Tominosuke Hayama
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
A mysterious black hooded man intervenes when an anti-government group who plots to steal the precious blue diamond called “Maguna no Hitomi.”
Tragicomic road movie set during the Edo period. It follows a samurai, his two servants – including spear-carrier Genpachi – and the various people they meet on their journey, including a policeman in pursuit of a thief, a young child and a woman who is to be sold into prostitution.
A woman loses her son through an evil conspiracy and commits suicide. Shortly afterwards a ghost cat begins haunting the conspirators. This is Takako Irie's first bakeneko (ghost cat) movie; it started a Daiei cycle which was very popular at the time in Japan.
A samurai performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. The warrior falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is already married.
Gotō Matabei is the most able and fierce samurai of the Kuroda clan. However, he gradually dislikes the ruthless personality of Kuroda Nagamasa and leaves the clan. Seven years later, he joins Toyotomi Hideyori's army. Filmed in 1945 and released in 1952.
1949’s TOUMEI NINGEN ARAWARU (THE INVISIBLE MAN APPEARS/THE TRANSPARENT MAN APPEARS) 透明人間現わる was a monochrome gem with special effects supervised by Eiji Tsuburaya. Loosely based on the H.G. Wells 1897 classic novel THE INVISIBLE MAN, the Japanese take on the story, still has a scientist using a special chemical to become invisible. The story begins when jewel thieves becomes interested in an invisibility formula invented by Professor Nakazato. The thieves kidnap the professor and want to use his invention to acquire a diamond necklace called the “Tears of Amour“. There are a lot of twists and turns in this film, as to who is the Invisible Man and why. The Japanese Invisible Man looks just like Universal’s 1933 version played by Claude Rains, with bandages and an overcoat. The formula has the same adverse symptoms which effect the nervous and drive the user insane.
Ito Daisuke's wartime retelling of the Miyamoto Musashi story.
