Movies in Alphabetical Order
“Daibosatsu Touge Dai-Nibu (Swords in the Moonlight, Part 2),” 1958 samurai film, 1 hour and 46 minutes.
Directed by Uchida Tomu. Starring Kataoka Chiezo, Nakamura Kinnosuke, Tsukigata Ryunosuke, Satomi Kotaro and Azuma Chiyonosuke.
The second installment in the popular jidaigeki series, “Daibosatsu Touge.” Blinded and injured, master swordsman Ryunosuke is taken in by Otoyo, a woman who falls in love with him. Under Otoyo’s dedicated care, Ryunosuke’s physical and emotional wounds seem to heal. However, deep inside, the demons within that drive him to kill yearn to resurface.
“Hashizo no Wakasama Yakuza (Young Lord Yakuza),” 1961 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Directed by Toshikazu Kono. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Keiko Okawa and Isao Kimura.
Young Lord Taihei goes to Edo to find the lost family treasure, a plover incense burner, under the disguise of a ronin.
“Hibotan Bakuto Hanafuda Shobu (The Valiant Red Peony, Part 3),” 1969 drama, 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Starring Junko Fuji and Ken Takakura.
Oryu the Peony continues her quest to perfect her skills as professional gambler while leading a life in accordance with the moral code of the yakuza and helping those she encounters fight against injustice.
“Hot Road,” 2014 drama, 1 hour and 59 minutes.
Directed by Takahiro Miki. Starring Rena Nonen and Hiroomi Tosaka.
Fourteen-year-old Kazuki lives with her mother. She feels unloved by her mother due the circumstances surrounding her birth. Because she harbors anxiety and perceives herself as being worthless to others, she gets into trouble. One day, a transfer student named Eri introduces her to 16-year-old Hiroshi, a reckless youth who’s a member of the “Nights” motorcycle gang. He works part-time for a living instead of going to school. Kazuki finds herself increasingly drawn to Hiroshi over time, but he soon becomes leader of the “Nights” and gets caught up in a conflict with a rival gang.
“Kaidan Bancho Sarayashiki (The Ghost in the Well),” 1957 drama, 45 minutes.
Directed by Toshikaze Kono. Starring Hibari Misora and Chiyonosuke Azuma.
Misora Hibari stars as Okiku, who returns from the grave to seek vengeance against the lover that murdered her.
“Kakekomi Onna to Kekedashi Otoko (KAKEKOMI),” 2015 jidaigeki drama, 2 hours and 23 minutes.
Directed by Masato Harada. Starring Yo Oizumi and Erika Toda.
Set in the Edo period during a time when the divorce rate was actually much higher than the present day.
The government has announced a thrift ordinance and the lives of common people get worse. During this time, a nunnery called Tökei-ji in Kamakura becomes known for offering refuge to women while they’re in the process of divorcing their husbands or are otherwise trapped in bad situations. Many are being abused by their husbands. Shinjiro is a doctor and wants to be a literary writer. He stays at a Kashiwaya Inn located at Tökei-ji to get ideas for a book he plans to write about various situations and tactics involved in divorce arbitration. While there, he attempts to offer friendly advice to several of the women regarding their new lives, but winds up getting dragged into their troubles in the process.
“Kigeki Dantai Ressha (Traveling In Party),” 1967 comedy, 1 hour and 32 minutes.
Directed by Masaharu Segawa. Starring Kiyoshi Atsumi and Yoshiko Sakuma.
A comedy about Hikoichi, a mediocre train conductor, who falls in love with a beautiful widow Sayuri.
“Kizudarake no Jinsei (A Scarred Life),” 1971 drama, 1 hour and 37 minutes.
Directed by Shigehiro Ozawa. Starring Koji Tsuruta and Tomisaburo Wakayama.
A story about yakuza Tetsuo and Seiji who are torn between duty and sentiment.
“Kodo 7000 Meters (Four Hours of Terror),” 1983 action film, 1 hour and 16 minutes.
Directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi. Starring Ken Takakura.
A captain saves passengers from a brutal murderer on a plane after four hours of terror.
“Ninja Bugeicho Momochi Sandayu (Shogun’s Ninja),” 1980 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 57 minutes.
Directed by Noribumi Suzuki. Starring Hiroyuki Sanada and Etsuko Shihomi.
Shogun’s Ninja revolves around two rival ninja clans whose constant battle for superiority has spanned decades and cost countless lives. During a critical point in their war with one another, one of the rival kings sends his commander on a mission to retrieve two mystical daggers. With these legendary knives, the clan hopes to learn the “secrets of the ninja,” which are rumored to come with them.
“Ninkyo Tokaido (A Chivalrous Spirit),” 1957 samurai film, 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Chiezou Kataoka, Kinnosuke Nakamura and Utaemon Ichikawa.
Jirocho, an honorable and respected gang boss, uncovers a conspiracy organized by his rivals.
“Ninkyo Yawara Ichidai (Judo vs. Karate),”
1966 action film, 1 hour and 59 minutes.
Directed by Sadao Nakajima. Starring Hideo Murata and Saburo Kitajima.
A story of friendship between a lone wolf judo expert and a youth.
“Onmitsu Shichishoki (The Abandoned Swords),” 1958 samurai film, 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Chiyonosuke Azuma, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Hibari Misora and Ryunosuke Tsukigata.
Best friends Gentaro and Sanpei become fateful enemies when one of them steals a secret document revealing the identity of the chosen successor to the Shogun.
“Ren’ai Jiyugata (Romance Freestyle),” 1958 drama, 1 hour and 11
minutes.
Directed by Kiyoshi Saeki. Starring Hibari Misora, Ken Takakura, Ken Sudo and Miki Sanjo.
The love between young college student Toki and handsome Takaya is tested when Takaya’s parents, who despise Toki’s family’s geisha house business, intervenes their relationship.
“Sengo Saidai no Toba (The Biggest Gamble),” 1969 action film, 1 hour and 47 minutes.
Directed by Kosaku Yamashita. Starring Koji Tsuruta and Ken Takakura.
Gang underlings rebel against a despised new boss.
“Shusse Komoriuta (Lullaby for Worldly Success),” 1967 action film,
1 hour and 27 minutes.
Directed by Ryuichi Takamori. Starring Sonny Chiba and Tetsuro Tanba.
Story of the strong bonds between a father and son living in the hills.
“Tange Sazen Dotohen (Tange Sazen: Mystery of the Twin Dragons),” 1959 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 21 minutes.
Directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda. Starring Ryutaro Otomo, Hashizo Okawa, Kotaro Satomi and Yumiko Hasegawa.
Tange Sazen and his gang guards the dragon-shaped incense burner that holds the key to hidden treasures.
“Tekka Wakashu (The Metal Head Gang),” 1962 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 29 minutes.
Directed by Yasushi Sasaki. Starring Kotaro Ozawa, Ryutaro Otomo and Satomi Oka.
Young samurai Yanosuke avenges his father’s death.
“Umon Torimonocho Katame no Okami (One Eyed Wolf),” 1957 samurai film, 1 hour and 27 minutes.
Directed by Sawashima Tadashi. Starring Otomo Ryutaro and Satomi Kotaro.
Otomo Ryutaro, best known for his role in the renowned series “Tange Sazen,” stars as the skillful detective, Umon, in this popular jidaigeki series “Umon Torimonocho.” Handsome and clever detective Umon is on a mission to solve the mysterious murder of five people who were hanged and killed with bowstrings.
“Wakasama Zamurai Torimonocho Senketsu no Ningyo (Case of a Young Lord 6),” 1957 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Directed by Kinnosuke Fukada. Starring Hashizo Okawa, Sentaro Fushimi and Keiko Okawa.
Young lord must reveal the truth on the mysterious death of the fireworks craftsman whose body was found surrounded by eerie mermaids.
“Yoto Monogatari Hana no Yoshiwara Hyakuningiri (Tale of a Mystical Sword),” 1960 jidaigeki, 1 hour and 49 minutes.
Directed by Tomu Uchida. Starring Chiezo Kataoka.
A successful textile industrialist from the countryside, who is beloved by his employees for his kindness, cannot find a wife because of a disfiguring birthmark on his face. Even the courtesans in Yoshiwara refuse to entertain him, but an indentured peasant prostitute, Tamazuru, treats him with brash tenderness. “The scar is not on your heart,” she says, and he falls madly in love with her, ultimately losing his fortune in the expensive quest to purchase her freedom.
