Toshio Chiba

This anthology film consists of nine incidents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when assassins changed the course of Japanese history.

A story of yakuza lynching during the Edo, Meiji, and Showa periods.

Remake of Kurosawa's films Sanshiro Sugata and Sanshiro Sugata part 2. A young man, Sanshiro Sugata, troubled by personal problems, takes up judo. His teacher, Shogoro Yano, is a devout man who has aroused the enmity of the local practitioners of jujitsu, the older and more accepted of the two sports. Sugata uses his newly learned prowess to gain a measure of respect from others; however, Shogoro insists that the sport has a spiritual side, a lesson Sugata has yet to learn. Eventually, in hand-to-hand combat with the father of a young woman he loves, he comes to understand the true meaning of judo.

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....

While performing in a touring kabuki troupe, leading female impersonator Yukinojo comes across the three men who drove his parents to suicide twenty years earlier, and plans his revenge, firstly by seducing the daughter of one of them, secondly by ruining them...

As winds of change sweep Japan, an honest man joins the Shinsenhumi out of admiration for its leader and because he wants to live and die as a samurai. However, as his involvement grows, reality and idealism come into deadly conflict.

Shinjiro is a rambler, a single sword carrying lone wolf with only his fighting skills to protect him. He doesn’t know where his road leads, only that he must find his lost sister, and the ronin who stole her away. The ronin that Shinjiro has sworn to kill. On the road he’ll find his sister and test his blade against his bitter enemy. He also encounters a lost boy searching for his father, a boy he will swear to protect, and find his own lost love, a daughter of the yakuza who draws him into a frenzied and bloody battle between rival yakuza gangs for the control of a frightened town.

Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan. A young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu is manipulated by a ninja master into attempting to assassinate the warlord before he completes his task.

The son of an executioner and the assassin he loved yet murdered learns of his origins, leaving his foster parents to avenge his mother's death.

The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.

An Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six years in search of spiritual enlightenment. Siddartha (Cojoin Hong) turns his back on the old religion when people are starving needlessly and holy rituals include human sacrifices. During his meditations, he is tempted by erotic dancing women, demons, and the evil machinations of his criminal cousin. Devastate to attain the spiritual perfection and become the Buddha. He travels to convert followers by his kindness and wisdom, gaining a multitude of believers when he stops an elephant from crushing a local priest. Buddha of course goes on to become one of the great religious leaders of the world.

Asakichi beats a ganster, Sada, in a physical fight, leading to recognition by Sada's clan boss. When Kotoito, the geisha Asakichi is in love with, is kidnapped by a rival clan and sold to a a house of pleasure, Asakichi and Sada set out to rescue her.

Daiei Film Company's three biggest stars shine in this exciting story about Vice-Shogun Mito Komon's journey to the land of the Ainu. As the shogun's uncle, Lord Mito traveled about the nation seeking to make sure that corruption and injustice did not go unpunished. Traveling together with his two faithful bodyguards Kaku and Suke, they board ship for a voyage to the far northern island of Ezo (modern day Hokkaido) where the indigenous people called "Ainu" live. Somewhat like American Indians, the Ainu had their own culture which had not been subjugated by the Matsumae clan, rulers of the vast island. A revolt is brewing within the leadership of the Ainu, which threatens to destroy their peaceful lives. The elder lord and his retinue are the only ones who can stop this reign of terror!

One of Japan's most popular stories is the tale of Kutsukake Tokijiro, a traveling gambler who finds that he must take care of the wife and child of a yakuza he had been forced by the code of the gamblers to fight man to man. In a brilliant performance from super-star Ichikawa Raizo, with strong support from two of the greats from Toho, Shimura Takashi (7 Samurai) and Aratama Michiyo (Sword of Doom) the heartfelt story reaches new heights. Tokijiro, having learned the true nature of the boss to whom he was obligated for having spent a night and eaten at the gang's headquarters takes up arms against them in a running battle fought across the back roads of the entire nation. Another powerful rendition of this superb story, it is not to be missed!

The story of Sasaki Kojiro, a young swordsman, and his quest to train under master Seigen and develop his own style.

The Dai-bosatsu toge trilogy is based on Kaizan Nakazatos unfinished long series of novels (41 books, written from 1913 to 1941). Set in the last period of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Daibosatsu Toge tells the story of Tsuke Ryunosuke, a nihilistic swordmaster who doesn't hesitate to kill anyone, bad or good.

The exciting story of Jirocho and his yakuza gang that controlled the area of the Tokaido during the latter days of the samurai era. Awesome fighting from Katsu Shintaro as One-Eyed Ishimatsu highlights this great tale taken from Japanese history!

A demon-faced monster seeking revenge appears in the forms of a gigantic ox and a huge spider! The young Genji warrior protects the Fujiwara Clan and the beautiful lady in tragic love! A grand visual epic told with mesmerizing extravagance!

Two amiable samurai wind up on opposite sides of the vendetta between Lord Asano's retainers and the family of Lord Kira that led to the famous revenge of the 47 Ronin.

Fate begins to smile upon young Chonosuke Tokugawa, son of eleventh Tokugawa Shogun, after some twenty years of life as a dependent at his step-brother's castle, when the ruler of the Takatori Clan suddenly dies leaving no heir and despite the protest from Minister Horio, it is decided that young Chonosuke is to succeed as ruler of the clan. Horio determines to murder Chonosuke on his way to Edo so that his own grandchild may rule the Takatori Clan. "Odd" Han, a travelling gambler happens to stop at the inn where Chonosuke's party is staying in secret. The assassins come to attack Chonosuke on the riverbank where he is viewing the fireworks alone but are driven off by Han. Now Chonosuke travels with Han disguised as a gambler during which he begins to learn the hardships of the peasants and is struck with the contrast between the life of a feudal and those whose labour provides his luxurious living.

Legendary yakuza Shimizu Jirocho and his 28 henchmen travel the unruly path from a 'Fire Festival' in Akiba to a decisive battle by the Fujigawa.

Lord Mito Mitsukuni, the vice-shogun of the whole country, left the family estate and went on a trip to various provinces with his students Sukesaburo Sasaki and Kakunoshin Atsumi. At an inn in Sunagawa, Mitsukuni exposed and punished an evil judge who had fallen in love with a townsman's wife. However, on the night he stayed at Nihonmatsu Castle, Mitsukuni found out that this incident was a performance organized especially for him…

During the 1200's, legendary Buddhist monk Nichiren returns from his studies to lead Japan out of moral crisis and prepare to fight Mongol invaders by creating a new form of Buddhism. He runs afoul of the existing Buddhist sects and their government supporters and is persecuted. Can Nichiren persevere before the Mogol fleet reaches Japanese shores?

While transporting a bride-to-be in a closed carriage (kago) while during a thunderstorm, a group of servants and onlookers suddenly come upon an apparition of a ghostly white-draped female figure floating down to the ground. As she turns to face the crowd, the woman reveals the disfigured right side of her face. As the procession stands in utter horror, the ghost then takes flight again and down a side street. After the shock wears off, the bride is checked on and everyone is safe in the group. Once the wedding party finally arrives at the groom's home, they apologize for the delay... and proceed to open the kago, only to realize that the bride-to-be is now missing... and all that's left in the carriage is a single white snake slithering about.

From the pen of Yoshikawa Eiji comes this exciting story. The Naruto Strait separates Tokushima from the islands of Awaji and Honshu. On Tokushima the mad lord dreams of conquest and forges a bloody revolt against the Tokugawa shogunate. A mysterious swordsman named Noriyuki Gennojo has crossed Naruto’s waters to uncover the Awa clan’s secrets. He puts his life on the line after finding a testament of Awa’s secrets, written in blood by a dying man. Joining Noriyuki are a female ninja who loves him, and the beautiful daughter of an enemy who’s sworn to kill him. Awa’s defenders willl stop at nothing to prevent the blood-soaked letter from reaching the shogun.

Ishimatsu of Mori, from his early days leading up to his joining with Shimizu Jirocho, Boss of the Tokaido where he made his mark in history through his tragic end this is the story of a beloved and loyal henchman.

A remake of Kaidan Saga yashiki (1953).

Early film directed by Kenji Misumi.

A power struggle in the fief of Okazaki causes the death of Namiji, a nobleman's daughter. As her fiancé seeks revenge, he finds Namiji's cat helping him. Co-starring Shintarô Katsu and Takako Irie.

Early film by Kenji Misumi.

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.

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.