Mari Shiraki

This show marks the return of the jidaigeki series "Hissatsu Shigotonin," which has had several seasons between the 1970s and the 1990s. The franchise came back in 2007 with a one-shot special, but this is its first full season since 1992. Makoto Fujita returns as the protagonist Nakamura Mondo, one of the "shigotonin," a team of hired assassins.

A violent fire one evening kills a husband and wife couple and burns their Kazusaya rice shop to ashes. Their daughter Sachi manages to make it out alive, but she claims the fire was set by henchmen from the rival Harimaya shop who abducted her sister. After policeman Watanabe Shogoro hears her story, he begins investigating the case, but desperate to avenge her parents' deaths, Sachi later enlists the aid of a mysterious woman who offers to kill Harimaya for a price. Watanabe soon discovers that there is more to this case than meets the eye.

When an artist dies, the official cause of death is judged to be a stroke, but his daughter suspects foul play. She recruits the services of an assassin, who by chance encounters an old friend...

A middle-aged journalist looking to make her big break. After working the same beat on the "women's page", Yumiko gets promoted to editorials.

Fifth movie in the Hissatsu (Sure Death!) Series. At the behest of a corrupt bureaucrat, a mysterious band of murderers wage a bloody battle against three deadly assassins.

Based on the comic book by Tatsuo Kanai

Based on Edogawa Ranpo Award winner "Hanazono no Meikyu" by Yoko Yamazaki. A serial killing occurs at a port town brothel.

Having been demoted for failing to prevent the murder of one of his superiors, Mondo is startled by a group of masked thugs who are soon attacked in turn by an unseen force. He begins to suspect the work of assassins, but whose side are they on?

Third movie in the Hissatsu (Sure Death!) Series. Chasing the killer of a lawman, a group of assassins fall foul of a group of blackmarket financiers who dispatch their own hitmen to dispose of them.

When the Shogunates greatest secret is stolen, the fate of the nation hangs in the balance. The Shogunate sends an incompetent cop, Tanaka, to Kyoto to act as a stalking horse. Hoping the thieves will kill Tanaka and the Ninja Spies will kill the thieves. But what the Shogunate doesn't realise is that Tanaka's even more incompetent assistant Mondo is in fact the leader of a gang of revengers for hire, there motto is "Sure Death" (or your money cheerfully refunded). Mondo doesn't know that everyone knows about the secret, but they all think he does. Poor Mondo, he not only has to deal with crazed Shogunate extremists, oddball ninjas, crooks who work for the Emperor and bicycle riding foreign death squads. He also have to deal with a wife and a crazy mother-in-law!

A group of seemingly ordinary merchants is really a band of assassins for hire. When they discover that all the assassins in Edo are being killed they must act quickly to find the culprit.

A boy transfers into a new high school in the big city. He gets bullied, but meets a pretty girl. He tries to win her heart, but rivals abound. Debut video release from Pantsu no ana, a subsection of "BOMB" magazine.

Meet Saotome Ai, a high school girl from a well-to-do family. When she was a small child, she was in an accident that resulted in a young boy being permanently scarred between his eyes while she emerged unscathed. The young boy saved her life and although she never knew who he was, she never forgot him. Meet Taiga Makoto, a young man with a scar between his eyes who has had a rough life, but has emerged as a rough, tough bully - a thug and a brawler and about as rude as they come - all of which he blames on the incident that gave him his scar. When Ai and Makoto run into each other again, Ai feels guilt for what Makoto has become and decides to intervene and rehabilitate him. But is he a diamond in the rough, or just a bully?

The great Daimyo enlists the aid of the three Shadow Hunters in ensuring the delivery of an illegal cannon in this sequel to Toshio Masuda's bloody adaptation of the manga by Takao Saito. Despite the Shadow Hunters's remarkable skill, this mission is no walk in the park, and in order to survive they must face a relentless army of ninjas and female warriors willing to sacrifice their lives to disrupt the delivery and claim the cannon for themselves.

A young woman, an experienced gambler, enters a nunnery to atone for some of her father's crimes. When the nunnery runs into debt, she resorts to gambling and challenges the racketeer threatening to sell the place to a game.

The Silk Hat Boss becomes involved in a car imports business during his trip to Atami.

Wild young people kidnap a wealthy woman and she becomes attracted to one of them. When she tells the man that she is the mistress of a religious leader, he and his posse make plans to rob her partner.

The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who wants to learn the new art of judo. A wise teacher reveals to Sanshiro that judo is not merely a means of combat nor a demonstration of physical skill, but an art which reveals the artist to himself.

Oryu searches for blind child she left behind and get involved in a Yakuza turf war that takes place in the Tokyo Theater.

Yakuza movie directed by Yasuharu Hasebe

Film from 1969.

Japanese “kayo” film based on the song by Mina Aoe.

A local yakuza boss of a silk farming town shows kindness to the wandering gambler Oryu by letting her stay at his residence. When a rival yakuza gang, who wants to take over the town's businesses, murders him, Oryu is obliged to protect his children and business.

Love-hate drama of three beautiful sisters in Ooku in Edo Castle.

The desires and pretensions of woman of the Ginza are depicted.

The three henchmen join forces to challenge the brutal gang that is trying to control the city of Izu in Shizuoka during the early Showa period. Representatives of three different yakuza gangs - Tatsuo Umemiya, Tomisaburo Wakayama and Koji Tsuruta celebrate male friendship and male chivalry in action.

During the Taisho Period (early 1920's) a monastery of warrior monks was split apart between two factions. One of these factions was led by the Chief Abbot and his protege, Shinkai. When Shinkai intercedes in a fight between a rival priest and some ruffians it leads to his expulsion from the order. This story introduced us to the character of Shinkai, a "Karate Priest" and his long running feud with Ryotatsu, his greatest rival. There are touches of humor as Shinkai breaks all the commandments of a priest, including fighting, gambling, and running after women. All this leads to an awesome conclusion as he must destroy a gang of yakuza aided by corrupt priests. The fighting is fast and furious as Ryotatsu waits to see if Shinkai can live long enough to face him in the ultimate test! /Winterheart of CG

A group of pirates sail the treacherous Pacific ocean in search for wealth.

Hana to ryu: Toshio Masuda directed movie

An unofficial sequel to Million Dollar Match (1961) which also starred Koji Wada as a young energetic boxer. This story deals more with betting action surrounding a boxing match, concentrating mostly on the high-powered Yakuza gambling dens.

Final installment of THE WANDERING GUITARIST series.

A crime film released in 1962

In the nine part Wataridori series (1959-1962), Kobayashi played a wanderer on Japan’s back roads with most of the accoutrements of a Western hero, from a horse to fringes, guitar and even a trusty bullwhip.

Strife between competing lumber mills.

Japanese Western set at a mountain ranch in Kyushu.

Seventh in the nine-film series, "The Wandering Guitarist".

Nakata (Keiichiro Akagi) is a nihilistic young buck who is willing to do anything to get money in his pockets. As he knocks back a couple drinks that he knows he won't be able to afford, a former marksman-turned-bad, Ishioka approaches him. Ishioka is looking for an unaffiliated hit-man who is willing to handle some business. Nakata is just the right man for the job.

In the nine part Wataridori series (1959-1962), Kobayashi played a wanderer on Japan’s back roads with most of the accoutrements of a Western hero, from a horse to fringes, guitar and even a trusty bullwhip.

In this fifth episode of the "Wataridori" series, Taki Shinji (Kobayashi Akira) drifts north to Hokkaido, where he helps protect an Ainu village from unscrupulous land developers.

Senko Tamagawa is a third-year junior high school student, and she is the captain of the badminton club. Her father, Kinzo, remodeled her barn and lent it to her only Mikayo. Senko was somehow envious of her flashy life... In a tragedy with a girl living in the base as the main character, Katsumi Miki of "Life like a weed" adapted the original story of Muraji Uchiki and directed by Eisuke Takizawa of "Ajisai no Uta".

The young rambler, Shinji Taki, with his guitar arrives a hot spa town at the foot of Mount Aizu Bandai. Of course he solves the problems in the town while encountering the sinister rival, Masa "the pistol guy".

An airplane loaded with 50 million yen for the reconstruction of Amami Oshima crashes en route from Kagoshima, Kyushu, but neither the money nor the remains of the pilot can be found.

Sadao, is saved from death at the hands of Goro, a killer belonging to a rival gang by Joji just released from prison who has resolved to turn over a new leaf. He has returned, however, because of Keiko, his sweetheart, who he now finds is engaged to Noboru, a detective and son of Jinsaku, boss of the Otsu gang. That night at the night club, headquarters of the Highlight Group - which Noboru is investigating, Majima meets Joji who knows of his attempt to kill Jinsaku, and resolves to kill him.

Takuya witnesses the homicide of the detective leading an investigation into the murder of the chairman of the People’s Economic Association, and he disguises himself.

Koreyoshi Kurahara’s ingeniously plotted, pocket-size noir concerns the intertwined fates of a desperate bank manager, blackmailed for book-cooking, and his resentful but timid underling, passed over for a promotion. The marvelously moody Intimidation (Aru kyouhaku) is an elegantly stripped-down and carefully paced crime drama.

A sharpshooter kills two prisoners in a police van at night. The guard on the van is suspended for six months; he's Tamon, an upright, modest man. He begins his own investigation into the murders. Who were the victims, who are their relatives and girlfriends, who else was on the van that night? As he doggedly investigates, others die, coincidences occur, and several leads take him to the Hamaju Agency, which may be supplying call girls. Its owner is in jail, his daughter, the enigmatic Yuko, keeps turning up where Tamon goes. Tamon believes he can awaken good in people, but has he met his match? Will he solve the murders or be the next victim? And who is Akiba?

Rambler Shinji arrives in town armed with nothing but a guitar. With assistance from an old gun-for-hire friend, he sets about to stop the mob from turning an honest ranch into a gambling resort.

The story of an adorable girl.

Arriving in the town of Hakodate, a wandering musician, Shinji Taki, is soon recruited by the local gang as a hired hand. However, with the arrival of a sinister gunman, Taki's mysterious past catches up with him.

A jazz bandleader, falsely accused of murdering his girlfriend, tries to stay one step ahead of the police as he dives into Tokyo's sin-city in search of the real killer in this dark and beautiful noir from master Seijun Suzuki.

Kensaku Muro and his father manage a farm in Sakudaira at the foot of the Yatsugatake Mountains. One day Kensuke saves a suicidal woman, Fukiko Uzu, who jumps into a waterfall. Having injured his eyes in the process, he is brought to Tokyo for medical treatment. In Tokyo, Kensaku visits his mother Kaneko who left her son years ago. She now owns an exclusive club and has a son, Isao, with the president of Kobe Concern. Isao plots to steal Kensuke's farm as part of a land development scheme with Fukiko's husband. Without knowing they are blood related, their conflict over the farm intensifies.

Kenichi, who lives like a stray dog among fellow gangsters, finds his love for the first time while the police are trying to catch him on suspicion of murder.

College students come up with a scam to rob a gambling house. When it comes time to collect, the money isn't there, leading the young men into even more serious crime.

A unique action drama in which a ruthless yakuza encounters a woman and realizes his true love as the conflict between the yakuza intensifies.

Yōko dreams of becoming a dancer and begins working with the famous musician Takeo.

The moment he's released from prison, the honorable gangster Miyamoto recovers the stolen diamonds he had stashed before getting pinched. When he returns to his haunt to make good by friend who took a bullet for him, he is diverted by the greedy boss Oyane and his insatiable taste for Miyamoto's precious stones. Replete with film noir style, "Underworld Beauty" is one of Suzuki's best nods to the American gangster genre.

Udaka is a new, post-war city where corruption has already taken hold. A persistent district attorney wants to arrest and convict Katsumata, a laughing, self-confident thug. The D.A. gets an anonymous letter about the suicide five years' before of a city council member. Evidence about the case leads the D.A. to Tachibana, struggling to go straight after involvement with the mob and a prison sentence for killing the man responsible for the rape and suicide of his fiancée. One of Tachibana's friends is Keiko, the daughter of the dead councilman and the ward of another powerful official. How do these stories connect?

A young doctor discovers that the city hall of records has a record of his death. He and some friends try to seek out the person who reported it, and uncover a shady group of criminals with a sinister plot.

Shoichi Kokubun (Yujiro Ishihara) is a roughneck street musician, who has a brother that is determined to propel him into stardom. In attempt to catch the attention of a popular jazz band, his brother appeals to their manager who has the power to make him a star. In a graphic portrayal of love, betrayal and success, Shoichi brews up a storm with a 'rat-a-tat-tat' on the drums.

A Tokyo newspaper reporter goes after the Japanese king of cocaine trafficking but he's tricked by a woman who works for the gangster and gets framed for a murder he didn't commit.