Tai Katô

Based on Edogawa Rampo's novel. A mystery writer vows to protect the woman he secretly loves, but disaster strikes when he turns detective himself.

An apparently psychotic killer is murdering, one by one, five women who meet regularly in Shinjuku for what they say are mahjong parties. (bfi.org)

In her search for a blind child Oryufinds herself in the middle of a gang war.

Oryu, looking for accommodation from a crime group finds herself in their debt during a turf war.

Oryu must defend villagers from greedy factory owners and politicians harming the land.

About 1786 the doings of a demented lord results in many masterless samurai, including Iyemon who is used to luxury & cannot adjust to the hand-to-mouth conditions & piecework of umbrella making. Having hired ruffians to make him look like a superior swordsman, he arranges for himself the opportunity of a profitable marriage. He hires the half-blind masseur Takuetsu to seduce or rape his wife, so that she can be divorced or killed for adultery. But the masseur informs Oiwa of her husband's plot. (Bloody Disgusting)

Fujiko wanders aimlessly, seeking vengeance on the man she once loved. When she discovers that man had already died, she loses her will to live. But in a twist of fate, she meets Tatsumi, a raising star in the Horikawa Family. She quickly falls in love with him, but when Tatsumi is chosen to but the next Boss of the family, his jealous sworn brother Morito kills him. Now Fujiko becomes a Bakuto, a wandering yakuza gambler, and once again, walks the bloody path of vengence... (kurotokagi.com)

When a man (Nakatani) is brought into the hospital fatally wounded after being hit by a car, Amamiya initially refuses to operate, seeing the case as hopeless. But after he sees the victim, whose given name is Sai, and recognises him as a private who fought under him under the Japanese name of Shibata in Okinawa during the war, he has a change of heart. (midnighteye.com)

In Part I we see the young would-be swordsman setting out to achieve greatness in war, achieving nothing because fighting on the losing side, & then beginning his long period of wandering & training, with the goal always in mind of his duel with Kojiro. Part II builds toward that great duel on Ganryu Island, with considerable focus on Musashi's planning & forethought as to how to gain an advantage. (weirdwildrealm.com)

"Fightin' Tatsu the Rickshaw Man" (...) injects a lighter note into a yakuza tale as fiercely free-spirited Tatsu (Ryohei Uchida) arrives in Osaka in 1898 from Edo with the first rubber-wheeled rickshaw the city has ever seen. Far from happy about his arrival is the Nishikawa yakuza clan, which has a lock on the rickshaw business emanating from the busy main train station (...) (articles.latimes.com)

Osaka in the early 1600s, aftermath of the historical Battle of Sekigahara; a group of orphan children are wandering through the battlefield scavenging for armour when they encounter a young boy named Sasuke with magical powers he says came from a meteor that crashed onto the Earth. (imdb)

An early fantasy film starring Tomisaburô Wakayama (The Movie Database)

Tokijiro has the unfortunate duty according to the code of the gamblers to join in the fighting when afforded a night's stay and meals at the home of a town boss. Though he dislikes killing, the strength of his swordsmanship will be tested time and time again in the bloody tale. (cinematerial)

Set in Osaka in 1907, it centers on a yakuza, Asajiro (Koji Tsurata), a man of honor, who must deal with a conflict over a prostitute while struggling to compete with another clan; both are hoping to go legitimate as the city is poised to develop its port for international trade. (latimes.com)

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)

A headstrong young man seeks to join the Shinsengumi, but while his determination impresses his superiors, questions begin to arise as to his true identity and intentions.

This documentary narrates the beginnings of the founding members of ondekoza who are a group of young musician living communally on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture. They create the taiko drumming, which has gone on to entertain audiences around the world and give spectators kodo drummer. Watch the musicians go from rigorous training and adaptation to early performances. (imdb)

A former soldier is caught working the black market and sent to prison while his partner escapes and goes on to become a gangster, but their paths cross again as they both fall in love with the same woman. (imdb)

Staying true to the Bard's original vision, this is highlighted by one of the finest swordfights that Toei ever put on film. This amazing motion picture proves that sometimes even the greatest classics, such as Hamlet can be improved upon with the right combination of talented scriptwriters and actors. Okawa Hashizo shines as the young lord in the grips of tragedy beyond compare. (KG)

Hired on a mission by the government, Shinzo soon finds himself in the center of a conspiracy looking to unearth a mythical clan and their hidden gold. (imdb)

Wandering gambler movie filled with humor and compassion. An odd couple of a gangster and a masterless samurai becomes involved in a variety of events as they travel. (imdb)

Bright samurai movie innovatively adapted from a classic story. A traveling masterless samurai is asked by a daughter of an established samurai family to pretend they are a married couple, and gets involved in the troubles of the samurai clan. (KG)

The story of a drunken fighter (Sugawara) and an ailing, blind singer (Baisho) amid the power struggle between the Shogunate government and the Emperor in mid-19th century Japan. (imdb)

Light-hearted samurai comedy. The second son of a feudal lord runs away from an arranged marriage. He saves the life of a princess whom he gets to fall in love with. It turns out that she is just his prospective bride. (KG)

Tai Kato’s early 20th century set yakuza epic about an ordinary merchant girl (Hiroko Maki) who crosses paths with an assassin (Tetsuya Watari). The encounter sends her to jail as a suspected accomplice. Years later she marries a yakuza boss, whose gang is affiliated with working class people. And who should reappear... (Letterbox'd and me)