Tatsuo Endô

A giant stone statue comes to life to protect the residents of a small town against the depradations of an evil warlord. (imdb)

Terry Sugury is hired to recover one of two tapes containing a formula for making heroin for a price of 200 dollars a pound. But he gets double crossed. So he wants the tape back. (imdb)

Blind masseur and master swordsman, Zatoichi, is tired of killing. He journeys to his old village looking for peace, but is pursued by the brother of Boss Kanbei, a man he's killed. Back home, Ichi connects with Banno, his teacher, who seeks prestige and has arranged for his younger sister, Yayoi, to marry into a wealthy samurai family... (imdb)

Zatoichi arrives in a town where a gambling house is kidnapping its poor, debt-ridden patrons. A rival establishment moves to pay those debts and free the peasants, but this house's seemingly altruistic boss is actually laying the groundwork for a ruthless money-grabbing scheme.

Zatoichi runs across a childhood comrade who has grown up to be a cruel and powerful yakuza who mercilessly steals everything the peasants have. Fortunately, the super-perceptive Zatoichi soon takes care of him and his gang. (Sandra Brennan - Rotten Tomatoes)

Blind masseur Zatoichi is nursed back to health by a young woman after he is shot by a gang member. Zatoichi, who had come to the village to repay a debt, now feels further indebted. He commits himself to use his amazing sword skills to help the young woman's father, whose river-crossing service is under attack by the same gang responsible for Zatoichi's wounds. (imdb)

A destitute ronin bearing the name of Kiba Okaminosuke wanders into a tiny, impoverished hamlet run by Ochise, a blind woman who owns a troubled messenger service--a business whose profits barely keep the meager town going. Delivering the corpses of two of her escorts he found on the road, Ochise explains her dire and desperate situation to the wandering samurai. (lonewolvesandhiddendragons.blogspot.com)

In the fourth film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin, and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei. (imdb)

In PORNO PERIOD DRAMA, Tetsuro Tanba plays a nihilistic ronin who faces down the "Clan of the Forgotten Eight", who got their name because they lost all their basic emotions like conscience, gratitude, loyalty, shame etc. With his sword Onibouchou (literally: Ogre's Kitchen Knife!) Tanba's character hacks into their ranks in ways that has limbs and severed heads fly everywhere and the blood flows in rivers! On his way, he only stops to take every woman he meets, forcefully if need be! (imdb)

The world of drugs, mobsters, fascists, and assorted other criminal types is taken on single-handedly (almost) by the hero (Hiroyuki Sanada) as he fights for justice. His chief enemy is a man dedicated to Hitler, with a sadistic female sidekick thrown in for good measure. Other foes keep the hero and his few friends (a secret agent and the owner of a bar) busy fighting off the forces of evil right through to the end. (All Movie Guide)

Oryu is pulled into a clash between boat and rail workers.

Kyoshiro gets drawn into a complicated plot revolving around the remnants of a failed anti-Shogunate uprising, who are secretly organizing a new attack on Edo castle.

A gang of evil ninjas has stolen the sacred sword of the Lady Mayu and are demanding that her family exchange her for the family treasure. The world's greatest swordsman, Shuranosuke Sakaki, is called in to get the sword back. (imdb)

The Son of the Black Mass returns in this ninth installment in Daiei's longstanding Nemuri Kyoshiro series. This time Raizo Ichikawa as Nemuri is called to see that a gold statuette of the Virgin Mary gets safe passage to Kyoto from the prying hands of a sect of murderous Christian ronin that call themselves the Black Finger Group. (imdb)

Vice Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi could see that Japan's defeat in WWII was inevitable. He came to realize that the only way to force a negotiated solution was to convince the Americans that invading Japan would cause massive casualties on both sides. The cold logic of suicide attacks, where one man and one plane could kill hundreds, seemed the only solution. (letterboxd.com)

In Meiji Period Japan, the carrying of swords had been outlawed, so Shikai, the Killer Priest carries his sword disguised as a Priest?s staff. One of the strongest entries in the series, Shinkai is badly injured, and must face his worst enemy in what could be their final showdown. (japanesesamuraidvd.com)

A bunch of young angry misfits and hoods who aren't quite up to joining the yakuza, hatch and execute a variety of petty scams. The youngest, a high school student who has a way with women, is approached by a yakuza and asked to spy for them. (sansebastianfestival.com)

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

Mine, the only daughter of Kiyagen, is faced with running the family's timber business when her father falls ill. Under a great deal of pressure to continue the five generation long run of the business, Mine is put to the ultimate test when a former gangster sets his sights on closing her down. (The Movie Database)

Ryoma is a former military man who gets to know the leader of a yakuza group and begins to work with them, helping them defend themselves against other yakuza gangs. (imdb)

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

Based on a true story about a jailbird who was sentenced for 41 years and escaped seven times. In 1947, Ueda robs a drug dealer and his woman for morphine and kills them. He gets imprisoned in Hiroshima, but escapes next year. From then on he gets caught and imprisoned over and over. (thehawaiiherald.com)

Isazo is a traveling gambler and living legend in the world of yakuza, known for his swordsmanship and bravery, his impeccable manners, and his brilliant talent in gambling. One late fall at an inn in Kiso Fukushima, Isazo befriends a young boy whose mother turns out to be his old love Yoshino, with whom he was not unable to consummate a marriage due to the class differences between them. (themoviedb)

The female ninjas have to stop an alliance from carrying out their dastardly deeds, which includes bizarre ninjitsu sex magic to aid them in their quest.

In the year 1873, a Japanese woman is sold as a mistress to an American diplomat stationed in Japan.

A yakuza released from prison finds that his clan has abandoned crime in order to make it big in show business.

The third movie following the exploits of bounty hunter Shikoro Ichibei. The theft of almost a half ton of gold from the shogunate's official mine threatens to bankrupt the government of Japan. Despite a desperate search the gold has not been found, causing officials of the Tokugawa bakufu to call on their most skillful secret agent, Shikoro Ichibei. (TMDB)

The second film of the Gokudo series starring Tomisaburô Wakayama

Part 5 in a long-running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short-tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. After serving four and a half years in prison, Masa and his brother Katsuji leave Kobe to go to Nagoya to help a hostess get her daughter back from her mother. As they arrive in Nagoya, they get into a scuffle with the local yakuza affiliate.

An omnibus comedy in which a unique lawyer teaches about laws regarding sex crimes.