Gen Shimizu

The Trail of Blood (1972)

Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father's craft. After three y ...

Wandering Ginza Butterfly (1972)

Gang leader Nami (cult film legend Meiko Kaji) kills a member of a yakuza group and goes away to prison. Upon her release three years later, she's a shamed woman confined to living in the shadowy world of sex clubs and street gangs. She returns to the city ...

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

Manga artist Gengo Odaka lands a job with the World Children's Land amusement park only to become suspicious of the organization when a garbled message is discovered on tapes. As Gengo and his team investigate, Godzilla and Anguirus quickly decipher the me ...

The Armed Organization (1971)

Violent Gang Re-Arms is a rousing tale of friction in yakuza and labor interactions with Koji Tsuruta as a yakuza supervising a dockworker's union. He finds himself between a rock and a hard place, at odds with both the dockworkers' leader (Tomisaburo Waka ...

Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love (1971)

The story of a lone wolf struggling with human compassion and duty. ...

The Gambler's Counterattack (1971)

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 him. So he becomes a consultant to another gang who are about to be clobbered by a much larger gang moving i ...

I Hear the Whistle (1971)

Tells of the feelings and sufferings of a young girl with an incurable paralytic disease. ...

The Gambling Nun (1971)

A young woman, an experienced gambler, enters a nunnery to atone for some of her father's crimes. When the nunnery runs into debt, she resorts to gambling and challenges the racketeer threatening to sell the place to a game. ...

Comedy: The Face is Life (1971)

A comedic tale that follows several quirky individuals who navigate the twists and turns of their daily lives. ...

The Militarists (1970)

This tremendous blockbuster hit from 1970, showing the rise to power of Tojo Hideki, is perhaps the most important film to come out of Japan since the 7 Samurai! Interspersed with actual footage dating back to the 1930's and throughout the Great Pacific Wa ...

City of Beasts (1970)

University student Arima Yasuhiro becomes acquainted with Ishihama, the president of a pharmaceutical company with a dark past, slowly but surely getting more embroiled in his dirty dealings. ...

Brave Red Flower of the North (1970)

An exciting tale of action on the distant northern island of Hokkaido around the beginning of the 20th Century starring two of the biggest names in Yakuza film history, Fuji Junko and Takakura Ken. Since the death of death of her father, Yuki who has trave ...

Showdown at Nagasaki (1969)

When Keiji Takama returns to Nagasaki, he finds many changes. The rights of the entertainment field that had been held by his family have been taken over by the Matsui Group, a new gangster setup. So he becomes head of the Takama Group to regain lost terri ...

Team of Ruffians (1969)

Prisoners with special skills from all over Japan are sent to the battlefront on a mission. ...

Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)

Japan and Russia clash in what comes to be known as the Russo-Japanese War. An attempt by the Japanese fleet and army to take Port Arthur fails, and a Russian fleet bears down on the Sea of Japan. Admiral Heihachiro Togo sends his fleet to confront the Rus ...

Japan Organized Crime Boss (1969)

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 taken in a crossfire between a big yakuza group from Osaka at war with the Tokyo alliance for the control of ...

Our Wasteland (1969)

Tetsuya, a worker at a US Air Base who moonlights as a bartender with his bar hostess roommate, dreams to move to the United States one day. Meanwhile, his best friend Jun wants to build a home on some local wasteland. Yet the introduction of Yuki, who the ...

The Biggest Gamble (1969)

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 puts Itsuki between a rock and a hard place. ...

Two in the Shadow (1967)

A man is involved in a fatal car accident, and though he is blameless, his company transfers him to a remote branch in a small town. Before he leaves, he gives the man's widow a large sum of money that she uses to move back to her hometown. ...

Nerves for Victory (1966)

A young yakuza who respects obligation and humanity must face cruel and heartless turf wars leading to a fight to the death with his own brother. ...

Moment of Terror (1966)

When the only son of a working class woman is fatally struck by a car driven by the adulterous wife of a company president in a hit-and-run, the victim's mother changes her identity and infiltrates the couple's home to work as their maid, plotting to murde ...

Thirst for Love (1966)

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

Cat Girls Gamblers: Abandoned Fangs of Triumph (1966)

Yukiko is on her way to meet Boss Gunji. Judging by her appearance, no one would suspect that this beautiful young woman, sitting quietly in a suburban train, is the only woman able to beat the best professional players in Japan; or that she is wearing the ...

Rise Against the Sword (1966)

Farmer Abare Goemon is confronted by brigand-like samurai. He raises an army of farmers to fight them and does so brilliantly. When Lord Asakura sees the success Goemon has achieved, he attempts to recruit him to fight in a conflict between Asakura and ano ...

Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)

Astronauts Glenn and Fuji investigate Planet X and encounter mysterious aliens known as the Xiliens, who ask Earth's people to help save their world from "Monster Zero". In exchange for borrowing Godzilla and Rodan, the Xiliens offer a cure for cancer. As ...

The Crazy Adventure (1965)

After being mistaken for counterfeiters by the police, an inventor and reporter try to track down the real counterfeiters. ...

Stairs of Evil (1965)

Iwao, , Kumagai, and Konishi broke into the safe containing the wages of the employees of Ato Industries and obtained a fortune large enough to live a life of leisure. They celebrated with Iwao's woman, Rumiko. However, it was too early to celebrate. They ...

Beast Alley (1965)

Desperate to escape her grueling life caring for her paralyzed husband, Tamiko murders him and burns down their home to start anew. She is soon entangled in the dark web of an influential, elderly power broker, becoming his mistress and a pawn in his polit ...

Miyamoto Musashi V: Musashi vs Kojiro (1965)

The fifth and final installment with the build up of the epic battle between Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamoto Musashi. With all the familiar characters making appearances: Otsu (Musashi's great love), Akemi, Matahachi (his former fellow soldier), old lady Osugi ...

Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu (1965)

In turbulent 16th-century Japan, the leaders of a minor fief have their child taken from them as a political hostage. His mother and his clan endure years of tribulations until he can return. ...

The Sandal Keeper (1964)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Hitoshi Ueki) starts out as Nobunaga's "Sandal Keeper" but climbs the ranks to eventually become a trusted general. ...

Assassination (1964)

In 1863, when American warships approach Japan, an enigmatic ronin becomes an important figure in a complex game of power between the Shogunate and the empire. ...

Brand of Evil (1964)

A Jonan Station detective, Kikuchi, is framed for smuggling drugs and sent to prison. When he is paroled, he joins a private detective agency, where he is asked to investigate Mitsue Takazawa, the wife of a local trading firm president. While secretly cond ...

Yearning (1964)

War widow Reiko rebuilds and runs the grocery shop in the house of her husband's family. Many years later, their business is threatened by a newly built supermarket and Reiko's in-laws plan to convert their small shop into a supermarket, to her detriment. ...

A Woman's Life (1963)

A woman remembers her own marriage when dealing with the love life of her son. ...

Young Guy in Hawaii (1963)

Fourth entry in Toho's Wakadaishō series directed by Jun Fukuda and released on a simultaneous screening with Matango. Filmed on location in Hawaii. ...

Police Precinct Part 21 (1963)

A burnt corpse of a man was found in Okutama. As a result of the investigation, it turns out that the criminal strangled the victim with a bandage, smashed his face with an oil canister and burned the body, trying to hide the identity of the victim. But th ...

High and Low (1963)

A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur's son but demand the ransom anyway. ...

Chûshingura (1962)

After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor. ...

Youth Season (1962)

1962 Japanese movie ...

Local Reporter (1962)

Irresponsible Age of Japan (1962)

An irresponsible salaryman works his way to the top of the corporate ladder. ...

Jūyaku kōho-sei nanbā 1 (1962)

1962 Japanese movie ...

Ame no Kudan-zaka (1962)

1962 Japanese movie ...

Third Generation's Loyalty Offering (1962)

1962 Japanese movie. ...

Teppo Yasu no Shogai (1962)

1962 Japanese movie ...

Sanjuro (1962)

In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear. ...

The Bride of Headless Island (1961)

Directed by Hideaki Onishi of "Vampire Monster House" fame. A thriller and unique period drama directed by Hideaki Onishi of "Vampire Monster House" from a script by Akiyoshi Kataoka. Suzuki Shuhei, the duo behind "Vampire Monster House," was in charge of ...

Buddha (1961)

An Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six years in search of spiritual enlightenment. Siddartha (Cojoin Hong) turns his back on the old religion when people are starving needlessly and holy rituals includ ...

A Man in Red (1961)

Takashi, who took the blame when his father shot a gangster, returns home after serving a four-year sentence, only to find it infested with yakuza running a dope ring. Battling gangsters all the way, Takashi searches for his former girlfriend, now a drug ...

The Gambler's Code (1961)

One of Japan's most popular stories is the tale of Kutsukake Tokijiro, a traveling gambler who finds that he must take care of the wife and child of a yakuza he had been forced by the code of the gamblers to fight man to man. In a brilliant performance fro ...

Otemoyan (1961)

Yojimbo (1961)

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and ...

Straw hat of Itako (1961)

A film about young wandering Yakuza. Yukio Hashi's first film role. ...

Vagabonds from Badgerville (1961)

A musical about the escapades of some tanuki passing themselves off as humans in human society. ...

Satan's Sword: The Dragon God (1960)

The sequel to Daibosatsu tôge (1960) and the second of the trilogy follows the adventures of Ryunosuke Tsukue after he is blinded. ...

Samurai Save The Virgin (1960)

A gripping historical drama full of suspense and a mysterious bewitching mood. A puzzle of a turbulent era in which various characters fall into a maelstrom of events - a pretty girl, a strange beggar woman, a charming thief, a clever detective, the famous ...

Lord Tadanao (1960)

Tsukinode no ketto (1960)

Scars of Honor (1960)

Japan, 1643, as the Kato clan of Aizu falls from power two brave samurai will settle a dispute in the time-honored tradition of their clan, by drawing their blades in a duel to the death. ...

The Bad Sleep Well (1960)

In this loose adaptation of "Hamlet," illegitimate son Kôichi Nishi climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter of company vice president Iwabuchi. At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corp ...

Life of a Country Doctor (1960)

A skilled country doctor's talents are such that he can even perform operations as difficult and novel as removing a patient's kidney for the first time in Japan. Unfortunately for him, however, his wife's addiction to gambling is of such a magnitude that ...

The Sun's Burial (1960)

In Osaka's slum, capricious folks without futures engage in pilfering, assault and robbery, prostitution, and the trading of ID cards and blood. ...

Jirocho Fuji 2: The Chivalrous (1960)

The exciting story of Jirocho and his yakuza gang that controlled the area of the Tokaido during the latter days of the samurai era. Awesome fighting from Katsu Shintaro as One-Eyed Ishimatsu highlights this great tale taken from Japanese history! ...

The Demon of Mount Oe (1960)

A band of warriors journeys to Mount Oe to rescue abducted women from a demon, overcoming supernatural threats like a giant spider and a diabolical witch along the way. ...

Yûrei koban (1960)

Echigo jishi-sai (1960)

1960 version of Lion Festival of Echigo ...

Mission Accomplished (1960)

The Two Musashis (1960)

During the reign of Shogun Hidetada, both Hirate Musashi and Okamoto Musashi strive to become the finest swordsman in the land by defeating the Yagyu clan's top instructors and then taking on Sasaki Kojiro! ...

The Princess Says No (1959)

Samurai Vendetta (1959)

Two amiable samurai wind up on opposite sides of the vendetta between Lord Asano's retainers and the family of Lord Kira that led to the famous revenge of the 47 Ronin. ...

The Enchanting Devil (1959)

Thriller directed by Seiji Maruyama ...

The Lord Pretends (1959)

Sudden Attack of the Christian Lord (1959)

Jirocho Fuji (1959)

Legendary yakuza Shimizu Jirocho and his 28 henchmen travel the unruly path from a 'Fire Festival' in Akiba to a decisive battle by the Fujigawa. ...

Ojo-kichiza (1959)

Lord Nobunaga's Early Days (1959)

Gambler and the Princess (1959)

Film directed by Kenji Misumi. ...

Yutaro's Secret Story (1959)

Yutaro Kodan, born under a cloud because his aristocrat father died opposing the shogunate, stumbles onto a treasure map. Lusting after the treasure, Lord Sumi Tadamasa convinces trusting Princess Tsu that the gold will help to avenge her lost clan. ...

Peony on the Skin (1959)

Bakeneko goyō da (1958)

Bakeneko Goyōda (1958)

A comic thriller directed by Tokuzo Tanaka, a first-time newcomer, based on a screenplay by Toshio Tamikado, who co-wrote "Nukiashisashi Ashi Shinobiashi." Photographed by Chikichiro Takeda of "Nurekami Kenpo." The music is by Han Takahashi of "Nukiashisas ...

The Gay Masquerade (1958)

The film won 1959 Blue Ribbon Awards for best actor Raizo Ichikawa and for best cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa. The film also won 1959 Kinema Junpo Award for best actor Raizo Ichikawa. ...

Hana no yukyo-den (1958)

1958 Japanese movie ...

Tomboy Samurai (1958)

The beautiful daughter of a merchant with a penchant for danger proves to be too much to handle for her worried father. Disguising herself as a man and changing her name, she heads for the capital... ...

Inochi wo Kakeru Otoko (1958)

Hanatarō Jumon (1958)

The Mysterians (1957)

In Japan, scientifically advanced invaders from the war-destroyed planet Mysteroid cause an entire village to vanish, then send a giant robot out to storm the city by night, after which they request a small patch of land on Earth and the right to marry ear ...

Freelance Samurai (1957)

One of Japanese folklore's most popular characters is brought to life on the silver screen in this terrific version of legendary Demon slaying Peach Boy. ...

Inazuma Kaidō (1957)

Akado Suzunosuke and the Vacuum Slash of the Asuka School (1957)

Suzunosuke visits a martial arts master and tries to learn the 'Vacuum Slash,' a secret technique of producing tornadoes. ...

Mangorō Tengu (1957)

Yataro’s Travel Hat (1957)

Kodokan Under a Morning Moon (1957)

The picture tells of a tremendous conflict between ju-jitsu, an aggressive art practiced by vicious hoodlums led by Takamatsu, and judo, which is used only for self-defense and championed by Sugawara. All of which, comes to a mighty match between Sugawara ...

Yagyu Secret Scrolls (1957)

In the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets which, if revealed, would cause revolution and disaster for the clan. The information is divided among the three scrolls, all of which must be possessed for t ...

Street of Ronin (1957)

Based on the famous novel by Yamagami Itaro, this is the story of a group of ronin living in abject poverty in the latter days of the Edo period. Starring the great Konoe Jushiro, Ronin Gai is populated by an ensemble of colorful characters, social outcast ...

Ôban (1957)

A young country boy leaves his village for Tokyo, where he begins to work as a stock trader. First part (of four) of the film adaptation of Bunroku Shishi's novel, Oban. ...

Throne of Blood (1957)

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit' ...

The Storm (1956)

A widowed high-school teacher tries to raise his four children alone. ...

Eyes of the Jaguar: Blue Dragon's Cave (1956)

Judo and Shaolin team up to defeat the magician Jaguar and restore a Princess to her rightful riches, gold stashed under a mountain in Hokkaido. ...

The Eyes of the Jaguar (1956)

A young princess is kidnapped and put on a pirate ship bound for Hokkaido and the villainous Jaguar. Her only hope is the cook and a young man who knows Judo. ...

I Live in Fear (1955)

An aging foundry patriarch, gripped by terror of nuclear annihilation, tries to uproot his family to Brazil. When they petition to have him declared incompetent, a family-court counselor witnesses his obsession slide into ruin—and asks whether ignoring t ...

No Time for Tears (1955)

Coach Shimamura of the hapless Sparrows baseball team is pleased to obtain a hot new pitcher named Onishi. But when Onishi begins a romantic relationship with the coach's daughter Michiko, Shimamura becomes angry with the young man, lashing out at him when ...

A Man Among Men (1955)

Gangsters Ken and Maki are rivals in the ticket-scalping game. They make an uneasy truce, but Ken wrecks the truce by agreeing to fix a boxing match in which Maki has an interest in one of the fighters. After a terrible brawl, the two gangsters discover th ...

Ghost Man (1954)

A ghost man with his face hidden entirely by bandages is killing beautiful nude models. Detective Kindaichi investigates. ...

Turbid Youth (1954)

Shigeki Kachi, Tosuke Satomura, and Nanako, who belong to the theater company Vuanbert around Dosa, withdrew at the indignation of the chairman Hayashi and seeked their own careers in the film industry. ...

The Black Current (1954)

A reporter Takuo, who is sleeping in the newspaper room of the Maichō newspaper company, receives a sudden report from a reporter that the missing Akiyama JNR president was found dead. ...

Yakuza bayashi (1954)

Makino Masahiro film starring Okada Mariko ...

The Street Without Sun (1954)

Based on the novel by proletarian writer Sunao Tokunaga. The story is about a long strike by workers at a large printing house and the strikers' steadfastness, which neither hunger nor violence could break. The heroine of this story actively participates i ...

Seven Samurai (1954)

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with ...

Gate of Hell (1953)

Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married. ...

Jirocho's Home-Coming (1953)

The "sangokushi" films beginning with Jirocho sangokkushi: Nagurikomi kojinyama (Jirocho's Tale of Three Provinces, 1952) were based on a novel by Genzo Murakami (1910-2006), who had films based on other of his books on Musashi Miyamoto's adversary Sasaki ...

Her Captive Gamblers (1953)

Tower of Lilies (1953)

A group of Okinawan high school girls are drafted as nurses during the American invasion of the island. As the enemy army advances further, the situation for the girls becomes increasingly desperate as food and shelter run out and the number of injured cli ...

The Stand in Hakone (1952)

A period film about a peasant revolt in the region near Mount Fuji, occasioned by high officials' depriving the farmers of their water rights. ...

Riverside Fish Market Empire (1952)

Obscure Japanese movie by director Kyotaro Namiki ...

Miki, the Swordman (1951)

After mastering swordsmanship at the dojo of Chiba Shusaku, and unable to serve a clan due to his illness, Hirate Miki becomes a ronin who winds up as bodyguard to Shigezo of Sasagawa leading up to an epic battle. ...

The Man Without a Nationality (1951)

Thriller drama by Kon Ichikawa ...

The White Orchid (1951)

A Japanese adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's short story Boule de Suif, directed by Kimura Keigo ...

Tokyo File 212 (1951)

A Communist spy ring in Japan is hard at work trying to sabotage the American war effort during the Korean War, using kidnapping, murder and a disturbed former kamikaze pilot. A U.S. secret agent, posing as a reporter, is dispatched to Tokyo to put a stop ...

Beyond Love and Hate (1951)

A young man, convicted of a crime and imprisoned in the penitentiary, comes to believe that his wife is being unfaithful to him. He contrives his escape from the prison in order to seek her out and learn the truth, but the police give chase and he must fle ...

Senka o koete (1950)

Sanshiro of Ginza (1950)

An early film by Kon Ichikawa ...

Town of Violence (1950)

An attempt is made to suppress a journalist's investigation of collusion between a rural police chief and the local gangster bosses. ...

Stray Dog (1949)

A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo's sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of c ...