Young Chokichi on the river bank
It is a historical drama that follows Katsu Kaishu's efforts to surrender Edo Castle bloodlessly in the first year of the Meiji period.
There is an inn named Asano Ya in the port town, and a beautiful woman works there. Every year, during a local festival, travelling artists and teachers gather from all over the country, including sesame oil sellers and organ grinders. The day before the festival, trouble arises with some horses.
Matsusuke Matsuda
An umbrella maker with a shopping addiction finds himself in dire straits when his debts force him to consider selling his attractive, desirable daughter to a suitor she doesn't love.
The tale of Nakayama Yasubei’s duel is famous, even if he in reality probably did not cut down 18 opponents. The story has been related in film, rakugo, kodan and on stage many times, in part because Nakayama later joined the famous 47 Ronin (Chushingura) as Horibe Yasubei. But Makino and Inagaki’s version gives no hint of this more serious future, playing up the thrills and the comedy with Bando’s bravura performance. The multiple pans of Yasubei running to the duel are an exemplar of the experimental flourishes of 1930s Japanese cinema and the final duel, performed virtually like a dance number, is a marker of Makino’s love of rhythm and one of the best sword fights in Japanese film history. The film was originally released under the title Chikemuri Takadanoba (Bloody Takadanobaba) with a length of 57 minutes, but suffered some cuts and a title change when it was re-released in 1952.
Prewar jidaigeki starring Denjiro Okochi
A lost 1934 kaiju film produced by Giant Buddha Movie Factory. It is the first known Japanese film to feature a kaiju-sized character. Though planned as the start of a franchise, no sequels ever manifested. The film itself was likely destroyed by bombing by Allied forces during World War II or carelessness by the studio. The Buddha statue in Shurakuen Park comes to life, rises to his full 33-meter height, and embarks on a journey to save humanity. After passing through tourist attractions in the Chukyo region, the statue flies off to Tokyo. A 1934 magazine article purportedly describes scenes in which the statue "strides over a train," "rests his head on a three-story building," and "makes geisha girls dance on his palm.
A captivating operetta by Masahiro Makino based on Juppensha Ikku's humorous novel "Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige" starring Chiezo Kataoka and Kyoji Sugi.
