Hiroko Sakuramachi

When a gambling crime boss dies his followers have to decide who will replace him.

About 1786 the doings of a demented lord results in many masterless samurai, including Iyemon who is used to luxury & cannot adjust to the hand-to-mouth conditions & piecework of umbrella making. Having hired ruffians to make him look like a superior swordsman, he arranges for himself the opportunity of a profitable marriage. He hires the half-blind masseur Takuetsu to seduce or rape his wife, so that she can be divorced or killed for adultery. But the masseur informs Oiwa of her husband's plot. (Bloody Disgusting)

In this engaging animated children's story a young and very brave boy spends three years receiving special instructions from a hermit in the woods. After the three years are up, the little boy is possessed of magic powers that will help him subdue the source of unhappiness and evil in the forest - a wicked witch. As these exponents of white and black magic go at it, the animals in the forest line up on the side of Magic Boy and help him out whenever they can. (starpulse.com)

Late 60's period drama/romance film with some yakuza leanings. Junko Fuji is beautiful and graceful as Shinji, a Hakata geisha who is being pursued by a corrupt and evil coal mining baron, but ends up falling in love with an ex-yakuza (Ken Takakura) who owns a competing mine. Tensions rise between the rival mine owners with Shinji in the middle.

As the ninja of Koga and Iga Clans square off against each other. During the Age Of Wars (Sengoku Era), Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi are vying for power and each uses their secret weapons in order to try and defeat the other. Momochi Sandayu of the Iga, along with his disciple Ishikawa Goemon are ordered by Ieyasu to assassinate Hideyoshi and get the blueprints for the hidden fortress within Osaka Castle. Meanwhile the Koga group organizes to try and defend the castle for the peace... (japanesesamuraidvd.com)

Two hostile clans had reached an artificial reconciliation which involves the marriage of a person from each family. The boy's father is away to serve the emperor, and his highly despotic mother has the absolute power. Typical of the atmosphere are the boy's words to her: "If mother was not my mother I would hate her." "If father was not my father I would hate him." The boy eventually finds a poor peasant girl and has a beautiful love affair. (imdb)

Shinkai comes to the aid of a coastal village being held hostage by a group of political revolutionaries. The climax of this film features an extraordinary swordfight on the beach at sunrise. (japanesesamuraidvd.com)

"Fightin' Tatsu the Rickshaw Man" (...) injects a lighter note into a yakuza tale as fiercely free-spirited Tatsu (Ryohei Uchida) arrives in Osaka in 1898 from Edo with the first rubber-wheeled rickshaw the city has ever seen. Far from happy about his arrival is the Nishikawa yakuza clan, which has a lock on the rickshaw business emanating from the busy main train station (...) (articles.latimes.com)

A sequel in name only, Ambition Without Honor 2 follows Tetsuya, a young yakuza, who returns to his family after his adoptive father is wounded in an attack from a rival gang. In his battle against dishonorable enemies and corrupt yakuza politics, he makes an unlikely ally in a rebel cop . (letterboxd.com)

The life of three beautiful princesses in feudal Japan. (The Movie Database)

This anthology tells three separate stories, all about yakuza (Japan's gangsters) in the feudal period. In the first, Sentaro, a roaming yakuza, seeks sanctuary with a gang which then asks his help in a fight against its rivals. His attention is drawn primarily to a young woman who waits in vain for the man she loves. In the second tale, two gamblers barely escape from their pursuers after being caught cheating. (imdb)

A good set-in-per-WW2 ninkyô type film with outstanding performances. (imdb)

Story of loyal sailors giving their lives for their country as human torpedoes towards the end of the War. (The Movie Database)

In 1732 the restoration of Nikko Tokugawa Shrine began. The financial burden which fell upon the daimyo lord who was appointed 'Restoration Minister' was a method the shogunate used to weaken the lords. Usually the most powerful clans that the shogun feared the most were chosen, but this time the financially strapped Yagyu clan was appointed to the task. (kurotokagi)

Umon goes on an investigation to unveil the murderer known as Red Lizard. (themoviedb)

Detective Umon’s services are called upon when ronin Yaichiro is killed with a peculiar weapon, a stone wrapped in a towel. (themoviedb)

Tetsunosuke, an eccentric doctor and an owner of a fencing school, takes aim against corrupt authorities. (themoviedb)

Ryujin Misaki, located at the edge of the Genkai Sea, is known as an isolation ward for leprosy patients. When Saotome, a sword master and guard of the Shogun, hears news of a doctor gone missing, he begins to suspect that things are not what they seem at Ryujin Misaki. Intent on discovering the truth, Saotome launches a private investigation. (themoviedb)

The great Okawa Hashizo plays a double role in this thrilling tale of intrigue and corruption within the capital city of Edo. When Moriya Shuma, an injured Edo officer is rescued by a vassal whose appears to be his exact double, he swears to sweep out all the criminals from the city. Directed by one of Japan's most revered filmmakers, Nakagawa Nobuo, this story is filled with twists and turns, and loaded with surprises. Plenty of realistic swordplay highlights this exciting motion picture. (imdb)

When the country is in peril, Lord Tajima summons his son to retrieve the mystical Yagyu Scroll is order to save all of Japan. This time, Jubei must stop the evil plot of Lord Hayatonosho who secretly plans on overthrowing the Shogunate. (imdb)

During the reign of 5th Shogun Tokugawa Tsuneyoshi a troupe of Chinese acrobats travel to Japan to help celebrate the building of the Yushima Shrine. At the same time a series of mysterious assassinations take place with a strange and unknown weapon. Master swordsman Saotome Mondonosuke, a 'Hatamoto' (direct retainer of the Shogun) and a man who loves action takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of the mystery and and solve the puzzling crimes.

A samurai seeks revenge for the death of his master.

All is not well in a small fishing village not far from Edo. Mysterious goings-on is happening at Echigoya’s Red Crane Mansion, and when Young Lord comes to relax he finds no peace until he can unravel the mystery rooted in the past when a beautiful samurai princess prayed for a handsome bridegroom to take her away. When a body turns up on the riverbank it is high time for Young Lord to delve into the case, while avoiding dangerous gangsters who have taken over the town...

The second film in the 20 Duels of Young Shingo trilogy directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda.

Hired on a mission by the government, Shinzo soon finds himself in the center of a conspiracy looking to unearth a mythical clan and their hidden gold. (imdb)

Eight villains, former pirates and one daughter of same, gather to attack the magistrate's office. They develop a plan and begin their actions in secret, making full use of their special abilities. In the end, their plan goes beyond what was intended and turns into a good deed for many people. A masterpiece of historical drama, full of breathtaking thrills and action. (KG & me)