Kodayu Ichikawa

Fûun Shinsengumi (1961)

1961 Japanese film about the Shinsengumi. ...

Cases of Hanshichi (1960)

Detective Hanshichi (Kataoka Chiezo) solves 3 mysterious murder cases. Great story and an impressive all-star cast, a must see! ...

Shingo's Original Challenge, Part 4 (1960)

Aoi Shingo, a son of the Shogun, continues his travels seeking to further his mastery of the sword. In this final episode of the popular "Shingo's Original Challenge" series, Shingo confronts his master's killer in the ultimate test of his skill. ...

Ryuji, the Gun Slinger (1960)

Official with a Tattoo (1960)

Kinnosuke of Toyama sets out on a private mission to clear his father's name for a crime he did not commit. ...

Case of Umon: Hell’s Windmill (1960)

Umon's services are called upon when innocent bystanders, Kayo and Minokichi, along with the ronin, Gontaro are mistakenly identified as suspects in several recent murder cases. To prove their innocence and uncover the truth, Umon launches his own investig ...

Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka (1959)

Chubei, the adopted son of an Osaka courier, falls desperately in love with the courtesan Umegawa. To prevent a wealthy client from purchasing her, he steals money from his employer to buy her freedom himself. Now hunted criminals, the lovers flee toward Y ...

A Spectacular Showdown (1959)

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, mo ...

No Stronger Swords (1959)

Featuring some of the finest swordsmen ever to grace the silver screen, this Toei classic tells the story of a battle between the evil sword style called "Otonashi" (The Silent Form) and the proper way of swordsmanship as promoted by such historical stalwa ...

The Purple Hood (1958)

Kataoka Chiezo stars as Murasaki Zukin, a mysterious hero of the people who helps those in need. Now under the rule of the evil Tanuma, the people look to Murasaki Zukin more than ever, to confront and punish those who bring misfortune upon the commoners. ...

Isshin Tasuke: A World in Danger (1958)

Tasuke stumbles across Kokichi, a distraught man whom having lost his fiancee to Lord Kawakatsu is ready to commit suicide. Tasuke learns that Kokichi's fiancee, Otoyo, was a chambermaid whom Kawakatsu abducted in order to make her his concubine and Tasuke ...

The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958)

Townsend Harris is sent by President Pierce to Japan to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General to that country. Harris discovers enormous hostility to foreigners, as well as the love of a young geisha. ...

The Shogun’s Guard, Shinsengumi (1958)

The Shinsengumi is a special unit of ronin commissioned by the Tokugawa shogunate to counter anti-shogunate activities in Kyoto. A sinister plot to overthrow the shogun is set in motion and Kondo Isami and his fellow samurai must answer the call and expose ...

Fireball Magistrate (1958)

Two guardians of the Nijo Castle, Shioya and Kamazawa, discover a map leading to a secret passage to Edo Castle. Instead of reporting their find to local authorities, they decide to blackmail the lords who created the forbidden passage. To prove their crim ...

Falcon Magistrate (1957)

Toyama Kinshiro, a commissioner from northern Edo, goes undercover to unravel the mystery behind a series of murders. Kinshiro, played by Kataoka Chiezo, is most famous for the cherry blossom tattoos on his shoulder which he reveals at the moment of judgem ...

Shadow Over Fuji (1957)

The year is 1805. Napoleon ruled Europe. Ienari is the 11th Tokugawa Shogun. An incident, which was an open official secret, took place on the foothills of Mt. Fuji. Fearing attacks from within and without, the Shogunate planned to build a training castle ...

The Young Avenger (1957)

Akitaro Orizuru, who set out on a journey to avenge his father's death in the darkness, returned to Itako, his hometown, where the Ayame Festival was approaching, for the first time in five years. His late father's brother, Sutezo, who took off his waraji, ...

Casebook of Dandy Sashichi: Six Famous Beauties (1956)

Famed detective Dandy Sashichi tries to solve who's behind the serial murders of six beautiful women under the aegis of local showman Ibaragiya. The film opens with the sextet humiliating a respected painter's portraits of them, driving the man to a sus­p ...

Rebellion from Below (1956)

A master hunter is driven to defiance after a tyrannical magistrate's cruelty pushes his community to its breaking point. His expert skill with a bow becomes the rallying point for a group of oppressed peasants and prisoners seeking justice. Together, they ...

The Fiery Magistrate (1956)

Film adaption by Kenji Misumi ...

The Monster Cat of the Fifty-Three Stations (1956)

A power struggle in the fief of Okazaki causes the death of Namiji, a nobleman's daughter. As her fiancé seeks revenge, he finds Namiji's cat helping him, along the Fifty-Three stations of the Tokaido Road. Co-starring Shintarô Katsu and Takako Irie. ...

Denshichi Torimonocho: Female Fox Palanquin (1956)

One night in Edo, a mysterious woman in a palanquin appeared at the moneylender Yamashiroya, revealing herself to a beautiful woman. She told the owner, Shigebē, that she had come to collect a life he owed from twenty years ago and then left. The same nig ...

Zangiku monogatari (1956)

Based on the novel by Shofu Muramatsu, the film is dedicated to the actors of the renowned Japanese Kabuki theatre. Set in Japan in 1885, the story follows Kikunosuke Onoe, the adopted son of a famous Kabuki actor. Kikunosuke's father teaches him professio ...

Swordsman of the Two Sword Style (1956)

The story of Japan's greatest warrior, Miyamoto Musashi, after his historic duel with Sasaki Kojiro on Ganryu Island. ...

Hidden Story of the Yagyu Clan (1956)

It is brother against brother in this tale of love and betrayal within the famed Yagyu clan. In one of their earliest films together, superstars Ichikawa Raizo and Katsu Shintaro are magnificent as the two finest young swordsmen in the clan. As they vie fo ...

Zenigata Heiji Case Files: The Dead Beauty in the Bathhouse (1956)

Matashirō Fighting Journey (1956)

Thief and Magistrate (1955)

Meigetsu sataro gasa (1955)

Japanese film. ...

The Dawn of Judo (1955)

The Dancer and Two Warriors (1955)

The Further Adventures of Genta (1955)

Hirado Pirates (1955)

In the 9th year of the Tempo era, after a long sea voyage, Moritaya Seizo returned to Hirado, who earned huge amounts of gold by piracy. Along the way, he picked up Ichinojo Kaneko, a Ronin who survived the disaster at sea. Seizo and Orin, the daughter of ...

Life of Geisha (1955)

The tragedy of the geiko girl Ume and the men who try to pursue her. ...

The Playful Fox and the Thousand Cherry Trees (1954)

Japanese comedy film. ...

The Young Swordsman (1954)

Fall of the Shogun's Militia (1954)

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 start ...

Nage Utasamon sanban tegara: Fukumen dokurotai (1954)

Third in the Nage utasamon series ...

Denshichi Torimonocho: Tattoo Woman Trouble (1954)

During the era of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one night a carver named Fujijiro was murdered. Immediately launching an investigation, Denhichi, accompanied by Otoshi and Take, toured the entertainment houses of Ryogoku. There, they discovered a connection between an ...

Love and Duty (1954)

Each one of us lives differently. So, there are many tragedies and comedies in our lives. She feels many conflicts in living her life between truth and love. ...

A Samurai's Love (1954)

A film about the Ghost of Okiku that's based on the kabuki play Bancho Sarayashiki. ...

Beautiful Gonpati (1954)

A foot soldier from Tottori domain named Shirai Gonpachi showcased exceptional swordsmanship that even surpassed the domain's champion Honjo Sukehichi during a ceremonial match. Though Gonpachi was promised a promotion to samurai status due to his skills, ...

Young Miss Executive (1953)

A President of the confectionery company announced his retirement, and his sixteen year old granddaughter, Madoka was ordered to be a new head. But Madoka wants to be a stage dancer, so she won't concentrate her office job. Madoka meets Akiyama, a stage di ...

Always in My Heart Part 2 (1953)

Machiko and Haruki's drama continues. Two meet again in Hokkaido only to be separated again. ...

Hana no shôgai (1953)

In 1842, in the Umemoku Mansion within Hikone Castle, Naosuke Ii, despite the tumultuous times, was engrossed in the world of tea ceremony. His friend, the Kokugaku scholar Nagano Shuzen, introduced him to a captivating shamisen master named Murayama Taka. ...

Always in My Heart (1953)

Machiko Ujiie and Haruki Atomiya first meet and fall in love on Ginza's Sukiyabashi Bridge during the Great Tokyo Air Raid in March 1945. Machiko and Haruki pledge to meet again at the bridge in six months but part without asking each other's names. ...

Kisan Detective Story: The Mysterious Doll-Maker (1953)

1953 jidaigeki directed by Nobuo Nakagawa of Jigoku and Ghost of Yotsuya fame. ...

Great Edo Song Festival (1953)

The feudal lord Kisaragi Yae no Kami (Minami Komyo) searches for a child he had with a low-borne woman, that was sent away from his home 16 years ago while carrying a special seal. At that time, Kanda's detective Zenshichi (Ichikawa Kodayu II) had three da ...

Merciless Blade Part 3 (1953)

The final film in the 1953 trilogy based on the long novel series The Great Bodhisattva Pass. ...

An Edoite Judge (1953)

Period film about a feudal era judge living in Edo ...

Passion Fire (1952)

The time was the first year of Keio (1865). Upon hearing the news that the Imperial Army was approaching Hida Takayama, the district head Shimizu Uzen fled to Edo. Local officials like Yoshida Bunsuke and Yoshizumi Hironoshin showed their allegiance by wel ...

Ghost Story: Passion in Fukagawa (1952)

A ghost story about a woman who dies a violent death and appears to the man she loves as a vengeful spirit. This film marked the turning point in Daiei's shift in emphasis from thrillers to ghost stories. ...

Bored Hatamoto: The Imposter (1952)

Around the Genroku era, there was a man named Saotome Shusui-no-Suke, nephew to the senior councilor Matsudaira Sakon Shogen. He was commonly known as the Bored Samurai of the Hatamoto rank. Just as he was engulfed in boredom, Tokugawa Jo-Kaibo, claiming t ...

Five Men of Edo (1951)

During the 17th Century roving bands of hatamoto were causing trouble in the new capital city of Edo and constantly fought with the townspeople at every turn. The leader of these ruthless samruai was Mizuno Jirozaemon, who despite his high rank was in deep ...

Somersault on the Way (1950)

A young boy named Chomatsu (Misora Hibari) lives with an old man Denbei near the grounds of Asakusa temple as bell ringers. In their house is an Echigo lion mask, a memento of Chomatsu's deceased father. After several incidents of Echigo lion masks being d ...

Sakon Detective Story: Handprint in Fresh Blood (1950)