Ryōji Hayama

Fierce struggle between brothers and sisters in a lawless land where violence is the norm.

1962 Japanese movie

Masakichi Murase has just been released from prison and appears in a fishing port town. Two Yakuza families have been feuding in this city for a long time. On the side of the Okai clan, Masakichi enters into a confrontation with the evil Kawade family, who wants to get the territory of their opponents and the possession of a railway loading dock… The third part of the series of films "Kanto" starring Hideki Takahashi.

1962 Japanese movie

Hideo Ishizaki, who was painting on the shore of the lake, saves a woman named Keiko.

Reiko Ike stars as the daughter of a man who has been pushed into drug dealing by the local Yakuza mob. Having outlived his usefulness to the gang he is murdered and Reiko is gang raped, leading her to attempt a knife attack on the Yakuza boss (Ryoji Hayama) at a swank nightclub. Failing to kill him she ends up in prison, where she befriends a crew of other malcontents (including Yumiko Katayama and Chiyoko Kazama) and meets the Yakuza boss's girlfriend (Miki Sugimoto). Upon release Reiko reassembles her mob and launches a Machiavellian scheme to engineer a gang war between Hayama's Oba Industries and the formerly dominant Hamayasu Clan. The rival gangs begin killing each other off and Reiko works her way closer to her ultimate vengeance.

With a Kansai syndicate setting their sights on Tokyo, a former yakuza boss gets dragged back into a world of violence.

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.

“I like shady dealings,” purrs undercover superspy Yabuki en route to infiltrating a sadistic, trigger-happy gang of international jewel thieves. Gone renegade from the shadowy espionage bureau that honed his killer instincts to a razor’s edge, the implacable Yabuki teams up with fellow mercenary crime fighter Yamawaki. Together, they follow a trail of stolen gems leading from the final days of WWII to a contemporary conspiracy that reaches into the highest corridors of corporate power and nefarious international villainy.

An exciting and fast-paced entertaining action in which G-Man Joe of Aces (Japanese version 007) challenges a terrible international mafia organization based in Japan. To defeat the villains, Joe uses his unprecedented skills of fast shooting and karate secrets!

The second film in the Kanto Street Peddlers Clan series starring Bunta Sugawara.

The third film in the Kanto Street Peddlers series. Sugawara still plays the same Kanto street peddler, who this time ventures to Osaka where he defends a blind girl at a street market. The area is targeted by rotten yakuza (Asao Koike and Tatsuo Endo), who have lured local senior female boss (Nijiko Kiyokawa’s) rebellious but not entirely indecent son Goro Ibuki to their side.

A once-powerful yakuza clan disbands as a result of a police crackdown, but one small group refuses to bow to police pressure, and launches a campaign to take over Tokyo's drug, prostitution, and gambling rackets. Someone wants to stop them. Is it the police? Rival gang members? Or is it an entirely new group of hired killers who will stop at nothing to gain complete control of Tokyo's "bloody territories"?

College students come up with a scam to rob a gambling house. When it comes time to collect, the money isn't there, leading the young men into even more serious crime.

A man who was released from prison wanders around the Kanto region and gets involved with the local yakuza.

A detective drama that realistically shows the work of an experienced detective who, under cover, pursues the organizer of the arms trade route from Kobe.

A portrait of a man trying to become an artist in order to escape from his life as a miserable peasant due to severe annual tribute during the reign of the fifth Tokugawa Shogun Tsunayoshi.

The lives of two brothers, Kunio and Akira Kasahara, are changed forever when their father is murdered. Kunio sets out on a manhunt to avenge his father and will stop at nothing until he finds the killer. Setsuko, Kunio's fiancée, is unable to keep up with the lunacy that Kunio stirs up and finds comfort with another man - his brother, Akira.

A Yakuza film directed by Kôsaku Yamashita

When both a priceless jewel and the daughter of a rich heiress are stolen by a master criminal, Koga and his gang are hired to retrieve both. But a double-cross leads to a risky high-security bank heist and loads of martial arts mayhem.

Fumiko, mother of two and wife to an unfaithful man, shares her family life with her budding vocation as a poet. The beginning of her successful literary career coincides with her divorce and her breast cancer diagnosis. In her final stages, Fumiko meets a young journalist from Tokyo who wants to write a story on her experiences.

A sophisticated comedy about love games between men and women that arise from an intentionally dropped train ticket.

Nikkatsu youth masterpiece, which celebrates the love and friendship of young people who have blossomed in a beautiful northern spring with a lot of young dreams. Based on the novel "Memory of Snow" written by Takeo Tomishima.

Kazuo Kitagawa lives on a farm on the Tateshina Plateau with his late teacher's widow and daughter, continuing his research. One day, Kazuo is attracted to the beautiful young lady who is visiting the villa when he goes out to the town…

Koji Wada, who is good at shooting, karate, judo and boxing, has a tough fight with the sea gangsters!

Released in the UK as Hotbed of Crime

A 1961 crime film.

A unique action drama in which a ruthless yakuza encounters a woman and realizes his true love as the conflict between the yakuza intensifies.

An unofficial sequel to Million Dollar Match (1961) which also starred Koji Wada as a young energetic boxer. This story deals more with betting action surrounding a boxing match, concentrating mostly on the high-powered Yakuza gambling dens.

In the late 1890s, coal is a precious new natural resource. During an era of rapid economic growth, dreams are instilled into the lives of many across Japan. A vigorous young man with a look of fearless determination, sets foot on the northern part of Kyushu, an area where Yakuza thrived. His name is Kingoro Tamai (Yujiro Ishihara). With plans to travel the world, Kingoro worked diligently at a coal mine. His loyalty and hard work earned the respect of his peers, his courage won the heart of the beautiful Mon (Ruriko Asaoka), and his success evoked jealousy in his enemies.

Follows the struggles of a yakuza wife after his husband gets hurt in a knife fight.

Emerging from a stint in prison, yakuza lieutenant Sumukawa discovers that his gang has disintegrated. An ambitious type, he quickly hooks up with another gang who promise him a prominent position if he helps them deal with a rival family. But bonds are made to be broken, and pledges of loyalty soon give way to competition, betrayal and — naturally — retaliation.

Chivalrous Pride

During the 1880's a young swordsman, Saotome Gengo, on his way to Tokyo stops at an inn in a small town. But he does not know that his prowess has already attracted envious attention and that Senzo, the boss of the local gang, plans to have him killed. Seiji, the disowned son of the innkeeper, has run up a big gambling bill and, to settle it, the hoodlums decide to kill him. He is saved, however, by Hanako, star of the dancing troupe also staying at the inn. Gengo meets Hanako and learns that the troupe cannot open their show because the local police corruptly demand too much of the receipts. After another fight, Gengo sees the police-chief on behalf of the troupe, but is refused. So he suspects that the police and the hoodlums are implicated with each other. There seems no way to open the show until they hear that the governor is coming to the town for a local banquet. They appeal to him and he promises to investigate. It is decided that a duel will settle the matter...

Japanese drama film, originally released in two parts.

Japanese drama film.

A Buddhist monk becomes ensnared by a seductive woman who, according to legend, transforms her lovers into beasts.

Goro Fujikawa (Tetsuya Watari) was indebted to Mitsugimoto. Sawada, a low rank yakuza with a gambling problem owed Mitsugimoto three million yen. This equation can only lead to one answer. Mitsugimoto needs to pay and Goro's coming to collect.

A jazz bandleader, falsely accused of murdering his girlfriend, tries to stay one step ahead of the police as he dives into Tokyo's sin-city in search of the real killer.

The story of a lone wolf struggling with human compassion and duty.

Shokichi, the owner of the clothing store, lives with his daughter Hideko and plans to open an art gallery. One day, Hideko led a handsome art student, Shohei and a poor painter, Sohei. Sohei’s painting was praised by a great printer at the completion ceremony of the art gallery. Since he became successful as a painter, but he looked quite indifferent. Around the same time, Shohei’s sister brought Sohei’s pictures to the gallery and Shokichi noticed that she was a daughter of his first love.

A public bath house is the scene of illegal female slave trading operations in 18th century Japan and government spy Shinzo is sent in to expose the ringleaders as well as working to get a law passed eliminating coed bathing.

A touching love story about a heroine who loses her parents in the war and tries to keep her pure love alive despite the many difficulties she faces.

A poignant entertainment epic about a righteous mountain man, a young company director with new ideals, and a beautiful woman with wild charm, whose love and action unfold against the backdrop of a rice field in the middle of a vast forest.

Vice Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi could see that Japan's defeat in WWII was inevitable. He came to realize that the only way to force a negotiated solution was to convince the Americans that invading Japan would cause massive casualties on both sides. The cold logic of suicide attacks, where one man and one plane could kill hundreds, seemed the only solution. In one of the cruel ironies of fate, Ohnishi actually succeeded; he convinced the Americans that invading Japan would be too costly in lives. But what he could not foresee was that America had another way of ending the war.

This is the sixth film in the Brutal Tales of Chivalry series

Kuroda is a mob hitman who turns on his employers after being forced to execute his lover. Joining forces with his similarly wronged brothers, hot-headed Eiji and aspiring boxer Saburo, the trio escalate their mob retaliation to all-out turf war where no one will stop until one faction emerges victorious.

Nikkatsu finally responds to Suzuki's growing discontentment by giving him a bigger budget and a better script. This episodic collection of "real coast guard action stories" was the perfect vehicle for Koji Wada. Whatever negative press he had received for Tokyo Knights was quickly forgotten. He became the new "teen star." And Suzuki: "the director to watch."

A fearless man confronts a yakuza organization pushing the envelope of extravagant & all sorts of violence.

An undercover cop befriends a yakuza underling who through his contacts helps him infiltrate two rival Yakuza gangs. He pits the two rival gangs against each other in hopes that they will cross each other out.

After spending several years in prison, yakuza punk Masa (Bunta Sugawara) and his underling, Katsuji (Tamio Kawachi) are back out in the mean streets of Kobe to make a name for themselves amongst the local yakuza organization.

A street war breaks loose between two rival gangs in the Kansai region of Japan. Goro is in the middle of action. Through a knife fight against Sueo, a high profile gangster from Busou-kai, Goro notices a familiar face approaching him from amidst the chaos - his girlfriend, Yuri. Goro had sent her to safety, but she had returned, aching to see him. Caught between Goro and his enemy knife, she reunites with her love - the price was her life.

While imprisoned, Tatsu encounters Danshi, a man who is a big honcho in the prison pecking order. After initial conflict they become sworn brothers. Tatsu and the sworn brothers he acquires weren’t really gangsters before their prison time, just ruffians. Prison, however, introduces them to plenty of gangland characters and three years later, they’re out of prison and enmeshed in the yakuza world.

Tokyo hoodlums travel to Osaka and enter into rivalry with the local gangsters.

Wada Kōji is a chivalrous young man who leads a group of youths that take on a yakuza boss.

Japan, 1946, just after the end of World War II. As the US occupation army patrols the dilapidated streets of Tokyo, a desperate and ambitious group of war veterans and gamblers struggle to take control of the Ginza district's underworld with the help of a deranged soldier.

Yoshikawa and Kaji are alumni - Yoshikawa leads a life loyal to his company Toho Corporation, whilst Kaji works in the underground world for Aoyama, a fixer trying to buy Toho out. One day, Yoshikawa is ordered to take a look into the information leakage which had resulted in a serious fall of the company stock price. Following his order, Yoshikawa reunites with Kaji but their relationship gets complicated through the presence of Akiko, the daughter of Kubo, chairman of Toho Corporation. There is an obvious financial conspiracy and several men are killed - Who is the true mastermind behind all the plots?

Maki, a porter at the Sakura Hotel, finds a body in Room No. 2 and picks up a piece of paper on which is written "one-third of the key", also the part of a key. From a newspaper he learns that the dead man is an official who has been detained as a suspect in a bribery case involving 150,000,000 yen and that another suspect named Matsunaga is still in custody. Maki realizes that if he can obtain the other two-thirds of the key, he will be a multi-millionaire.

A biopic about Japanese baseball player, Tetsuharu Kawakami.

The year is 1926. It has been three years since the Great Kanto earthquake hit Tokyo. Everything is being rebuilt from the ground up. Odera crime syndicate saw this as an opportunity to expand its territory. The Odera boss arranges marriage between his daughter Orin (Ruriko Asaoka) and the son of notorious Gyotoku clan, but Orin’s heart belonged to Shinjiro (Yujiro Ishihara), a member of her father’s clan.

Ryu, a low life thug, along with his mother, steals a shipment of drugs. Now with his machine gun and a gang of hoodlums, he must face the yakuza and the mafia.

Plans to build a touristic hot spring on the island of Izu Oshima run afoul of the Kobe yakuza group, which intends to use the island as a relay base for drug smuggling.

When Keiji Takama returns to Nagasaki, he finds many changes. The rights of the entertainment field that had been held by his family have been taken over by the Matsui Group, a new gangster setup. So he becomes head of the Takama Group to regain lost territory. With the cooperation of all the Bosses from Tokyo to Nagasaki, who had known his father, Keiji recovers the rights to put on shows at the City Hall. As he had feared, however, Matsui begins to interfere with his plans. Keiji's men are furious, but he knows better than to take up the cudgels with Matsui at this important time. Whatever Matsui does, Keiji goes one better. Frustrated and bitter, Matsui calls in the help of Koiwa, a killer. Now, having tried his best to oust Keiji but finding that he is made of sterner stuff than he had counted on, he decides to have Koiwa do away with him for good.

During the Showa era, a young yakuza survives war and injury and rises to become a clan boss with the help and respect of his sworn brothers.

A tale of wannabe yakuza youths. When not cooking up scams with his buddies, Zenkichi develops a crush on Taro's disgusted sister, Miki. But soon the young hoods run afoul of their underworld idols when they rob the wrong gang, led by brutal boss Konno. When Zenkichi's pals start to bite the dust, he hooks up with a more traditional yakuza, Tetsugoro, to retaliate.

A young man travels to Egypt and becomes embroiled in an independence movement by chance. Produced entirely on location overseas, which was groundbreaking at the time.

It had been a year and four months since Mitsuo was last on a movie set. Welcomed back by director Ishizaki and his film crew, Mitsuo is excited to star as the lead in "My Sweetheart". One day, half way through production, he meets his friends from a popular rock group, "The Spiders". Through their discussion regarding the climax scene, they criticize that the script is too grim. In a notion to protect their friend's career, they decide to pay the scriptwriter a little visit.

A woman who grew up in a prestigious household, begins to have an affair outside the marriage.

Fresh out of jail, a smart-mouth wise guy Goro takes the name “Big Brother Katsumata.” Not fitting in well with established gangs, he forms a rag-tag gang called “the Shinjuku Brothers.” The members of their gang are thugs who only wish they were traditional yakuza. When they turn up at the funeral for a gangster, they are not welcomed, but a senior boss intervenes to keep things calm. The boss of bosses invites them to join a respected local council of warlords. Katsumata is suspicious of why such powerful men would extend an invitation to lowlife like himself.

Forever, My Love

Adapted from the original work by the literary giant Yasunari Kawabata. Through the lives of three sisters each following their own path, the film offers a richly poetic exploration of what constitutes happiness for women.

A sailor is stuck in the harbor due to an engine failure in his boat, and he learns that a friend of his has died, reportedly from suicide. He begins to investigate the matter himself, and finds there may be more to the story...

A single mother is being investigated into the death of her ex-husband, which brings to the fore the obscure details of her past.

Not too long ago, Soichiro was considered one of the most powerful men in business. But his business had failed, his granddaughter had committed suicide. There was nothing in his life anymore that he could look forward to. Sochiro was ready to put an to it end to all. As he drives down the Usui Pass, headed toward his summer house in Karuizawa, a girl in red heels, wearing nothing else but a coat jumps in front of the car.

A young doctor falls into a despair of developments. He plans to revenge the disgrace inflicted upon his sister, whose engagement was broken as a result.

A narrative depicting the appearance of soldiers scattered in Rabaul during the Pacific War. The original work of Yoshinori Matsuura was dramatized by Toyama Tetsu of “Smuggling of the Body”, also directed by Yutaka Abe, and Shigeyoshi Mine of “Densuke's Propaganda” was in charge of the shooting. The main performers are Michitaro Mizushima of “Smuggling of the Body”, Ryoji Hayama of “The Sorrowful Garden”, Shoji Yasui of “The People of Okino”, Shiro Osaka of “Lonely Man”, “Tetsuji Kawakami Story 16” In addition to Hiroshi Nihonyanagi, Shinsuke Maki, Isamu Kosugi of the "Hunger Soul", Ko Mishima, Satoshi Nishimura, Saburo Hiromatsu, Hiroshi Kondo and others.

It’s been five years since her husband had passed away. Fuyuko lives in the quiet suburbs, in a small but loving home with her three beautiful daughters. Haruko, the eldest, is the lead vocalist in a band. Natsuko is the conscientious type, who spends her days in ballet classes beautifying herself. The youngest of the three, Akiko is a bookworm who found her niche in philosophy. Although the sisters may appear to have nothing in common, there is one thing they all agree on; "Mom needs a new husband".

The first postwar war movie depicting the tragedy of a special force that shook the world at the end of the Pacific War, with thrill and speed

When the boss of the Nakano Family decides to retire and makes a loyal follower the new boss instead of his own son, it causes strife in the family. Sides are taken and lines are drawn. Meanwhile, a rival family with a land dispute with the Nakano starts pulling strings behind the scenes...

Shiawase wa doko ni

Final installment of THE WANDERING GUITARIST series.

Burning Clouds

A continuation of Hungry Soul, from the same year. Reiko, who tolerates abuse in her marriage to a man 23 years her senior, is friends with Mayumi, a beautiful widow. Reiko meets her husband’s business rival, a young, capable businessman, and falls for him. Meanwhile, Mayumi enters into a relationship with Shimotsuma, a friend of her late husband.

Terajima, an ex-yakuza and current nightclub owner, is brought back into the world of crime when his former brother attempts a hostile take over.

An action masterpiece depicting the brotherhood of a younger brother (a student yakuza who breaks the gang rules and the law), and an older brother who prays for his brother's happiness while becoming a gangster to the old yakuza.

An early contemporary yakuza action drama.

The most dangerous hired gun in Kyushu's underworld has managed to trigger a vicious gang war, and now, there's a contract on his life. Though nobody is more skilled in the arts of dealing death, can the tattooed hitman fend off the entire Japanese mafia as he searches for the man who wants him dead?

Human Torpedoes Attack

Mexico Drifter

Set against the backdrop of the vast wilderness of Hokkaido and the Sea of Okhotsk, Ace Joe arrives in the town of Nosappu and explodes with exhilarating rapid fire and invincible charm.

A sequel to Detective Bureau 2-3: Go To Hell Bastards!

Romantic action film set against the beautiful backdrop of Rio de Janeiro. Jiro Ibuki has decided to leave the world of the yakuza and live with his fiancée Reiko.

The Kanto Brothers' Code of Honor (関東兄弟仁義 仁侠) is a 1971 film directed by Buichi Saitō. It is the ninth and last film in the Duty of Brotherhood series.

Akio Tsukaro, dreaming of working for a beauty school's flag shop one day, stayed at Bunta Tadokoro without being involved in salon art, even though he graduated from beauty school. One day, Akio saw Michiko, a beautiful girl raining in Ginza. Since then, Akio has become unforgettable with the mascot that Michiko has taken away... Akira Saiga of "Dainippon Chambera Den" wrote the story, and Nozomu Yanase of "Northern Town" directed this youth work. Film by Muneo Ueda of "Early Youth Blue Fruit".

Senko Tamagawa is a third-year junior high school student, and she is the captain of the badminton club. Her father, Kinzo, remodeled her barn and lent it to her only Mikayo. Senko was somehow envious of her flashy life... In a tragedy with a girl living in the base as the main character, Katsumi Miki of "Life like a weed" adapted the original story of Muraji Uchiki and directed by Eisuke Takizawa of "Ajisai no Uta".

The movie depicts the complicated romantic feelings of a woman who is attracted to a man other than her fiancé.

1961 Japanese movie

Adaptation of Jirō Osaragi's novel.

A touching literary and artistic story about the sadness and pathos of a woman's love, crying in agony over her hidden past.

Shippû kozô

やくざ番外地　抹殺

1965 Japanese movie

1967 Japanese movie

One vow, seven faces! If you don't want to live, get together! Hot-blooded fellows challenging the darkness of the big city! Seven men, each with an unusual character and background, daringly challenge the corrupt bosses who plague the jazz world with violence and intrigue, and unleash the iron fist of justice in this white-hot, action-filled story.

Tatsuya Hayami, an employee of Nitto Wool Textile, will soon leave the company. His girlfriend, Miyuki, had to work due to her family's poor business performance. At that time, a hired car driven by Michitaka Komatsubara, vice president of Nitto Worsted, and his mistress, Saeko Eguchi, hits Miyuki's father, Shintaro...

This coming-of-age drama depicts Ozaki, Takei, Minami, and Onoki, four men trained in the rugby club and brimming with intelligence and a sense of justice, as they vigorously move forward on their own paths while battling the murky waters of society, supported by their firm friendship with one another.

The first time that up-and-coming architect Yuji Muraoka (Yujiro Ishihara) met Natsuko (Ruriko Asaoka) was at a contemporary art exhibition at the Ueno Museum of Art. At the time, he didn't feel anything special about her, other than being impressed that she was the younger sister of the respected Nonomura-san. Later, at Nonomura's birthday party, some people who were jealous of Yuji's talent tried to embarrass him by forcing him to perform a hidden talent show, and Natsuko quickly came to his rescue. This incident caused the two of them to become much closer...

A film director plans to make a film about a man who embarks on a journey to find a missing musician, who has disappeared after becoming obsessed with the sound of a Porsche engine.

Late Taishō period. The Shibatora family, led by Naojirō, held power over the Tomigawara area in Jōshū. After launching an attack on the Takayasu family for encroaching on their territory, they were instead ambushed by Takayasu's forces. Taking full responsibility, Naojirō turned himself in to the police. Six years later, upon his release, he is enraged to find that everything has changed drastically from how it once was.

国東物語

素っ飛び小僧

Set in an old merchant house in Kyoto, the film traces the passing of an era through the story of a parent and child.

Film by Buichi Saitô

大学の暴れん坊