Tattoo of Love / Irezumi Hantaro (1963)

Using a situation similar to Theater of Life - Hishakaku, Tattoo of Love turns the story into tear-jerker soap opera, if nothing else demonstrating the flexibility of the period yakuza movie in its early days. Fortunately, it also features Hashizo Okawa in his committed mode and a most unusual depiction of a woman sold into …

Knightly Advice / Shogun’s Advisor / Tena no gaiken ban (1962)

The most effective advice given here comes from a lower-class woman, which makes Knightly Advice something of an anomaly among jidai-geki. It is also unusual because it takes a very serious crisis in Japanese history and treats it as a comedy. When the Tokugawa Shogunate was established in 1600, political power was still quite fluid. …