Samurai Town Story Part II

The Domain: Kanda Festival Showdown

From the late 1500's through the founding of the Tokugawa Shogunate many battles were fought as the great warlords vied for power over the nation. Princess Sen, a daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu, is caught amidst the family feud between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi families. When her father Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu attacks her husband Toyotomi Hideyori's castle, her life takes a sudden turn for the worse. Will she ever find peace in her life again? One of Hibari Misora's most memorable performances, a movie you will never forget!

A classic battle between good and evil pits an unscrupulous fortuneteller who has been preying on the good citizens of Edo against a master-less samurai who founded a school for underprivileged children in a poor neighborhood. Into the mix comes a young woman running away from a forced marriage disguised as a teenage boy and becomes a student of the beloved Sensei, while he staves off the advances of a skilled pickpocket and prepares for a bloody showdown against a direct retainer of the shogun!

The Domain: White Blade

Third part of Nihon Kyokakuden series is set in Kanto in 1924. Ken Takakura playing a ship's mate befriending fish shop owners harassed by yakuza.

Tossing his hat in the air to pick a direction, Yataro the wanderer sets out on a journey of adventure, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. The son of a Hatamoto, he has left the samurai life and become a yakuza, gambling on life's fortune and ready to risk his life at a moment's notice. Featuring an all-star cast that includes the debonair Azuma Chiyonosuke, this is a tale of excitement and action that brings the best of black and white to the silver screen. An adventure like no other, this is one of Kinnosuke's lost gems. A series of mishaps leads Yataro to watching over the beloved daughter of his close friend.

This is Kanjûrô Arashi's first film with Nikkatsu after his independent production company went bankrupt (many of these independent companies went bankrupt shortly after the transition to sound). As he is mostly famous for his portrait of Kurama tengu (and on the other hand, he's the definitive actor for Kurama Tengu as well), Nikkatsu made another version of Kurama tengu, co-directed by Masahiro Makino & Sadatsugu Matsuda who are both sons of Shozo Makino. Scripted by Yoshitake Hisa, a jidaigeki specialist who later scripted several Toei All-Star Jidaigeki.

Coal miner Isamu Oba is forced to quit his village and leave his mother and siblings behind. Mining buddy Ichiro accompanies him to Tokyo, and the pair enjoy several "fish-out-of-water" sequences before finding employment at a boxing gym with trainer Sawada and his spunky sister Tomoko. The boys also find part time night jobs as roving minstrels in the club district courtesy of benevolent gang boss Asakawa. Of course, they run afoul of boss Karasawa's cruel gang. Karasawa also has it in for Asakawa, and this indirectly throws a spanner into the works as far as Isamu's burgeoning success as a kickboxer. When Asakawa's HQ is burned to the ground by Karasawa's men, Asakawa tries to kill Karasawa - which, of course, leads to his own gruesome death. Isamu goes on the rampage with his sword, wiping out Karasawa and men.

The vassals of the Asano clan, who surrendered the castle & became wanderers, deceive the enemy and the public, wait for an opportunity to avenge their master and his family.

The Ni Family is the most well know and respected group of firefighters in the Kanto region. When their leader dies and the successor disappears, Tsuruji, a beautiful yet tough geisha, becomes the boss. But will she be able to confront a yakuza gang trying to take over the area?

An umbrella maker with a shopping addiction finds himself in dire straits when his debts force him to consider selling his attractive, desirable daughter to a suitor she doesn't love.

Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attempt to regain their honor by defending a brothel from a hostile militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.

In this tale of bravery and honor among the roving gamblers of old Japan, the heroic Jirocho, Boss of the Tokaido is called upon to help a young yakuza named Eijiro after he runs afoul of the new samurai officials who have taken over his hometown. Expertly portrayed by Kitaoji Kinya (son of the all-time great star Ichikawa Utaemon), this young man stands up for the townspeople and puts his life on the line. Jirocho, played by superstar Nakamura Kinnosuke, a boss known for his honor and valor soon finds himself involved in the feud which will only end in a brutal showdown.

As the reputation of Sasaki Kojiro, who traveled through various provinces with his long sword seeking duels, began to spread, he was summoned by Lord Hosokawa Sansai upon the recommendation of Kokura clan warrior Iwama Kakubei. However, at this time, due to the proposal by Nagaoka Sado, it was agreed that Kojiro would face Miyamoto Musashi in a duel. If he won, Kojiro would officially become the chief instructor, as he desired. Until then, he had a provisional stipend of 500 koku. Learning that Musashi was in Kyoto, Kojiro set off for the city. En route, he was joined by a woman named Shino, who held a grudge against Musashi.