Tatsuo Endō

Seven years after the death of his wife, widower Shigeharu seeks advice on how to find a new wife from a colleague. Taking advantage of their position as a film company, they stage an audition. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu is enchanted by the quiet Asami. But soon things take a twisted turn as Asami isn’t what she seems to be.

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.

The family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.

Sex & Fury chronicles Ocho's exploits as she searches for her father's killers, each identified by unique tattoos on their backs (a deer, a boar, and a butterfly). Along the way, she also crosses paths with Shunosuke, a radical set on murdering prominent politician Kurokawa, and Christina, an American spy posing as a gambler.

Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.

In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.

A Ronin with a death wish reluctantly joins the Clan of the Forgotten Eight, a nasty crew of ronin who are wrapped up in a clan war over local prostitution.

Takuma Tsurugi takes on the government, the police, the mafia and an international ring of kidnappers who aim to dispossess a beautiful young heiress of her millions.

The female ninjas have to stop an alliance from carrying out their dastardly deeds, which includes bizarre ninjitsu sex magic to aid them in their quest.

The evil Hikita clan rises from the dead to fulfill a curse on the Satomi clan by restoring the face of their warlord by using the skin of Princess Shizu. In the process of trying to capture her, the clan murders her entire family, but Princess Shizu escapes their clutches. She enlists the aid of eight samurai warriors, possessors of powerful magic crystal, led by Dosetsu (Sonny Chiba!) to help rescue the remaining members of her court and revenge her family. Along the way, they must fight undead warriors, evil spirits, poisonous beauties and a giant centipede.

This is the story of a vagrant samurai – the solitary, savage and scrupulous Kiba – who arrives at a village to defend a beautiful, blind woman against a sinister plot. Her assailants then send against him another samurai, named Sana, who is without scruples. The fight between them will become personal, for the honor and love of the blind woman.

As Japan gears up for the 1964 Olympic Games, the cops start to crack down on the gangs, under pressure from the public and the press, adding a new dimension in the war for power among the yakuza families of Hiroshima.

Using a lesser mobster as bait a government agent infiltrates a narcotics-smuggling gang to try to capture the boss. But his survival has a price.

Terry Sugury is hired to recover one of two tapes containing a formula for making heroin for a price of 200 dollars a pound. But he gets double crossed. So he wants the tape back.

Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.

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?

Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.

Shozo Hirono has managed to separate from the Yamamori family and create his own small family, and extend his circle of acquaintances. These new friendships include a powerful underboss of the Muraoka family, Noboru Uchimoto.

The government is worried that the Emperor will have no children because he can’t get an erection. The female ninjas try to find a sacred book that will help him, but they face a stiff challenge.

In this gritty tale of gamblers battling in the samurai era, Okawa Hashizo gives perhaps his greatest performance as a gambler returning to his home town. Swearing allegiance to his fiancée’s father, a decent boss, he had taken to the road after a gang fight until things cooled down. While honing his sword skills in his travels, everything in the town had changed and he descended into a virtual hell of violence. Opponents were being slaughtered by a former samurai ‘Bodyguard’ played by Tanba Tetsuro at the height of his amazing career. While these two master swordsmen are fated to meet, before that can even happen they must survive one of the longest, bloodiest swordfights in movie history!

Blind masseur Zatoichi is nursed back to health by a young woman after he is shot by a gang member. Zatoichi, who had come to the village to repay a debt, now feels further indebted. He commits himself to use his amazing sword skills to help the young woman's father, whose river-crossing service is under attack by the same gang responsible for Zatoichi's wounds.

1962 Japanese movie

The female ninjas need to protect their particular master's unborn infant from enemies. They use all types of intimate tricks to obtain the work done.

An Osaka gangster Shimamura just got married. His new bride, Mineko is also involved in drug trafficking. When she goes to China to make a deal, things get botched pretty badly. Shimamura must travel to save her and recoup his employers’ losses.

A giant stone statue comes to life to protect the residents of a small town against the depradations of an evil warlord.

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!

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.

Convicted of murder, Masayuki Ueda is sent to Hiroshima Prison along with his accomplice. But for a man like him, breaking out of prison is easy.

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.

A small time crook who sells rabbits for a living frequently gets himself into trouble with loan sharks and the yakuza. He dreams of becoming a successful big-shot and embarks on the life of a yakuza hitman.

A Yakuza group from Osaka with dreams of national dominance moves into the snowy Hokuriku region, sparking a bloody turf war with local gangs.

A crossover between Wakayama's Gokudo and Sugawara Mamushi series. Gokudo runs a restaurant and makes Takuzo Kawatani his kitchen bitch. He tries to do the same for the Mamushi bros. but the boys don't play along, which pisses Gokudo off. Things get worse when he starts helping a young teacher and Bunta has a crush on a pretty girl... and unbeknownst to them it's the same woman! Yes, the film has not one but two romantic subplots! Of course it all ends in bloodshed.

The industrial revolution comes to Japan with the introduction of the railroad system. This led to clashes between boatmen, who livelihoods are threatened, and the railroad construction workers. Oryu the Red Peony returns to her home in Kumamoto to accept her position as second generation leader of the Yano Family. But the ceremony is interrupted by fighting between local boatmen and railroad works. And it seems a rival family is pulling the strings behind the clashes.

Set in the decadent mid-Edo period, this unconventional work depicts the story of a man who, after being pursued as one half of a double suicide, enters the Buddhist priesthood, breaks his vows, and emerges as a notorious villainous monk.

In the year 1873, a Japanese woman is sold as a mistress to an American diplomat stationed in Japan.

A tea master and his daughter Ogin are both Christians in feudal Japan. Ogin falls in love with a married feudal prince who shares her faith. When the Shogun bans Christianity, the situation worsens.

A boy born in a poor village in Tokushima spends his days idly until a chance meeting sets him on the road to becoming boss of Japan's largest gang. This epic film is the first part of greatest true-life series based on autobiography of the Yamaguchi-gumi's third leader, Taoka Kazuo.

Yuki, the wife of a leading member of the Domoto family, must assume her husband’s role as a yakuza boss while he serves out a prison sentence. As she grows into her new role, she manages to assert control and increase the influence of her organization. But when her husband is released from prison, she finds him a changed man, lacking the character necessary to be a powerful yakuza leader. Conflict ensues and their marriage is challenged by a desire for power.

Zatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Zatoichi proceeds to win 8 ryo in a rigged gambling game. Of course, the local gangsters attempt to kill him, and the adventure begins. It turns out a blacksmith named Senzo examines Zatoichi's cane sword, and discovers it to be forged by his old mentor. Senzo discovers the sword is at the end of its usefulness and will break when it is used next.

Based on Kazuo Taoka's autobiography, this film follows a Kobe gangster as he builds the small Yamaguchi-gumi into Japan's largest criminal clan.

Japanese movie.

​The story follows the chance meeting between Senkichi, a wandering gambler on the run, and Orin, a blind musician who offers him kindness and shelter. As their lives become intertwined, they attempt to find a sense of peace and domesticity while caught in the crossfire of the violent Bakumatsu revolution.

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.

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.

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.

Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with dice is turning.

Joji Kano is a loose cannon cop from backwoods Okinawa, sent to Tokyo to investigate the grisly murder of an Okinawa woman. As he probes deeper into the sleazy world of flesh-peddling, talent agency corruption and mob influence, Kano uncovers the shocking truth.

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.

1962 Japanese movie

Third part of Nihon Kyokakuden series is set in Kanto in 1924. Ken Takakura playing a ship's mate befriending fish shop owners harassed by yakuza.

The third part of the story about feudal boss Jirocho and his underlings.

A woman faces betrayal, which tests her love.

On his death bed the man who raised Joji reveals that he is not his real father and that Joji’s real parents died tragically in a plane crash. Shortly thereafter Joji goes to Japan is search of his sister and his twin brother Toru. Joji’s quickly finds his sister Chihiro who is now blind and lives with their uncle. Joji one evening accidently over hears his uncle who has ties to the criminal underworld discussing his various illegal operations. Joji ‘s eavesdropping is discovered by his uncle who offers him a chance to join the organization. Joji promptly turns his uncle’s offer down which immediately puts his life in danger.

A nasty schoolgirl does what she pleases, under the protection of her father, who is the school principal. Another girl is not so nasty, but she is determined and tough enough to contest the girl's gang in a democratic vote - and win. That causes her trouble in school, just when her own father, who owns a truck transport company, is murdered in a fake car accident by an American mobster. Before the girl can react, her naive mother has signed over the company to the mobster, and accepted him as her lover. Repentant, the mother starts drinking, and the good schoolgirl ties up with a halfbreed young man, who also has a grudge against Americans. He starts spying on the gangsters, discovers they are dealing in drugs, but is killed before he can report it. The good girl will lead her team in a desperation assault on the mobsters - and the police will eventually arrive just in time for the showdown.

A tale of three Yakuza gamblers who traveled Japan during the samurai era living by their wits and sword skills. Told in 3 separate vignettes, each part tells the story of a different drifter’s life. Part 1: A man is on the run after killing two Hasshu Officials to avenge his Boss. He must make a life or death decision as he is asked to protect a gang from attack. Part 2: A pair of gamblers chased out of a crooked game must fight not only their pursuers, but the ghosts of their pasts as well. Part 3: A wanderer who wants to live according to the Yakuza Code, but is not sure that he can do so when asked to save a town from an evil official.

Misawa Ihei (Nagato) is traveling with his wife Tae (Iwashita Shima) who abhors the practice of sword fighting for prize money. Tae is the daughter of the clan's chief counselor who married the low-ranking Ihei to avoid becoming the clan lord's mistress. Into the mix comes Oba Gunjuro (Tetsurō Tamba), a mysterious ronin who will do anything for money. This leads to a fitting climax as the forces of hate and love converge while the couple attempt to break through the border!

Yuki Onozaki, who was studying at a Women's College in Tokyo, was originally a young and ignorant girl, but her life changed completely in the summer of a certain year. During the summer vacation, Yuki returned to her hometown of Kyoto, only to be raped by the lover of her mother. Yuki then abandoned her studies and chose a depraved life. She met the gang leader Kiyoshi Oba and factory industrialists. Although these men could give her more or less physical comfort, they could not open Yuki's locked heart. It was not until the appearance of the young architect Yoichiro Honma that Yuki's love flower gradually bloomed. Soon, Yoichiro's first love while studying in France, Sandra, finds her, which makes Yuki's heart surge. After several twists and turns, Yoichiro decided to marry Yuki, but the trials never stopped...

The continuing adventures of the Jirocho gang.

The Kanto Gypsies, a tough girl gang, hide out from the law in the middle of a disputed gang territory, where they end up getting kidnapped by sinister underworld thugs. After breaking free, the girls set their sights on one thing: revenge. Miki Sugimoto stars as girl boss Komasa, the ruthless and sadistic leader of the Kanto Gypsies who possesses more than enough brains to match her killer looks.

The Domain: Kanda Festival Showdown

No description available.

The third movie following the exploits of bounty hunter Shikoro Ichibei. The theft of almost a half ton of gold from the shogunate's official mine threatens to bankrupt the government of Japan. Despite a desperate search the gold has not been found, causing officials of the Tokugawa bakufu to call on their most skillful secret agent, Shikoro Ichibei.

Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. He is befriended by Omiyo, who had the same wet-nurse as Zatoichi. He also encounters a boyhood friend, Shinbei, who is now wealthy and appears not to remember Zatoichi. Shinbei seems to be interested in repaying the villagers' debts, but is, in reality, manipulating the ownership of a now valuable rock quarry. Zatoichi learns of the subterfuge and confronts his old friend, who has a score of yakuza swordsmen backing his play.

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!

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.

The Son of the Black Mass returns in this ninth installment in Daiei's longstanding Nemuri Kyoshiro series. This time Raizo Ichikawa as Nemuri is called to see that a gold statuette of the Virgin Mary gets safe passage to Kyoto from the prying hands of a sect of murderous Christian ronin that call themselves the Black Finger Group.

Part 2 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves.

Shinkai, a Buddhist monk with a penchant for drinking and gambling, sets sinners straight with judo throws rather than sermons. After fighting off a gang of street thugs, Shinkai is placed on probation but manages to escape his superiors’ watchful eyes to covertly indulge in life’s pleasures. But when he hears of rogue priests in his order consorting with yakuza, Shinkai must make them see the error of their ways and reach enlightenment, one punch at a time.

A good set-in-per-WW2 ninkyô type film with outstanding performances.

Shinkai comes to the aid of a coastal village being held hostage by a group of political revolutionaries.

Fujiko wanders aimlessly through the country, seeking vengence on the man she onced loved, who betrayed her, and destroying her family and her life. When she discovers that man had already died, she loses her will to live. But in a twist of fate, she meets Tatsumi, a raising star in the Horikawa Family. She quickly falls in love with him and his yakuza lifstyle. But when Tatsumi is chosen to but the next Boss of the family, his jealous sworn brother Morito kills him with the help of a mysterious man behind the scenes. Now Fujiko becomes a Bakuto, a wandering yakuza gambler, and once again, walks the bloody path of vengence...

A local yakuza boss of a silk farming town shows kindness to the wandering gambler Oryu by letting her stay at his residence. When a rival yakuza gang, who wants to take over the town’s businesses, murders him, Oryu is obliged to protect his children and business.

No description available.

The film takes place in a dark area of the giant city of Osaka and tells about a group of people who find themselves at the bottom of society, and about the courage of a man who defies the city of violence in search of his beloved sister.

1962 Japanese movie

The Ni Family is the most well know and respected group of firefighters in the Kanto region. When their leader dies and the successor disappears, Tsuruji, a beautiful yet tough geisha, becomes the boss. But will she be able to confront a yakuza gang trying to take over the area?

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 bunch of young, angry and penniless misfits are full of great vitality. They aren’t quite up to joining the yakuza and execute a variety of petty scams. After being approached by a yakuza and asked to become a spy for them, they are now planning to take 10 million yen from the yakuza.

No description available.

Kagero, the leader of the female ninja serving Kasuga no Tsubone in the Ōoku, rescues a young woman who is being attacked by samurai. This incident leads to the discovery of a smuggling scandal in the Echizen Maruoka Domain. Without hesitation, Kagero and the female ninjas set out for Maruoka to investigate and take action.

1961 Japanese movie

A story of manly life and the beauty of conjugal love. A story about a man and a woman establishing a family of longshoreman, centering on their love and struggle.

Ninth installment in the "Gokudo" series. Depicts the activities of Shimamura Seikichi and his henchmen.

Ryoma is a former military man who gets to know the leader of a yakuza group and begins to work with them, helping them defend themselves against other yakuza gangs.

Prisoners with special skills from all over Japan are sent to the battlefront on a mission.

In the 20th century, the Japanese government exploits prisoners as expendable slave laborers in a coal mine, which results in conflict between the prisoners and the warden to escalate.

In Meiji Period Japan, the carrying of swords had been outlawed, so Shikai, the Killer Priest carries his sword disguised as a Priest?s staff. One of the strongest entries in the series, Shinkai is badly injured, and must face his worst enemy in what could be their final showdown.

No description available.

Based on the life and career of novelist Fumiko Hayashi, she bitterly struggles for literary recognition in the first half of the 20th-century – her affairs with feckless men, the jobs she took to survive (peddler, waitress, bar maid), and her arduous, often humiliating attempts to get published in a male-dominated culture.

After spending eight years in prison for murder, Hiroshi leaves his yakuza family to start a new life as a labor racketeer.

Three closely associated gamblers have adventures in Yokohama, Hokkaido, and Macao. Gambling trio endure hardships to rescue Naojiro’s family.

Popular geisha Shinji (Fuji Junko) must defy a gang who plot to steal a lucrative coal business from struggling miners during the turbulent Meiji Era. A stellar all-star cast, a thrilling story, and Takakura Ken's violent swordplay, make this a classic Yakuza movie!

The eighth installment in the popular film series starring Tomisaburo Wakayama. Embarrassed by the chairman of the Seiyu-kai for not having a family crest, Seikichi Shimamura sets out with his henchmen on a journey to acquire the crest of a local bankrupt family. The local Iwahashi clan and the fishermen fought over the construction of the industrial complex, but when Seikichi learned that the Seiyu-kai was behind the Iwahashi clan, he sided with the fishermen...

Bungo, fulfilling his duty as a yakuza, kills a man from a rival gang. Since then, he has escaped the clan's vengeance by staying on the road with his son Kenichi. Tired of running, the two settle in a mountain town. Bungo finds work as a lumberjack for the Iwasaki family and Kenichi becomes a student at the local elementary school. Regrettably, their good fortune doesn't last. The yakuza boss, Tomitaka, wants control of the town's lumber and is willing to destroy the Iwasaki to get it. Natsue, Kenichi's estranged no-good mother, returns wanting to take part in the boy's upbringing. And shortly thereafter, a mysterious stranger arrives in town to lay claim on Bungo's life...

It's a story of the life of a man who advocated the necessity of sex education to children, which was unusual at the time, solely opposed to the amendment of the Peace Preservation Law, and was assassinated by a rightist prior to his opposition speech.

A dramatic captivating tale tells of widowed Tei (Junko Fuji), she has become a coalmine operator and is determined to be successful despite mining being a predominately male domain. Overcoming the natural hardships, a more serious threat to Tei and her mine, the menacing presence of rival mining gangs who sense her vulnerability... Nihon jokyo-den:ketto midarw-bana is an outstanding drama, highlighted by wonderful characterizations/performances. Yamashita's excellent direction maintains a rich emotional flow from the opening seconds to the last. Intense and bloody encounters punctuate throughout the engaging multi layered tale!

A man from Osaka comes up to Tokyo to fight gangsterism.

Action drama about a Japanese gangster in Manchuria circa 1932, who finally joins some Chinese mountain bandits.

The Domain: Severed Relations

With his penultimate film, Uchida revisited one of his popular prewar titles, 1936’s Theatre of Life, an adaptation of Shiro Ozaki’s eponymous novel. Three-time Seijun Suzuki collaborator Goro Tanada wrote a gangsterized adaptation of Ozaki’s story for Uchida at a time when the yakuza had eclipsed the samurai genre as Toei's main cash crop. Protagonist Hishakaku murders a man in a quarrel over a barmaid and goes to jail. In his temporary absence, his girlfriend Otoyo, a former geisha, falls for Hishakaku’s brother, inciting a dangerous love triangle that, in typical yakuza fashion, ends tragically.

A street vendor who eloped with his girlfriend and injured her brother loses her to illness, and now has to confront the brother and some dirty local yakuza.

No description available.

Crime film released in 1969

President of the territorial yakuza organization is being manipulated by a crooked leader in the military and some capitalists Ishikiri. The plan is to get multiple family of the organized crime groups based in Osaka to war it out and order the Shima to the Onishi group of the branch to expand the territory. Now members of the same yakuza gang are forced to fight each other over territory and honor.

Ninkyo with Kôji Tsuruta. An elderly yakuza brother tries to clear an underling’s name.

Part 5 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. After serving four and a half years in prison, Masa and his brother Katsuji leave Kobe to go to Nagoya to help a hostess get her daughter back from her mother. As they arrive in Nagoya, they get into a scuffle with the local yakuza affiliate. Sugawara and Kawaji's chemistry is even more evident here than usual, the storyline is alright if melodramatic. Delightful start with Tatsuo Endo as a nice guy prison guard! How many times have you seen that? And we got Kyosuke Machida (henchman) with cool beard and the always good Tsunehiko Watase (young hood) on board as well. One of the best films in the series.

When Omuro Yahachi of the Omuro family is selected as Mutsumikai Soke's successor, the conflict between the Kitakyushu and Wakamatsu begins.

The film is set in Kyoto at the end of the Tokugawa period, when there is a fierce clash between the supporters of the Emperor, who are fighting for the overthrow of the Shogunate, and the Shinsengumi squad, who are chasing them. Suddenly, a mysterious masked warrior appears, on a white horse he is called Tengu from Mount Kurama and he opposes the Shinsengumi.

Famous for his coin tossing when capturing criminals, an Edo detective, Heiji, launches an investigation into the mysterious murder of his friend Seigoro.

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.

A film about the confrontation between two yakuza groups in the brutal Miike prison, which contained 1,500 inmates. The second film in the series Gambler / Bakuto directed by Shigehiro Ozawa.

Isazo is a traveling gambler and living legend in the world of yakuza, known for his swordsmanship and bravery, his impeccable manners, and his brilliant talent in gambling. One late fall at an inn in Kiso Fukushima, Isazo befriends a young boy whose mother turns out to be his old love Yoshino, with whom he was not unable to consummate a marriage due to the class differences between them.

In the book of the world's greatest rogues, the number one man can only be one person.

Second film of the Gokudo series starring Tomisaburô Wakayama

Hanjiro, a one eyed vagrant arrives in Okinoshima to save the town from a violent Yakuza group with the help of six handicapped guys.

A group of criminals whose diamond heist goes wrong retreat to a WWII era bunker where tensions begin to rise.

Ken Takakura stars as Ryoji one of the Aramasa family's loyal lieutenants whao takes the burden of his family being insulted by the Tanuma's family goons, by retaliating on his own. After injuring the head of Tanuma's family, and slaying others along the way, he then surrenders to the law and serves time. Before his last year to serve, the head of the Aramasa family falls ill and decides to retire, Ryoji miss chance to be successor, his old friend is reluctant but accepts. Now this gives the Tanuma family a chance for revenge! But with Tomisaburo Wakayama (Sekine) always having your back, how can you go wrong?

Chikako, who was living in a room at a temple affiliated with Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto while attending a women’s college, was deeply shocked when her boyfriend, Hashida, coldly rejected her after she told him she was pregnant.

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.

Detective Seiji Otaki is determined to find the psychopathic killer of a young woman who was ostensibly a student but in reality a high-priced prostitute. Even though he has been taken off the case for beating up a suspect, he refuses to let it go and recruits his mistress to act as a decoy for the killer. Her involvement turns out to be a fatal mistake, and when her husband gets out of prison, Detective Otaki is in worse trouble than ever.

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.

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.

It’s cross and double-cross in these further adventures of Ryuzen, the wayward priest played by Katsu Shintaro as he tries to help a woman who may be the heir to a fortune get what is rightfully hers. Matsuo Kayo, who first rose to international stardom as ‘the supreme ninja’ in “Shogun Assassin” gives an outstanding performance in this clever and exciting caper tale set in the samurai era. Ryuzen agrees to help her, but is he just in it for himself, and is she really who she claims to be? When they come up against Boss Tobei it’s a virtual free-for-all as everyone struggles to walk away with a fortune in gold!

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.

Wicked woman Ogin is a concubine of a powerful feudal lord Tayu. At first Ogin gains power by poisoning lawful wife of Tayu. To gain more power Ogin let her lover Isogai Iori, kill whoever interrupts her. Film it is based on Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's novel "Kyofu Jidai".

Thriller about a gangster and an outlaw who become friends despite their different outlooks.

1962 Japanese movie

Mine, the only daughter of Kiyagen, is faced with running the family's timber business when her father falls ill. Under a great deal of pressure to continue the five generation long run of the business, Mine is put to the ultimate test when a former gangster sets his sights on closing her down.

When the Shogun Tokugawa III is in bed with a girl, she turns into a monster. The court believes she is Ninja Magic, used to frighten the lord off women so that there will be no heir. Tôma, a famous swordsman, is called in and exposes the Ninja, even discovering their leader, a beautiful young girl named Kagiroi. Guessing that she is the daughter of some ousted daimyo anxious to get back into favor, he is about to unmask her when he is taken prisoner...

The harrowing journey of Kinu Wada, a young woman who is sold into prostitution to pay her family's debts.

Seijiro and Shizue meet in Niigata and fall in love. Seijiro has to go back to Tokyo soon after, and they promise each other to meet again a year later. However, Seijiro gets jailed for five years. Unable to find him, Shizue gets married to a yakuza boss who can help her family business.

The warlords overrun the country while the farmers are starving, and forced to become soldiers to keep the wolf from the door. The farmers are recruited in groups of fifteen. In Yaju's village, there are only twelve men, so they press Oto, who looks more like a boy than a girl, to join, disguised as a man.

Part 4 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. Sugawara tries to overcome a traumatic experience of getting in bed blindfolded with a girl who turned out to be an old granny. Later he and Kawaji try to settle down in a neighbourhood harassed by businessman yakuza Bin Amatsu.

Forth film in the Gokudo series with Tomisaburô Wakayama

An honorable yakuza syndicate deeply rooted in Kyoto fights for survival when a new breed of gangsters threaten their very existence.

Third film of the yoidore hakase series

Three men, all named Masa, join forces to capitalize on each of their unique yet questionable talents against a hyper-competitive Tokyo underworld.

Shimamura & Mineko return to Kamagasaki in Osaka. In their return Shimamura quickly finds himself defending a lady in distress. During the skirmish he bumps into his old buddies who turns him on to the "new" goings on in town, Shimamura is angered to discover a Chinese triad organization has overthrown their gang, a situation they must reverse. Now he and the old gang finds themselves putting their lives on the line defending the honor of the "Yakuza Way", the locals of Osaka, even Japan!!

The second part of the Gamblers series.

A traveling yakuza is sent to collect a debt owed by a man who was killed in the parlor where she dealt a game, setting in motion a chain of betrayals in a region rife with corruption.

Kodama learns that his old classmate Hayashi is getting married to an idol, and organizes a junior high school reunion.

1962 Japanese movie

Nezumi Kozō is the nickname of Nakamura Jirokichi, a Japanese thief and folk hero who lived in Edo during the Edo period. His exploits have been commemorated in kabuki theatre, folk songs, jidaigeki, and modern pop culture.

A reformed gangster agrees to help a former yakuza member.

A yakuza member embarks on a trail of revenge for his murdered boss. Senzo, the successor of the Mita Family, searches for the man bearing a tattoo of a dragon who is said to be responsible for the death of their former leader.

Dumb Tatsuo Umemiya / Shingo Yamashiro comedy about a young bloke whose dick grows to inhuman dimensions (obviously a role tailor made for star Umemiya's ego). He visits a doctor, impresses ladies and opens a porn shop before running afoul with yakuza...

An omnibus comedy in which an unique lawyer teaches about laws regarding sex crimes.

An exciting tale of action on the distant northern island of Hokkaido around the beginning of the 20th Century starring two of the biggest names in Yakuza film history, Fuji Junko and Takakura Ken. Since the death of death of her father, Yuki who has traveled from her home in the southernmost part of Japan must fight corrupt local officials seeking to fill her late father's post. As her life is in danger a mysterious rifleman, played by Takakura Ken watches from the shadows. Can she finish the work her dear departed father started in an untamed land?

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.

1962 Japanese movie

No description available.

Story of loyal sailors giving their lives for their country as human torpedoes towards the end of the War.

Set in Osaka, during the devastated time of post-war Japan, this is a tale of the yakuza who set about rebuilding after the death of their Oyabun (big boss). Battles erupt as tempers explode as someone seeks to fill the seat of power.

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.

Rival gangs fight over ownership of bicycle race track.

No description available.

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 fairly entertaining yarn told in somewhat broad strokes with Wakayama playing against type as a reformed-gambler-turned- Christian minister. Of course, before the tale is finished he is forced by the utterly nefarious, heinous villains to once again pick up a sword and join fellow anti-hero Sugawara in wiping out Evil.

A roughneck named Komakichi of Kawachi, Osaka, comes back from a three-year training course to become a chef, hoping to be with his crush Tamae, a daughter of a Japanese restaurant’s owner. His father is not happy because Komakichi has no intention to become a rickshaw man to follow in his father’s footsteps.

The fourth film in the Kanto Street Peddlers series. The protagonist, played by Bunta Sugawara sides with female boss Yumiko Nogawa to fight evil Hiroshi Nawa, who at one point employs rebellious young hood Tsunehiko Watase and Kagawa. Tatsuo Umemiya also shows up as a cool, leather jacket gunman who gains Sugawara’s respect despite playing for the opposing team. What eventually keeps this film from being as good as the first is the loose script that doesn’t really tie all the fun stuff into a coherent package. Much is forgiven however when the last 20 minutes arrives with several visually striking set pieces (including one death scene stylized to the point of ridiculousness) and a terrific final massacre. This was Suzuki’s last contribution to the series; the fifth and final picture would be helmed by Takashi Harada.

A yakuza family goes into show business.

A high-ranking yakuza rises to national notoriety.

A teacher in a poor island community tries to improve his students' spirits by entering them in a volleyball tournament as long-shot underdogs.

The sixth film of the desperado outpost series directed by Takashi Tsuboshima

Yakuza Kojima appeared in Yokkaichi in search of her mother who died when she was young. There he met Torajiro, a master of kendo, who had just left prison after slashing his adoptive father who stole his son's wife. Torajiro was on his way to his brother-in-law, Iwai. While talking about themselves, they someday felt something similar to friendship.

5th entry in the Bakuchi-uchi series.

No description available.

A crime film released in 1965

Sixth entry in the Bakuchi-uchi series.

The hero tries to unite various gangs.

No description available.

No description available.

Japanese crime film.

Part 7 in the Gambling Den series. This time Koji Tsuruta is a gambler who feels sympathetic towards a woman whose naive husband is driven to a debt trap by a rotten gambling den owner (Tatsuo Endo) and his dishonest card dealer (Isamu Nagato). The plot is standard stuff and features too much talk, but there's also a decent balance between melodrama and lyricism in the form and storytelling. Tsuruta was a perfect fit for these kind of roles, with the stoic and emotional sides nicely mixed in his screen persona.

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

Just after the Battle of Sekigahara, a pair of children Denji and Kichizo witnessed a team of the defeated forces hide the Toyotomi treasure. When the leader cuts down the rest of the team, a bloodstained footman seems to be the only survivor, and his image haunts the pair for the next twenty years. As they are serving a prison sentence a plan is hatched to get them released so they can lead their captors to the hidden gold on Hikone Beach. Danger and excitement await the two as they run into unexpected and dangerous obstacles!

In Osaka, a family sets up shop in Tsuruhashi. Trouble brews for three brothers – Jinzuke, Tadayoshi, and Eizo – when they come together in their hometown, Nakano Village, after getting word of their father's critical condition. In a Nakano Village divided by a clash between local pig bristle brush manufacturers and the village chief's group over factory expansion, the latter resorts to harassing the brush manufacturers associated with the Wadakura family. Tadayoshi and the villagers attempt to take on the village office but encounter opposition from the Wadakura family's interference. Meanwhile, Jinzuke finds himself at odds with the Wadakura family over territorial disputes in Tsuruhashi. He faces off against them, striving to thwart their factory plans...

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.

A man aspires to be a big boss but falls in love with a beautiful woman boss.

A hobo exposes the misdeeds of a new yakuza.

A poor rickshaw driver finds himself helping a young woman and her son after the woman's husband dies suddenly.

No description available.

Who are “Dochu-shi?” They are street thieves. Ankuro’s blissful holiday with his parents is shattered when a group of thieves frame his father for theft and violently take his mother’s life. Fueled by grief and a thirst for justice, Ankuro vows to become a thief himself and challenge his parents’ killers to a match of thievery skills someday. 15 years later, having mastered his skills under the training of Oshin, his adoptive mother, he prepares to face his enemies in a series of matches adhering to the Dochu-shi’s code.

Inspector General Kanjuro Sano conspires with the future shogun twin brother. They replace Ieyoshi Tokugawa with his twin, but it becomes a problem when suspicion arises and Nemuri Kyoshiro gets involved.

When the aging leader of the yakuza gang Maeda-gumi decides to retire, many of the gang members have no confidence in the young man he has chosen to replace him. A fight for the succession begins.

The main character Tachibana Isaburo is released from prison and discovers that his boss is dead. He is offered to become the leader of the group, but refuses. A young fashion villain, a Yakuza boss wants to get into politics. He makes a deal with the Osaka Railway Company, leaving many poor people homeless. Tachibana engages in a fierce battle with villains for the poor.

AKA Family of Women. A story about a wealthy family and the greed and selfishness of three daughters and relatives, after the passing of their old father.

1961 Japanese movie

A man finds great camaraderie while traveling.

No description available.

Japanese drama film.

The services of a wandering gambler, Seiji, are called upon to protect the turf of his loyal friend Risaburo.

Japanese comedy film.

No description available.

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.

No description available.

A gang of evil ninjas has stolen the sacred sword of the Lady Mayu and are demanding that her family exchange her for the family treasure. The world's greatest swordsman, Shuranosuke Sakaki, is called in to get the sword back.

Two travelers (Makoto Fujita and Minoru Shiraki) have adventures along the road including strange supernatural happenings, ghosts, and monsters.

Shino, a resilient young woman sold into prostitution must navigate the gritty realities of the red-light district to survive. Within the confines of her small 4½-mat room, she encounters a variety of men, using her wit and body to endure a system designed to exploit her.

Taking place in Shinshu in the 1920s, Tsumakoi Okoma, while traveling to hone her gambling skills, teams up with the vagabond Tsukuba Tsuneji and comes into conflict with gamblers plotting to take over a rustic hot-spring town. Handling a gun and sword as skillfully as a man, Fuji Junko portrays an appealing personality that differs from Oryu in the Red Peony Gambler series. Tsuruta Koji stars as the vagabond Tsukuba Tsuneji that tops the list of an impressive all-star cast that includes Endo Tatsuo, Kogure Michiyo, Ashiya Gannosuke, Kitamura Eizo, and many others. This film is an authentic yakuza movie that conveys the true "Matatabi" (wandering gambler) feeling.

After being bailed out of trouble by a member of the Kaijima Clan, Ryuhei dedicates himself to saving the Kajima’s lucrative lumber business.

No description available.

Part two.

No description available.

No description available.

In a strange outfit and full of youthful energy, the explosive Boss Kumatora raises hell like there's no tomorrow. The first movie of a new series starring Wakayama Tomisaburo as everybody's favorite character Boss Kumatora from the Red Peony Gambler series. Having made a fortune in the Russo-Japanese War, the Kumatora Family migrates to Kyushu to take on a military-related job. There they encounter the evil and malicious interference of the Chindai family of Kumamoto, and Boss Kumatora boldly fights back with the help of O'Ryu the Red Peony. A super entertaining film with non-stop comedy and action directed by Suzuki Norifumi.

Ryosuke Kotaki's life motto was his grandfather's will, "Study, make money, drink alcohol, and win the first prize". So, first of all, he went to Osaka to win the first prize with favorite shogi. In the car, he hit it off with a woman named Okichi and decided to live in the Shogi Kaisho, which is run by Okichi's father, Yoichi. Ryosuke's skill was strong, and he was happy to make a lot of money in gambling shogi. However, he lost to a middle-aged man by dropping four cards. This man was actually Heihachi Kudo, who is said to be the best of both worlds in the Kansai chess world at the time...

Teppei Omori is a man of extraordinary virility, with 21 mistresses, over 30 children, and more than 1,100 women he has had relations with. Teppei's daily routine involves visiting each of the beef hot pot restaurants, "Akasatana," run by his mistresses, to collect the sales and keep an eye on the women. One day, Noe, one of his mistresses at the first branch, announces that she wants to marry Urakawa, the chef. The other mistresses, in the prime of their lives, can no longer be content with working for him only once a month, and they compete for Teppei's attention, cheating on him behind his back.

This story is based on the historical record of tortures in the Samurai era of Japan.

Kaori, a doll hairdresser, is a demonic woman who has been alive for over 900 years. She has maintained her youth by drinking the blood of young men while waiting for her husband, who disappeared shortly after their wedding. However, when Kinosaki, who looks exactly like her husband, uncovers her true identity, Kaori transforms into a terrifying figure.

No description available.

Matsuko, an assistant professor of history, discovers ancient human bones at Toribeyama, and her student, Suzuko, starts to approach her. As Suzuko shows an unusual fascination with the bones, the two eventually become romantically involved. However, Naomi, a fellow assistant professor who harbors a rivalry with Matsuko, hires a journalist to secretly photograph Matsuko’s bedroom…

No description available.

1966 Toei Comedy

Saburo Kitajima, one of Japan’s most famous Enka singers, returns in the fifth of the Kyodai Jingi series. During the early 20th century, Ryuji from Asakusa, a wandering yakuza, joins the Narumi Family in Yokohama. However, when he confronts Shiotaro, the head of the rival family, Ryuji takes a liking to him. He ends up leaving his current family, and becomes close to Shiotaro like brothers swearing to become a full-fledged yakuza.

JA woman is witness to a murder but flees the scene, leaving behind only a handkerchief with her name, Rie, embroidered upon it. Police race to find her before the yakuza can track her down.

Toei yakuza film.

The fifth volume of the Ningyo Sana Torimonocho series. Based on the original work by Seishi Yokomizo, the film was adapted by Mitsuo Kaneda (The Nude Model Murder Case), directed by Tatsuo Yamada, who worked on The Golden Bugyo, and shot by Kikuzo Kawasaki. Keiko Hibino, Shigeru Amachi, Tomisaburo Wakayama

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.

The frozen corpse of a young apprentice monk is found near Kirara Hill in Rakuhoku. Detective Hayakawa from the Kyoto Prefectural Police grows suspicious of the fact that someone froze to death in the middle of summer and visits his nephew Saburo, who works at a cryogenics research institute. Shortly after, the frozen body of Saburo’s father, Takayoshi, is also discovered. Recently, Takayoshi had been closely involved with a designer named Saori.

In a small town, Tomoko, a new bus conductor, works hard to prove herself. She crosses paths with Saburō, the company president’s playful younger brother, who slowly reveals a more sincere side.

Ryoko, a beautiful and renowned chief surgeon at a medical university, begins to groan and claw at her throat after rejecting an advance from Tamura, who is infatuated with her. This is a sign that unless she replenishes her supply of hormones from young men, she will revert to her true form as a 400-year-old woman. The next day, Tamura's body is found...

Mysterious incidents occur around geiko in Fukagawa, and there is always the presence of a black cat at the scene of the tragedy. The woman, unaware of her presence, is pulled away by the banya, but a ronin, pretending to be a bouncer of the geisha district, appears and saves her, finally unraveling the fate of the woman.

Ninkyo with Hideki Takahashi.

The film depicts a psychological battle involving suspense and romance between the protagonist, who feigns mental illness to avoid being declared a war criminal, and a female military doctor from the Soviet military's political department who interrogates him.