Early film directed by Kenji Misumi.

Sixth film in the series. A little boy who just wants to be a carpenter is at the center of a plot that might topple -- or save -- a mighty Clan, and while the swords of some angry samurai may not cause Kyoshiro much trouble, the deadly wiles of two women may be more difficult to survive!

The masked daughter of the Shogun wants to kill a samurai who has seen her scarred face. She sends waves of ninja warriors to kill the samurai and plots diabolical schemes / ambushes without much success.

Nemuri Kyoshiro discovers a conspiracy centering around a band of disgruntled samurai wanting to avenge the death of their sensei, a political reformer that pushed for better provisions for the lower classes until he was assassinated by Shogunate agents. Their plot, to set fire to the oil refineries of two rich merchants and unleash a raging inferno that will hopefully burn down the Edo Castle.

This is the story of a blind masseur who tricks people, steals, and kills; he is the anti-Zatoichi

The Fencing Master tells the story of a man trying to survive as the only world he knows is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Danpei Ichikawa lives for swordfighting – he was once a renowned kabuki swordfight choreographer, and as the Chairman of the New National Theatre Company, he wants nothing more than to choreograph the swordfights for the modern plays put on by the company.

An Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six years in search of spiritual enlightenment. Siddartha (Cojoin Hong) turns his back on the old religion when people are starving needlessly and holy rituals include human sacrifices. During his meditations, he is tempted by erotic dancing women, demons, and the evil machinations of his criminal cousin. Devastate to attain the spiritual perfection and become the Buddha. He travels to convert followers by his kindness and wisdom, gaining a multitude of believers when he stops an elephant from crushing a local priest. Buddha of course goes on to become one of the great religious leaders of the world.

Fascinated with women from an early age, Yonosuke had his first sexual encounter at the age of seven. From that day on, he recklessly and forwardly pursues women, feeding his fascination and experience. As Yonosuke's salacious behavior brings much cause for shame to the family, his father eventually breaks relations with him. Expelled from the family, 19-year-old Yonosuke embarks on a pilgrimage of lust, traveling far and wide to acquaint himself with women of all walks.

When a local gambling house kidnaps some peasants because they failed to pay their debts, a rival gambling house pays their debts and sets them free.

Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a local boss to create illegal pornography to pay off his gambling debts. Ichi makes it his mission to save tha man and reunite the family, even though it brings him into conflict with a samurai he sort of befriended on his way to the town.

Follows the murder of a money-lending masseur by an impoverished samurai. The slain masseur's daughter will also fall victim to his curse, so that she can become empowered as an agent of her father's vengeance.

Ninth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.

Maiko and the Assassin

The Front Line Showdown

Bad Reputation: The Notorious Men and Their Specialty

Bad Reputation: The Notorious Harbor

A naively honorable samurai comes to the bitter realization that his devotion to moral samurai principles makes him an oddity among his peers, and a very vulnerable oddity in consequence. He takes the blame for the misdeeds of others, with the understanding that he will be exiled for one year and restored to the clan's good graces after the political situation dies down. As betrayal begins to heap upon betrayal, he realizes he'll have to live out his life as a master-less ronin, if not hunted down and killed.

Zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.

The Young Swordsman

The Magistrate

The Dancer and Two Warriors

Notebooks of Heiji Zenigata: Spider on the Skin

The Magnificent Five

Ken ni kakeru

The Gambling Samurai

Young Boss: Invitation to Fight

Fate begins to smile upon young Chonosuke Tokugawa, son of eleventh Tokugawa Shogun, after some twenty years of life as a dependent at his step-brother's castle, when the ruler of the Takatori Clan suddenly dies leaving no heir and despite the protest from Minister Horio, it is decided that young Chonosuke is to succeed as ruler of the clan. Horio determines to murder Chonosuke on his way to Edo so that his own grandchild may rule the Takatori Clan. "Odd" Han, a travelling gambler happens to stop at the inn where Chonosuke's party is staying in secret. The assassins come to attack Chonosuke on the riverbank where he is viewing the fireworks alone but are driven off by Han. Now Chonosuke travels with Han disguised as a gambler during which he begins to learn the hardships of the peasants and is struck with the contrast between the life of a feudal and those whose labour provides his luxurious living.

Sentaro (Raizo Ichikawa) from Ipponmatsu sets out to commit evil and gain dignity, but his good-natured nature does not allow him to do anything bad. Along the way, Sentaro saves a young woman named Okimi (Yuko Miki) from a bad womanizer and meets a Yakuza named Katsugoro (Yoshie Mizutani). He then visits Katsugoro boss Kanjiro Inariyama (Ganjiro Nakamura II) to train to be a yakuza, but to his surprise discovers that Katsugoro is Kanjiro's only daughter, Okatsu. He also finds out that the young yakuza working in Kanjiro's house is his younger brother Hanji (Yukio Hashi). Then the Shigezo family, who had been annoying Kanjiro for a long time, set fire to his gambling hall!

Kayama Ichinoshin (Raizo Ichikawa) has been traveling for ten years in search of revenge for his father. One day, Ichinoshin reunites with his younger brother Shinjiro (Yukio Hashi), who has completely changed. Shinjiro abandoned the quiet samurai life and began to lead a Yakuza lifestyle. The older brother is angry at the younger one for his depravity, and the younger one laughs at him for being tied to old-fashioned traditions. As a result, they quarrel. Ichinoshin hears that the person he has to take revenge on has become a Yakuza, and in order to get a hint, he takes care of the Otsu family, to which Shinjiro owes, but later discovers that the boss of Otsu Kanemon is the one he is looking for.

Yutaro kodan

Being acquainted with the bride's uncle, a famed private detective is invited to a wedding ceremony. The groom's family is moneyed and owns large tracts of land. The bride is a former teacher and was rumoured to have had an affair, which explains why the groom's family opposed the union. On the night of the ceremony the bride and groom are killed in a sealed room. There is evidence left, however, as there is a hand print on the wall albeit with only the trace of three fingers.

On the night of the summer Obon festival, Hagiwara Shinzaburo meets a beautiful courtesan named Otsuyu. Not knowing she's a ghost, he becomes infatuated by her.

The Young Lord

Zangiku monogatari

Migratory Birds of the Flowers

Adaptation of the original story by Hida Yoshiro, whose depiction of the world of the yakuza is unparalleled. Gisuke, a weather-beaten yakuza with nostalgia and memories of love in his heart.

Based on the old tale of Jiraiya, this 1937 version is essentially a revenge story with fantastic visuals.

Koina no Ginpei

Tired of everyday life, the 8th Shogun Yoshimune flees Edo Castle and asks Ooka Echizen to become his personal assistant. In a rice shop, Yoshimune meets a simple ronin Ohashi Kenshiro, and receives permission to stay at his house, but a mysterious corpse awaits him in the house... And then the second, third and fourth murders occur...

The film depicts the scarring of Yosaburo at the hands of yakuza thugs who catch him with mistress of the gang boss. Despite the physical and emotional scars he now carries with him, Yosaburo falls for a young noblewoman. The rest of the film follows the two as they fend off attacks from gangs and the police.

The Phantom Samurai

One of Japanese folklore's most popular characters is brought to life on the silver screen in this terrific version of legendary Demon slaying Peach Boy.

The exciting story of Jirocho and his yakuza gang that controlled the area of the Tokaido during the latter days of the samurai era. Awesome fighting from Katsu Shintaro as One-Eyed Ishimatsu highlights this great tale taken from Japanese history!

Ojo-kichiza

Nagasaki at the end of the Edo period had the taste of a criminal paradise, where, despite the exotic, dangerous work was always in demand. Here, three wandering samurai who earn their living by killing get to know each other. Soon they learn that government officials will be transporting a large cargo of gold and decide to steal it.

In the 19th century Edo period, sisters Oshizu and Otaka have sacrificed their personal happiness to work and care for their ailing father. Otaka falls in love, but can’t accept a marriage proposal since her older sister needs to marry first. When Oshizu learns of this decision, she takes matters in her own hands.

駿河遊侠傳 賭場荒し

母山彦

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

Abare inu is a 1965 action-comedy film directed by Kazuo Mori. It is the fourth film in the series.

Period drama based on the novel by Saisei Murō.

Early film by Kenji Misumi.

The film won 1959 Blue Ribbon Awards for best actor Raizo Ichikawa and for best cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa. The film also won 1959 Kinema Junpo Award for best actor Raizo Ichikawa.

The swordsman again crosses paths with the murderous Devil Mask Gang -- who as the name suggests, all wear hideous devil masks.

Early film directed by Kenji Misumi.

Bara daimyo

A film about young wandering Yakuza. Yukio Hashi's first film role.

Otemoyan

Adaptation of a famous Kyouka Izumi novel. Set in the early 1900's, it tells the story of the impossible love between a young scholar a beautiful geisha.

Hoodlum Soldier on the Attack

First movie of the Inu series directed by Tokuzō Tanaka

Kojiki taishō

Sequel to "Island of Horrors" (獄門島, 1949).

Mysterious incident at a secret factory! Important documents lost! What is the true identity of the enemy's invisible spy?

Aoba-jō no oni

1962 Japanese movie

Learning of his family's collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.