Private Detective DOBU 2: The Kyoto Murder Case (1982)

Rashomon

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

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.

Gemini

When his mother's untimely death quickly follows his father's, a doctor begins to believe a killer may be targeting him and his amnesiac wife.

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.

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.

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!

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx

Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must eliminate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.

Hawk of the North

During the latter part of the 16th Century, Japan's Warring States era was coming to a close. After crushing almost all of his enemies, Date Masamune aka the "Hawk of the North" sets his eyes on Hatakeyama's lands. The young warlord is about to face his greatest challenge.

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.

Shadow Hunters

The government in Edo era is suffering from a financial crisis. It hires "Kage" to provoke the collapse of small hans (prefectures). "Kagekari" are people who were hired by Daimyos (mayors of local governments) to resist kage. The young mayor of Suwa Takashiwa, Tadamaru was assaulted by a kage on his way to Edo. Zyubei and Gennnosuke, the Kagekaris, try to carry injured Tadamaru to Edo.

Tsubaki Sanjuro

"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!

Seven Samurai

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

Zatoichi

Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.

New Abarenbō Shōgun

The eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune, fights against evil rampant in Edo while blending in with the common people as Tokuda Shinnosuke, the third son of a poor samurai retainer, commonly known as "Shin-san". The story depicts Yoshimune, who is shaken by the issue of succession, the drama within Edo Castle, and a difficult case involving a conspiracy that occurs in the castle town, with the addition of new characters and a sense of the era.

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.

Minamoto Yoshitsune

A historical scroll depicting the story of the tragic fate of the young samurai Minamoto Yoshitsune, based on the novel by Genzo Murakami. The action of the first part takes place in the late Heian period, when the Taira clan came to power, and Genji was oppressed. The great dream and ambitions of Genkuro Yoshitsune in his youth are depicted, he joins forces with his older brother Yoritomo to raise an army to defeat the Taira clan, and the second part depicts the fall of the clan, persecution and murder.

Last Days of Edo

It is a historical drama that follows Katsu Kaishu's efforts to surrender Edo Castle bloodlessly in the first year of the Meiji period.

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

Raised suckling poison arrows among the sparring Iga ninja factions, Mumon is a carefree 16th-century mercenary. When the ninja council makes a power play to defeat the young Nobukatsu Oda struggling to step into his father’s warlord shoes as they expand rule across the country, Mumon jumps into the fray to satisfy his new bride Okuni’s demand that he make good on his promises of wealth. Yet Mumon soon finds what is worth fighting for beyond money or nation.

Epic Crash

Utaemon Ichikawa plays the role of Hikoshiro Navate, who has a strong sense of justice and opposes power and tyranny with his will and spirit.

Magistrate Ooka’s Legends

A hotshot investigator solves a series of gruesome murders in this exciting and dark classic.

Stray Nightingale

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

The Twilight Samurai

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

The Fort of Death

The second Bounty Hunter film, when master killer Shikoro Ichibei takes up the cause of a group of farmers being driven to despair by the vile Lord Ozeki. The villainous lord has driven them to mounting their last stand at a deserted fort against an army of attackers. Wakayama Tomisaburo is superb as an expert in killing and military tactics, who leaves his medical practice at a clinic for the poor in order to counter the vicious tactics of that vile lord.

The Revenge of Yukinojo, Part 1: Revenge and Love

The first 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.

The Ghostly Detective: Honjo · The Cherry Mansion

Plot unavailable

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.

While Traveling

In this film, Hibari plays a dual role as brother and sister. The story involves a journey to Hanagasa for an incognito Lord (Kotaro Satomi) to overthrow an attempted usurpation of his domain, while being harassed by vassals of the usurper (Kensaku Hara). There's also a mysterious ronin played by Jushiro Konoe. The songs are seamlessly woven into the narrative and don't overwhelm the action. While the plot is derivative it is good example of its type and quite enjoyable. Note that there are some flashback sequences in black and white.

Samurai Hustle

During the reign of the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Yunagaya Domain in the Tohoku region is a small han. But at the han, there is a gold mine. Suddenly, Masaatsu Naito of Yunagaya Domain receives an order to perform Sankin-kotai within 5 days. Sankin-kotai is a custom that requires the daimyo to visit the shogun in Edo. Unfortunately, the time needed to visit the shogun in Edo for Masaatsu Naito is 8 days. Masaatsu Naito also learns he received the order because a high ranking government official wants the gold mine. Also, the expense for Sankin-kotai is high and the Yunagaya Domain is such a small han that it seems impossible to complete. Nevertheless, Masaatsu Naito begins an unexpected operation to complete Sankin-kotai in 5 days.

After the Rain

A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst the trapped travelers.

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...

Samurai Cat: The Movie

The ever versatile Kazuki Kitamura stars as masterless samurai Kyutaro Madarame, a feared swordsman who has fallen on hard times in old Edo. Caught between two warring gangs in an epic battle of cat lovers and dog lovers, he begrudgingly accepts the canine faction's offer to assassinate the opposite leader's beloved pet: an adorable white cat. Yet upon raising his lethal sword, he cannot bring himself to go through with the act, and the cat melts his ronin heart. But before finding peace as a newly minted cat person, the still fearsome Madarame will have to take on both gangs in a classic samurai street brawl.

Ugetsu

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

Harakiri

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

Hana

In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.

Love and Honor

A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.

Incident at Blood Pass

In the Edo period, a nameless ronin accepts an assignment to go to a mountain pass and wait. Near the pass he stops at an inn where a collection of characters gather, including a gang set on stealing shogunate gold that's soon to come over the pass. When the Ronin's assignment becomes clear, to help the gang, he's ordered to kill the inn's residents, including a woman he's rescued from an abusive husband. He's reluctant to murder innocent people; then he learns that the gold shipment is a trap and he's part of a double cross. How he sorts through these divided loyalties tests of his samurai honor, and perhaps of his love for a woman.

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.

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.

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.

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.

Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple

After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school's followers. While Otsu waits, Akemi also seeks him, expressing her desires directly. Meanwhile, Takezo is observed by Sasaki Kojiro, a brilliant young fighter, confident he can dethrone Takezo. After leaving Kyoto in triumph, Takezo declares his love for Otsu, but in a way that dishonors her and shames him. Once again, he leaves alone.

Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island

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.

Gate of Hell

Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.

Bride of White Castle

A young girl, Okimi, falls in love with Kiritaro, a handsome thief disguised as a wealthy young master.

Bull's Eye of Love

Young Lord Genjiro, who abandoned his castle to live as a commoner in Edo, returns home to restore peace amidst disruption over an inheritance dispute. Warned by a fortune-teller that he would die by the sword, the young lord must courageously battle 30 or 40 men who attack without warning. Meanwhile, his love affair with Kocho, a singer who is also a skilled archer.

A Wad of Notes

A lone gambler tries to keep a yakuza family from taking over a festival in Kitakyushu. After away from his hometown for 13 years, Ryuji comes back and saves the town that is becoming run-down from yakuza’s ill deeds.

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.