Bakumatsu (1970)

Though he was a low-level samurai from the relatively small Tosa clan, Ryoma Sakamoto became one of the most influential figures in the fall of the Shogunate. He has figured in the background of a number of the historical movies of the sixties, but Bakumatsu is the first full treatment of his life, at least …

Tragedy of a Coolie Samurai / Retaliation of Gonza / Kono kubi ichiman goku (1963)

Sometimes you come across a chanbara that is not particularly famous or outstanding in quality, but which still has some very interesting points. Such is Tragedy of a Coolie Samurai. As the title tells us, the hero Gonza is a coolie and he comes to a bad end, so I don’t have to worry much …

The Loyal 47 Ronin / Chushingura (1958)

The story of the 47 Ronin had a particular resonance for Japanese audiences, and it has been told on screen numerous times. Thus, it is no surprise to find that Daiei, the studio that was most deeply committed to the jidai-geki and chanbara in the fifties and sixties, should turn to the story for one …

Actor’s Revenge / Yukinojo henge (1963)

For Americans, one of the oddest traditions of Japanese theater is the onnagata, the fully adult male who plays women's roles in Kabuki. In An Actor's Revenge, we get one of our most detailed looks at the onnagata life, expressed through a flamboyantly over-the-top melodrama. As directed by Kon Ichikawa, it is also a shining …

Five Men of Edo / Edo gonin otoko (1951)

To call Five Men of Edo a surprise would be an understatement. When I stumbled on a copy, I expected an early fifties return to the traditional chanbara, much like Inagaki's Kojiro Sasaki. After all, it starred Tsumasabura Bando and Utaemon Ichikawa and was directed by one of the grand old men of chanbara films, Daisuke …

Samurai Vendetta / Hakuoki (1959)

Because it deals with a well-known figure in Japanese history and legend, Hakuoki is a movie that is more confusing to non-Japanese viewers than to its original audience. While it provides the requisite spectacular sword fights we expect from a chanbara, the story line connecting those fights seems disjointed, almost as if there were two …

Samurai I / Musashi Miyamoto (1954)

There are several stories that Japanese audiences apparently can't get enough of, and thus remakes seem to occur even more often in Japanese movies than in American ones. The most common is the story of the 47 Ronin, based on a historical event. This has appeared so often, sometimes even twice in a year from …

The Conspirator / Hangyakuji (1961)

The title's translation is a bit deceptive, because the hero Nobuyasu is about the only person in the movie who is not involved in a conspiracy of some kind. He is the son of Ieyasu Tokugawa, one of the most devious (and successful) conspirators and generals in Japanese history, ultimately the first of the Tokugawa …

Jirokichi the Rat / Oatsurae Jirokichi koshi (1931)

Based on the exploits of a real historical figure, Jirokichi the Rat shows us a brief fictionalized moment in the life of a famous thief who was regarded as sort of a Robin Hood figure because he only stole from the very richest people. In this particular movie, set specifically in 1831, he doesn't go …