Thanks for the Tears (1965)

Kunisada Chuji

Kunisada Chuji is a common folk hero who looks out for poor people in the country who are at the mercy of corrupt officials. Intent on fulfilling a dying wish from one of his henchmen, Asataro, to find a decent home for his young nephew, Chuji descends from his hide-out in the mountain, and heads to the city in spite of numerous dangers that await him there.

Ichi the Killer

As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.

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.

CONFLICT: Outbreak

The Hyodo-gumi boss—part of Tendokai, Japan’s largest yakuza syndicate—has been brutally murdered. Kazuma Washio (Hitoshi Ozawa), the head of the Washio-gumi and Tendokai’s wakagashira (underboss), is convinced that Yoshinari Myojin (Sho Aikawa), a former Tendokai wakagashira-hosa now running Tokyo’s underworld of thugs and mafia, is behind the killing. Around the same time, Tendokai's 5th-generation chairman Katsushige (Hakuryu) orders Washio to secure a woman named Nagi Toyama (Akane Hotta). Washio sets out with his men, Okita (Yasukaze Motomiya) and Date (Hideo Nakano), but they’re ambushed by a group of heavily armed youths. Barely escaping, they manage to bring Nagi to their hideout—only to discover she’s a key player in a power struggle over the Tokyo Casino Project. And so begins the greatest conflict yet, entangling yakuza, mafia, street gangs, the police, and even the state itself—

Crying Freeman

A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.

Wolves, Pigs & Men

Sabu and his pals hold a pauper's funeral for Sabu's mother. His brother Jiro arrives home, fresh out of jail, and Sabu pointedly states that Jiro is not invited. Jiro meanwhile is planning a big job - steal 40 million in cash and drugs, and he invites Sabu and gang to act as decoys, for 50,000 each. The sting is a success, but the double-crossing starts almost immediately. Sabu discovers how little of the take they were promised and hides the stash. Jiro and his slimy partner pressure the kids to fess up. Meanwhile, their respectable elder brother Ichiro is being leaned on by the town's big boss, whose money it was.

Kill or Be Killed

When Yakuza decides to take avenge his brother, the war shall begin.

The Viper Brothers: Prison Gang 13

Part 3 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.

Dead or Alive

Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.

The Viper Brothers and the Young General

The last in the series. Sugawara runs into two mahjong cheaters (Ichiro Araki and Mako Midori + sidekick Takuzo Kawatani) whom he takes for friends in need as his naivety prevents him from seeing their true nature.

Shinjuku Swan

Shiratori Tatsuhiko works as a scout for Burst, a talent agency in Kabukichō, Shinjuku's red light district. In a business where money means everything Tatsuhiko finds himself in a constant struggle between rival talent scouts and the yakuza.

The Outer Way

The cop Himuro is picked as scapegoat by his superiors because of their own involvement in sokaiya gangster practices.

Woman's Police: Appointment with Danger

Kagari (Akira Kobayashi), a scout and overseer of Ginza bar hostesses, receives an urgent phone call from Sawako, a hostess at the bar Rie, and rushes to Tokyo International Airport to meet her. When he arrives she is gone. At the bar he learns that Tabuchi, a steady customer, had been quite friendly with Sawako and may know something. Tabuchi claims he knows nothing and Kagari lets the matter drop. Over time Kagari learns from Takijima, a businessman, that Sawako is in a hospital in Yokohama. Takijima explains that he found her in Singapore working as a street girl and brought her back to Japan. Sawako had lost her memory after being subjected to narcotics. Kagari swears to find the person responsible.

Women's Police: Swirling Butterflies

Aboard a night ferry in the Inland Sea, Masaaki Kagari (Akira Kobayashi), a young tough, who supplies hostesses to night spots, encounters Yuko, his ex-sweetheart. He considers himself a private underworld sort of policeman-in the com- munity of such women. Yuko, now a bar proprietress, is under the protection of Tahei Daigo, a sinister gang boss who in his quest for chances of good investments abroad plans to offer young girls to rich foreigners. Asked to gather attractive girls by Yuko, now Tahei's puppet, Masaaki collects many only to find them mysteriously missing...

Brother

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

Taxi 2

A cabdriver and a cop race to Paris to rescue a love interest and the Japanese minister of defense from kidnappers.

CONFLICT III

After a major conflict, Kazuma Washio (Hitoshi Ozawa) becomes the 6th boss of Tendokai, Kanto’s largest yakuza group. Wakagashira Date (Hideo Nakano) and Kurata (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi) secure casino rights from the government, but top officials are soon murdered, and Date is framed. The trail leads to Sanko-kai, a Kansai syndicate forming ties with a Korean underworld led by Myojin Akinari (Noboru Kaneko), brother of Washio’s old rival. Sanko-kai’s boss Onizuka (Hiroshi Fuse), who holds a grudge against Washio, launches a political and violent offensive. As Tendokai fights back to reclaim the casino rights, tragedy strikes—Okita (Yasukaze Motomiya) is targeted. Japan’s largest underworld war erupts again—what awaits at the end?

Kanto Street Peddlers

Kokubu Masaru (Bunta Sugawara) is a hard-headed, hot-tempered member of a street vendor clan run by an elderly boss (Kanjuro Arashi). They come into conflict with an unholy alliance of evil Yakuza bosses (Watanabe, Amatsu and Kawazu).

Kanto Street Peddlers: Violent Fire Festival

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.

Kanto Street Peddlers: Shallow Clan Honor

The fifth and final chapter of the Kanto Street Peddlers series! Will the battle in Asakusa be enough for a complete victory?

Jesus is My Boss

A warring Yakuza awakens to Christianity and becomes an evangelist. The film is modelled on the real-life "Mission Barabbas," a Christian evangelistic group of ex-Yakuza.

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.

Sonatine

Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.

Enlisted Yakuza

It is the third film in the Gokudo series. In this episode, set in 1937, the main character of the series gang leader Shimamura is drafted into the military and fight in China.

Motorpsycho!

A vengeful veterinarian and a grieving widow join forces to track down violent bikers after they commit heinous acts against their loved ones.

Unification of Japan Gaiden: Nakajima Family - Shikoku Gold Mine Mayhem

Nakajima invested all his money in stocks. However, these shares turned out to be worthless. Nakajima, who urgently needs 200,000 in a week, is determined to return it, but...

Unification of Japan Gaiden: Tamura Yuto

A side story from the popular knight series Unification of Japan, centered on Yuto Tamura, played by Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi. The situation becomes more complicated when a politician intervenes in a fight between Tamura and Marukami-kai.

Unification of Japan Gaiden: Tamura Yuto 2

The second part of a two-part extravaganza featuring Yuto Tamura, who is played by Yamaguchi Yoshiyuki, one of the central characters of the Unification of Japan series, as the sole protagonist. What awaits Tamura and the lonely girl Yui, and how will everything turn out?

The World of Shura 2

A year later, Mouri was demoted, and Saiga was expelled from the gang. Engetsu suddenly fell ill, and in Yokohama, where Engetsu's influence waned, drugs began to spread. Amid the unrest, Mouri and Saiga begin to confront each other.

The Viper Brothers: Up on 30 Charges

Part 7 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. Katsuji finds his long lost mother, who is a rich lady of a respectable family. Comedy and melodrama ensue. A thrilling spectacle with an overly violent ending, and a remarkable, Japan's only post-prison rape comedy, Masa is determined to have sex with the female guard, despite the fact that there is a bar between them. Michi Azuma (topless swordswoman from Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril) plays a tomboy who wants to join her brothers.

Gozu

Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for.

Dead or Alive 2: Birds

Two contract killers cross paths in the middle of the same job and realize they are childhood friends. Together they take a break from killing and visit the small island they once called home. After reflecting on their past lives they decided to team up and use their talents in killing for good... much to the upset of the crime syndicates.

Gray Wall Gear

The stage of this work is Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo in the early Heisei period. Immediately after the bubble burst gangster countermeasures law, there were gangsters who defended the last territory and young people who freely controlled the city. The youth conflict escalated day by day and became a force that surpassed the yakuza, and the runaways were sent to juvenile prisons one after another, where exclusive rules awaited.

Showdown in Little Tokyo

An American with a Japanese upbringing, Chris Kenner is a police officer assigned to the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles. Kenner is partnered with Johnny Murata, a Japanese-American who isn't in touch with his roots. Despite their differences, both men excel at martial arts, and utilize their formidable skills when they go up against Yoshida, a vicious yakuza drug dealer with ties to Kenner's past.

The Rule for a Vagabond

A brave warrior fights to restore peace to a town riddled by crime, one sword at a time, in this historical action saga.

Music Box

A former yakuza returns to gangster life after an old enemy threatens his son.

Crows Zero

The students of Suzuran High compete for the King of School title. An ex-graduate yakuza is sent to kill the son of a criminal group, but he can't make himself do it as he reminds him of his youth.

First Love

One night in Tokyo, Leo, a young boxer, meets his first love, Monica, an imprisoned sex worker. Caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, they find themselves pursued by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin.

Clamouring Canines

The second film in the "Inu" series.

The Violence Action

Kei Kikuno attends a vocational school as a student. For her part-time job, she works as a contract killer. She is excellent at her job and never gets scared by anyone. One day, she receives the most challenging request.

Unification of Japan 56

One day, a special investigation team suddenly begins a raid on the Kyowakai. Tamura (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi) concludes that it is Iwao (Daisuke Negishi) of the Sakoda group, but Himuro (Yasufu Motomiya) denies this. According to Kawatani (Hitoshi Ozawa), who was investigating, he was forced to join the Kyowa-kai due to a tip from Inspector Matsumiya (Gen Hongo) of the special investigation team. Himuro and his friends become suspicious and try to find out the source of Matsumiya's information, but...

Unification of Japan 57

With Hamada's death, it seemed that the Yuseikai's problems would be resolved, but an incident occurred in Yokohama in which a member of the Nakamori group was attacked. Matsumiya (Gen Hongo) once again assumes that this is the work of the Kyowakai and investigates. Meanwhile, the captured Kawakami (Tatsuya Nakazawa) and Ryuji (Tatsuya Kishida) are attacked by someone when they are released.

The World of Kanako

When Kanako, a model daughter and a brilliant student, disappears, her mother asks her ex-husband, a violent former policeman, to find her. As his investigation progresses, his idealized image of Kanako cracks: the girl hides a dark life that her father can not even imagine.

Whipmaster: Ballad of Murder

Ryotatsu, the wayward Priest blinded by Shinkai, the Wicked Priest, has his own story in this ultra-violent tale from the era of the Meiji Reconstruction. When a woman leaves her blind son at the Monastery, Ryotatsu is forced to teach the boy how to cope as a blind person in old Japan. When he takes the child with him on the road to find the boy's mother, they run afoul of not only yakuza gangsters, but some corrupt army officers have been trying to sway public opinion against the Satsuma rebels by posing as members of Saigo Takamori's group. It's a bloody mistake for them to underestimate the strength of the Blind Priest, and he'll make them pay with their lives!

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.

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.

Yakuza vs. Gang Leader

Gokudo Shimamura comes to blows with the Delinquent Boss who rolls into town with his motorcycle gang.

The Shortest Distance Is Round

Haruto is a freshman and a loner high school student until the arrival of the new teacher Aoyama. Aoyama cares for Haruto and starts to exchange letters with him, as something more grows inside both of them. But one night, an unexpected kiss ends their beautiful relationship. Three years later, Haruto has become a male prostitute in order to pay back his debts, when he reunites with Aoyama by chance.

Modern Chivarly: Sworn Brothers

After the enactment of the Anti-Prostitution Law, the red-light district in Shinjuku lost its allure. Even the gambling den of the Ryūzaki family was always deserted. Ryūzaki, the boss, declared his retirement in response to the changing times. It was thought that Igarashi, who valued righteousness and principles and had the respect of others, would become the second-in-command. However, he was an annoying presence to Ryūzaki...

Gambler Tales of Hasshu: A Man's Pledge

This is one of the many films based on the legend of Chuji Kunisada, a wandering gambler and a defender of the weak in the Edo period. In other words, he was the Japanese Robin Hood. In this film Kunisada (Chiezo Kataoka) arrives to a small town terrorized by an evil gang. He insists that he is not Kunisada, as the word is Kunisada has been executed, but of course the audience know better. Sonny Chiba plays an unusual supporting role as a helpless young man unable to defend himself from the gangsters. He does, however, get to play taiko drums and dance with Junko Fuji (who makes her film debut here). Chiba's father, an old judge who helps Kunisada, is played by Takashi Shimura. The film hardly anything exceptional, but it's a pretty decent jidai geki / yakuza drama.

Savage Chivalry

After eight years in prison, Ban makes his return to the Oyama Family. Now headed by Ouchi, a rookie the last time he saw him, the family is overrun with unfamiliar faces. With nowhere to turn to, Ban reunites with his former right-hand man, Narumi. An encounter with a woman with a large scar on her face named Kyoko leads him to find out more about the current state of the Oyama Family.

Zatoichi the Outlaw

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.

Samaritan Zatoichi

Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to pay his debts. The bosses true motives are revealed and he attempts to steal Osode even though the debt is paid. Zatoichi realizes his grievous error and protects the girl from the gang. Osode and Zatoichi are caught in a dilemma as she must rely on her brother's killer for protection and Zatoichi wrestles with the injustice he has caused.

Fight, Zatoichi, Fight

Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman returning home with her baby. When gangsters mistake her for Zatoichi and kill her, Zatoichi determines to escort the baby to its father. He gains the reluctant help of a young pick pocket and together they travel to find the baby's father. But they do not reckon on the father's reaction to their arrival, nor on their own growing feelings for the child.

The Mole Song: Final

Reiji's final mission is to prevent the smuggling of 600 billion yen of drugs. For his mission, he gets on luxury passenger ship and he faces his strongest enemy to date.

Violent Streets

With a Kansai syndicate setting their sights on Tokyo, a former yakuza boss gets dragged back into a world of violence.

Gedo

East meets West as the Japanese Yakuza battle drug lords and the LAPD in the streets of Los Angeles...

Jirocho’s Days of Youth: Boss of the Tokai Region

His skill and courage were the best in Japan! The life story of Jirocho, a man who protected people on the Tokaido Road. The fearless Kinnosuke Nakamura enthusiastically plays the young Jirocho from Shimizu in this chivalrous story.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War

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.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics

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.

Female Yakuza Tale

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.

Game of Chance 3

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...

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.