Akikane Sawa

The three henchmen join forces to challenge the brutal gang that is trying to control the city of Izu in Shizuoka during the early Showa period....

The story of men devoted to the yakuza lifestyle and their struggles during a time of fading yakuza power.

An early ninkyo film from before the genre had truly established its form. Koji Tsuruta plays an honourable outlaw who saves an older man from an...

1962 Japanese movie

1962 Japanese movie

An elaborate criminal tango based around treasure hidden during WWII.

A modern gang version of Chushingura, chronicling almost scene for scene the Brave 47 Ronin story, transposed from the Genroku Period to the Showa...

1962 Japanese movie

Part 2 of the 'Onna bangaichi' series

Movie adaptation of the TV series.

A gang plans to steal twenty billion yen by safecracking tactics; however, they discover that one of the gang members is an infiltrating cop.

After the enactment of the Anti-Prostitution Law, the red-light district in Shinjuku lost its allure. Even the gambling den of the Ryūzaki family...

Coming out of jail and hoping for a quiet life, Yokohama yakuza has to take the lead of his gang after the death of his boss. His small group is is...

Three robbers escape with loot from a heist before one of them kills the others. Their corpses wash up near the aftermath of a maritime calamity,...

Two rival gangs of gangsters clash for dominance of a neighborhood.

Because of trickery, the Jinya Group has only seven days to complete a mountain road project or it will forfeit a major dam construction job to the...

1962 Japanese movie

Hayata and his best friend Ushijima came to Tokyo to become champions. Hayata repeatedly sought to join Tamura's boxing club, but Tamura fell in love...

Third part in Tadashi Sawashima's Theater of Life trilogy.

Abashiri Prison is located in the coldest place in Japan. Two men, handcuffed together have escaped from the prison, one a yakuza, the other a petty...

The first film with Tetsuro Tamba as a detective. An exciting drama about the pursuit of a criminal, which takes place in Yokohama. Tamba...

This film tells about the murder of Lieutenant Colonel Aikawa, the head of the Bureau of Military Affairs, about the beginning of the incident 2.26...

Forth film in the Gokudo series with Tomisaburô Wakayama

A song drama based on the autobiographical song "The sun is laughing" by composer Endo Minoru. It tells the story of a young man who moves to Tokyo...

Tsunokichi and Ken face off against a rival yakuza in Kyushu.

Hidejiro is a wandering yakuza with a ‘karashi botan’ (Chinese lion and peony) tattoo. Owing a favor to the Soda Family, he kills the...

A crime film released in 1965

This biopic of notorious yakuza-turned-actor Noboru Ando focuses on the days leading to his arrest after the shooting of businessman Hideki Yokoi.

Sabu and his pals hold a pauper's funeral for Sabu's mother. His brother Jiro arrives home, fresh out of jail, and Sabu pointedly states that Jiro is...

Upon returning to his hometown of Nagasaki, recently released prisoner Tachibana Shinichi must rejoin the Asahi gang family in order to pay back a...

Sonny Chiba's first martial arts film, a partially fictionalized judo biopic based on prominent judoka Shiro Saigo (Chiba), the second student of...

After the war, Kijima (Bunta Sugawara) returns to Tokyo where he meets Ôba (Noboru Andô), an Ex-Kamikaze pilot, and the two ruffians...

Two convicts just released from prison find a green bauble filled with diamonds — and try to prove they didn't steal it.

The first batch of flight control officer candidates, full of yearning for the sky, are assembled at the 101st Air Regiment base. Nakata, Sato, and...

An old man dies of heartbreak when a cruel landlord is about to repossess his land. The old man haunts the landlord from the grave. Since the man...

Convict son revenges innocent father's death.

A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.

The third chapter of the ‘Red Peony Gambler’ saga depicts the happiness and sadness of Red Peony Oryu’s life as she seals her...

After World War II, their town was a pile of rubble. Gennosuke, the second generation boss of the Kamizu Group was upholding yakuza chivalry by...

Junko Fuji returns as Oryu the Red Peony, a wandering female yakuza on a soul-searching journey after the death of her father. After collecting her...

A gangster named Sagara killed a broker at the request of a friend named Oba, was arrested and spent eight years in prison. Now released, he wants to...

Somewhat unique as it appears to be one of the very rare appearances of master thespian Itô in a yakuza role.

Assassin Nanjo goes on a solitary mission to take revenge on the man who trapped him into a complicated drug deal.

The karashi Botan returns in the third chapter of the incredible Showa Zankoden series. This time legendary actor Ken Takakura plays Takei Shigejiro...

The plot opens with the hero (Tsuruta) leaving prison, having served time through taking the blame for a fellow gang member’s crime. However,...

Violent Gang Re-Arms is a rousing tale of friction in yakuza and labor interactions with Koji Tsurata as a yakuza supervising a dockworker's union....

Kazuo, a Japanese army intelligence agent, reveals a foreign intelligence network in Japan and then sent to Borneo Island with a special mission.

Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba returns as the reckless son of a private detective takes on the case of a minor league baseball pitcher who...

A story of lone wolf struggling with human compassion and duty.

A story of yakuza lynching during the Edo, Meiji, and Showa periods.

Natsuko, a Tokyo bar proprietress, and Yuki, a Kyoto Ryokan owner, vie for the affections of an advertising professional.

Kimie, a traveling guitarist, performs at various inns at help out her sickly mother. One night while out with her mother, Otoshi, Kimie unexpectedly...

A bittersweet love story between yakuza Hiroshi and a married woman Reiko.

Mayumi Ogawa stars in the tale of a Turkey miss—basically a prostitute who services men in Turkish baths—whose plans to get rich in the...

Japanese drama film.

A series of short stories about bizarre crimes committed by females in the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa Eras. Discover 4 famous Japanese murderers:...

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

A poignant story about a young couple, Setsu and Chozo, who are torn apart to save Setsu's father's restaurant.

Second Moonlight Mask theatrical film.

First Moonlight Mask theatrical film.

A human drama of crew and passengers on a special express train named “Sakura” from Tokyo to Nagasaki...

The sixth and last Moonlight Mask film in the original series produced by Toei in the 1950s.

After eloping with a prostitute named Otoyo, Hishakaku takes refuge in the Kogane family’s turf. Indebted to Boss Kogane for his kindness,...

Fierce war breaks out when Shujiro’s rival clan attempts to sabotage his lucrative construction business.

Yoshiko finds new life and love interests when she takes a new job as an office worker.

Young geisha Kohana scrambles to realize her dream of bringing back her grandmother’s restaurant business.

Three stories of moral sickness set during Japan’s prosperous Genroku era are told in this bloody follow-up to the sexploitation classic...

Thriller about a gangster and an outlaw who become friends despite their different outlooks.

The son of a prominent member of a fishing community returns home after a stint with the yakuza to find his father has died under orders of a local...

Aiba is a gang boss who has just got out of jail, and finds everything has changed. His old gang has broken up, and only a few people still respect...

A war breaks out on the streets between rivaling Yakuza clans.

Inosuke, a former gangster, and his friends struggle to make a living as simple fishermen in this tale of chivalry and friendship among yakuza in the...

Bungo is released from prison to find his son Kenichi in the care of strangers. Teruko, the woman originally looking after the boy, was forced to...

An undercover cop befriends a yakuza underling who through his contacts helps him infiltrate two rival Yakuza gangs. He pits the two rival gangs...

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 taken...

A yakuza is released from prison after serving a long sentence. He immediately sets about creating a new gang and attempts to pull off a huge ransom...

After escaping from an insane asylum, a medical student assumes the identity of a mysterious dead man, who appears to be his doppelganger, and gets...

Teruo Ishii portrays the bitter conflict over the right to develop land in a gripping and humorous way. Nakagami, the head of the Kanto Joseikai, is...

Mr. Mito, a former president of an instant food company, with two young men’s help, solves the quality problems and wins a big ramen contract...

This film focuses on Okatsu; the adopted daughter of a master swordsman. She is a master with a sword herself and her talents far overshadow that of...

Attracted by the report of the development of a new type of rocket fuel, the vicious dictator of Krangkor, the dark planet, descends on Earth to...

The first installment of Seven-Color Mask: King Rose.

G-men challenge a jewelry smuggling ring. The chase starts in Kyushu and continues to Kobe to Yokohama.

Okatsu the Fugitive is the third film in the "Ohyaku/Okatsu" series. Okatsu; a "tomboy" who is good with a sword. Her father has found her a man to...

When Honjo is selected as Kansai district's chairman, Iwasa of the rival gang asks Itsuki to do everything possible to have Honjo step down, which...

A young leader of the Yamazaki family of Nagasaki, Takida (Ken Takakura) is an A-bomb survivor. He fiercely battles violent elements in southern...

Bungo, fulfilling his duty as a yakuza, kills a man from a rival gang. Since then, he has escaped the clan's vengeance by staying on the road with...

When the plague threatens a small town in Manchuria, a young doctor finds himself struggling to save the lives of his townspeople.

Three men vs. gangsters in a fight involving smuggled gold.

Sayuri, a young woman born to a simple life on a farm, moves to Tokyo to pursue a life long dream of becoming a singer. Through dance, music, and...

To fulfill a friend’s dying wish, a young sailor Kenji takes on the task of delivering an heirloom to his friend’s daughter, Harumi, who...

Journalist Kuroki is investigating clandestine arms sales to Southeast Asia. He discovers that the point man in an arms trade was also involved in...

A touching drama about a love triangle between a young architect, Koroku, and two women, Ranko and Teruko. Ranko comes from a wealthy family and is...

Daughter of a lumber shop in Edo strives to protect her family business from the competitor.

1961 Toei adaptation of Yokomizo's novel.

Koharu, a young geisha, is in love with Kenichi, an apprentice carpenter to her father Masagoro. Their love life comes to a sudden halt after an...

Clumsy invaders from Neptune are thwarted by hero Space Chief and a nondescript group of microshort-wearing Japanese kids.

Part one.

A roughneck named Komakichi of Kawachi, Osaka, comes back from a three-year training course to become a chef, hoping to be with his crush Tamae, a...

Komatsu Takioka is boss of a Yakuza group rival to Masakichi Kijima boss of the Kikuya group which supports the town vendors unlike Takioka, who will...

After losing all his money, Kizuka Keita, a seller on the black market, is trying to commit suicide. But he is saved by Morigen, a broker on the...

Sixth entry in the Bakuchi-uchi series.

An honorable yakuza syndicate deeply rooted in Kyoto fights for survival when a new breed of gangsters threaten their very existence.

A con man sets up a consulting firm where he poses as a doctor specializing in curing people of their sexual problems and hang-ups.

One of the earliest Japanese cop films following a mysterious killing on the last train to Mitaka, Tokyo.

Based on a 1956 television feature on Japan’s national network, NHK, this is one of Uchida’s rarest films. A socially conscious drama...

A story about the lives of four sisters and their manipulative mother who must come to terms with each of their decisions in life.

Gisuke Hayashida is an illegal dentist during the day and a burglar by night. One night during a burglary he witnesses a train derailment. Some...

Newly graduated Miyamoto Otone is to inherit a fortune from a distant relative on the condition that she marries Takato Shunsaku, a man she has never...

Detective Tarao investigates the deaths of police officers who were involved in solving a kidnapping case.

Ken Takakura's screen debut, following his admission into Toei ranks via the studio's annual New Faces program, came surprisingly enough in this pair...