Masashige Narusawa

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Set against the dramatic backdrop of the tragic downfall of an old aristocratic family, it depicts the conflicts among three men revolving around the beautiful and eerily alluring Lady Yuki. This is a film adaptation of the novel of the same title by Seiichi Funahashi. The screenplay and direction were handled by Masashige Narusawa, while cinematography was done by Tōichirō Narushima. Although the film was shot and completed in 1968, Toei, then fully committed to yakuza films and ero-guro fare, found it difficult to distribute, and it languished unreleased with no premiere date in sight. It was eventually loaned out for theatrical release as a supporting feature to Nikkatsu’s song-driven mainstream film Erimo Misaki (1975), produced after the studio’s shift to Roman Porno. Commercially, however, it was a complete failure.Read More »

Fukazawa Shino is a prostitute in the late Meiji period. Shino was deceived by Tatsukichi and sold.
One day Shino came to like a thief (Yoshioka) who came as a customer.

Based on a novel by Kafū Nagai.Read More »

Review from Takuma_964 @ Letterboxd wrote:
An absolutely astonishing art house ninkyo yakuza film. Wandering gambler runs into a young swindler woman working with old man. They are both arrested by detective. A year later gambler is staying with gangster boss when he comes across that woman and her partner again. Boss lusts for both her and his own daughter, while the boss’s crazy yakuza brother loves his daughter, who, in turn, watches the player and wants to destroy the people standing in her way. And here lies one of the film’s remarkable departures from the standard ninkyo efforts: it doesn’t have a third party villain, nor a clear distinction between good and evil.Read More »

Review from Takuma_964 @ Letterboxd wrote:
An absolutely astonishing art house ninkyo yakuza film. Wandering gambler runs into a young swindler woman working with old man. They are both arrested by detective. A year later gambler is staying with gangster boss when he comes across that woman and her partner again. Boss lusts for both her and his own daughter, while the boss’s crazy yakuza brother loves his daughter, who, in turn, watches the player and wants to destroy the people standing in her way. And here lies one of the film’s remarkable departures from the standard ninkyo efforts: it doesn’t have a third party villain, nor a clear distinction between good and evil. It’s bursting with romantic emotion and wrenched with gritty realism, shot with striking black and white compositions, and explodes into shocking carnage. It has lengthier, more detailed gambling scenes than any other yakuza film I’ve seen. And it has a heartbreakingly beautiful score. You could call it the Ashes of Time of ninkyo yakuza films. A masterpiece!Read More »