Makoto Fujita
This show marks the return of the jidaigeki series "Hissatsu Shigotonin," which has had several seasons between the 1970s and the 1990s. The franchise came back in 2007 with a one-shot special, but this is its first full season since 1992. Makoto Fujita returns as the protagonist Nakamura Mondo, one of the "shigotonin," a team of hired assassins.
A Japanese Class B war criminal sets out to take full responsibility for the execution of American Airmen.
"Tsubaki Sanjuro" is a remake of Sanjuro (1962) by Akira Kurosawa. Sanjuro returns with sharper, faster, subtler sword, talking and perception. He uses them to settle the trouble and uses them good!
A violent fire one evening kills a husband and wife couple and burns their Kazusaya rice shop to ashes. Their daughter Sachi manages to make it out alive, but she claims the fire was set by henchmen from the rival Harimaya shop who abducted her sister. After policeman Watanabe Shogoro hears her story, he begins investigating the case, but desperate to avenge her parents' deaths, Sachi later enlists the aid of a mysterious woman who offers to kill Harimaya for a price. Watanabe soon discovers that there is more to this case than meets the eye.
An adaptation of the Shotaro Ikenami novels, set in the historical Edo period, and centered on Fujieda Bayan, a medicine man and doctor by day, but ruthless killer for hire by night. His tools of the trade are the same in either job: acupuncture needles that leave no trace.
Master swordsman Akiyama Kohei’s simple life in retirement is jarred into violent sword action when he meets an elderly fencing instructor who may be the target of a group of thieves planning a major armed robbery. At the same time dojo master Daijiro saves the life of man who, although skilled in archery has an aversion to killing and a woman artist comes into town where she is in danger of being raped by one of the thieves. From the pen of noted author Ikenami Shotaro, creator of such classics as Bandit Ve. Samurai, Hunter In The Dark, The Last Samurai, and Hissatsu-The Professional Killers! Brilliant storytelling that leads to superb swordsmanship!
The samurai Akiyama Daijiro is asked to help a young boy who tries to bring the man who murdered his father to justice. In the course of their quest they uncover a plot by one of the clan officials that could change the course of history.
When radicals from Japan's Red Army took a woman hostage in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano in 1972, Officer Atsuyuki Sassa was put in charge of diffusing the situation. But the task had its challenges. Upon arriving in mountainous Nagano, Sassa had to compete with freezing winter temperatures, conflicting opinions between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Nagano Prefectural Police, as well as public opinion to gain entrance to the lodge that held the single woman captive.
Takahashi Meiko (Mano Azusa) used to work at a large newspaper company. However, she is now an ordinary housewife. She receives a call from Sasame (Kanda Masaki), a former colleague who is now working at another company asking her for her help. She is informed that a murder has taken place when she arrives and goes to the scene of the crime. She learns that the victim was her son’s intermediate school teacher.
At the end of the Heian period, Musashibo Benkei, a warrior monk who hated the Heike clan, was humiliated by his fellow monks and left the mountain monastery. Soon, Benkei competes with the Heike warriors on the Gojo Bridge in Kyoto and takes away their swords. One night he tried to stop a young man who had a beautiful sword on his belt and fought him, but he could not win. Knowing that this young man Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune) is looking for an opportunity to overthrow the Heike clan, Benkei asks him to let him join him.
When an artist dies, the official cause of death is judged to be a stroke, but his daughter suspects foul play. She recruits the services of an assassin, who by chance encounters an old friend...
A criminal syndicate wants detective Onihei dead, but the resolute hero proves to be hard to kill.
Fifth movie in the Hissatsu (Sure Death!) Series. At the behest of a corrupt bureaucrat, a mysterious band of murderers wage a bloody battle against three deadly assassins.
During the age of warring clans (Sengoku Jidai), many samurai lords sought to unite the country under their banners by becoming the supreme leader. One of the first to vie for power in this way was Saito Dosan, the 'Viper'. His son-in-law, Oda Nobunaga, did in fact unite the nation after subduing all of his enemies, yet falling at last to the treachery of one of his most trusted generals. This story is a pre-cursor to those later events as the brilliant military strategist Saito Dosan rises to power and notoriety as a great lord in his own right. Directed by Kudo Eiichi and with a tremendous supporting cast that includes Nakamura Toru as Oda Nobunaga and Chiba Shinichi as Akechi Mitsutsugu, battle scenes of awesome power and a unique view of Japanese history, this is a marvelous production highlighted by the action scenes done by the Japan Action Club (JAC).
One of Japan's favorite sword stars, Fujita Makoto, returns as the legendary Tange Sazen, the one-eyed, one-armed samurai who is a champion for the common people. Unflappable, except with the ladies, he fights evil in Shogun Yoshimune's Edo. The kokezaru no tsubo (earless monkey jar) has gone missing with a secret hidden inside that could change the course of history. All of Edo's top swordsmen, including Yagyu Genzaburo and Ooka Echizen are involved as villains pursue their evil quest! Superb swordplay highlights this exciting all-star extravaganza!
Having been demoted for failing to prevent the murder of one of his superiors, Mondo is startled by a group of masked thugs who are soon attacked in turn by an unseen force. He begins to suspect the work of assassins, but whose side are they on?
Third movie in the Hissatsu (Sure Death!) Series. Chasing the killer of a lawman, a group of assassins fall foul of a group of blackmarket financiers who dispatch their own hitmen to dispose of them.
The "Hissatsu!" band of assassins gets involved in an old mansion with a secret weapon.
A group of seemingly ordinary merchants is really a band of assassins for hire. When they discover that all the assassins in Edo are being killed they must act quickly to find the culprit.
Detective Seiji Otaki (Ken Ogata) 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.
Keiko Inagawa (Asami Kobayashi) pays a visit to neurologist Aizawa about her fiancé Tatsuo Tamura (Kaoru Kobayashi). A mysterious case involving the disappearance of Tatsuo’s three brothers, one after the other, is yet to be resolved and now Tatsuo, seized with the idea that he too may disappear, has had a nervous breakdown. Aizawa suggests that Tatsuo recount his dreams as a means of solving the mystery, since human beings have an instinct that foretells the near future in the form of a dream. Keiko and Tatsuo eventually discover that the three disappearances have a strange connection…
The story is set in Bakumatsu and revolves around the Bunta Sugawara character, a yakuza (of course :) but instead of a modern yakuza/gangster, he's a gambler/bakuto). After he kills someone and gets wound, is saved by a blind woman (Mitsuko Baishô), who took care of him. They has a happy time under the protection of the Tomisaburo Wakayama character, an oybun. But of course, happy time doesn't last long. The story is also related to Okada Izo and the Shinsengumi (w/ Kondo Isami played by Makoto Sato)
Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.
«Japanese Masterpiece Ghost Story Theatre» - is a 13-episode series based on classic Japanese ghost stories.
Nakamura Mondo was relegated to a post in Hachioji from the Minamimachi Bugyōsho and he has retired from professional assassin. But one day he was ordered to return to the Minamimachi Bugyōsho. Shikazō worked behind the scenes to get Mondo back to the Minamimachi Bugyōsho. Shikazō asks Nakamura Mondo to kill a man, once Mondo refuses but he is blinded by big money and eventually take the offer. Mondo restarts killing villains again with Kazarishokunin no Hide and Nawate Samon.
A man whose son has been murdered pushes to create laws to financially protect victims' families.
A police detective tries to investigate the mystery of a victim who was shot in the head, but no bullet was found.
After World War II, when Okinawa was under control of the United States, the local yakuza prospered. But when Okinawa is returned to Japan, the mainland yakuza tries to take over; the local yakuza tries to compete. Now sides are drawn among the local yakuza guys who used to be best friends since their childhood, and brother fights brother. It results in the biggest yakuza war in Okinawa.
Adapted from the Seicho Matsumoto story "Tazutazushi". Ryohei Suzuki, a manager at a travel company, is married to his superior's daughter, but tires of their authority over his life. A chance encounter with Yukiko Hirai one rainy night brings a new romance into Ryohei's life, and he and Yukiko fall deeply in love. Yukiko, however, reveals that she has a violent husband in prison - with only a week left until his release. Ryohei, desperate to maintain his social standing, brings Yukiko to the mountains in Nagano and sets in motion an unthinkable, tragic chain of events.
The Tigers are much too busy to have a holiday; but one day a mysterious man appears in their dressing room and offers them a trip to anywhere in the world. But he tells them they must come back in 24 hours or else he'll own their hearts. The mysterious man is the devil.
Zensaku, middle-aged and deaf in one ear, learns that his son's fallen for the daughter of a war officer responsible for the maiming.
The sixth "Japan's No. 1 Man" feature. Followed by "Japan’s No. 1 Disconnected Man".
International thief Zivaco, who can assume any identity, eludes the authorities and battles rival thief WCWC for a rare gold samurai sword.
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.
The Crazy Cats, a Japanese musical-comedy group, were showcased a series of comic adventures throughout the 1960s. Las Vegas Free-For-All, one of their most popular movies, featured scenes filmed on location in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. Appearing with the seven Cats were the lovely Mie Hama and such Japanese musical artists as The Peanuts, The Johnnys, The Drifters, and Jackie Yoshikawa & the Blue Comets.
A group of ne'er-do-wells live happily in the slums of what is now Tokyo and have a number of adventures: they get drunk and go whoring, revenge themselves on cruel landlords, animate the corpse of a money-lender in order to frighten people. Then they assist at the marriage of a lovely girl and almost kill themselves gambling to provide her with a dowry.
After losing all his money, Kizuka Keita, a seller on the black market, is trying to commit suicide. But he is saved by Morigen, a broker on the azuki beans market. A young man tries to regain his wealth in the bean market.
The tale of real-life Yakuza boss Shimizu Jirocho is told from his earliest beginnings as a gambler on the road as he forms his gang and sets out on the path to fame and fortune. One of the smartest and strongest of all the gang bosses, he went on to survive the end of the samurai era and become a successful businessman. But first, he must survive against all odds in order to build his reputation and develop his strength. Powerful portrayals of the group are led by the great Tsuruta Koji with help from the likes of Matsukata Hiroki.
A country boss gives up his way of life because of his daughter's marriage.
Story about a poor Japanese woman living near an American army base who resorts to prostitution.
