Hideyo Amamoto

Hideyo Amamoto

Birth : 1926-01-02, Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Death : 2003-03-23

History

Hideyo Amamoto (天本 英世 Amamoto Hideyo) was a prolific Japanese actor from the Wakamatsu ward of Kitakyūshū best known for portraying Dr. Shinigami in the original Kamen Riderseries as well as many other characters in tokusatsu films and theGodzilla series. Amamoto also used the pseudonym of Eisei Amamoto for most of his career, Eisei being a misreading of the kanji in his real name, Hideyo. He died on March 23, 2003 from acute pneumonia at the age of 77.

Profile

Hideyo Amamoto

Movies

Miss
(archive footage)
A narrative feature made from a collage of clips from various films around the world.
Kamen Rider: The First
Dr. Shinigami
Takeshi Hongo is a man of extraordinary intellect, but his promising future is about to be maliciously snuffed out by and evil secret society known as Shocker. Reinvented against his will and transformed into a powerful experimental cyborg, Hongo will forever be known as Kamen Rider The First.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Prof. Hirotoshi Isayama the Prophet
Godzilla has become a distant memory for Japan when the destruction of a US submarine raises alarms for Admiral Tachibana. His estranged daughter Yuri investigates the legend of the guardian monsters, who must rise to protect Japan against the vengeful spirits within Godzilla that seek to destroy both the nation and its people for the suffering they inflicted in the Pacific conflict.
Hakata Movie: Chinchiromai
A musical- style comedy movie set in Hakata.
Oshikiri
Oshikiri is a loner who has bad memories of his childhood and his grandfather, a brilliant scientist. He returns to his grandfather's mansion to try to remember what really happened to him. He finds a portal to a parallel universe, which his grandfather had originally discovered. From this portal comes his doppelganger dressed in a cloak and gas mask, who kills his fellow students with an ancient axe.
Keizoku: Unsolved Mysteries - Beautiful Dreamer
Graduating at the top of her class, elite detective candidate Jun Shibata is transferred to the section that handles cases deemed "unsolvable" by the department. Her partner, though a well-respected and experienced detective, has grown complacent after unsuccesfully pursuing these cases that many consider an exercise in futility. With her upper class breeding, her colleagues don't expect much from her either, but she suprises them all with her motivation and astounding powers of deduction. Well-constructed mysteries and colorful characters abound in this stylish and edgy police drama.
F
A love story between a timid woman and frustrated ballet dancer.
三毛猫ホームズの黄昏ホテル
The second TV movie Obayashi Nobuhiko directed based on Akagawa Jiro's Mikeneko Holmes series.
Weather Woman
Chairman Shimamori
Keiko, a young, newly hired weather woman, is eager to give her channel's flagging ratings a boost. She decides a panty shot might do the trick, so during her forecast she lifts her skirt, thereby capturing the attention and the hearts of viewers. Keiko's stunt creates such a stir of excitement over the weather report that viewers begin religiously turning in to see what she'll do next. However, this showboating routine earns the ire of Kaori, the beautiful and ambitious daughter of JTV's chairman. Jealous of her success and aching to take over the weather report, Kaori is willing to do just about anything to get what she wants.
Eko Eko Azarak II: Birth of the Wizard
Master of Saiga
In Meiji-era Japan, a village of witches and wizards is slaughtered. Years later, an archaeologist discovers a mummy from the village, which reanimates, murders, then possesses his assistant. This evil spirit is now searching for Misa, who is protected by a survivor of the original massacre, known only as Saiga.
Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Loot
Yûji and Kosaku are hired to track down an old man. But when he suddenly dies, his granddaughter surfaces with a map to his buried fortune, which the yakuza and a dirty cop are determined to find.
August in the Water
Sakai
A teenage girl gains supernatural power after an accident and comes to understand her place in the universe.
Marehito
Voice of Marehito
A soldier, swaddled in body armor, guards the border of his country. This is not an area of tension; nothing warlike happens here; all that comes from across the border over in the enemy land are radio waves carrying the speeches of its leader, Marehito played by Hideyo Amamoto (Yojimbo, Kamen Rider). The soldier's only duty is to monitor these speeches, and he is sick to the teeth of the dictator's raving. In his quarters is a female android, a 'comfort woman' issued him by the government. He lives quietly with his green-eyed ILYA Type 6, and is responsible for his desert border area. That is the whole of this soldier's life. One day a military official pays a call on his quarters. There has been a shuffle of personnel in the high echelons, and a slight change in policy has been made. The ILYA Type 6 is to be upgraded.
The Fighting King
A drama filled battle that goes beyond acting unfolds!
Black Market Emperor: Silver and Gold 2
Tetsuo was suddenly told goodbye by Ginji. As for the farewell, only one of the tables was a real wad of bills and a full trunk. And, in that, there is a letter saying "Replace all this with the real thing!" Tetsuo is at a loss and one day meets Emi who works at the gallery. She endures the gallery owner of an amorous artist and aspires to be a painter. Tetsuo learns from her that a painting of Cezanne with a market value of 600 million yen has been sold to a Japanese person, and contacts the owner, Domon, the president of Teijin Bank. Inspire the desires of collection enthusiasts and imitation art dealers, and come up with a large-scale money game that opens up ambitions!
Black Market Emperor: Silver and Gold
A man Tetsuo (Kosuke Toyohara) met at a racetrack offered him a job of 100,000 yen per diem, and although he was suspicious, he was urged by the amount of money and decided to take over. What's more, all he has to do is carry a huge cardboard box to the man's apartment. The contents of the cardboard are 1 billion yen in cash. It is said that this will be used to make a back loan. In front of the apartment, men line up for the money. Who on earth is Ginji Hirai and what is his motive? And what kind of fate will Tetsuo be involved in from now on ...?
Kazuo Umezu's Terror Zone: Horror!
High School Jingi 2: Taihen yoku dekimashita
Based on the comic book series by Shuushi Mizuho.
Yamai wa kikara: Byôin e ikô 2
A comedy about a young woman who has terminal cancer.
Wangan Midnight
Direct to video adaptation of the comic by Michiharu Kusunoki.
My Soul Is Slashed
Servant
A hospital accidentally gives a man Count Dracula's blood while trying to save his life. A year later, he's back from the dead, trying to right the wrongs of his life while trying to resist the urge to become a vampire.
Rainbow Kids
A wealthy matriarch is kidnapped by a gang of three. She is insulted by the amount of money they propose to demand as ransom, and a strange interchange of roles takes place.
Female Neo-Ninjas
Grandpa
Three cute, sexy ninjas, around the age of 20, have been in training, building their powers for some vague future threat. Their destined mission becomes apparent when a handsome ninja from 400 years past drops from the sky into the hot tub of on of the girls. He comes with news of a grave threat: an evil industrialist has apparently joined forces with UFOs to take over Japan. The only solution, it seems, lies in the special talents of the three girls - notable as much for their martial arts as their skimpy costumes.
Ronin-gai
Biwa player
Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attempt to regain their honor by defending a brothel from a hostile militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.
Go Nagai's Scary Zone 2: Senki
Nagai Go no Kowai Zone 2: Senki is a Japanese direct-to-video horror film released in 1990 by the Bandai Media Division. It's the sequel of the film Nagai Go no Kowai Zone: Kaiki and just like the first film, it was also directed Go Nagai and Hikari Hayakawa. It contains two stories, "Vampire Hunting" and "Concrete Avenger".
Hong Kong Paradise
Youmei Kaku
Set in decadent, chaotic Hong Kong and Tokyo, the film tells the story of a young woman caught up in a mysterious turn of events. A young tour guide, 23-year-old Mamiko who's had her heart set on Paris, finds herself swept off to booming Hong Kong where she is thrown into the midst of a high-profile burglary case.
Big Boobs Buster
Dirty Old Goat
Another buxom bombshell falls prey to the masked vigilante, the Big Boobs Buster! Rumor has it that the vengeful villainess was once a mild mannered student ridiculed and rejected for her small bust size. Now, the spurned woman gets even by donning a ridiculous costume and taunting her well-endowed nemeses. Will bouncy coeds across the land be forced under cover? Is any bosomy beauty safe from the Big Boobs Buster?
Monster Heaven: Ghost Hero
A major electronics company on the verge of developing technology to create a 3D image that can be physically handled is thrown into turmoil when a murderous demon is unleashed in the headquarters office. Can the slow witted son of the company founder and a punk rock band of monsters (don’t ask) stop the evil forces before the employees are butchered?
Bungakusho Satsujin Jiken: Oinaru Jyoso
A young doujinshi writer doesn't win the literary prize award, and ends up killing the selection committee.
Kaito Ruby
Grocery Store Owner
Toru Hayashi is an unremarkable bachelor who lives with his mother, until one day a young woman named Rumi moves in in the apartment upstairs. Rumi is a self-proclaimed master thief, but she needs socially awkward Toru's help to actually kickstart her so-called career.
Mighty Jack
The organization Mighty Jack is formed to combat the criminal syndicate known as "Q", and are given a large array of advanced weapons, chief among them being a high-tech submarine. Harold Hatari is abducted by Q, and Mighty Jack is dispatched to rescue him. Hatari is interrogated and threatened with blinding lights, but the Mighty Jack crew rescue him in the nick of time. Later, Q is discovered to be using "hot ice" (water that remains solid at room temperature) to create weapons and a secret ocean base disguised as an iceberg (though it's not precisely clear how hot ice could be a major world threat). Q then attempts to take over the Mighty Jack sub.
The Red Spectacles
Moongaze Ginji
Summer 1995. With the arrival of the "Age of Cats", the former Kerberos police unit is now disbanded. However one member remains, a stray dog who returns to his old roost after a three-years exile. This wild dog no longer has a master, but now the "Young Lady of Fate" will guide him on his journey.
Agi, the Fury of Evil
Onmyoji
A samurai warrior is terrorised by the demon Agi.
Mahjong Horoki
Hachimaki
A mahjong neophyte loses everything to game master only to hone his skills, take on all challenges and plan for an ultimate revenge match.
Farewell to the Ark
Key maker
A surreal, isolated village sees its inhabitants gradually leave behind their mutual traditions and superstitions as they leave for the city. Among them are two cousins who love each other and who get into a quarrel with other villagers.
Mister, Missus, Miss Lonely
Ryuichi Shimomura
Two men and a woman plan to steal 1.5 Billion yen.
Blood Type: Blue
UFOs appear on Earth, and people who actually see them suddenly find that their blood has turned blue. Soon panic and hysteria result in the new "blue-bloods" being persecuted by the rest of mankind, and eventually certain all-too-familiar measures begin to be taken against them.
Message from Space
Dark
The peaceful planet of Jillucia has been nearly wiped out by the Gavanas, whose leader takes orders from his mother rather than the Emperor. King Kaiba sends out eight Liabe holy seeds, each to be received by a chosen one to defend the Gavanas. Each recipient, ranging from hardened General Garuda to Gavana Prince Hans to young Terrans Meia, Kido, and Aaron all have different reactions to being chosen.
J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai vs. Gorenger
General Sahara
While investigating a UFO in the Sky Ace, J.A.K.Q. is caught off guard by the return of Iron Claw, with the Big Four now leading the remnants of Crime and the Black Cross Army.
The Adventure of Robocon
Feature film adventure of Robocon and his pals.
Battle Cry
Yosaku
During the military phase of the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Sentaro joins a local militia loyal to the Tokugawa Shogunate in order to fight Imperial troops. But Sentaro's friendship with a pickpocket, who switches sides whenever it suits his needs, leads to complications that could cost Sentaro his life as they infiltrate enemy lines.
Without Complaint
Based on the novel of the same name by Seichô Matsumoto.
Lupin the Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy
Assassin at Orphanage
The Maccherone organization is out to get a priceless national treasure. But when they see third-generation cat-burglar Lupin as an obstacle, countless assassins are sent to kill him on sight and kidnap his girl Fujiko! Can Lupin get the loot before the Maccherone gang, rescue Fujiko, and stay alive at the same time?
Kamen Rider vs. Shocker
Dr. Shinigami
Professor Daidōji has developed a gravity machine called the GX Device. Unfortunately, Shocker wants it; so they attack the professor and destroy his laboratory, but come home empty-handed. Shocker's agents find out that the plans for the GX Device are with Daidōji's daughter, who is celebrating her birthday. Now the Kamen Riders, along with FBI agent Kazuya Taki, must protect Daidōji's daughter and prevent Shocker from obtaining the plans.
The Wolves
After going to prison for killing the boss of the Kanno gang, Seji Iwahashi (Tatsuya Nakadai) gets released early -- only to find that his former gang has merged with the Kannos. But with bitter resentments lingering on both sides, how long will it be before the bloodshed begins anew? Set in 1926 Japan, this serpentine crime thriller from director Hideo Gosha also stars Toshio Kurosawa and Isao Natsuyagi as Iwahashi's closest ally.
The Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa Regional Officer
The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.
Fate Deals the Card of Death
Seijiro and Shizue meet in Niigata and fall in love. Seijiro has to go back to Tokyo soon after, and they promise each other to meet again a year later. However, Seijiro gets jailed for five years. Unable to find him, Shizue gets married to a yakuza boss who can help her family business.
All Monsters Attack
Toy Consultant Shinpei Inami
Ichiro Miki is a child living in the industrial district of Kawasaki, where his parents' constant struggle to make ends meet often leaves the schoolboy alone. Constantly teased by a bully nicknamed Gabara, his only friends are toy consultant Shinpei and fellow classmate Sachiko. Ichiro turns to escapist dreams of Monster Island where he befriends the equally bullied Minilla.
Portrait of Hell
The story, set in the Heian era, depicts the conflict between Korean painter Yoshihide (Nakadai) and his Japanese patron, the cruel and egotistical daimyo Horikawa (Nakamura). It is based on the 1918 short story Hell Screen by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.
Red Lion
Dr. Gensai
Impersonating an Imperial Army officer by wearing a "red lion's mane", a poor servant returns to his village after 10 years of absence to end the village's suffering caused by corrupt officials.
Konto 55: The Weaknesses of the Century
Sawada
A Toho film featuring the comedy duo Konto 55, (コント55号), comprised of comedians Kinichi Hagimoto and Jiro Sakagami.
The Human Bullet
Father of Him
A soldier has been in the Japanese military for the entirety of WWII, and in that time, his dedication to the army has never faltered. However, as the war draws to a close, his commanding officers become increasingly desperate and push their men to ever more absurd extremes. The ridiculousness of the orders from above peak when the hero of the story is assigned to drive a one-man submarine straight into the hull of an enemy battleship.
Kill!
Gendayu Shimada
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
The Tigers: The World is Waiting For Us
Heraclues
An alien spaceship crashes on Earth due to the powerful musical energy emanating from Group Sounds band The Tigers. The Tigers have to protect an alien princess who escaped from the ship and became obsessed with their lead singer Julie. Can they save the day by performing their megahit songs like "Mona Lisa's Smile" and "Seaside Bound"?
Japan's Longest Day
Captain Takeo Sasaki
Following the detonation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese military and the government clash over the demand from the Allies for unconditional surrender. Minister of the Army Anami leads the military officers who propose to fight on, even to the death of every Japanese citizen. Emperor Hirohito, however, joins with his ministers in asking the unthinkable, the peaceful surrender of Japan. When the military plots a coup to overthrow the Emperor's civilian government, Anami must face the choice between his desires and loyalty to his Emperor.
King Kong Escapes
Dr. Who
An adaptation of the Rankin/Bass cartoon, "The King Kong Show". King Kong is brought in by the evil Dr. Who to dig for Element X in a mine when the robot Mechani-Kong is unable to do the task. This leads to the machine and the real Kong engaging in a tremendous battle atop Tokyo Tower.
The Killing Bottle
First Murderer
In Hong Kong an International Secret Police (ISP) Agent is murdered while investigating ZZZ, a group bent on assassinating the Prime Minister of Buddhabal. ISP Agents Carter and Kitami are assigned to the case. When the Prime Minister arrives in Tokyo for a friendship visit, Carter and Kitami are on hand to protect him. On hand, too, are assorted ZZZ blackguards. Several attempts on the Prime Minister's life fail, until finally the ZZZ introduces a new device designed to eliminate not only the Prime Minister but the ISP Agents as well: THE KILLING BOTTLE, then, is a pocket-sized container filled with a substance that can expand to thousands of times its size and throttle its victim, then disappear leaving only the corpse.
The Age of Assassins
Shogo Mizorogi
A nerdy young college instructor named Shinji Kikyo returns home one day to find himself the target of a mad assassin. Surviving somewhat miraculously, he fends off other assassins and with the help of reporter Keiko Tsurumaki and car mechanic Bill Otomo, eventually discovering that a "population control" association is really an assassination squad led by Shogo Mizorogi, who has been training patients of a mental asylum to become killers.
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
Red Bamboo Naval Officer
Searching for his brother, Ryota stows away on a boat belonging to a criminal alongside two other teenagers. The group shipwrecks on Letchi island and discover the Infant Island natives have been enslaved by a terrorist organization controlling a crustacean monster. Finding a sleeping Godzilla, they decide to awaken him to defeat the terrorists and liberate the natives.
Rise Against the Sword
Heiroku
Farmer Abare Goemon is confronted by brigand-like samurai. He raises an army of farmers to fight them and does so brilliantly. When Lord Asakura sees the success Goemon has achieved, he attempts to recruit him to fight in a conflict between Asakura and another clan. Goemon refuses, and Lord Asakura sets out to destroy him.
What's Up, Tiger Lily?
Cobra Man
In comic Woody Allen's film debut, he took the Japanese action film "International Secret Police: Key of Keys" and re-dubbed it, changing the plot to make it revolve around a secret egg salad recipe.
Adventure in Kigan Castle
Granny the Old Witch
Osami, a soldier-of-fortune from Japan, joins with priest Ensai in a quest for the ashes of the great Buddha. Their journey takes them to a kingdom in the Middle East, where they find intrigue and romance in the court of an evil king.
The Sword of Doom
Shuzen Kamio
Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.
Cash Calls Hell
Before leaving prison, Oida uncomfortably enters into an agreement with his cell mate: in exchange for a half-share of 30,000,000 yen, he is to assassinate three strangers given to him on a list. However, upon meeting his first potential victim, Oida has second thoughts. Yet, even as he tries to back out, the body count starts climbing. Oida must now try to alert the people on his list of their impending danger, and find out why they are being targeted in the first place.
Key of Keys
Numaguchi
Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi is the fourth instalment of five films in the "Kokusai himitsu keisatsu" series. The film is a parody of James Bond-style spy movies, and was used by Woody Allen, along with footage from the third instalment, in one of his first films, "What's Up, Tiger Lily?", in which the original dialogue is redubbed in English to make the plot about a secret egg salad recipe.
Fort Graveyard
Shiga
Charged with insubordination for punching a superior, Sergeant Kosugi is shipped to China in the last desperate days of the Second World War. His commander, Captain Sakuma, is vicious and dictatorial. Sakuma places Kosugi in charge of training for combat what once was the military band. Kosugi must somehow prepare his inept soldiers for the rigors of combat.
Samurai Assassin
Matazaburo Hagiwara
Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.
Kwaidan
(segment "Chawan no naka") (uncredited)
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Princess Salno's aide
A meteor lands in Kurobe Valley as detective Shindo is assigned to protect Princess Salno from assassination. She emerges under the guise of a Venusian prophetess and catches the attention of journalist Naoko and Mothra's fairies by predicting a powerful space monster's arrival. The infant Mothra must convince Godzilla and Rodan to set aside their hatred of humanity or face the monster alone.
Could I But Live
Could I But Live
Dogora
Maki the Safecracker
A floating amorphous life-form descends from the atmosphere to consume carbon in the form of diamonds.
Oh, Bomb!
Tetsu
During the mayoral election, two ex-prisoners decide to replace the lucky pen of an annoying candidate with a mini-bomb.
Atragon
High Priest of Mu
The legendary empire of the lost continent of Mu reappears to threaten the world with domination. While countries unite to resist, an isolated World War II Captain has created the greatest warship ever seen, and possibly the surface world's only defense.
The Elegant Life of Mr. Everyman
A salaryman's drunken ravings in public attract the attention of journalists who coerce him into telling them his life's story.
Lost World Of Sinbad
Granny the Witch
An adventurous and daring sailor sets sail to the castle of an ailing king to stop an evil premier, hungry for power and wealth, from succeeding the throne and marrying the king's beautiful daughter. Along the way, with the help of some courageous rebels and a lustful wizard, he must overcome the powers of a bewitching witch, a band of ruthless pirates, and the castle's Imperial guards. He must also free those kidnapped into slavery and restore the king's reputation.
Matango
Skulking Transitional Matango (uncredited)
Five vacationers and two crewmen become stranded on a tropical island near the equator. The island has little edible food for them to use as they try to live in a fungus covered hulk while repairing Kessei's yacht. Eventually they struggle over the food rations which were left behind by the former crew. Soon they discover something unfriendly there...
Warring Clans
A brave, highly principled warrior resigns his post as a body guard to the head of a powerful clan after he learns that his employers have been smuggling arms to the enemy. The remaining samurai try in vain to coerce him back, but their efforts are thwarted by crooked warriors who launch an attack...
47 Ronin
The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. The ronin avenged their master's honor after patiently waiting and planning for over a year to kill Kira. In turn, the ronin were themselves forced to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder.
Operation Sewer Rats
(uncredited)
Gorath
Man in Bar
In 1980, a giant planetoid named Gorath is discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. Even though it is smaller than Earth, its mass is huge enough to crush the Earth and destroy it. A mission sent to observe Gorath is destroyed after all the orbiting ships are drawn into the planetoid. A later mission is sent to observe and the crew barely leaves before suffering the same fate. However Astronaut Tatsuo Kanai is left in a catatonic state due to his near death experience. The Earth's scientists then come up with a desperate plan to build giant rockets at the South Pole to move Earth out of Gorath's path before it is too late.
Blood on the Sea
Four fishermen friends are caught up in a piracy plot.
A Night in Hong Kong
Romantic melodrama set in contemporary Hong Kong, Japan and Laos. Hiroshi Tanaka (Takarada) is a Japanese journalist on assignment in Hong Kong who meets and falls in love with Wu Li Hung (Ming). He proposes to Wu Li but she rejects him because of her distaste for mixed marriages (her mother was Japanese but deserted her family and returned to Japan during WWII). Tanaka locates Wu Li’s mother and unsuccessfully tries to reunite them, but eventually Wu Li accepts his proposal. A joyous Tanaka flies off to Laos to finish an assignment but on the eve of his wedding he is killed there.
Yojimbo
Yahachi
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.
Blueprint of Murder
Yuzo Kayama plays the protagonist, a whale-hunting cannon manufactuing supervisor, whose brother is an automobile tester for Komatsu Motors which has a fatal accident. As his brother investigates the "Accident" with his old college friend (makoto Sato), now a reporter... They stumble across murder, espionage and cover-ups. High-class night club, femme fatale, and a "Blueprint of Murder" all adds up to a bigger plot then first expected.
Daredevil in the Castle
Interpreter
During the raging war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the swordsman Mohei (whose family has been completely decimated) is recruited by Toyotomi to overcome the seat of power, Osaka Castle. Mohei's daredevil skills will be put to severe tests.
Get 'em All
Weapon Dealer
Gang of robbers quarrel about the loot, but when one of them gets killed, his younger brother seeks them out to ice them one by one.
Westward Desperado
Follow-up to Desperado Outpost (1959) sees Japanese soldiers seeking the flag of a defeated regiment in China.
The Secret of the Telegian
Men are being murdered by a psycho called "The Telegian," who uses a matter-transmitting device to locate his victims.
The Gambling Samurai
Tomimatsu
Chuji Kunisada returns to his home village to find that Jubei Matsui, the corrupt magistrate, has been responsible for virtually destroying Kunisada's family. A final tragedy leads Kunisada to join with a band of rogues living in the forest in robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, always with an eye toward avenging himself on Magistrate Matsui.
The Last Gunfight
Ichino
Japanese police detective Saburo Fujioka is suspected of corruption, demoted, and sent to the city of Kojin. Kojin is the scene of fierce fighting between rival gangs. Fujioka is assigned to investigate the death of the wife of gangster Tetsuo Maruyama of the Kozuka gang, probably at the hands of one of the Oka gang. During a gang gunfight, Maruyama is rescued by Detective Fujioka and the two become friends. But Maruyama insists on avenging his wife's murder, even if it means conflict with his new friend.
The Three Treasures
Spectator at Gods' Dance
The legend of the birth of Shintoism. In Fourth Century Japan, the Emperor's son Ouso expects to succeed his father on the throne, but Otomo, the Emperor's vassal, prefers Ouso's stepbrother, and conspires to have Ouso die on a dangerous mission he has contrived. But Ouso prevails in the mission and returns to his father's castle under a new name, Prince Yamato Takeru. Otomo plots to have the Prince sent into even greater danger, but Otomo is unaware that the gods have favored the Prince and the outcome is far from what any of them expected.
Samurai Saga
(uncredited)
Edmund Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, transplanted to Japan. A poet-warrior with an oversized nose (matched only by his great heart) loves a lady. But she sees him only as a friend, so he helps another man to woo her by giving him the poetry of his own heart.
The Big Boss
Ryuta and Mineo Komatsu are brothers, both yakuza (gangsters). Mineo, although complicit in crime, even murder, wants out of the gangster life, hoping to become a successful singer instead. Ryuta loves his brother, but Mineo's possible defection presents problems for the gang, and Ryuta realizes he must kill his brother if he wants to survive.
Temptation
Kyozo Ikegami
Shokichi, the owner of the clothing store, lives with his daughter Hideko and plans to open an art gallery. One day, Hideko led a handsome art student, Shohei and a poor painter, Sohei. Sohei’s painting was praised by a great printer at the completion ceremony of the art gallery. Since he became successful as a painter, but he looked quite indifferent. Around the same time, Shohei’s sister brought Sohei’s pictures to the gallery and Shokichi noticed that she was a daughter of his first love.
Twenty-Four Eyes
Schoolteacher Hisako Oishi struggles to imbue her students with a positive view of the world despite the fact that war is looming.