Daisuke Itō

Aboard a ship connecting Kyoto and Osaka, Osan was pickpocketed by a sham blind biwa player. A man who looked like a merchant retrieved the wallet for her. Osan was a woman being sold off for the sake of her yakuza-like brother, Nin'kichi. The man in the guise of a merchant turned out to be the Rat Thief, Jirokichi, the infamous thief of Edo. Due to this chance encounter, the two ended up staying at the same hot spring inn. However, one morning, as Jirokichi was about to leave alone, Osan, with the intuition of a smitten woman, confessed she knew he was the famed Rat Thief.

The story of Ryoma Sakamoto, considered to be the architect behind the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was considered an outlaw by his own clan, hunted by his government, and was despised by supporters of the Shogun as well as the Loyalists for desiring the opening of Japan to the West in order to learn its technology, in the hopes of one day defeating the West with a modern army and navy.

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

Nemuri Kyoshiro discovers a conspiracy centering around a band of disgruntled samurai wanting to avenge the death of their sensei, a political reformer that pushed for better provisions for the lower classes until he was assassinated by Shogunate agents. Their plot, to set fire to the oil refineries of two rich merchants and unleash a raging inferno that will hopefully burn down the Edo Castle.

The film depicts the scarring of Yosaburo at the hands of yakuza thugs who catch him with mistress of the gang boss. Despite the physical and emotional scars he now carries with him, Yosaburo falls for a young noblewoman. The rest of the film follows the two as they fend off attacks from gangs and the police.

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

The film takes place at the junction of the two eras of Meiji and Taisho. Sakata Sankichi, an uneducated zori sandal maker, becomes a professional shogi player through his genius shogi skills and lives a fanatically devoted shogi game supported by the love of his family. This is the 3rd adaptation of Hideji Hojo's famous play.

Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with dice is turning.

A village struggles to survive when the nearby lake becomes barren of fish.

This film stars Tanaka Kinuyo as the mother of the heir to the Hosho name, a famous lineage of Noh actors. The heir, Hosho Yagoro, is played by Hasegawa Kuzuo who went on to become familiar among Ichikawa Kon fans as Yukinojo in An Actor's Revenge, which was also co-written by Ito, adding to the relatedness of An Heir's Place.

Driven by a murderous intent, he pursues the palanquin carrying the renowned onnagata Kikunosuke, who has taken the place of the princess destined to marry the lord of the Okazaki domain.

A period mystery in which an unconventional priest exposes the truth behind the bizarre death of a maid in the shogun's harem. Kinuyo Tanaka stylishly plays a constantly intoxicated geisha in this all-star entertainment film.

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.

Ito Daisuke's wartime retelling of the Miyamoto Musashi story.

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.

Gonza was a handsome young laborer, a footman and spear-carrier, working hard for his meager wage. All Gonza wanted was to marry his young sweetheart, but despite their mutual poverty, her status as the daughter of a samurai blocked their path to happiness. A chance opportunity to achieve samurai status would come one day, but Gonza will regret trusting the so-called honorable samurai who extended this fateful offer, and the terrible price he'd pay, fighting for his life in one of the most blood-spattered samurai battles ever filmed.

Young lord Saburo Nobuyasu struggles to find comfort in life. His arranged marriage to Tokuhime, daughter of one-time family enemy Oda Nobunaga, provides little happiness. His manipulative mother adds further complications through her constant interference and attempts at defeating the Nobunaga family.

In the sixth and final episode Rentaro Mikuni steals the show as Baiken Shishido, Musashi's nemesis. Mikuni is the nominal villain of the film, but he is a devoted husband and father as well. He tries to kill Musashi only to avenge the death of his brother-in-law. While Baiken (who wields a chain and sickle against Musashi's sword) is a very human character and the emotions that Mikuni displays in his performance are quite believable and engaging

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 financial distress, thus leading to a tragedy that shook the very streets of the city.Opposing him was Banzui-in Chobei, the ‘Protector of the Weak’ who was willing to put his life on the line to save the 808 districts of Edo from the 80,000 hatamoto whose violent behavior threatened to destroy the fabric of society. Starring Bando Tsumasaburo, the first great star of the silver screen along with mega-star Ichikawa Utaemon, this is a story not to be missed. Torn from the pages of history, this true story has been told many times, but never as powerfully as this!

Set against the backdrop of the Great Fire of Edo, this story depicts the conflict between the town fire brigades and the daimyo’s fire brigades.

A spearman who had long admired the samurai rises up after learning of cruelty of the samurai class.