Sadao Nakajima

An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.

The history of the Yakuza Eiga at the TOEI studio is roughly outlined. Real Yakuza and also their connections to the movie business are discussed,...

Veteran director Nakajima Sadao examines the appeal, background, context and transition of chambara, or period sword-fighting and samurai films, in...

Fewer samurai films are being made, and the Uzumasa studio has fallen on hard times. One day, veteran "kirareyaku" (whose job it is to be felled with...

A costumed film featuring the famous hero of Japanese history, Isshin Tasuke, arranged in the form of a popular song.

A costumed film featuring the famous hero of Japanese history, Isshin Tasuke, arranged in the form of a popular song.

A tale of three Yakuza gamblers who traveled Japan during the samurai era living by their wits and sword skills. Told in 3 separate vignettes, each...

Hijiriko makes off from the bar she works at with money and a car that isn't hers. Meanwhile, Jiro Katagiri is up to no good with his gangster...

A young samurai defends townsfolk from evil forces.

A young samurai defends townsfolk from evil forces.

Christina, on arriving in Japan, acquaints a Japanese man at the airport who looks like a sap. He takes her to his apartment where he brutally rapes...

A shogun's eldest son must do whatever it takes to survive a series of attempts on his life. He receives much-needed aid from seven warriors who are...

A small time crook, who sells rabbits for a living frequently gets him into trouble with loan sharks and the yakuza. He dreams of becoming a...

This is a film about a real person. Sanada Yukimura fought a war against Tokugawa Ieyasu.

This is a film about a real person. Sanada Yukimura fought a war against Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The rise to power of the famed Lady Kasuga no Tsubone, who established the 'Ooku' (the women's quarters at Edo castle) and acted as nursemaid to...

Girl Boss Ruriko and her cellmates escape from a greedy corrupt reform school that's more interested in cheating the government out of money than...

A classy 70's flick about the importance, traditions, popularity and ways of Japanese bathing.

After the bankruptcy of her foster-father's condom factory, Tamae sets out to make a living on her own and ends up working as a geisha at a hot...

After the bankruptcy of her foster-father's condom factory, Tamae sets out to make a living on her own and ends up working as a geisha at a hot...

The Domain: White Blade

Erotic Pinku film showcasing he life of Buddhist nuns during the Edo Period.

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

A crossover between Wakayama's Gokudo and Sugawara Mamushi series. Gokudo runs a restaurant and makes Takuzo Kawatani his kitchen bitch. He tries to...

A ruined businessman was forced to sell his daughter, Hisano, to a brothel in Yoshiwara, the largest red-light district in Tokyo. The owner of the...

An ambitious Kansai yakuza don moves in on Tokyo using financial and political tactics, sparking conflict with a local criminal association.

Chiba, looking gnarly, and acting as animalistic as ever, stars alongside Matsukata as violent gangsters battling their way through fight after...

Horai serves an 18 year sentence for killing a rival boss, but right before his release he is attacked.

In the year 1786, Shogun Ieharu Tokugawa selected beautiful Ochisa to be his concubine. It causes other concubines to become very jealous and mean....

The culturally isolated, nomadic Seburi people of western Japan are the subject of this tragedy about a few of the community's members who especially...

Girl Boss Ruriko and her cellmates escape from a greedy corrupt reform school that's more interested in cheating the government out of money than...

Part 4 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...

A crossover between Wakayama's Gokudo and Sugawara Mamushi series. Gokudo runs a restaurant and makes Takuzo Kawatani his kitchen bitch. He tries to...

The widow of a murdered yakuza boss serves jail time for attacking the man she believes killed her husband. After her release, as she is shadowed by...

A truck driver arrives in Seoul to receive his dead sister's ashes. While there, he discovers the death may not have been an accident after all, and...

Shiro Akitsu goes on a relentless search for his abducted 7-year-old daughter, with the aid of an Ainu dog summoned by a whistle she gave him.

After the death of previous Boss, a gang war lasts for more than four years.

A story of young students trained to become Kamikaze pilots in World War II.

A story of young students trained to become Kamikaze pilots in World War II.

A bunch of young, angry and penniless misfits are full of great vitality. They aren’t quite up to joining the yakuza and execute a variety of...

Early Japanese mondo film, also known as Mondo Grottesco.

This story is based on the novel "Jo no mai" by Tomiko Miyao which is based on the life of painter Shōen Uemura (1875–1949), the first woman...

When the patriarch of Japan's most powerful yakuza family is shot, his wife is left to pick up the pieces and carry on the legacy.

When the patriarch of Japan's most powerful yakuza family is shot, his wife is left to pick up the pieces and carry on the legacy.

Among the great ‘Warlords’ in Japanese history, Oda Nobunaga holds a unique place. In effect, his military success led to the ultimate...

Kogarashi Monjiro is a lone samurai who agrees to take responsibility for a murder that his friend committed so that he can stay with his dying...

Kogarashi Monjiro is a lone samurai who agrees to take responsibility for a murder that his friend committed so that he can stay with his dying...

Two childhood friends find themselves caught in the midst of an all-out turf war between rival factions in the yakuza-stained region of Kyushu.

Monjiro, reunited with his long lost sister, is pursued by a yakuza gang because he killed their boss. He also meets a fellow gambler who idolizes...

Test driver Hayami loses control of his car and rolls over. His company then learns that he has kept secret that he is visually impaired, and he is...

Kasuga’s husband gets arrested for a murder of his beloved protégé. She and her family investigate and find out he was trapped by...

The wife of a recently deceased yakuza boss is caught in a conflict between the candidates for his succession and must protect her beloved daughter.

The wife of a yakuza lieutenant tries to keep the peace when the clan's heir suddenly dies and a succession conflict threatens to break out.

Convicted of murder, Masayuki Ueda is sent to Hiroshima Prison along with his accomplice. But for a man like him, breaking out of prison is easy.

In Jimpachi Kodera's household, young samurai Keishiro Kanie arrives, captivating Jimpachi's wife, Shoko, despite his initially arrogant demeanor....

Set in Shibuya in 1949, this is another film based on real life former yakuza boss Noboru Ando's memoirs.

With a Kansai syndicate vying for Tokyo, one man reunites with his roguish half-brother in the midst of negotiations, when all hell breaks loose.

Genichiro Okugawa is appointed as the head of accounting in a feudal domain and travels with his servant Gonsuke to the country from Edo. Along the...

Master director Sadao Nakajima brings to life the adventures of Shohachi, a ronin (masterless samurai) searching for his father's enemy. O-Tama, the...

In pre-war Japan, two members of a large yakuza syndicate instigate a turf war that embroils the highest echelons of Tokyo's underworld.

In pre-war Japan, two members of a large yakuza syndicate instigate a turf war that embroils the highest echelons of Tokyo's underworld.

Adaptation of Shiro Ozaki's novel.

Adaptation of Shiro Ozaki's novel.

Edo Crime Book: Black Claws

In Osaka during the Edo period, ruler Sanada Yukimura was in losing position, fearing Toyotomi's blood descendents would end, he impregnates one of...

In Osaka during the Edo period, ruler Sanada Yukimura was in losing position, fearing Toyotomi's blood descendents would end, he impregnates one of...

Japan, 1948: Hiroki Matsukata stars as a man facing a nine year prison sentence. He incites prisoners of Shimane Prison to the biggest riot in jail...

The Bohachi Clan, the most vile, corrupt organization with ties deep in the Shogunate, have controlled the flesh trade in Japan for generations. When...

Hijiriko makes off from the bar she works at with money and a car that isn't hers. Meanwhile, Jiro Katagiri is up to no good with his gangster...

A truck driver arrives in Seoul to receive his dead sister's ashes. While there, he discovers the death may not have been an accident after all, and...

Jo has just come back to Japan for the funeral of his parents, who were killed in tribal warfare in Africa where the family had been living...

The three-film saga comes to a conclusion as three leaders of the underworld battle it out to determine who will become Don of Japan.

A bunch of young, angry and penniless misfits are full of great vitality. They aren’t quite up to joining the yakuza and execute a variety of...

Test driver Hayami loses control of his car and rolls over. His company then learns that he has kept secret that he is visually impaired, and he is...

An ex-Olympic athlete and a student commit cash robbery. Aki Hoshino, a pre-med student, becomes inspired to steal money the school collected as...

Part one.

The culturally isolated, nomadic Seburi people of western Japan are the subject of this tragedy about a few of the community's members who especially...

Christina, on arriving in Japan, acquaints a Japanese man at the airport who looks like a sap. He takes her to his apartment where he brutally rapes...

A story of friendship between a lone wolf judo expert and a youth.

A story of friendship between a lone wolf judo expert and a youth.

When a mob boss retires under political pressure, his successor and yakuza family are tested to their limits as new alliances and enemies are formed.

Three tales of women that resided in the Shogun's harem (o-oku) during the Edo period.

Amidst Japan's postwar economic boom, yakuza factions in Osaka fight for survival when Japan's largest crime syndicate plans a hostile takeover.

Set in Kyoto in the last days of the Edo Period, the bloody conflict continues between local feudal domains, which aim to overthrow the Tokugawa...

Set in Kyoto in the last days of the Edo Period, the bloody conflict continues between local feudal domains, which aim to overthrow the Tokugawa...

A yakuza leader must balance his violent tactics necessary for the rough streets of 1960s Tokyo with the domestic needs of his daughters.

Three men, all named Masa, join forces to capitalize on each of their unique yet questionable talents against a hyper-competitive Tokyo underworld.

Three men, all named Masa, join forces to capitalize on each of their unique yet questionable talents against a hyper-competitive Tokyo underworld.

Everybody's chasing a diamond in Sadao Nakajima's crime/action/drama. It was a based on a novel by Tsusai Sugawara, who was a Japanese writer and...

Everybody's chasing a diamond in Sadao Nakajima's crime/action/drama. It was a based on a novel by Tsusai Sugawara, who was a Japanese writer and...

After the death of previous Boss, a gang war lasts for more than four years.

Veteran director Nakajima Sadao examines the appeal, background, context and transition of chambara, or period sword-fighting and samurai films, in...

Sixth film in the "Kyodai Jingi" series. Three gangsters challenge an underworld group in northern Japan.

Jun has come to Tokyo from his family home, an island which resembles a ship. He works in a machine shop and is attempting to develop a career as a...

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

A look at sex in Japan, that covers underground gay life, transvestites, sex change operations, tattoos, and S&M.

When a mob boss retires under political pressure, his successor and yakuza family are tested to their limits as new alliances and enemies are formed.

In this gritty tale of gamblers battling in the samurai era, Okawa Hashizo gives perhaps his greatest performance as a gambler returning to his home...

Based on a novel by Kôen Hasegawa

Second part of the series where sex magic skills of female and Iga ninjas clash over enourmous treasure of the Toyotomi family, discovered in...

Second part of the series where sex magic skills of female and Iga ninjas clash over enourmous treasure of the Toyotomi family, discovered in...

A classy 70's flick about the importance, traditions, popularity and ways of Japanese bathing.

Hiroshi, a small-time racketeer, makes a name for himself extorting vulnerable companies and their directors for financial gain.

When a large crime syndicate seeks to invade Gifu's underworld, three brothers and their yakuza family are the only ones that stand in their way.

Part one.

Film with Junko Miyazono.

A trio of teenage tarts try to earn money through shoplifting and prostitution scams and get into deep trouble.

The sequel to "Flowers and Dragons". Kingoro Tamai founded a family in the port of Wakamatsu. He unites people with his courage, and revolts against...

The last in the series. Sugawara runs into two mahjong cheaters (Ichiro Araki and Mako Midori + sidekick Takuzo Kawatani) whom he takes for friends...

Part 3 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...

Part 3 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...