Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge (1963)

Ran

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

Sanjuro

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

Yakuza and Constitution

Since the enactment of the Anti-Boryokudan Act and Yakuza exclusion ordinances, the number of Yakuza members reduced to less than 60,000. In the past 3 years, about 20,000 members have left from Yakuza organizations. However, just numbers can’t tell you the reality. What are they thinking, how are they living now? The camera zooms in on the Yakuza world. Are there basic human rights for them?

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

Official Shogunate executioner Ogami Itto has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.

Flower & Snake

The wealthy president of a company has built up an unpayable debt to a local crime lord, and to escape punishment he sells his famous dancer wife to the lecherous old man figuring a 90 year old can’t do too much bad with her. Perhaps not, but others can while he watches. She’s put on stage in an underground BDSM sex show and begins a spiraling decent from strongly independent woman to submissive sex slave

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades

Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza in order to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.

Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell

With most of his family already dead at Ogami Itto's hands, Retsudo launches one final plot to destroy him, and when that fails, unleashes the fury of every remaining member of the Yagyu clan.

Hanzo the Razor: The Snare

Against the backdrop of the Edo treasury devaluing currency and driving many into poverty, Hanzo Itami enforces the law without regard to status. He shows inadequate respect to the treasurer, who wants him dead.

Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold?

Hanzo extracts a confession from a ghost using his assaulting methods, foils thieves, connects with Heisuke Takei a friend from his youth, offers protection to a forward-thinking physician Genan Sugino who has defamed his ruler, discovers a pleasure ring of young wives and a blind music teacher, and cuckolds a corrupt official under his very nose.

New Tale of Zatoichi

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.

Zatoichi the Fugitive

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.

Zatoichi on the Road

Zatoichi is sworn to protect the life of a young girl and without any real allies finds himself in the middle of a bloody turf war.

The Blood of Wolves

Set in 1988 in Hiroshima, Japan, prior to the enactment of the anti-organized crime law. A rumor exists that Detective Shogo Ogami has ties with the yakuza. He is partnered with Detective Shuichi Hioka and they investigate a missing person case involving a financial company employee. Conflicts between opposing yakuza groups become more serious.

Banzuiin Chōbei

A jidaigeki film on Banzuiin Chōbei produced in 1940 and directed by Yasuki Chiba.

Parfum Fraise

Makoto is doing his best to raise his 7-year-old son Kazuki. Despite his best intentions, the violence that was once his life comes back to bite him, and he will have no choice but to face it, before the eyes of his son, who he always tried to protect.

ICHI

Ichi is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick.

The Sword of Doom

Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.

Kagemusha

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

Yojimbo

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

Sword of Destiny

When master swordsman Mikogami Genshiro of the Ono fencing school returns to find that his ailing sensei has been murdered in the dead of night, he must find the culprit and exact revenge. His return sets off a series of violent incidents and incites a high ranked female skilled in sword to test his mettle after he unwittingly offends her. The ever delightful Misora Hibari co-stars with the great Tsuruta Koji in this exciting tale set in the earliest days of the Tokugawa shogunate. Lots of exciting swordfights highlight this entertaining motion picture!

Roughneck From Asama

When Boss Juzo's Shinmachi Yakuza family struck fear into the hearts of his adversaries, Boss Shohei's Okabe Yakuza family with a merciless gang of raiders, Itaro of Asama was missing. With the courage of a lion he had gone off to face the enemy and settle the score all by himself. As a result he had to take the blame in place of Boss Shohei, and went off to adventures on his own.

Chinpira

Osamu rescues a girl who was being chased by two punks and is soon mixed up with the Yakuza

Eighteen Years in Prison

A former soldier is caught working the black market and sent to prison while his partner escapes and goes on to become a gangster, but their paths cross again as they both fall in love with the same woman.

Summer of the Lion Kings

Katsu, who belongs to the Murai group of the Sakagami Union, was frustrated by the distance from the yakuza world he had envisioned. At that time, Katsu, who met Osamu who belongs to the conflicting Dainippon Kyokushinkai, feels the real gangster scent of Osamu.

Onihei Crime Files: Sutegoro Takahagi

Takahagi Sutegoro is highly skilled at casing locations for thieves so that he can sell detailed floor plans to them. He suffers an injury to his leg while trying to help a parent and a child being threatened by samurai. Heizo jumps in and chases the samurai away. Feeling indebted to Heizo, Sutegoro decides to become his spy. Now, together they will try to stop scheming Myogi Danemon’s gang of merciless thieves...

Twittering Birds Never Fly: The Clouds Gather

In the hyper-masculine criminal underworld, a masochistic high-ranking yakuza and his newly-assigned bodyguard become increasingly drawn to each other.

Okehazama: Oda Nobunaga Birth of the Overlord

Drama set in the historical Warring States Era of Japan. Tokaido name Imagawa Yoshimoto personally led his army to invade Owari Province territory, now in Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City area, was the leader Nobunaga of this surprising burst of death. After the war, the Imagawa clan who originally dominated the Tokaido region fell away, and the victorious Oda Nobunaga quickly expanded his power in Central Japan and the Kinki region, laying the foundation for his future control of the central government of Japan.

Stray Nightingale

Japan, 1785. Jūzaburō, a famous thief who refuses to kill innocent people, is betrayed, ambushed, and left for dead.

Tattoo

Marc Schrader, a rookie cop caught red-handed with drugs in a police raid of an illegal rave, joins a homicide investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Minks. The victim is a naked young woman with the skin stripped off her back, killed as she staggered into traffic. As Schrader and Minks investigate the murder, the case is complicated by a finger found in the stomach of the victim. Forensic examination proves the finger belongs to Nobert Günzel, who was previously convicted of rape and assault. The police raid Günzel’s residence, and discover a blood-stained table with restraints and bits of human flesh in his basement. They also find video equipment and preserved, tattooed skin from the victim’s back. Soon, they found dead bodies buried in the garden. Günzel then goes missing.

Wicked Priest 2: Ballad of Murder

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

The Symbol of a Man

A Japanese intelligence officer faces personal crises in the years preceding the Manchurian conflict.

Painful Bliss: Final Twist

A young executive has a really bad night after an encounter with a crazed bisexual wannabe yakuza and his horny girlfriend.

Wasabi

Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.

The Hidden Fortress

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

Sekigahara

The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.

Skull Coins

The mysterious story behind the Skull Coins, which are said to reveal the location of treasure, and the battle for them will make your heart beat faster.

Ask This of Rikyu

Sen no Rikyu (Ebizo Ichikawa) is the son of a fish shop owner. Sen no Rikyu then studies tea and eventually becomes one of the primary influences upon the Japanese tea ceremony. With his elegant esthetics, Sen no Rikyu is favored by the most powerful man in Japan Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Nao Omori) and becomes one of his closest advisors. Due to conflicts, Toyotomi Hideyoshi then orders Sen no Rikyu to commit seppuku (suicide). Director Mitsutoshi Tanaka's adaptation of Kenichi Yamamoto's award-winning novel of the same name received the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the 37th Montréal World Film Festival, the Best Director Award at the 2014 Osaka Cinema Festival, the 30th Fumiko Yamaji Cultural Award and the 37th Japan Academy Film Prize in nine categories, including Best Art Direction, Excellent Film and Excellent Actor.

Sure Death 5

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.

Black Rain

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Fireworks

Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his business partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.

Kenkaku Shōbai: Tsujigiri

Kohei Akiyama, a popular master swordsman, and his son Daijiro live in the town of Edo in good faith. While running a dojo, Daijiro and his father find themselves wrapped up in a series of events with the town's people.

Kenkaku Shōbai: Kadowakashi

Kohei Akiyama, a popular master swordsman, and his son Daijiro live in the town of Edo in good faith. While running a dojo, Daijiro and his father find themselves wrapped up in a series of events with the town's people.

Code Between Brothers: All New

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...

Falling Camellia

During the Edo period, a gifted swordsman was exiled from his clan when he questioned the misconduct of his leader. Years after, his dying wife wish was for him to go back to his clan.

Wolves of the Night

A unique action drama in which a ruthless yakuza encounters a woman and realizes his true love as the conflict between the yakuza intensifies.

Tokyo Decadence

A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married.

The Tale of Zatoichi

The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues

Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.

Sandy Cruise

The news that the fifth Shogun Tsunayoshi was seriously ill caused a fierce struggle for the post of sixth shogun between the Mito faction and the faction of Chief Adviser Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu. Two mysterious love stories develop against the background of a violent conspiracy that arose because of a strange painting in the sand. And then the empty-headed ronin Morio Jushiro will flash his enchanted sword in this unique, thrilling story full of unexpected twists. Adapted from the novel "Sunae Jubaku: Asahishinbunsha" by Seji Hajime.

Warrior of the Wind

A suspenseful Ninja fantasy based on Shiba Ryotaro's novel, woven with the mysterious fate and romance of Shinzo and a beautiful Princess who find themselves at the center of an intrigue surrounding the legendary land of Yasurai in the mountains of Kumano. Hidden gold, the love of a beautiful Princess, and the approaching evil sword all contribute in bringing you a Ninja action thriller that only the legendary actor Okawa Hashizo and the genius director Kato Tai could produce!

Sorcerer's Orb: Part 3

The third part of the series of films based on the Japanese epic novel Nanso Satomi Hakkenden by Kyokutei Bakin.

Gale Winds! Tengu Karama

The 40th and final "Tengu Kurama" feature starring Kanjuro Arashi.

The Revenge of Yukinojo, Part 3: Sword of Revenge

The final, third part of an entertaining historical drama depicting the eventful story of the revenge of an actor with a strange fate, with a variety of characters and exciting developments.

Trials of an Okinawa Village

A boss from a trucking company has run-ins with evil yakuza during the American occupation of Okinawa. Her hometown is threatened by usurers, gangsters and indirectly by American GI influences. She must battle a yakuza organization with her employees to help settle things.

47 Ronin

Kon Ichikawa's retelling of the classic true story of Samurai honor. When a young clan lord is forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), his loyal followers (now Ronin, masterless Samurai) dedicate their lives to avenging his death.

Chivalrous Life

In the middle of the era, Taisho, a big boss in Asakusa Iizuka, was severely questioned by the police about the source of funds for the Daido Federation, to which he belonged. The creditor, Izo, visited the local police station daily, worried about the safety of his boss, and himself came to the attention of the police. Izo embarks on a journey to escape, but in the meantime, the new rising yakuza Dojima plans to kill Iizuka...

Miyamoto Musashi

In Part I we see the young would-be swordsman setting out to achieve greatness in war, achieving nothing because fighting on the losing side, & then beginning his long period of wandering & training, with the goal always in mind of his duel with Kojiro. Part II builds toward that great duel on Ganryu Island, with considerable focus on Musashi's planning & forethought as to how to gain an advantage.

Okiku and the World

Two rogue vagrants make their living as "manure men", turning the waste from the tenement toilets into fertiliser sold to local farmers. Enter Okiku, the only daughter of a fallen samurai, and amongst the overflowing piles of excrement, a well-nourished love story unfolds.

Taboo

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.

Graveyard of Honor

A barkeeper saves a Yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However, his fear of nothing soon causes problems.

Immortal Guy

Kosuke Suzuki was presumed dead after boss Toseikai Setouchi lynched him and threw him into the sea off the coast of Kobe. However, three months later, Kosuke suddenly appears in Kagoshima and reunites with his partner, the vagrant Kumagoro. However, Kosuke's relief does not last long, he learns from Kumagoro that Toseikai are acting ruthlessly here too.

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman

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.

Snow on The Blades

At Sakurada Gate in 1860, the shogun’s chief minister and his retinue of bodyguards are ambushed and annihilated. Bearing the responsibility and shame for this failure is Shimura Kingo, master swordsman and chief of the guard. Forbidden to take his own life in atonement, he is instead tasked with hunting down the remaining assassins; however, fate intervenes and now only one is left. Devoted to his late lord and his duty, he relentlessly pursues the sole remaining assassin for the next thirteen years. But times are changing in Japan and the way of the sword has become outlawed. What does this mean for Kingo?