The Sand Boat

Shadow Warriors is a Japanese television jidaigeki show featuring Sonny Chiba that ran for four seasons in the early 1980s. Chiba played different ninja characters in each series. In the first series he played Hattori Hanzō III, in second one he played Tsuge Shinpachi, in the third one he played Tarao Hanzō, in the fourth series and in Bakumatsu Hen, he played Hattori Hanzō XV. In the 2003 direct-to-DVD series Shin Kage no Gundan he played Hattori Hanzō I.

One night, Genjiro Tsurumi, a former ronin comes across a man being attacked by a group of assassins. The dying man is an official secret agent carrying a secret letter addressed to General Matsudaira. Genjiro meets with Matsudaira, who informs him of the existence of a mysterious group, the Hachitake... who aims to overthrow the Shogunate.

Otsuyu, the daughter of a samurai, takes her life after being forced into an unwanted marriage, and her maid Omi follows her in death. Together as spirits, they visit Otsuyu’s lover, Shinzaemon. Believing Otsuyu is alive, Shinzaemon rekindles their relationship, but he soon begins to waste away. A concerned neighbor consults a doctor, who reveals that Shinzaemon is being haunted and his death is near.

Kotiyama is a swindler and extortionist, the head of a whole gang of crooks, usually posing as a poor monk; once he really took vows, but he was kicked out of the monastery long ago. He is enterprising, smart and not too cruel, so his accomplices love him. Posing as an envoy from the abbot of the Kennei Temple, Kotiama plays a show in front of Lord Matsue with an income of 150,000 koku, and extorts money from him. The film is based on the famous play by Kawatake Mokuami.

Kazuko Murata, the head of the private detective bureau, takes on a bizarre murder case involving the wealthy Ninomiya family near the Oiwa Inari shrine in Yotsuya's Samon-cho!

Strange events plague the Aoyama family's residence, led by samurai Aoyama Harima. Three months earlier, Harima was asked to show a family heirloom, a red Goryeo dish, to his uncle and a senior official. The dish was found broken, and Harima's attendant, Okiku, was blamed and punished. After Okiku's death, Harima, tormented by guilt, contemplates suicide but is stopped by another attendant, Oyuki. The dish must be presented to an imperial envoy, and mysterious deaths among the servants suggest supernatural involvement. As Harima seeks the truth behind the tragic events, he must confront vengeful spirits and uncover the mystery with Okiku's restless spirit aiding him in this tale of love, intrigue, and revenge.

1990 Original Video.

Shimoda, Izu, the venerable Amimoto Onabe family is repeatedly harassed by the upstart Hotate family, who targeted their fishing grounds. Ginpei, the head of the Onabe family, is in love with Oichi, the only daughter of Gohei, the adviser. Ginpei is told that he plans to have her marry Unokichi. Finally, the Onabe family and the Hotate family get into a fight, and Ginpei kills Tajiro, the hotate family’s proxy. Ginpei leaves Oichi in Unokichi’s care and sets off on a treacherous journey. Five years later, while traveling, Ginpei learns that the boss of the Onabe family has died and that the Hotate family is in trouble… Ginpei then returns to Shimoda.

During the reign of the 11th Shogun, a series of supernatural incidents occur every night in the Edo Castle. A beautiful inspector appears with thunder and lightning to suck people’s blood and kill them. The examiner’s true identity is Amakusa Shiro, a young samurai from the Amakusa clan that was destroyed by the harsh Christian persecution of the Shogunate. Shirō sold his soul to the devil and became an evil spirit. After 160 years since destruction of Amakusa, his revenge to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate begins.

Shiro, a reporter, interviews Shinobu, a Noh mask artist of the Karasuma school. Suddenly, Shinobu passionately says, "I’ve wanted to meet you," leaving Shiro surprised. Kazuhiko, the adopted son of the Karasuma school, secretly watches their interaction. That night, Kijima, a factory owner, dies with flower petals stuffed in his mouth. Later, Kazuhiko is found murdered at the Kamo River...

1990 Original Video.

An entertaining historical drama depicting Sanada Yukimura, a hero who has gone through the era from the incident at Honnōji Temple to the summer siege of Osaka Castle, as "a man of men".