A successful textile industrialist from the provinces, who is beloved by his employees for his kindness, cannot find a wife because of a disfiguring birthmark on his face. Even the courtesans in Yoshiwara refuse to entertain him, until an indentured peasant prostitute, Tamarazu, takes the unsavoury...
Frustrated with the bad behavior of his lord, Inaba Yajuro (Otomo) declares that he is leaving the clan and sets off on a journey that leads him into a small town besieged by a violent group of brigands. In a kind of homage to Kurosawa's 7 Samurai, the townspeople have been unable to defend...
One of the great stories from Japan’s rich history comes to life in this true tale of the bloody showdown between two rival yakuza gangs in the 1840’s. The battle between Boss Sukegoro of Iioka and Boss Shigezo of Sasagawa has been portrayed many times, most notably in the first Zatoichi film,...
The adopted son of an Osaka courier falls in love with a prostitute and, discovering that she is about to be purchased by a client, steals money from his employer to redeem her. Hunted criminals, the two young lovers take flight to Yamato, but, as in Chikamatsu's other domestic tragedies of love...
Being acquainted with the bride's uncle, a famed private detective is invited to a wedding ceremony. The groom's family is moneyed and owns large tracts of land. The bride is a former teacher and was rumoured to have had an affair, which explains why the groom's family opposed the union. On the...
A maiden is murdered by a mysterious ninja, unfortunately two young ladies witness this, good thing the bored Lord is walking by, he saved the girls but was too late to save the maiden, quickly he finds himself mixed up in a mystery of murdered maidens, an unknown ninja clan, attempted...
Kondo Isami, the “Devil” commander of the Shinsengumi was one of Japan’s greatest national heroes and a peerless swordsman who devoted his life to protecting the shogun and fighting on the side of the Tokugawa. This tells the story of the Shinsengumi starting at the moment of their greatest...
Playhouse employees Okimi and Otoshi become involved in an undercover officer’s investigation of a gang when they accidentally walk in on a drug deal taking place at their theater.
The story concerns the efforts of seven master swordsman who join together to protect the new inexperienced Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune from the evil plans of the Owari Clan's corrupt Lord. It's a colorful bunch, a drunk samurai, a master thief, a sword instructor and a Lord who is disguised as a...
The rich punk Junya has only one thing in mind: to race with the police on his motorcycle. That makes him unpopular, not only with the police, even with his Bosozoku buddies, who slowly but surely distance themselves from him. Junya falls in love with the equally speed-hungry Hiroko.
After the Onin War ended in 1477, Kyoto was left in ashes and the nation was in complete disorder. Bands of roving samurai called the "nobushi" terrorized the country under the leadership of Akagaki Genba and overthrew Mangetsu Castle in Tanba Province scattering the few survivors. Lord Niwa's two...
One of the most popular history-based characters is back when Magistrate Saemonojo Toyama no Kinsan investigates the tragic shipwreck of the 'Sadomaru' near Cape Kasumigaseki. The ship carrying gold bars from Sado Island to Edo for the shogunate disappeared into the ocean on a day with clear skies...
One day, Yoshimi Satomi, the castle owner of Takita Castle in the country of Anbo, and his confidant Daisuke Kinba, on the way to hunt wild boars, felt sorry for a small dog that was about to be swallowed by a giant snake like a giant tree, and killed the serpent in a fierce battle and saved the...
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.
