The Trail of Blood

The Trail of Blood

1972 · 87 min · ★ 6.7 · Action

Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father's craft. After three years, the gangs he embarrassed when he saved his wife find the family and leave Jokichi in grief, vowing revenge. To parry his terrible swift sword, rival gangs join forces, hiring a prostitute to pose as a woman needing help and breaking the code of honor to double cross the drifter. He finds unlikely allies: a thief who aids him for fun and a one-eyed swordsman who may be Jokichi's equal in skill and honor.

Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro · Written by Itsuhiro Ishimatsu

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Amazon Video

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 57m together

The Trail of Blood

Broken Swords

Both from Kazuo Ikehiro.

Mikogami Trilogy / Wanderer JôkichiSee all →

More from Kazuo IkehiroSee all →

Make-UpMake-Up · 1984
Make-Up
★ 10.01984
MovieDrama
Rabble TacticsRabble Tactics · 1963
Rabble Tactics
★ 9.51963
MovieWarDrama
The warlords overrun the country while the farmers are starving, and forced to become soldiers to keep the wolf from the door. The farmers are recruited in groups of fifteen. In Yaju's village, there are only twelve men, so they press Oto, who looks more like a boy than a girl, to join, disguised as a man.
Young Boss: Leader's FleshYoung Boss: Leader's Flesh · 1967
Young Boss: Leader's Flesh
★ 9.01967
MovieActionCrime
The Thieves' Who's WhoThe Thieves' Who's Who · 1966
The Thieves' Who's Who
★ 8.51966
MovieAction
In the book of the world's greatest rogues, the number one man can only be one person.
MonkeyMonkey · 1978
Monkey
★ 8.11978
SeriesAction & AdventureComedy
Buddhist priest Tripitaka and his three disciples Monkey, Pigsy, and Sandy, travel from China to India to fetch the Buddhist scriptures. They have been sent by Buddha, and getting these scriptures will bring peace to the people of the world.
Broken SwordsBroken Swords · 1969
Broken Swords
★ 8.01969
MovieDramaAction
The tragic, yet exciting story of the friendship between Nakayama Yasubei, a member of the 47 Ronin, and Tange Tenzen, a relative by marriage of the vile Lord Kira.
Lowly RoninLowly Ronin · 1981
Lowly Ronin
★ 8.01981
MovieDramaAction
Reprising his role from the popular TV series "Koya no Suronin" (The Lowly Ronin), Mifune Toshiro stars in this full-length, stand-alone made for TV movie. The wandering ronin is reminiscent of his most famous role as the samurai without a name in Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro". He travels about Japan, and while he may seek happiness, violence and tragedy always cross his path. This time, he reluctantly agrees when a girl hires him to kill a local offical who has unfairly taxed her villagers. But he soon discoves that not all is at it appears when he finds a direct link to his past.
Kogarashi MonjiroKogarashi Monjiro · 1972
Kogarashi Monjiro
★ 8.01972
SeriesAction & AdventureDrama
Monjiro was born into a poor farm family in Mikazuki Village, Nitta County, Ueshu, and abandoned his hometown when he was 10 years old. He has been traveling aimlessly with a long toothpick in his mouth. Monjiro avoided getting involved in anything, but wherever he went, he ended up getting involved in incidents
The Great White TowerThe Great White Tower · 1990
The Great White Tower
★ 8.01990
SeriesDrama
The 1990 adaptation of Toyoko Yamasaki's "The Great White Tower".
Goro DogGoro Dog · 1980
Goro Dog
★ 8.01980
SeriesFamilyDrama
A Japanese live-action adventure series about a loyal white dog named Goro and his young mistress Reiko, who search for each other across Japan despite all adversities, fatigue, and hunger.
BonchiBonchi · 1960
Bonchi
★ 7.71960
MovieComedyDrama
Kikuji is the scion of an Osaka merchant family whose traditional power is matrilineal. Instructed by his overbearing mother and grandmother to give them an heiress for the family business, he stands by helplessly as his wife is thrown out of the house for producing a son. Driven to a life of dissipation - his mistresses also fail to produce daughters - in the end he is just too tired to care.
The Gambler's CodeThe Gambler's Code · 1961
The Gambler's Code
★ 7.21961
MovieHistoryDrama
One of Japan's most popular stories is the tale of Kutsukake Tokijiro, a traveling gambler who finds that he must take care of the wife and child of a yakuza he had been forced by the code of the gamblers to fight man to man. In a brilliant performance from super-star Ichikawa Raizo, with strong support from two of the greats from Toho, Shimura Takashi (7 Samurai) and Aratama Michiyo (Sword of Doom) the heartfelt story reaches new heights. Tokijiro, having learned the true nature of the boss to whom he was obligated for having spent a night and eaten at the gang's headquarters takes up arms against them in a running battle fought across the back roads of the entire nation. Another powerful rendition of this superb story, it is not to be missed!
Zatoichi's PilgrimageZatoichi's Pilgrimage · 1966
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage
★ 7.11966
MovieDramaAction
Zatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
The Fearless AvengerThe Fearless Avenger · 1972
The Fearless Avenger
★ 7.11972
MovieAction
Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed. Though now even more of an outcast, Jokichi is asked by another Yakuza boss, Umezo, to guard Oyuki, the wayward daughter of Juzaburo. The tragic consequences of this assignment will lead him into a deadly trap and a final confrontation with Chogoro.
Murder Credit - Final Destination SeriesMurder Credit - Final Destination Series · 2016
Murder Credit - Final Destination Series
★ 7.02016
MovieMystery
Prison BreakPrison Break · 1969
Prison Break
★ 7.01969
MovieActionCrime
Set up to be the patsy by a rival gang, Furuta Makoto attacks the yakuza boss he thinks is responsible for his father’s murder. He then learns it was all a plot to take over his father’s turf and he seeks vengeance against the puppet master behind the entire conspiracy. His quest for justice leads him to prison where he must fend off the attack of a master assassin before he can make his escape and go after the true killer!

More Like This

Naanum RowdydhaanNaanum Rowdydhaan · 2015
Naanum Rowdydhaan
★ 6.32015
MovieActionComedy
Pandian, the son of a cop and a wannabe rowdy, falls in love with Kadambarai, a hearing-impaired girl, who wants him to take on Killivalavan, a gangster-politician who has murdered her parents.
The Man with the Iron Fists 2The Man with the Iron Fists 2 · 2015
The Man with the Iron Fists 2
★ 5.52015
MovieActionAdventure
When a stranger, Thaddeus, is found badly wounded near the village, miner Li Kung and his wife Ah Ni offer him refuge. As he heals, he becomes entrenched in a conflict that pits the townsfolk against the evil Master Ho, his nefarious Beetle Clan and the terrifying Lord Pi.
PadayappaPadayappa · 1999
Padayappa
★ 7.41999
MovieDramaAction
Padayappa, a mechanical engineer whose father gives up his property to his foster brother, and then dies of shock soon after. Neelambari initially loves Padayappa, but plans to humiliate him after his family humiliates her father. The rest of the plot deals with Padayappa overcoming all the obstacles placed by Neelambari.
PaydirtPaydirt · 2020
Paydirt
★ 5.62020
MovieActionCrime
A parolee teams up with his old crew determined to find a buried bag of cash stolen a decade ago from a DEA bust gone bad, while being tracked by a retired Sheriff.
The VeteranThe Veteran · 2011
The Veteran
★ 5.92011
MovieActionCrime
Soldier Robert Miller returns home from Afghanistan unable to fit back into society. Living on a violent council estate and finding work in undercover surveillance, he becomes obsessed with taking down a group of local gangsters who are intrinsically tied to a suspected terrorist cell. Taking the situation into his own hands, Robert embarks on a brutal quest for justice, with devastating consequences.
Gintama: The MovieGintama: The Movie · 2010
Gintama: The Movie
★ 7.52010
MovieActionScience Fiction
Odd Jobs Gin has taken on a lot of odd work in the past, and when you're a Jack of All Trades agency based in a feudal Japan that's been conquered and colonized by aliens, the term "Odd Jobs" means REALLY ODD jobs. But when some more than slightly suspicious secrets from the shadows of Gintoki Sakata's somewhat shady former samurai past and a new pair of odd jobs collide, the action is bound to get so wild and demented that only a feature film will do it justice!
Female Prisoner #701: ScorpionFemale Prisoner #701: Scorpion · 1972
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion
★ 7.11972
MovieActionDrama
After being cruelly set up and deceived by Sugimi, a detective in cahoots with the mob with whom she was whole-heartedly in love, Matsushima’s desire for revenge knows no bounds.
The Rifleman of the Voroshilov RegimentThe Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment · 1999
The Rifleman of the Voroshilov Regiment
★ 7.01999
MovieDramaAction
A very typical post-Soviet era storyline. A bunch of vagabonds lured an innocent teenage girl to their apartment, offered her a drink, intimidated, then gang raped her. Local cops are incapable to undertake an adequate actions against the scoundrels - prevented by the superior chief of the local police, who is the dad of one of the scumbags. The case is closed. The girl's granddad tired of an endless circumlocution decides to take revenge in his own hands.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter