Shin Tokudaiji

Domestic drama shot almost entirely on a set inside a house.

A socially committed film about the feudal state of many Japanese women in 1946. Hiroko Hosokawa, a female lawyer, defends Mrs. Asakura, who suffocated her child in her grief after her husband died penniless following an industrial accident. The prosecutor is Hiroko's sister's husband Kono, who also sent Hiroko's fiance, Yamaoka, to jail for his liberal views during the war. Yamaoka has just been freed, but is seriously ill from his time in prison. (imdb)

The irresponsible Bunkichi learns to be culpable after his sister's son gets into serious trouble.

The story deals with Fuji, nicknamed Waka-danna (Young Master), the star athlete on his university's rugby team. The son of a wealthy soy sauce manufacturer, Fuji basks in the glory of his athletic celebrity. Attracting the attention of admiring young women, Fuji resists family pressure to settle down and marry after college. Instead, he spends much of his time drinking and womanizing, behavior which eventually leads the college officials to expel him from the team.

The facts surrounding the vendetta have been warped through the telling, and the villain Jinza was actually a noble man and the close friend of Mataemon Araki. And Mataemon only killed two men in the incident, not 36. The narrator tells us the actual events were far more interesting than the glamorized legend: "If one compares cutting down 36 straw figures to killing two full-fledged men, it will be obvious to see which is more difficult." And with that, we are launched into the true story. (lardbiscuit.com)

The story of HANAKAGO NO UTA revolves around a pork-cutlet diner along a cluttered back street of Ginza, Tokyo. Keizo (Reikichi Kawamura), the owner and the master of the diner, and his daughter Yoko (Kinuyo Tanaka) are running a small but successful business. The Chinese chef, Mr. Lee (Shin Tokudaiji), cooks the best pork-cutlet, as they say. Two of the most frequent customers are Ono (Shuji Sano) and Hotta (Chishu Ryu), a pair of rather lazy collage students. (vermillion and one nights)

When a man of some stature and lineage decides to launch a business by renovating and converting his mansion into a hotel and putting his domestic staff like the chef and maid to work in the new venture, his wife cannot accept the change and decamps to another house. It is opening time and a girl arrives seeking a job and is given one. The clientele are not as desired, however, and instead of a classy lot the hotel is attracting shysters, pickpockets and lovers. (imdb)

Period piece about a young man who, because of his hard life alone in the world, has become a yakuza. When he hears that his mother may be living in Edo (Tokyo), he travels there, intent on finding her and leaving the swordsman's life behind. But a team of rival gangsters is hot on his heels. (themoviedb)

Two groups are after the legendary Yagyu Secret Scrolls. A princess of a disgraced clan and her loyal servant want it to clear their family's name. And a rival clan wants it to destroy the Yagyu family. Only master swordsman, Yagyu Jubei stands in their way. What is the secret that is hidden away in the scrolls? (letterboxd)

The famed ninja Yagyu Jubei fights to suppress a coup d'etat plotted against Tokugawa Shogunate. (imdb)

Detective Tarao goes undercover to battle an evil gun smuggling business.

This is the only surviving "Mito Komon Manyu-ki" film. This release also known as Adrift Tour Memoir is an 80-minute compilation of the first and second parts (147 minutes), which were re-edited and screened at a time when presentable films were dried up immediately after the defeat of the war. (Cinema Japan Retrospective)

Go master Matashichiro Ryuzoji, during the game, was killed in anger by the Lord of the Nabeshima clan, Hizen-no-kami. The mother of the murdered Matashichiro, Akishino, cursing the Nabeshima family, commits suicide. Akishino's spirit passes to Matashichiro's beloved cat, and the monster cat appears in front of Hizen-no-kami along with Matashichiro's ghost...

An extremely early Hibari Misora role.