Raizô Ichikawa

Period action/melodrama. In 1840, retainers of the Tokugawa Shoganate harshly compete with each other in deciding the successor of the 14th Shogun Iemochi. Among them is Lord Nakano, known as the Baron of Mukōjima. To establish his grandson, Inuchiyo, as the most promising candidate, he makes efforts to get the official permission from Ienari, a retired Shogun, but who is still seizing power in place of sickly Iemochi. For Nakano, the most reliable underling is his daughter-in-law, Lady Omiyo, who has long been gaining Ienari’s favor. But not only because Ienari has problems in his health for his age, but because Omiyo’s servant, Tomi, is indeed a spy sent by Shimada Matazaemon, the rival of Nakano, he cannot advance the scario as he originally planned. Read More »

The womanising master of a run-down dojo hires an unemployed samurai to make himself look good instead of learning the skills himself. He lives to regret this laziness when he falls in love with the daughter of a higher class samurai and is informed on their wedding night that he must defeat her before their marriage can be consumated…Read More »

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In late 1940 the Japanese were anxious to conclude peace in China and to that end sent Colonel Hidaka to inaugurate negotiations. He was mysteriously assassinated, however, when his car was blown up. The General Staff Headquarters in Japan, sends Lieutenant Shiina, a graduate of the famed Nakano School of Spies inaugurated by Colonel Kusanagi, to investigate the matter. Arriving in Shanghai, he disguises himself as a Chinese coolie and sets out to watch for developments, the only clue being a silver dollar found beside what was left of the victim.Read More »

A Buddhist priest becomes also a magician, dedicating himself to the protection of life wherever it’s needed, whereupon he finds himself in direct service of the Queen. Political intrigue tightens around him as it is increasingly assumed that he harbors ulterior motives. Set in Japan’s Nara Era (710 – 794 A.D.), the story is loosely based on Mikado (Empress) Koken-Shotoku and Dokyo, a Yamabushi (mountain warrior monk who practices a rugged, intense form of Vajrayana Buddhism founded by his master, Do-en).Read More »

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The disturbing story of a physician who conducted the first operation with general anaesthetic, and the women in his life who are both so determined to win his love that they volunteer as subjects for his experimentsRead More »

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It was 230 years after the foundation of the temple that a woman killed a pilgrim monk in Dojoji. The accident was recorded in a literature in 11th century and revised into a couple of picture scrolls “Dojoji Engi” in 15th century. Since then, the preachers in Dojoji have repeated ‘etoki’ or picture sermon with an aid of long picturesque scrolls.
The accident became one of the most well-known folklore in Japan. Let’s see the story accordhing to the picture scrolls called “Dojoji Engi”.Read More »

Tokogawa Ieyasu is the ruler of Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete — the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now besieged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu’s ninjas are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo (Raizo Ichikawa) and his fellow Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle in the dark.Read More »

The second part of the ‘Sword’ trilogy by Kenji Misumi is an interesting story about a young man obsessed by kendo. Kokubu is a university student and has just been made captain of the kendo team, just ahead of Kagawa. Kokubu doesn’t think of anything other than kendo, this kind of upsets his fellow students, especially those that look up to him. Kagawa is the worst. He, having just lost the place for captain, gets obsessed by becoming a better kendo swordsman then Kokubu. Around his back, Kagawa is stirring up the anti-Kokubu sentiments in the group. He even charters his sister to seduce him. When the team goes into a trainingcamp led by Kokubu, things go awry…Read More »

PLOT: A samurai seeks revenge and redemption after his family is executed by a rival clan.Read More »