Chizuru Kitagawa

About twelve Japanese seaman who, in June 1944, are stranded on an abandoned-and-forgotten island called An-ta-han for seven years... (imdb)

a subversive twist on the samurai genre that begins with a controlled, formally brilliant sequence evoking 17th-century travelers on their way to imperial Edo and climaxes with a chaotic explosion of long-delayed violence. (nytimes)

In the year 1867 Japan was undergoing a period of upheaval that pitted clan against clan and man against man in battles that would event-ually bring about the dawn of a new nation. While these factions fought each other for supremacy corruption was running rampant. Lord Matsukawa Katsutoshi was sentenced by order of the Shogunate to confinement and forced to vacate his post as Nagasaki Magistrate due to his conspiring with merchants to line his own pockets.

It's a battle for supremacy in this rousing action spectacular set during the final days of the Tokugawa Shogunate. As the rebel forces try to raise a war-chest to fund their war effort, the Shogun's militia (Shinsengumi) attempts to keep the money from reaching Kyoto where it would be used to topple the government.

Loosely based on the H.G. Wells 1897 classic novel THE INVISIBLE MAN, the Japanese take on the story, still has a scientist using a special chemical to become invisible. The story begins when jewel thieves becomes interested in an invisibility formula invented by Professor Nakazato. The thieves kidnap the professor and want to use his invention to acquire a diamond necklace called the "Tears of Amour".

Umon’s services are called upon when innocent bystanders, Kayo and Minokichi, along with the Ronin, Gontaro are mistakenly identified as suspects in several recent murder cases. To prove their innocence and uncover the truth, Umon launches his own investigation.