A period mystery in which an unconventional priest exposes the truth behind the bizarre death of a maid in the shogun's harem. Kinuyo Tanaka stylishly plays a constantly intoxicated geisha in this all-star entertainment film.
Continuation of the film Once and For All about two yakuza brothers Joji and Goro.
Shigeki Kachi, Tosuke Satomura, and Nanako, who belong to the theater company Vuanbert around Dosa, withdrew at the indignation of the chairman Hayashi and seeked their own careers in the film industry.
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
The tale of a feudal swordsman who cynically takes no responsibility for anything, relegating it to others, and then taking the credit.
Young Lord Taihei goes to Edo to find the lost family treasure, a plover incense burner, under the disguise of a ronin.
Amsterdam, June 12, 1942. Anne celebrates her 13th birthday and begins her diary, which she calls Kitty. Hiding for two years from the German threat, the young girl writes about her idealistic views on the world, her ambitions, her fears and her first love, Peter.
The film tells about Masayoshi, a noble Yakuza who lives by the laws of honor and humanity, and who is bound by an oath to his brother in a conflict between the Gamblers' family and the Tekiya family.
End of the Taisho period. In the city of Kiryu, where the wind is constantly blowing, the heads of the yakuza families of Kanhasshu (eight Kanto provinces) were to raise funds for the construction of the Chuji Kunisada monument. Responsible for the fundraiser was Jokichi from the Asami family, but Matsugoro from the Kuromatsu family, who wanted to become the greatest boss of the Kanhasshu yakuza, is trying to take over the textile market that Jokichi controls and intercept the fundraiser.
Emi Ikushima, a star actress in the Roses, is half-hearted, but she wasn't disappointed by the news of her father Enmy's sudden death, and she performed enthusiastically on the stage that night, attracting a crowded audience.
Beginning of the Showa era, Takasaki City in Joshu (Gunma Province). Gambler Inufushi Yoichi continues to lose at Takamasa's gambling house. The authoritative female gambler Ai gives him money and advises him to think seriously about his life. She has to leave Takamasa because of him. She travels to Tomioka for advice from Matsumiya Seiji, who previously helped her. However, the latter is killed due to a conflict with the Kaizu-gumi yakuza family, making his wife Tane a widow...
1962 Japanese movie
The story of three brothers who, after loosing their parents in the Great Kanto Earthquake, continued their respective yakuza family business and the revenge of the youngest one when his siblings were killed by a rival vicious yakuza boss. The first in the two part Daimon series.
A Nikkatsu Action film with Yujiro Ishihara as the head of a small shipping company who gets harassed by the yakuza.
The moment he's released from prison, the honorable gangster Miyamoto recovers the stolen diamonds he had stashed before getting pinched. When he returns to his haunt to make good by friend who took a bullet for him, he is diverted by the greedy boss Oyane and his insatiable taste for Miyamoto's precious stones.
After the boxing champion retires, the head of a powerful gym, Minegishi (So Yamamura), recommends Yamanaka (Hiroshi Kawaguchi), who is no longer in top form and is ranked number one, for a title fight, but his comrade Hata (Kojiro Hongo) is not happy with this choice, and so he moves to the gym run by the criminal businessman Goda (Toru Abe) and burning desire to beat Yamanaka.
In the 1970s, the Japanese youth emancipation also found its way into the yakuza (crime) societies. A Girl Boss may have a choice between bikes, and between boyfriends. But she has to defend her choices the hard way, as her triumph and power over the girls' gang is questioned by her female rivals, and the all powerful Yakuza Boss. She inspires loyalty to her girls, and to men to the extent of many of them literally giving their lives for her - in a world of knife and gun fighting, bike and car chasing, and violent death.
Japanese war movie.
1962 Japanese movie
Lady Snowblood is caught by the police and sentenced to death for her crimes. As she is sent to the gallows she is rescued by the secret police who offer her a deal to assassinate some revolutionaries.
This is the story of a blind masseur who tricks people, steals, and kills; he is the anti-Zatoichi.
A young man named Kijima who works as a pianist in a small bar is surprised when one of the customers asks if he won't pretend to be the fiance of his sister. He is even more surprised when he is offered a million yen to play this apparently harmless role. Actually, it is anything but harmless. Both the customer and his sister are involved in a jewel robbery in which they have double-crossed two of their accomplices who are now out of prison and thirsting for revenge.
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.
Film directed by Kenji Misumi
Assassin Nanjo goes on a solitary mission to take revenge on the man who trapped him into a complicated drug deal.
A sniper kills two prisoners in a police van, and the driver sets out to find the killer.
Okatsu the Fugitive is the third film in the "Ohyaku/Okatsu" series. Okatsu; a "tomboy" who is good with a sword. Her father has found her a man to marry and actually she doesn't seem too upset about the situation. At the same time, a bunch of farmers are being slaughtered by a corrupt group running a tobacco smuggling ring. They're being investigated by a man who is documenting their crimes and when they find out about it, they torture him for information but get none. It's not long before he and Okatsu's mother wind up dead and she sets out for revenge.
Oryu searches for blind child she left behind and get involved in a Yakuza turf war that takes place in the Tokyo Theater.
Nitani is an undercover drug enforcement agent in Kobe who not only busts two rival drug gangs but also helps one of the more decent hoodlums find the killer of the hood's brother.
Sachiko is the leader of a girl gang from Shinjuku who wind up in Kyoto and make a bid to take over the local girl gangs there.
Yoji Himuro (Hayato Tani) is a ruthless bully terrorizing the classroom with his buffoons. New teachers (Kunie Tanaka and Mari Atsumi) get assigned to tame him down, but they fail miserably. Yoji continues his no-respect rampage until the school principal brings in a new student, an American educated karate expert Noboru Ohinata (Yuki Meguro), to counter Yoji’s terror!
A cynical samurai is left as the sole survivor to fulfill a plot to assassinate the puppet of a villain intent on usurping the shogunate in the 17th century. A Shogunate Elder connives to rule Japan by making his puppet, the Shogun's brother Tsunashige, the next Shogun. The best strategist in Japan, Yamaga, leads a plot to stop the Elder, but his cabal is betrayed and most of the conspirators are captured and tortured.
Two devious retainers are competing to take control of a fief when the current Lord dies, but involving Kyoshiro in the conflict against his will is the textbook example of a bad idea - especially when the collateral damage starts to tick him off.
Shoichi Kokubun is a roughneck street musician, who has a brother that is determined to propel him into stardom. In attempt to catch the attention of a popular jazz band, his brother appeals to their manager who has the power to make him a star. In a graphic portrayal of love, betrayal and success, Shoichi brews up a storm with a 'rat-a-tat-tat' on the drums.
A war veteran clashes with a mob boss in this crime saga. When Ryuji returns from the war, he finds himself torn by the death of an old friend - the son of crime kingpin Kiyomiya. A death Ryuji feels responsible for.
Released from reform school, the Girl Boss and her girl gang enter into conflict with another girl gang who are allied to the powerful Yakuza Boss.
A historical drama that depicts the touching beauty of world obsession and human love in the style of light comedy, in the center of which is a young man who has a master license menkyo kaiden in the art of swordsmanship, but weak against lies and women. A remake of Bungaku no Issue, shot by Sadao Yamanaka in 1933.
A man who became the third boss faces off against delinquent foreigners and villains vying to rule the underworld in order to develop the port city.
Assistant Police Inspector Saburo Tatsuno, a former jazz pianist, is assigned to uncover a narcotics ring. But he falls victim to the seductive wiles of Maki, the beautiful night club singer and one of the leaders of the ring. One by one, Maki's discarded lovers vanish and Tatsuno faces a similar fate. Tatsuno confesses to his identity under torture and this leads to the murder of his undercover colleague. He realizes that his career is ruined and this, plus Maki's charm, induces him to join the smugglers. Before submitting his resignation, however, he leads the police on a wild-goose chase while a big narcotics transaction is taking place in another part of town, and this puts him among the leaders of the underworld. When Maki turns her attention to a youthful singer, Tatsuno realizes that he has gambled his whole life and lost. So he stabs the tantalizing beauty, and is in turn shot down in a gangland revenge killing.
A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world imposes change around her.
Oichi may have met her match as she vies against the evil beauty that has set her sights on destroying her. She must face numerous other challenges before confronting her greatest rival. While longing to live and love like other women, she realizes that she can never have a normal life, her sword which she holds on to like a security blanket will always come between her and such a life...
The story of male friendship unfolding during a boxing match between the navigator, who took responsibility for the accident and went ashore from the ship, and a young docker, whom he loves like a younger brother.
Strife between competing lumber mills.
1864. Samurai Shinbei is sent in a secret mission to Ezo, in the North of Japan, to stop riots of villagers commanded by Jirozaemon. A Russian count's daughter, the village leader's daughter and a secret treasure add up to the adventure.
1962 Japanese movie
Fumiko, mother of two children and wife of 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 the last stage of her life, she meets a young journalist from Tokyo who wants to write a story on her life.
The Tokugawa new Shogun is not interested in women. A nobleman with the help of a lady thief replaces the Shogun with a double, while he learns about love. But the double finds pleasure not only in women, but in his new status.
Order of Yakuza
Abashiri Prison is located in the coldest place in Japan. Two men, handcuffed together have escaped from the prison, one a yakuza, the other a petty criminal, and although they hate each other they must work together if they are to evade capture in this harshest of climates.
Akemi is a dragon tattooed leader of the Tachibana Yakuza clan. In a duel with a rival gang Akemi slashes the eyes of an opponent and a black cat appears, to lap the blood from the gushing wound. The cat along with the eye-victim go on to pursue Akemi’s gang in revenge, leaving a trail of dead Yakuza girls, their dragon tattoos skinned from their bodies.
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.
Just released on parole, one young man hurtles towards a face-off with the gangsters controlling Shinjuku and its lucrative prostitutes.
In 1842, in the Umemoku Mansion within Hikone Castle, Naosuke Ii, despite the tumultuous times, was engrossed in the world of tea ceremony. His friend, the Kokugaku scholar Nagano Shuzen, introduced him to a captivating shamisen master named Murayama Taka. Naosuke became deeply infatuated with her, disregarding the jealousy of his consort Shizu and the warnings of his senior retainer, Gaiji. However, upon discovering Taka's relationship with Shuzen, Naosuke promptly ended his ties with her.
In the mountainous region of Koshu, Taikahara, there was an intense power struggle between the prominent families, Tamaki and Kakukura. Facing the steward of Kakukura, Kurokawa Senjiro, was Tamaki Daisaburo, who was skilled with a handgun. Daisaburo had granted protection to the charcoal maker, Miyoshi, safeguarding a few mountains passed down from their ancestors. Daisaburo's elder brother, Iori, who had completed his training in Edo, saved Kakukura's only daughter, Koyumi, on his way back home. However, while Daisaburo rushed to Iori's aid after Koyumi was attacked by Kurokawa and his men, their family home was set ablaze.
Story of a romance between a middle-aged journalist and a young woman.
Set in Kyushu during the early Showa period, the son of a boss who is killed after a greedy boss takes over his territory, takes over and takes revenge on his nemesis.
The film is set during the days of the scarcity of food after World War II, during which five men ate an elephant that died in a zoo. The elephant's corpse however, was infested with deadly bacteria and the men have only 30 hours left to live...
Yakuza Ryuichi, nicknamed the Dragon-killer, went on a journey with his son Tatsuo after he lost his wife. Due to Tatsuo's sudden illness, Ryuichi had money problems, and he became dependent on the head of the local tekiya and finds himself involved in the tekiya war with the Yakuza.
Japanese crime film
After serving his sentence, Yakuza family member Toshin-gumi Umebayashi is released from prison. Toshin-gumi was already headed by the boss in the second generation of Shotaro, but Shotaro fell into a trap, he is manipulated by his sworn enemy Kanzaki-gumi. Kanzaki-gumi captures the Toshin-gumi oil fields mined by the first boss. Umebayashi explodes in anger and attacks Kanzaki-gumi, but...
A crime film released in 1965
In a mountainous region of Japan, Lord Arakawa kidnaps the men of nearby villages to use as slave labor, producing gunpowder from his sulfur pits. A band of young boys decide to rescue their enslaved fathers on their own.
Based on the original work of Yasunori Kawauchi of "Moonlight Mask", this is the second in the "Ginza Whirlwind Child (Mitsutogai)" series in which Asahi Kobayashi plays an active role in the death of a divine ghost in a skillful disguise. Takuya Nikaido appears in Kobe and approaches the mystery of the fake bill case.
Akira, a student who is professionally engaged in boxing, aspires to follow in the footsteps of his late father and become a champion when, during training, he becomes embroiled in a murder case. His school friend is involved in the case, and Akira also becomes the target of villains...
1961 gangster film.
1962 Japanese movie
Okawa Hashizo is 'Red Peony' Hanji who is thrown into a prison cell where he gets involved in a plot to steal government gold from the Shogun's vault. A tough fighter, he has to show his ability in order to keep from getting himself killed by the prisoners, too. Co-starring some of the biggest name in movies at the time, including Kataoka Chiezo and Tanba Tetsuro this film is loaded with surprises. From the opening moments when prisoners carry out their own form of justice, killing a crooked ex-constable, it is clear that this is the work of a visionary filmmaker.
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.
A poor rickshaw driver finds himself helping a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly.
A film about sumo wrestler Wakanohana Kanji I. He was nicknamed "Devil of the dohyo" due to his excellent fighting spirit and endurance.
After eight years in prison, Takeshi’s mission is a big heist from his own clan’s gambling parlor.
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...
The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.
1945 Japanese movie
Dr. Kinoshita, whose rocket experiments had been a series of failures, discovers a strange flying saucer zooming through the night sky at super speed. He contacts the newspaper about it, but the editor dismisses him, saying he's gone mad and doesn't take him seriously at all. This is the imaginative sci-fi comedy "Frankie 14," featuring a groundbreaking and innovative story with flying saucers of unparalleled rarity and the appearance of artificial satellite people produced from single cells.
A dying businessman intends to will his fortune to his three illegitimate children, whose whereabouts are unknown, so a bevy of lawyers and associates scheme to take advantage of the situation.
1951 Japanese movie
Private eye Bannai Tarao (Chiezo Kataoka) and his assistant Masako (Chizuru Kitagawa) investigate the mysterious murder of a baseball player who was killed in the middle of a game.
Jo has just come back to Japan for the funeral of his parents, who were killed in tribal warfare in Africa where the family had been living throughout most of Jo's life. Once the funeral was over, he missed the boat that was going to take him back home, and, because of an altered itinerary, he ends up stopping in a town for awhile -- striking up an acquaintance with a teenager and her grandfather when he captures their runaway horse. He would have been glad to leave after the proper amenities were completed, but the girl's journalist brother is murdered -- he was getting too close to wrapping a major news story. At that point, Jo and a friend cannot easily drop the matter as though nothing had occurred, and the two start to track down the source of the trouble -- a factory that makes poison gas for Third World buyers. Now their task is to dismantle the operation, prevent one train shipment from arriving at a transfer point, and find the journalist's killer.
A young woman, an experienced gambler, enters a nunnery to atone for some of her father's crimes. When the nunnery runs into debt, she resorts to gambling and challenges the racketeer threatening to sell the place to a game.
Japanese crime film.
A sad and troubled man finds a new job five years after the end of WWII, where he writes love letters for other people.
Japanese life during the past thirty-five turbulent years is depicted in this film through the eyes of two police detectives. One is Henmi, who comes to Tokyo in 1926 from faraway Kagoshima to join the Tokyo police force. His closest friend is Nihei, a farmer's son from Tohoku who becomes the steadying influence on headstrong Henmi.
The mistress of a crook real estate broker comes to terms with her soulless existence after an artist paints her portrait.
Shigeru is a young man who works as a window cleaner. His older brother Kenzo has just returned from prison and is determined to start life anew. But a battle for leadership within his old gang causes him to be framed for murder. Shigeru sets out to uncover the truth to clear his name.
In 1942 South China, hardened field hospital nurse Yukiko secretly loves Sergeant Nemoto. The arrival of a fragile new nurse, Keiko, reawakens Yukiko's warmth but also sparks intense jealousy when Nemoto shows Keiko kindness. As the two bond over a shared hometown, Yukiko's resentment grows. The situation is compounded by the escalating chaos of a losing war, including air raids, medicine shortages, and a deadly malaria outbreak that weakens Keiko. Set against the backdrop of Japan’s impending defeat, Yukiko is forced to confront the high cost of her envy and decide where her loyalties lie in a final test of courage and compassion.
The last fight put up by remaining forces and a special volunteer nursing corps in 1944-5.
Tonomura has a singular taste in women. He likes them, but he wants them tattooed. To this end, young Osayo has herself decorated with a celebrated flying-angel pattern and in this way brings much pleasure to her patron. A young hoodlum named Shinnosuke also covets the tattooed maiden. He, decorated with the design of a famous thief, finally gets to her and she responds as she rarely does with her older lover. Also in love with her is a young girl named Okimi who has herself tattooed with a courtesan design just to please the older woman. Having done so, however, she becomes fair prey to the tattoo-loving Tonomura who loses no time in seducing her.
Three Iga ninja are on a hunt for Chidoken, a Takeda ninja sent out to assasinate Lord Nobunaga.
Japanese "kayo" film centered around the song "Wakai omawari-san" by Shiro Sone.
1956 Japanese film, originally released in two parts.
Japanese action film.
This is a story about the youth of a university student who, by chance, aims to compete in the Montreal Olympics in a single scull (a single-seater boat). Every night he stays up all night playing mahjong and drinking. Masao lives his life aimlessly, and even the university he got into after failing the entrance exam twice is on the verge of repeating the year. One day, a high school classmate and friend who graduated from Tokyo University and got a job at a top bank is invited to his wedding reception, and Masao is invited as well. However, Masao feels uncomfortable with the glamor of the surroundings, and when Rie, who is also attending, comforts him, he blurts out, half-jokingly, that he might compete in the Olympics.
A Japanese melodrama about three sisters, rival fashion companies, and attempted murder by overheated bathroom.
1954 Japanese film starring professional wrestler Rikidozan.
Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by Yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed. Though now even more of an outcast, Jokichi is asked by another Yakuza boss, Umezo, to guard Oyuki, the wayward daughter of Juzaburo. The tragic consequences of this assignment will lead him into a deadly trap and a final confrontation with Chogoro.
Maki travels from Japan to Hong Kong and Thailand in order to show the superiority of Japanese karate to those countries' native to martial arts.
A scrap iron carrier arrived at Tokyo bay. The ship swarmed with the stevedores, the souvenir seller and the hookers. The crews of ship were oppressed by arrogant captain and his officers. The crews caused an uprising. A manager of stevedore ordered his employee leader to suppress an uprising...
At midnight, Yamabe, a killer, escapes from prison. Two years before, bribed by a narcotic smuggler, Yamabe killed a real estate broker. As he was being arrested by detective Negoro, the detective's bullet struck Sakuko, Yamabe's girl friend who attempted to protect him, and crippled her. When Yamabe was sent to prison, Negoro cared for her and they fell in love. Sakuko asked him to marry her, but Negoro was reluctant to take the killer's sweetheart from him. Learning of the relationship of his girl friend and the detective, Yamabe had pledged revenge.
The few residents left on the streets in Tokyo share their individual stories and come to understand the melancholy of saying goodbye.
A coming-of-age story about two newcomers to the world of professional baseball who compete for Rookie of the Year honors and love.
A unique and controversial film directed by Umeji Inoue, based on the original story by Shintaro Ishihara, which depicts the image of a group of young people in the agony of mistrust, love and hate with a powerful touch.
Organized thieves battle against the Shogun’s ruthless ruling in attempt to get back their land.
An attempt is made to suppress a journalist's investigation of collusion between a rural police chief and the local gangster bosses.
The long awaited second film in the Wicked Priest series is a masterpiece of sword swinging fury as Shinkai is asked by a man on the run to bring his young son to live with his grandfather, the master of a ju-jitsu dojo during the Taisho period of the early 20th century. Shinkai then runs afoul of a gangster group using strong-arm tactics to take over the profits from local gambling. When he proves to be more than they can handle, they hire the one man who has the ability to kill Shinkai and exact revenge, Ryotatsu, the karate priest whom Shinkai blinded in the first film. This ultra-violent entry has long been considered the best movie in the series and never made its way to home video before. See a spectacular display of Wakayama Tomisaburo’s martial art expertise in this action packed film. The Holy Grail of sword movies has arrived at last! /Winterheart of CG
Rivalry between a hoodlum group and gangster organization.
A 1948 Japanese film.
A reporter Takuo, who is sleeping in the newspaper room of the Maichō newspaper company, receives a sudden report from a reporter that the missing Akiyama JNR president was found dead.
The film follows the story of Sugi Toranosuke, a ronin, who returns to his home town of Edo many years after his attempted suicide as a sickly child. Rescued and adopted by a master swordsman, he has grown into a master swordsman and a very kind gentleman. The time is around 1868 the year that the nails were finally put into the coffin containing the feudal system that nurtured and sustained the samurai. Sugi is confused and unsure about what is happening but his teacher wants him out of the chaos of the multiple power struggles between the various clans.
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 third installment of the Emperor series, starring Tatsuo Umemiya as the man who rules the night world. Hiroshi rose through the ranks in Tokyo by fighting with women. However, when he returned to his hometown in Kyushu for his father's memorial service, his gambling partner Masa not only confiscated Hiroshi's store and bankbook, but was also saddled with debts in Hiroshi's name. Although Hiroshi was angry, he made a decision and decided to start over using his body. Starting with a female designer, he battles an antique art dealer, Master Nagauta, a female doctor, and many others, and finally battles a rich man's widow.
A gripping tale of friendship set against the backdrop of Hokkaido. Shinichi sets out to earn a few honest dollars with which to bail a friend out of jail.
Upon returning to his hometown of Nagasaki, recently released prisoner Tachibana Shinichi must rejoin the Asahi gang family in order to pay back a past debt. Trouble brews when the rival gang that was responsible for sending him to prison learns of his return. Left with no alternative to their constant harassment and threats, Tachibana decides to take them on.
Nobuo is a hot-headed hoodlum fresh out of reform school who struggles to make a clean break with his tearaway past.
Ninth film in the long-running series Daiei Studio's Woman Gambler with Kyoko Enami starring where she plays the woman gambler Ogin.
A seemingly run-of-the-mill corporate salaryman leads a double life as a vicious criminal by night. In a delicious scheme of payback, he seeks to dominate the corporation that employs him by day.
The hero tries to unite various gangs.
A gangster named Sagara killed a broker at the request of a friend named Oba, was arrested and spent eight years in prison. Now released, he wants to find out who squealed on him.
Authentic action drama of modern gangsters.
The son of a prominent member of a fishing community returns home after a stint with the yakuza to find his father has died under orders of a local gang leader. He sets out to avenge his father, keeping his plans secret from his mother who is cold to him since his perceived abandonment of the family. This wonderful, if little-seen, Fukasaku gem deals with family, community and what it means to do right by both.
When a lucrative waterfront development becomes available, the Kawade gang quickly use their political connections to secure the land. However, the acting boss of the Ohara gang also has his eyes on the property and recruits crooked detective Tokumatsu Kuno to help him hijack the deal. With relations between the rival gangs at breaking point, it's not long before all-out war breaks out as the gangsters, police and local politicians battle for control of the city.
When a lone traveler stumbles upon a remote, drought-stricken village, he finds himself engulfed in a whirlpool of myth, mystery, and magic: in a nearby pond reside spirits who hold the fate of the town’s inhabitants, including lovers Akira and Yuri, in their hands.
Exciting fights between the police and a crime syndicate over the secret of poison gas.
Two convicts just released from prison find a green bauble filled with diamonds — and try to prove they didn't steal it.
Osaka, 1907: Asajiro lives between a rock and a hard place: he has to keep his business clean and running, tame his late oyabun’s hot-blooded son and suffer the throes of his impossible love for beautiful geisha Hatsue.
Tai Kato’s early 20th century set yakuza epic about an ordinary merchant girl (Hiroko Maki) who crosses paths with an assassin (Tetsuya Watari). The encounter sends her to jail as a suspected accomplice. Years later she marries a yakuza boss, whose gang is affiliated with working class people.
This is the sixth film in the series. There were seventeen Wolves of the City films between 1968 & 1974, in the main aimed at shock-value & “pinku” soft-core with sex, nudity, violence, gunplay, & a lot of mainly pointless foolishness when the biker gang coopts racist or nazi imagery, inventing a non-existent youth culture void of morality…
Pinku from 1971.
Four ninja are hired to fight against the Shogunate’s plot to abolish the Gamo Clan, the regional barons struggling to reinstate their young heir Tanemaru as their Lord.
The feud between two rival delivery companies, Kibamasa and Okiyama, heats up as the head of Kibamasa falls ill.
In a warehouse area at night, a drunk chief engineer is stabbed to death by someone who whistles. After the break of dawn, two seamen join the crew of a rusty cargo ship Kaiyo Maru. One is a troublemaker with bad attitudes, Senkichi Nomura, who pursues an enemy in order to take revenge for his father's death. The other is Keizo Sasaki, a buff, eagle-eyed man on board for a certain mission.
Suehiro Katsuji, a prisoner of Abashiri, is sent to Shikoku to work at a dock where a fierce turf battle takes place between a local gang and the dock operator.
Interesting fights between the "Capone Group" and "Jumbo Group".
Detective Tarao investigates the deaths of police officers who were involved in solving a kidnapping case.
Superbly entertaining action comedy with Tomisaburo Wakayama as Kuriyama Capone who learned his trade under Al Capone in Chicago. The film follows his first venture to Japan with gangster brothers Frank (Shingo Yamashiro) and Joe (Fumio Watanabe). And being chased by gangster and the FBI, including the granddaughter of Eliot Ness. The whole thing is a good amount of fun, the performances especially (Wakayama, Yamashiro, Watanabe in a rare heroic role), making this one of routine director Takashi Harada’s best pictures.
When Honjo is selected as Kansai district's chairman, Iwasa of the rival gang asks Itsuki to do everything possible to have Honjo step down, which puts Itsuki between a rock and a hard place.
Yusaku Matsuda plays an ex-boxer who killed an opponent during a fight. He is brought into a school to deal with a gang of disruptive students led by Hiroshi Tachi.
A high-ranking yakuza rises to national notoriety.
A young intellectual conscientious objector is forced to serve with the Japanese army in Manchuria. He joins with a dim-witted former gangster in an effort to desert by stealing a train.
A lone wolf tries to eliminate a drug-smuggling operation.
Famous enka singer Saburo Kitajima stars as Katsuji, a traveling craps artist who finds great camaraderie on the road.
Two men head a team who steal a factory payroll valued at 500 million yen. Then a hoodlum gang goes after the team for the money.
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.
Two sisters involved in rival underworld sex trade factions compete against each other in this tale of elaborate sex antics, Yakuza crime, and bloody revenge.
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.
Second part of the Zenka mono series.
An action-packed, dramatic gangster film.
A modern gang version of Chushingura, chronicling almost scene for scene the Brave 47 Ronin story, transposed from the Genroku Period to the Showa Era.
Many outlaws are gathered at the front line of the Japanese Army in a shock troop.
Based on the novel by Torahiko Tamiya.
A crime boss gets out of prison and tries to find who from his organization betrayed him.
Ise, a successful entrepreneur, accidentally murders his lunatic wife after he is spotted having an affair with his secretary, Harumi. In his attempt to perfect his crime, he drives to a remote quarry to bury his wife’s body, but along the way, he finds another dead body in the back of his car! Given no choice, Ise dumps both bodies. Meanwhile, Yoshie begins her search for her missing brother, Yoshihiko. After surprising twists and turns, Ise faces his fate.
A woman who grew up in a prestigious household, begins to have an affair outside the marriage.
Handsome young Katsuta tries to follow the yakuza code, but even his boss doesn't believe in it. Diamond Fuyu is less ethical, and allows the idiotic Tetsu to trick a schoolgirl he fancies, Hanako, into a type of bonded prostitution. Because of gang conflict, the Izu family (to whom Katsuta belongs) has their last gambling den taken over, and he seeks revenge. This brings him back into contact with a former lover who is also a card trickster - she is also Diamond Fuyu's sister, and is now married to Okaru-Hachi, who has mastered a clever card cheating trick called Okaru, which involves the deft use of mirrors.
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 genius gambler and born hunter is a Buddhist monk by occupation.
Young gangster wannabe is framed for a murder and sent to prison.
The Silk Hat Boss becomes involved in a car imports business during his trip to Atami.
A young doctor discovers that the city hall of records has a record of his death. He and some friends try to seek out the person who reported it, and uncover a shady group of criminals with a sinister plot.
In a time of continuous civil wars ravaging the fields of feudal Japan, the eldest son of a very poor peasant family, living alongside the bridge over the Fuefuki river, decides to serve a warlord to escape his miserable condition, being soon followed by his younger brothers. Although not all the men of the family take this tragic path of death, women of the family will be doomed to endure the pain of loss during the next five generations.
In the thriving Tokyo neighborhood of Ginza, a woman in the process of selling her estranged husband’s art collection attempts to identify the man who painted her own portrait fifteen years prior.
Teruo Ishii portrays the bitter conflict over the right to develop land in a gripping and humorous way. Nakagami, the head of the Kanto Joseikai, is ordered to acquire the rights to work to level the reclaimed land and prevent the Doshikai from expanding from Kansai into Tokyo, but the interference of the Koda-gumi, associated with the Kansai Doshikai, intensifies. Nakagami's younger brother Hayami, unhappy that the situation is moving slowly, tries to blackmail the mayor into moving forward, but... A true Toei gangster film with an all-star cast including Koji Tsuruta and Ken Takakura!
Young geisha Koshizu's wish of reuniting with the man, Yukichi, who helped her ten years ago comes true. When she learns of the trouble Yukichi's business is facing, she stands ready to come to his aid, and thus repay a debt that's long overdue.
A suspense directed by Umetsugu Inoue, starring Ayako Wakao, depicting the intense lust created by the passion of a writhing woman.
Sixth film in the "Kyodai Jingi" series. Three gangsters challenge an underworld group in northern Japan.
Bungo becomes a single parent when his wife leaves him because of his drinking and gambling. Deciding to quit his vices, he works menial jobs, drifting from city to city. However, not completely losing his gambling tastes, he became a hunted man and must escape to Tokyo after he was found cheating at dice. Bungo and his son Kenichi comes upon the Kizaki Family in Asakusa, where more troubles are awaiting them...
Japanese Warmovie
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 Tokyo student transfers to a rural school and finds it difficult to adjust himself to its customs and traditions. One of the customs is the wearing of an old school cap by a senior. It is a symbol of courage and bravery and is handed down to a new senior each year.
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".
Based on the comic by Kazuo Koike
Kohei Misugi works in a vegetable market, but his ambition is to be a photographer. He is given his first opportunity to demonstrate his talent by the Sakura Film Company which offers him an assignment to "Cover Tokyo" with a camera. But he is disillusioned when he is told he must work together with Miharu, a good looking girl in the film company's publicity department. Then the fun begins.
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...
A love melodrama.
The three-film saga comes to a conclusion as three leaders of the underworld battle it out to determine who will become Don of Japan.
Legendary detective returns.
A violent upstart forms an alliance with the powerful Tensei-kai syndicate to fight on the front lines of an underworld war and take over all of Japan.
Tetsu, is a honourable and noble yakuza caught in a conflict between rival clans, and obligations each has toward their yakuza boss and brothers. A railroad line brings changing times to a community. Because Tetsu can't stand by and allow a bunch of yakuza men to molest women, it forces him to battle it out with a knife wielding rival, the unfortunate incident leads to his boss losing face and him having to leave the family to protect it. But the rival family won't stop until they destroy Tetsu who will risk life and love for his brothers.
Three closely associated gamblers have adventures in Yokohama, Hokkaido, and Macao. Gambling trio endure hardships to rescue Naojiro’s family.
Komatsu Takioka is boss of a Yakuza group rival to Masakichi Kijima boss of the Kikuya group which supports the town vendors unlike Takioka, who will stop at nothing to undermine the vendors and take over the territory. Masakichi will do all he can to protect and support the people. Ryutaro Kijima is senior son to Masakichi, though disowned, he keeps interest in the family from a distance. He will be there for his father and his hot tempered younger brother Katsuo, if they should need his loyal help.
Final installment of THE WANDERING GUITARIST series.
Eikichi Yamashiro, who is a former contender for the boxing title, works as a manager at a Club Champion owned by his fiancé Natsuko’s father. He lost a title match five years ago as he was besotted by Natsuko, but Eikichi actually cannot give up the dream of the championship. One day, he meets Shuntaro Fuma, who is a punk kid but a promising boxer, and realizes the dream that he himself could never fulfill. Then, they together start to train with the aim of the title. Mari Shiraki is an up-and-coming ballerina under the patronage of Eikichi as well. Eikichi forbids Shuntaro and Mari to be romantically involved with someone during their training, however, they start to go on a date.
Momojiro and Jonathan go to Kochi on a ferry. On the ferry a singer called Yuka dropped her sheet music into the ocean. Momojiro helps her by diving in to collect the sheets for her and ends up falling in love.
A lavish retelling of the true story of the final voyage and ultimate destruction and sinking of the battleship Yamato, Japan's greatest flagship during the Second World War.
Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are -- an accomplished Chinese martial artist named Wang Kang and his youthful attendant -- Zatoichi finds them and discovers that the pair's mixed up with a dangerous bunch of terrorist samurai who murdered the boy's parents. Now, Zatoichi must step in to save the day.
Film with Junko Miyazono.
As Japan joins in a political pact with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is appointed supreme commander of the Japanese fleet. With Japan headed inexorably toward war, Yamamoto, despite his misgivings, believes the only possible victory lies in destroying the American fleet by surprise at Pearl Harbor. The attack succeeds, but fails to sink the American carrier fleet. Thus Yamamoto must lead the Japanese navy into war with ever-diminishing likelihood of success.
Based on the novel by proletarian writer Sunao Tokunaga. The story is about a long strike by workers at a large printing house and the strikers' steadfastness, which neither hunger nor violence could break. The heroine of this story actively participates in her colleagues' struggle against layoffs, oppression, and police brutality.
Ryotatsu, the wayward Priest blinded by Shinkai, the Wicked Priest, has his own story in this ultra-violent tale from the era of the Meiji Reconstruction. When a woman leaves her blind son at the Monastery, Ryotatsu is forced to teach the boy how to cope as a blind person in old Japan. When he takes the child with him on the road to find the boy's mother, they run afoul of not only yakuza gangsters, but some corrupt army officers have been trying to sway public opinion against the Satsuma rebels by posing as members of Saigo Takamori's group. It's a bloody mistake for them to underestimate the strength of the Blind Priest, and he'll make them pay with their lives!
As the Killer Priest Shinkai travels around Japan during the Meiji era, he comes to the aid of a village headman fighting corruption from up above. Before he can do anything for the townspeople, he must first face his nemesis, Whipmaster, the blind Priest, a master killer thirsting for revenge.
A wandering gambler runs into a young swindler woman working with an old man. They are both arrested by a detective. A year later, the gambler is staying with a gangster boss when he comes across the woman and her partner again. The boss lusts for both her and his own daughter, while the boss's crazy yakuza brother loves his daughter, who, in turn, watches the player and wants to destroy the people standing in her way.
One of Japan’s most popular historical characters, former Vice-Shogun Tokugawa Mitsukuni, whose travels around the nation are legendary has made it to the silver screen in a dynamic and exciting tale featuring megastar Toshiro Mifune as an expert swordsman drawn into the action to fight injustice. The Elder Lord travels about disguised as a retired merchant with his two trusty bodyguards Sukesaburo and Kakunoshin by his side and secret agent Yashichi close by. After a chance meeting with a dying man and young woman who had been brutally attacked, they set out for Kaga Province to wreak vengeance on the responsible parties. Don’t miss this exciting journey into Japanese history!
A young yakuza, Yatappe, wanders around the country in search of his long-lost little sister, Oito. While traveling, he rescues a young girl, Osayo, whose father entrusts her to him with his dying wish. To honor his promise to Osayo's deceased father, Yatappe brings her to safety, and from a distance keeps a watchful eye on her well being.
A former gang leader and lone wolf who has left the organization works behind the scenes in a new city to take revenge on a giant alliance of organizations. This film is amongst the last "straight" yakuza films made at Nikkatsu before the studio's switch-over to pinku eiga.
Drama directed by Yasushi Sasaki.
A poignant love story between a 29-year-old woman, who has once been a prostitute but is now the mistress of a wealthy jewelry merchant, and a 19-year-old college student.
Eric, an American, arrives at an international tourist hotel and loses his self-defense Colt. It was Kudaira, a beggar, who discovered it, and immediately sold it to Matsuko - another pauper. Soon, the weapon that moves from hand to hand, becomes a tool of many crimes.
The last in the series. Sugawara runs into two mahjong cheaters (Ichiro Araki and Mako Midori + sidekick Takuzo Kawatani) whom he takes for friends in need as his naivety prevents him from seeing their true nature.
From runaway brides to a typhoon, the continued adventures of Ushikata police station.
Kanako is an intelligent and beautiful girl in her third year of high school, but there was a dark shadow. Raised by her father, Jusaburo, who is the owner of the Matsukawa troupe, she grew up without knowing the love of her mother. She has been on stage since she was a child, but oneday she cried and complained to her father, and she stopped going to school. In a mock exams, Kanako overtook her classmate Tetsuji to take the lead. That evening, Kanako went to the Yasue Theater in the neighboring town with Eikichi, and saw the affair of her stepmother, Yumi, who should have been resting due to her illness. The man ran away in a hurry, and Yumi confessed that Kanako's mother, Miyako, had also run away for the same reason...
Keiko Aizawa a vengeance-crazed vixen sets out on a journey to avenge the death of her older sister.
A battle for a large sum of money unfolds on the docks near a steel mill in a foggy atmosphere. Manzo, an engineer on the verge of retirement, witnesses two men shooting each other and collapsing on the quay while his assistant Shinsuke is away.
Japanese crime film
This action film depicts the conflict between two brothers, one a detective and the other a yakuza.
Pro boxer Aoshima Toru is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and given three months to live. He uses his prize money to pay the medical expenses for a young boy with polio. But when Toru learns from his fiancee Itsuko that his own mother has died, things take a turn for the worse.
The story of legendary Korean-Japanese wrestler Rikidozan.
A good young man accidentally joins a group of leg breakers
A boxing melodrama. Two friends become boxers and begin training for the championship. These two boys eventually face each other in the ring.
Tommy, a tornado boy who arrived at Arima Onsen in search of his father, whom he separated from when he was young, meets a girl named Eiko after driving away a group of thugs causing trouble at a variety show venue. Additionally, a drifter named Nanajo, impressed by Tommy's skills, approaches him with a story about a smuggling ship sinking off the coast of Kobe...
A fresh graduate from a university in Tokyo takes a job as an English teacher at a prestigious high school in Kobe. However, shortly after arriving, he is pranked by four students.
This is the Fifteenth film in the series. There were seventeen Wolves of the City films between 1968 & 1974, in the main aimed at shock-value & “pinku” soft-core with sex, nudity, violence, gunplay, & a lot of mainly pointless foolishness when the biker gang coopts racist or nazi imagery, inventing a non-existent youth culture void of morality…
Kazama and three others defeated Yoshie Sangyo, but the Nishio group was disbanded due to public pressure, and the territory belonged to the Hirata group.
During Japan's Warring States period three young Tokugawa vassals head their separate ways after Takeda Shingen's forces overran their castle. When they next meet they have all joined opposing sides.
An exciting historical drama that dynamically depicts the life of Minamoto no Yoshitsune from the period of his stay on Mount Kurama to his reconciliation with his brother Yoritomo.
The story of three sportsman brothers living in the Ginza. One day, the three meet a raving beauty on separate occasions and are unaware they have met the same girl.
A blockbuster youth action film that explodes with the charm of Maiko Guy and Akira, based on the serialized novel in Nikkan Sports by Yoshirō Akinaga, now adapted for the screen. Due to the passage of time since the film's release, some scenes may be marred by visual and audio distortions. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
A Jonan Station detective, Kikuchi, is framed for smuggling drugs and sent to prison. When he is paroled, he joins a private detective agency, where he is asked to investigate Mitsue Takazawa, the wife of a local trading firm president. While secretly conducting his own research, he finds out that Takazawa's husband is the one, responsible for Kikuchi's imprisonment, who also have set sights on Setsuko, a woman Kikuchi becomes romantically involved with.
The eighth installment of ten in Nippon Ichi film series.
An ex-pro boxer makes his living as a drummer in cabaret.
1961 Japanese movie
In May 1945, Japan's defeat was imminent after the attacks on Saipan, Iwo Jima, and the Philippines, and Tokyo was reduced to a sea of fire by another massive air raid. However, within the Ministry of the Army, there were still officers who were enthusiastic about a decisive battle on the mainland. Eventually, the Okinawa garrison was annihilated, and the US military was approaching the mainland, but on July 27th, the Potsdam Conference between the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union broadcast the Triple Joint Declaration, which set out the final terms of surrender for Japan.
1966 Japanese movie
One of the earliest of sukeban / girl boss type eiga
A wife remarries after her doctor husband dies in a stormy lake, but is distressed when he appears in her dreams every night.
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.
Following the well-received previous film “Confrontation”, Asahi returns as the wandering drifter Manshū Tsuné, who joins forces with the righteous man Hideki.
Olympic gymnast Yukiko resists marriage plans, stumbling into a newspaper job under reporter Tsubasa. Amid comic mix-ups with a fake fortune teller, jealous suitors, and her eccentric boss, she finds herself and finally chooses love with Tsubasa.
Rookie reporter Yukiko helps save the failing Miyako Times with her friends, while romance and comic chaos unfold around her and fortune-teller Ishibashi.
An unprecedented, extravagant, passionate film set in Spain and Southern Europe. It depicts the passionate Yujiro who risks his life to invite bullfighting.
A hit-man returns to Japan after a long sojourne.
Kenta (Kayama), a boxer-turned-wandering minstrel becomes involved in a yakuza plot to rid slum dwellers from a piece of land the gangsters wish to develop. Kenta befriends a wandering poet and the younger sister (Hoshi) of a boxer Keota killed in the ring.