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花の白虎隊 (1954)
Character: N/A
The Great White Tiger Platoon was part of the Aizu clan's last ditch efforts to stop the advance of Imperial troops after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Meant to be a reserve unit as it was made of the young, 16-17 year old sons of Aizu samurai. Their story is one of the great tragedies of the Boshin War (1868-1869) as they were called into action. Getting cut off from the main body of their platoon, a group of 20 from the 2nd squad retreated to Iimori Hill, where they looked down upon fires surrounding Aizu Castle and thinking that the castle has fallen and all is lost, they choose to die as samurai by committing seppuku. A superb rendition of this true story that shows the true honor of the samurai.
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疵千両 (1960)
Character: N/A
Japan, 1643, as the Kato clan of Aizu falls from power two brave samurai will settle a dispute in the time-honored tradition of their clan, by drawing their blades in a duel to the death.
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浅太郎鴉 (1956)
Character: N/A
Early film directed by Kenji Misumi.
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玄海遊侠伝 破れかぶれ (1970)
Character: N/A
Story about a big boss who built the foundation of an industrial city.
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三代の盃 (1962)
Character: N/A
1962 Japanese movie. Remake of Mori's 1942 original movie
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愛妻物語 (1951)
Character: N/A
Story of a Beloved Wife is an autobiographical work based on Shindo's first marriage. Jūkichi Uno stars as a struggling screenwriter, and Nobuko Otowa stars as the wife who supports him through his early struggles.
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王将 (1948)
Character: Kohei
Shogi, a Japanese form of chess, is a game that requires skill and determination. When poor sandal-maker Sakata decides to pursue his dream of becoming the Shogi Grand Master Champion, everything is at stake – including his family. What will it cost for Sakata to follow his passion?
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釈迦 (1961)
Character: Man in crowd 2
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.
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とむらい師たち (1968)
Character: N/A
The film portrays a satirical view of today's heartless money-oriented society.
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秘録怪猫伝 (1969)
Character: Goda Jinzaemon
This period thriller concerns a very famous cat known as the "monster cat of Nabeshima". This cat, a symbol of vengeance in human disguise, takes revenge for the death of its master as well as for the corruption in the feudal system.
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怪談佐賀屋敷 (1953)
Character: N/A
A woman loses her son through an evil conspiracy and commits suicide. Shortly afterwards a ghost cat begins haunting the conspirators. This is Takako Irie's first bakeneko (ghost cat) movie; it started a Daiei cycle which was very popular at the time in Japan.
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青蛇風呂 (1959)
Character: N/A
Last part of the Snake Woman trilogy.
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眠狂四郎勝負 (1964)
Character: N/A
Wandering samurai Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) finds a bulls-eye on his back after befriending the shogunate's tightfisted financial adviser, Asahina, who's earned the wrath of the shogun's self-indulgent daughter for cutting off her allowance. The enraged princess promptly hatches a scheme to have Asahina bumped off -- along with his protector, Kyoshiro. Shiho Fujimura also stars in this installment of the enormously popular film series.
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桃太郎侍 (1957)
Character: N/A
One of Japanese folklore's most popular characters is brought to life on the silver screen in this terrific version of legendary Demon slaying Peach Boy.
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小次郎燕返し (1961)
Character: N/A
The story of Sasaki Kojiro, a young swordsman, and his quest to train under master Seigen and develop his own style.
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続やくざ坊主 (1968)
Character: N/A
It’s cross and double-cross in these further adventures of Ryuzen, the wayward priest played by Katsu Shintaro as he tries to help a woman who may be the heir to a fortune get what is rightfully hers. Matsuo Kayo, who first rose to international stardom as ‘the supreme ninja’ in “Shogun Assassin” gives an outstanding performance in this clever and exciting caper tale set in the samurai era. Ryuzen agrees to help her, but is he just in it for himself, and is she really who she claims to be? When they come up against Boss Tobei it’s a virtual free-for-all as everyone struggles to walk away with a fortune in gold!
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天狗飛脚 (1949)
Character: N/A
Jida-geki by Santaro Marune.
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妖僧 (1963)
Character: советник
Yoso is truly a lost classic, set in the Nara Era (710-794), from Kinugasa Teinosuke the same writer/director who gave us the recognized classic Gate of Hell (Jigokumon, 1952) & the milestone silent surrealist masterpiece A Page of Madness (Kurutta Ippeji, 1926).
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四谷怪談 (1959)
Character: N/A
In one of Japan's most frequently-told ghost stories, a murdered wife returns in an act of vengeance.
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江戸っ子祭 (1958)
Character: N/A
During the reign of Hidetada, the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, the advisor Okubo Hikozaemon (Ganjiro Nakamura) entrusts the young Takechiyo (Hiroshi Kawaguchi) to the fishmonger Isshin Tasuke (Kazuo Hasegawa) to help him understand the world. Tasuke, who does not know that Takechiyo is the shogun's heir, trains him harshly. Tasuke's wife Naka (Michiko Ai) is concerned about his harsh teaching style, but Takechiyo gains strength day by day and adapts to his new life. Soon, Takechiyo begins secretly talking about love with a city girl named Otoyo (Hitomi Nozoe), but...
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赤胴鈴之助 三つ目の鳥人 (1958)
Character: N/A
Suzunosuke faces perhaps his wildest foes. This evil gang is lead by a one-eyed birdman and other demonic creatures.
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剣鬼 (1965)
Character: Tsuzaki Taichiemon
Hanpei is a gentle young samurai that loves flowers. One day, he witnesses an old man's quick draw of the sword. He is so impressed that he becomes the old man's pupil. Soon, Hanpei's skill of sword comes to attention of his lord. The lord orders him to assassinate a man...
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ひとり狼 (1968)
Character: N/A
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.
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柳生连也斋：秘传月影抄 (1956)
Character: N/A
It is brother against brother in this tale of love and betrayal within the famed Yagyu clan. In one of their earliest films together, superstars Ichikawa Raizo and Katsu Shintaro are magnificent as the two finest young swordsmen in the clan. As they vie for the hand of a beautiful woman their loyalty comes into question during an attack on their lord. When one of them masters the secret technique taught to him by Miyamoto Musashi, it leads to bloody violence that can tear the clan apart! Filled with superb swordplay this rare classic is not to be missed!
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小雨の夜に散った恋 (1960)
Character: N/A
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!
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刑務所破り (1969)
Character: N/A
Set up to be the patsy by a rival gang, Furuta Makoto attacks the yakuza boss he thinks is responsible for his father’s murder. He then learns it was all a plot to take over his father’s turf and he seeks vengeance against the puppet master behind the entire conspiracy. His quest for justice leads him to prison where he must fend off the attack of a master assassin before he can make his escape and go after the true killer!
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大阪物語 (1957)
Character: N/A
A poor peasant, after years of scraping, becomes a rich and powerful Osaka merchant. Mizoguchi Kenji's final project; he died before completing it and directing duties turned over to Yoshimura Kozaburo.
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怪談累が渕 (1970)
Character: Kawachiya Yohei
One murky night, Soetsu, a blind acupuncturist and money lender, calls on Shinzaemon Fukami, a Hatamoto samurai, to collect some money. But Fukami is too busy having an affair with a maid and curtly tells Soetsu to ask Sawano, his wife, for the money. As they have no money, Sawano interprets her husband's words as telling her to give herself to Soetsu in lieu of payment. However, Fukami catches them in the act and kills them both. Snatching up Soetsu's money bag with 30 ryo in it, he then asks two ruffians, to sink the bodies in a marsh. From what follows, it seems as if the spirits of Soetsu and Sawano are still hovering on earth in anguish and anger. For soon afterwards, Fukami is found dead by his own hand and Osono, Soetsu's younger daughter, suddenly disappears from home.
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透明剣士 (1970)
Character: N/A
A coward boy fencer becomes invisible and matchless through a magic pill.
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斬る (1962)
Character: N/A
In Edo-period Japan, Shingo is born the son of an assassin who was executed for murdering her lord’s concubine. Decades later, his adoptive family is massacred for keeping the secret. Armed with an unbeatable swordfighting technique, Shingo embarks on the path of the masterless samurai in search of vengeance and a path beyond his own ignominious origins.
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やくざ坊主 (1967)
Character: N/A
The first film in the 2 part series about Ryuzen, a renegade martial-arts priest who, in addition to breaking all the commandments against sex and gambling, opens his own gambling den in direct defiance of the local yakuza boss. Exciting action and a twisty plot this movie breaks new barriers in Japanese cinema. Katsu Shintaro is superb in one of his better non-Zato Ichi roles as he fights off the advances of a love-lorn woman and risks his life to defeat the powerful gambling boss who has a stranglehold on the town.
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眠狂四郎円月斬り (1964)
Character: N/A
A decapitation at the hands of the shogun's monstrous misbegotten son kicks off the action and draws nomadic Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) into more sword-fighting adventures when he's blamed for the beheading. Meanwhile, the head-chopper's mother is busy knocking off the shogun's lawful heirs to secure the shogunate for her son.
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座頭市喧嘩太鼓 (1968)
Character: Aburaya no Banto
Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to pay his debts. The bosses true motives are revealed and he attempts to steal Osode even though the debt is paid. Zatoichi realizes his grievous error and protects the girl from the gang. Osode and Zatoichi are caught in a dilemma as she must rely on her brother's killer for protection and Zatoichi wrestles with the injustice he has caused.
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色の道教えます 夢三夜 (1961)
Character: N/A
A unique story of a life of romance, divided into three episodes about the profound secrets of the path deeply rooted in the essence of human nature, depicted with a wry and stylish touch.
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夜の河 (1956)
Character: N/A
In Kyoto a young kimono maker with traditional ideas gets involved with a married professor.
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近松物語 (1954)
Character: Jushiro Umegaki
When the wife of a 17th century Kyoto scroll-maker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves falling for one another.
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眠狂四郎女妖剣 (1964)
Character: N/A
A fugitive christian "saint" (female, of course!) and a sadistic drug-addled princess both have their eye on Kyoshiro. The fact that a bunch of ruthless smugglers also want him dead is the least of his problems!
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大菩薩峠 竜神の巻 (1960)
Character: N/A
The sequel to Daibosatsu tôge (1960) and the second of the trilogy follows the adventures of Ryunosuke Tsukue after he is blinded.
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雨月物語 (1953)
Character: Villager
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.
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透明人間現わる (1949)
Character: N/A
Jewel thieves become interested in an invisibility formula invented by Professor Nakazato and want to use his invention to acquire a diamond necklace called the "Tears of Amour."
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噂の女 (1954)
Character: Kodama
Yukiko's fiance learns her mother runs a geisha house and ends their engagement. She despises what her mother does until one of her clients shows interest and starts to woo her.
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地獄門 (1953)
Character: Nariie
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.
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座頭市兇状旅 (1963)
Character: N/A
After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.
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大殺陣 雄呂血 (1966)
Character: N/A
A naively honorable samurai comes to the bitter realization that his devotion to moral samurai principles makes him an oddity among his peers, and a very vulnerable oddity in consequence. He takes the blame for the misdeeds of others, with the understanding that he will be exiled for one year and restored to the clan's good graces after the political situation dies down. As betrayal begins to heap upon betrayal, he realizes he'll have to live out his life as a master-less ronin, if not hunted down and killed.
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無宿者 (1964)
Character: N/A
A wandering gambler strolls into a village searching for his father's killer, unaware that the village is run by criminals who sell the poorest peasants into slavery.
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悲恋の若武者 (1962)
Character: N/A
Shortly after the Meiji Restoration, young people devoted to the teachings of Saigo Takamori trained day and night at Seiyun Juku in Kagoshima, Kyushu. Shuntaro Amano (Yukio Hashi) entered the school after going through numerous trials and tribulations, and quickly became known for his outstanding talent. Some time after Shuntaro's admission to school, the daughter of director Shiho (Eriko Sanjo) returns from a trip to Tokyo. Shiho is attracted to the intelligent and caring Shuntaro, and soon they fall in love with each other. However, their feelings for each other are futile, and soon Shiho and Shuntaro find themselves in the vortex of time...
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座頭市の歌が聞える (1966)
Character: Kinbei
Zatoichi comes upon a dying man who asks him to give a bag of money to "Taichi". Zatoichi has no idea who this is but when he comes upon a small town harassed by gangsters, he finds that "Taichi" was the man's young son. Along his travels he also met a blind monk who makes Zatoichi question his murderous lifestyle. In trying to help the town, Zatoichi kills some gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He must make a choice of whether to use non-violence and set a good example, or violence and set the boy on the wrong path in life.
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大菩薩峠 完結篇 (1961)
Character: N/A
Disguised as a beggar monk, Ryunosuke is harassed along the road by the rowdy members of a country dojo or fencing school malingering outside their fencing hall. The third film in the Satan's Sword trilogy.
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次郎長富士 (1959)
Character: N/A
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.
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続・忍びの者 (1963)
Character: N/A
[Period covered: 1582-1594]. As the film opens, the warlod Nobunaga Oda rides to Iga Ayanokuni shrine. He is asked if he thinks he has destroyed all the ninja who opposed him and answers that he suspects that there may be more. A servant brings water and tests it first. The paige dies and we hear gunshots as two ninja flee the scene. His suspicions confirmed, Nobunaga oversees the execution of captured ninja and decides that, in the future, he needs a much crueler method of execution. The daimyo Hideyoshi comes to visit.
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人斬り市場 (1963)
Character: N/A
Nagasaki at the end of the Edo period had the taste of a criminal paradise, where, despite the exotic, dangerous work was always in demand. Here, three wandering samurai who earn their living by killing get to know each other. Soon they learn that government officials will be transporting a large cargo of gold and decide to steal it.
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座頭市血煙り街道 (1967)
Character: N/A
Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a local boss to create illegal pornography to pay off his gambling debts. Ichi makes it his mission to save tha man and reunite the family, even though it brings him into conflict with a samurai he sort of befriended on his way to the town.
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森の石松 (1957)
Character: Big Masa
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.
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新選組始末記 (1963)
Character: Tokuemon Kadoya
As winds of change sweep Japan, an honest man joins the Shinsengumi 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.
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秘剣破り (1969)
Character: N/A
The tragic, yet exciting story of the friendship between Nakayama Yasubei, a member of the 47 Ronin, and Tange Tenzen, a relative by marriage of the vile Lord Kira.
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薄桜記 (1959)
Character: N/A
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.
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不知火検校 (1960)
Character: N/A
This is the story of a blind masseur who tricks people, steals, and kills; he is the anti-Zatoichi
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続・座頭市物語 (1962)
Character: N/A
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.
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座頭市あばれ火祭り (1970)
Character: N/A
Zatoichi is mentored by the blind leader of a secret organization as he contends with both the Yakuza and a jealous husband.
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妖怪百物語 (1968)
Character: Village Headman
A greedy developer, in league with a corrupt Shrine Magistrate, brutally tries to drive people out of a tenement building and destroy the shrine in back. But he makes the fatal mistake of hosting a 100 Ghost Stories ceremony without the closing cleansing ritual, opening the door for the Yokai Monsters to punish the wicked.
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鳴門秘帖 (1957)
Character: N/A
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.
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