Masahiro Makino

This musical is truly based on Japanese behavior. (imdb)

A legendary gangster raises himself out of a small town and gathers followers on his rise to power.

Cho, leader of Kibamasa, finds out that his gang has been threatened by another one that, besides being more modern, wants to buy the gueisha that he's in love with.

The Karashi Botan returns in the fourth chapter of the incredible Showa Zankoden series. This time legendary actor Takakura Ken plays Hidejiro, the reluctant boss of a firefighter company. They win the bidding for the construction contract of an annual festival. When a rival family, desperate for that contract, becomes treacherous and violent, Hidejiro must take brutal revenage. (japanesesamuraidvd.com)

The fifth in a powerful series about brutality, duty and honor, staring the legendary TAKAKURA Ken. Hidejuro is sent to prison after killing the boss of a rival family. After being released, he discovers that his family has scattered and he is taking in by a company of quarry workers, whose boss has a strict code of non-violence. When the rival family tries to take over the company and kills their boss, Hidejuro must choose between his promise of non-violence and his yakuza code of revenge... (themoviedb)

All that remains of the first Samurai Town Story is 8 minutes of the concluding battle.

Based on the old tale of Jiraiya, this 1937 version is essentially a revenge story with fantastic visuals. (The Movie Database)

The ronin Nakayama Yasubei delights in fighting. Various dramas unfold and lead toward Yasubei getting entangled against 18 opponents in a fight to the death. (imdb)

An actor, hit on the head, dreams that he has become legendary one-eyed gangster Mori no Ishimatsu. (The Movie Database)

Yukiko Nogami is rescued during a mountain blizzard by handsome forester Shinkichi, and the two subsequently fall in love. But when Shinkichi dies in an avalanche, Yukiko leaves the mountains in despair and takes a job in a bar where she becomes deeply involved in the personal lives of several of the patrons. One day she thinks she sees Shinkichi alive, but it turns out to be a gangster named Hayakawa, a man on the run who bears an astonishing resemblance to Yukiko's lost love. (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)

Former soldier, Suehiro Katsuji, fights violent gangs and powerful Chinese merchants during the post-war period in Japan. (The Movie Database)

A representative film directed by Masahiro Makino, son of Shozo Makino ("the father of Japanese film"). This film lent status to ensemble casts that did not rely on famous starts. The unique setting of the samurai town, exquisite camera work and fast-paced sword fighting scenes all have an original appeal that audiences can related to even today. (imdb)

The tale of real-life Yakuza boss Shimizu Jirocho is told from his earliest beginnings as a gambler on the road as he forms his gang and sets out on the path to fame and fortune. One of the smartest and strongest of all the gang bosses, he went on to survive the end of the samurai era and become a successful businessman. But first, he must survive against all odds in order to build his reputation and develop his strength. (imdb)

The dreams & ambitions of the impoverished ronin far exceeded their chances of opportunity, & they dwelt among the lowest of denizens, witness to common peoples' victimization by castle samurai. (weirdwildrealm)

Two British brothers who are making money for their homeland are meeting buyers for opium in China. There is a police force to counter the dealers, but is not only ineffectual, but also corrupt and dealing in narcotics itself. Confronting the situation the government assigns an incognito bureaucrat to the issue. He confronts and arrests the police, but the bulk of the drugs is with the Britons. (imdb)

An all star cast.

Sozenji Baba is a 1928 black and white Japanese silent film directed by Masahiro Makino. It is an ambitious film in which Makino deals with the difficult issue of the agony of a person who killed for revenge.

One of Japan's most enduring stories is the true-life yakuza boss Jirocho of Shimizu and his gang as they took over the Tokaido Highroad and went on to everlasting fame. Many of the gang members have become household names although their backgrounds and how they came to join the group are mostly lost in the mists of a time gone by. This is the tale of Masa, who arrived in Shimizu Port hungry and down on his luck.

A bizarre murder at a hot springs resort threatens to disrupt an Edo detective’s (Hasegawa) vacation. When his hot-blooded wife (Yamada) starts snooping around, however, he finds himself reluctantly drawn into the case.

Hanako-san (1943, TOHO, MAKINO Masahiro), a thoroughly light and joyful musical comedy, influenced by Busby Berkeley films, against the national policy under wartime, was made into a film from comic serials by SUGIURA Yukio published in a magazine.

Kazuo Hasegawa is a leading kabuki performer, specializing in women's roles, and living that life in furtherance of the art. She is, however, going blind. When Roppa Furukawa cures his blindness, he is grateful, but Furukawa is not interested in money. Hasegawa pledges to come whenever Furukawa calls. When Furukawa tells Sadao Maruyama he can have Hasegawa come and dance, the daimyo does not believe him.

A traditional impersonator of females in a kabuki troupe (a yukinojo) he courts and takes revenge from the three nobles who twenty years ago forced his parents to commit suicide.

Young yakuza Shujiro Hanada goes to prison after losing his cool in a rigged gambling game and slashing a few other players. When he's released in 1927, the world has changed. His sister died in the Great Kanto Earthquake and his father is also gone. His brother Jukichi invites him to stay at his in-laws and works in their family pub. He lies low, helping his blind mother-in-law and slowly developing a relationship with Ikuye, the hostess who helped him before his arrest.

A group of poverty-stricken samurai eke out their existence on the outskirts of Edo. (imdb)