Rivals

A story about a spear master’s spiritual and martial discipline.

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

For the poor, Edo is Hell on Earth, starving under the rule of Tanuma Okitsugi, corrupt councilor to the shogun. But the courageous vagabond called “Kageboshi” (Shadow Avenger), will fight for the common folk, robbing the rich so the people will have rice. Tanuma’s henchmen will hire an evil swordsman to pose as Kageboshi, starting a wave of murder, kidnapping and robbery, searching for two antique sword-guards that will reveal the hiding place of a fortune in buried gold. But who will claim the gold? The poor of Edo, or the conniving Tanuma? Only Kageboshi’s flashing sword, tearing through Tanuma’s bloodthirsty minions, can forestall his wicked schemes.

Desiring another officer’s new wife, a military police lieutenant fabricates evidence of treason that consigns the innocent man to torture and a firing squad. The lieutenant rapes the wife, but is haunted by bad dreams which after he is assigned to a battalion with the victim’s brother.

Another adaptation of Tange Sazen.

After being brutally maimed by evil aliens, Dan Moroboshi (Ultra Seven) takes under his wing a fierce young Ultra-like being from L-77, and christens him "Ultraman Leo," to continue his mission to defend the Earth.

In 1870's Tokyo, Den steals to support the daughter of her first marriage and her consumptive second husband. She falls in love with a young policeman, but is coerced into becoming the mistress of and procurer for a vice boss.

A blind masseur visits a samurai to request the return of a loan. The samurai kills him in anger, then has his servant dump the body in the Kasane swamp. However, the ghost of the masseur returns to haunt the samurai, who kills his wife by mistake and then goes to the swamp and drowns himself. 20 years later, the masseur's daughter unknowingly falls in love with the samurai's son who has been brought up to be a servant. After she is horribly disfigured in an accident, he plots to run away with another woman, but the path of their escape lies by the Kasane swamp...

The long-awaited haymaking season has arrived on the island of Honshu. Work is in full swing in the fields, with young and old alike toiling away. For the young woman Moyoko and the young man Tokizo, it is more fun than work. Both are young, cheerful, excited by the shared anticipation of the harvest festival, and not yet aware that they are beginning to fall in love with each other. That is why the first timid hint of confession causes such turmoil in their souls and almost leads to a serious quarrel. Their quarrelsome aunts did the lovers a disservice...

The descendant of the servant of a cruel and vicious samurai returns to the town where she was born, only to find that a cat who is possessed by the spirits of those murdered by the samurai is trying to kill her.

This horror tale adapts the Japanese legend about a man who faces the consequences of betraying his wife in order to acquire wealth and power.

Okatsu the Fugitive is the third film in the "Ohyaku/Okatsu" series. Okatsu; a "tomboy" who is good with a sword. Her father has found her a man to marry and actually she doesn't seem too upset about the situation. At the same time, a bunch of farmers are being slaughtered by a corrupt group running a tobacco smuggling ring. They're being investigated by a man who is documenting their crimes and when they find out about it, they torture him for information but get none. It's not long before he and Okatsu's mother wind up dead and she sets out for revenge.

A group of sinners involved in interconnected tales of murder, revenge, deceit and adultery all meet at the Gates of Hell.

This film focuses on Okatsu; the adopted daughter of a master swordsman. She is a master with a sword herself and her talents far overshadow that of her brother, and real child of the man who adopted her. Her brother unfortunately has a gambling habit, and it plunges the family into trouble when he loses a lot of money in a crooked dice game. After releasing he is unable to pay the debt he owes; the blame is shouldered by the father, who is killed, leading Okatsu on a path of revenge.

An old man dies of heartbreak when a cruel landlord is about to repossess his land. The old man haunts the landlord from the grave. Since the man died in debt, his wife and daughter are indentured servants and are forced to work in the landlord's factory.

An injured Edo official is rescued by a vassal whose appearance is exactly like himself, and swears to sweep out the criminals from the town on his behalf.