Katsuya Ishimaru
Also Known As: 石丸勝也
Biography: Biography not available
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: Not available
Adult: No
Gender: Male
Popularity:
Known For:
Lord Mito
Overview: This most celebrated all-star movie version of the popular series features Tsukigata Ryunosuke as Mito Komon, the sage who wanders the countryside rectifying government corruption along with his faithful attendants Suke and Kaku.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-08-11
Popularity:
The Spear of Heroism
Overview: Lord Gennosuke and Princess Yoshi are to be betrothed to one another, however Gennosuke is already in love with Suzue who is from a lower caste. The order has been sent from up on high that if Gennosuke won't change his mind then Suzue must be dealt with one way or another. When spearmaster, Fuwa Mondo, a Ronin and all around happy guy stumbles into the plot, things get a little hokey-pokey.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-06-17
Popularity:
Restoration Fire
Overview: Megastar Kataoka Chiezo is Vice-commander Hijikata Toshizo of the Shinsengumi in this realistic tale of Japan’s inner battles that led to the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. Excellent performances and extremely good swordplay highlight this glimpse into the heart and soul of Japanese history. Although known as “Razor Blade” Hijikata, the vice-commander is a man of deep conviction with a little-known sense of humanity. Starting after the famed Ikedaya Incident, in which they saved Kyoto from Choshu’s plot to burn the city to ashes, they work hard to change the public’s view of them as merciless killers to their true mission of protecting the shogun. This is an extraordinary tale of blood and guts! From the pen of award winning author Shotaro Ikenami (Bandit Vs. Samurai, Hunter in the Dark, Misumi's The Last Samurai)
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-10-14
Popularity:
Red peonies on the skin
Overview: Genjiro was a samurai in the past, but he became a Yakuza, a dandy with a tattoo of red peonies, he helps his younger brother who is caught up in a conflict with Hatamoto.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-07-02
Popularity:
Travels of Lord Mito Pt.5
Overview: Fifth film in the 'Travels of Lord Mito' franchise.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1954-04-13
Popularity:
Flowers on the Road
Overview: Yae and Kiku, daughters of drapers in Edo, must travel to Kyoto in place of their sickly fathers to attend to some businesses affairs. On their way to Kyoto, the two ladies are ambushed by a group of bandits. However a good Samaritan named Santaro comes to their rescue. Santaro is aiding a young samurai named Sanshiro who is on an official mission to deliver a message to a noble in Kyoto. When Yae and Kiku discover that a gang of assassins is after Sanshiro, they decide to help Sanshiro to complete his mission.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-01-21
Popularity:
Abekobe dōchū
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1962-05-09
Popularity:
The Kuroda Affair
Overview: This adaptation of a Hideji Hojo novel, about the historical uprising of the Kuroda clan in 1633, is told through the eyes of retainer, Daizen. As his clan’s new leader, Tadayuki, becomes increasingly militant in his opposition to the Tokugawa shogunate, Daizen is forced to reconcile his loyalty to the clan with his loyalty to Tadayuki, who seems dead set on entangling the clan in destructive conflict. The Kuroda Affair’s mise-en-scène is said to have influenced future Toei director Eiichi Kudo. The film also features two of the greatest stars of Japanese period cinema, Chiezo Kataoka and Ryutaro Otomo.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-01-08
Popularity:
Tales of Young Genji Kuro
Overview: Genji Kurô is a master swordsman and entrusted with protecting the ancient sword Kaen by the Otsubo family.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-04-15
Popularity:
神変美女桜
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-12-11
Popularity:
Lord Mito: All Star Version
Overview: In 1691 a terrible fire broke out in Denmacho, Yotsuya, burning down the towns around it, up to the shores of Shibaura. A month and a half later, another fire broke out, this time in Komagome, burning down the two gates of Asakusa and Sujikai, and continuing on into the night. As the government Elders consider evidence that these fires were arson, a fire breaks out in Hirakawa-cho, outside of Hanzo Gate. Nishonmaru catches on fire and burns down completely. When this rash of fires even strikes Kyoto, the task of finding who’s behind the arson, and stopping them falls to the Shogun’s uncle, the Elder Lord of Mito. Together with his trusted bodyguards, Kaku and Suke, the trio set of to save Japan from this scourge of evil. Featuring virtually all of their most famous stars, this is the best film in the Toei series about Mito Komon, one of Japan’s most popular historical figures who traveled through the country incognito to check on the people and fight injustice.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1960-08-07
Popularity:
Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji
Overview: Tragicomic road movie set during the Edo period. It follows a samurai, his two servants – including spear-carrier Genpachi – and the various people they meet on their journey, including a policeman in pursuit of a thief, a young child and a woman who is to be sold into prostitution.
Genres: Drama Adventure
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1955-02-27
Popularity:
Whistling Drifter
Overview: Friendship between good samurais and aborigines in Hokkaido.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-09-23
Popularity:
The Happy Wanderer
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1956-05-11
Popularity:
Miyamoto Musashi
Overview: In this first episode, we are introduced to Takezo, what Musashi used to be before he became the man of legend. His beginning are not exactly auspicious. He sides with the Toyotomi at Sekigahara, and as a result finds himself on the losing side of the historic battle. He and his friend Matahachi manage to escape the slaughter although the latter is wounded in his leg. They stumble across the young Akemi who makes her living with her mother Oko by robbing corpses of their armor and anything else they can sell. Oko takes it into her head to seduce Matahachi, which she does first by skillfully sucking the gangrene from his blood, and then just by sucking.
Genres: History Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1961-05-27
Popularity:
Castle of Flames
Overview: In 17th century Japan, Young Lord Masato returns after years abroad to find everything changed: his peace-loving father has died in what he soon finds to be mysterious circumstances, and his mother's married to his uncle, whose ruthless ambition is causing turmoil in the kingdom. Not knowing who to trust, Masato feigns madness, vowing to get to the truth, even though his act causes distress to the girl he loves, who's waited for him all these years. The ghost of his father turns up now and then to show him the way. Meanwhile a peasant revolt is brewing... It all ends tragically.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1960-10-30
Popularity:
Souls in the Moonlight III
Overview: Master swordsman, Tsukue Ryunosuke is confronted by the families of his victims. Will justice be served for the lost innocent lives? The conclusion of the famed Jidaigeki series is an amazing film, with a completely different perspective on the story from the later versions. While the international audience is more familiar with the “Sword of Doom” and “Satan’s Sword” versions of Daibosatsu Toge (The Great Bodhisattva Pass), the “Souls in the Moonlight” trilogy casts an entirely different light on Ryunosuke and his motives. Can this brutal killer be brought to justice, or is living his life as a blind wanderer a more terrible fate? His sword skills have not diminished, nor has his desire to kill!
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-04-28
Popularity:
Drenched Swallow Gonpachi
Overview: This is the story of Gonpachi, a ronin who falls in love with the daughter of a man he had killed many years before.
Genres: Drama Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1958-10-14
Popularity:
Souls in the Moonlight II
Overview: This is the second installment of the trilogy based on Japan’s greatest novel “The Great Bodhisattva Pass”, following the life and times of bloodthirsty samurai, Tsukue Ryunosuke. Blinded in an explosion and further injured from a fall, the master swordsman is taken in by Otoyo, a woman who falls in love with him. Under Otoyo’s dedicated care, Ryunosuke’s physical and emotional wounds seem to heal. However, deep inside, the demons that drive him to kill yearn to resurface. Meanwhile he is being pursued by Utsugi Hyoma, a young samurai seeking to avenge his brother’s death at Tsukue’s hands. Hyoma is being aided along the way by the clever thief Shichibei.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1958-04-20
Popularity:
The Eleventh Hour
Overview: Based on a 1956 television feature on Japan’s national network, NHK, this is one of Uchida’s rarest films. A socially conscious drama with a contemporary backdrop, Dotanba focuses on the attempts to rescue a group of trapped miners. The title is a figure of speech — (essentially “last minute” or “eleventh hour”) — that refers to a situation of peril. The film boasts a script co-written by Uchida and Akira Kurosawa’s frequent screenwriter, Shinobu Hashimoto, and stars Kurosawa’s frequent star Takashi Shimura.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-11-24
Popularity:
Merciless Blade Part 2
Overview: The second film in the 1953 trilogy based on the long novel series The Great Bodhisattva Pass.
Genres: Action Drama History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1953-06-03
Popularity:
The Unleashed Lord
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1959-02-10
Popularity:
Sedge Hat
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1957-03-20
Popularity: