The Saga of Tanegashima

The Saga of Tanegashima

1968 · 109 min · ★ 5.5 · Drama

Well before “Shogun” as warring clans were fighting for power throughout Japan, a Portuguese vessel ran aground off Tanegashima. Lord Tokitaka helped Captain Pinto repair his ship. The grateful captain offered the lord a gift--a matchlock musket—the first firearm ever seen in Japan. But like a great stone hurled into placid waters, this simple gift will start a revolution. Tokitaka tasks Kinbei, his greatest swordsmith, to copy this musket and build guns for Japan. While Kinbei struggles to forge Japan’s first musket, a great love blooms between Captain Pinto and Kinbei’s daughter Wakasa. But for Kinbei, to let Wakasa marry Pinto and go to Portugal is unthinkable. And as Kinbei creates Japan’s first matchlock factory, Lord Oda Nobunaga will seize upon firearms as the key to sweep all other clans before him, tearing a blood-soaked path of destruction through Japan.

Directed by Kazuo Mori · Written by Etsuko Takano

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Cast

Rick Jason Captain Pinto
Ayako Wakao Wakasa
Eijirō Tōno Kinbei Yaita
Shiho Fujimura Otane
Jun Fujimaki Nobunaga Oda
Asao Koike Matasaburo Tachibanaya
Ichirō Nakatani Sakuji
Rokkō Toura Wufeng
Ryūtarō Gomi Tokitada Oribenojô
Taketoshi Naitō Tokiaki Tanegashima
Kōichi Mizuhara Shigeomi
Saburo Date Tokunoshin Wakita

Make it a double feature

3h 6m together

The Saga of Tanegashima

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