Known for Acting
Tsunehiko Watase (July 28, 1944 – March 14, 2017) was a Japanese actor. He is best known for portraying Rintaro Kano in Keishicho Sosa Ikka 9 Gakari ("Homicide Team 9"). He won Best Supporting Actor at the 2nd Japan Academy Prize for The Incident and at the 3rd Hochi Film Award for The Incident, Kōtei no inai hachigatsu and The Fall of Ako Castle.
Born
July 28, 1944
Died
March 14, 2017 (age 72)
Birthplace
Yasugi, Shimane, Japan
Filmography
135 films, 28 shows


Taxi Driver's Mystery Diary 38
2015
country: Japan


Inspector Totsugawa Series 54 - The Woman of Sunrise Izumo
2015
country: Japan


Taxi Driver's Mystery Diary 37 - Mystery of Double Homicides from Tokyo to Hamamatsu
2015
country: Japan


Taxi Driver's Mystery Diary 36
2014 · 2h 6m
country: Japan


Sanpei the Fisher Boy
2009 · 1h 58m
country: Japan
Sanpei is a young boy who lives with his grandpa in a small village in Akita and they both love fishing and are masters at it. His sister moved to Tokyo when their father died and blames it on the fishing. She thinks it's just a stupid play. Gyoshin, a bass professional fisher who lives and competes in America is in a slump and comes to the small village to try to find the joy of fishing again. Together, they all go to find the legendary big char of Yonakidani (The Crying Valley of The Night), which Sanpei's father once saw, but could never catch, before he died.


北アルプス山岳救助隊・紫門一鬼8 白馬八方尾根 雪どけの叫び
2006
country: Japan


Taxi Driver’s Mystery Diary SP22
2006
country: Japan
Yoake Sudeo, a former elite detective with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, now works as a taxi driver. One day, he picks up Michiko Takanezawa, a university assistant professor recently acquitted of murdering her former lover. Hounded by the media and the victim’s wife at her home, Michiko pleads with Yoake to drive her to her hometown, Aizu-Wakamatsu. But the next day, the wife of the murdered professor is found dead near Tokyo—turning the case on its head.


Haru Urara
2005 · 1h 46m
country: Japan
Based on the true story of racing horse "Haru Urara" ("Gentle Spring"), who lost every single horse race she entered since her 1998 debut.


Jesus is My Boss
2001 · 2h 8m
country: South Korea
A warring Yakuza awakens to Christianity and becomes an evangelist. The film is modelled on the real-life "Mission Barabbas," a Christian evangelistic group of ex-Yakuza.


Nile
1999 · 1h 41m
country: Japan
A Japanese journalist in Afghanistan, whose wife dies in an explosion, tries to overcome his sorrows and goes to Egypt on a mission to cover the discovery of a tomb in the Valley of the Kings. As a gang tracks him down for locating the tomb, he falls in love with the girlfriend of the gang's boss who looks like his wife.
Investigative Notes of a Taxi Driver: The Black Sunflower Woman
Investigative Notes of a Taxi Driver: The Black Sunflower Woman
1998 · 1h 33m
country: Japan


Let's Get Happy
1998 · 1h 55m
country: Japan
A comedy about the uproar in a yakuza office, before the dissolution ceremony the next day. The day before the dissolution of the Yamamuro group, it is reported that the leader of the hostile organization was assassinated by someone.


Andromedia
1998 · 1h 49m
country: Japan
After his daughter Mai is killed in an auto accident, a genius programmer recreates her in the form of a computer program called AI. His jealous brother-in-law, wanting to get his hands on the technology for profit, sends his client to steal it and Mai’s father is killed in the process. Learning of her capture, Mai’s old friends race to free AI from her captors so that she won’t fall into the corporate clutches that threaten to erase her soul.
Investigative Notes of a Taxi Driver: Murder of the Killer
Investigative Notes of a Taxi Driver: Murder of the Killer
1998 · 1h 33m
country: Japan


Steel & Lead
1997 · 1h 35m
country: Japan
A hard-boiled film that follows a detective who will be killed the next morning should he fail his mission, the yakuza assigned to watch over him, and the friendship that develops as they work together.


The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
1997 · 1h 46m
country: Japan
A high-school girl acquires the ability to time travel.


Crest of Betrayal
1994 · 1h 46m
country: Japan
Weaving two storylines together: the first is the story of 18th-century shogunate intrigue and loyalty, and the second is a ghost story about a beautiful woman who falls victim to passion and evil.


Sangokushi: The Distant Land
1994 · 2h 37m
country: Japan
Third movie of the Sangokushi animated film trilogy. The movie covers the longest time span of the three films, from Liu Bei's expedition to Shu in 211 CE to the death of Kongming in 234 CE.


Rex: A Dinosaur's Story
1993 · 1h 46m
country: Japan
A young girl befriends an infant T-rex after her paleontologist father nurtures a lair of lost dinosaur eggs.


Emperor of Upheaval
1993 · 1h 52m
country: Japan
The anti-gangster law has been very bad for business, but one yakuza boss is running his syndicate like a ruthless conglomerate -- and thriving.


Ring! Ring! Ring! The Champion Belt of Tears
1993 · 1h 34m
country: Japan


Nurses and Doctors
1992 · 1h 51m
country: Japan
A nurse is caring for a patient in a life and death situation whilst also dealing with her own emotional issues.


One Bowl of Kakesoba
1992 · 1h 38m
country: Japan
Set in Sapporo during the oil crisis of the early '70s, the film centers on the Hokkaitei soba stand run by a stoic patriarch and his perky wife. One New Year's day, a haggard-looking mother and her two adorable moppets poke their heads into the restaurant and ask for a single bowl of kakesoba. Noticing that the trio is looking a little low in the heels, she puts in an extra scoop of noodles. The youngest boy declares that the soba is delicious. The next year, the same threesome appears again asking for one bowl of kakesoba. This time the old man dumps in two helpings. He is struck by how much the youngest looks like their own son who was hit by a truck three years previous. The following year, the three return and this time the mother tells her story...


Maji!
1991 · 1h 36m
country: Japan
Based on the comic book by Ayumi Tachihara.


Heaven and Earth
1990 · 1h 44m
country: Japan
Warlords Kagetora and Takeda each wish to prevent the other from gaining hegemony in feudal Japan. The two samurai leaders pursue one another across the countryside, engaging in massive battles of cavalry and infantry. Younger and less brutal, Kagetora must find the strength to be as brutal as his opponent, but at what cost?


1750 Days of Turbulence
1990 · 1h 55m
country: Japan
After the death of previous Boss, a gang war lasts for more than four years.


Paradise Nippon
1990 · 45m
country: Unknown
Pakistanis who work undocumented send money to their families in their home country, while being tortured by a ramen shop owner.


Heaven and Earth: Dawn Episode
1990 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
Some of the greatest battles during the Age of Civil Wars were fought between the Uesugi and Takeda clans. Leading up to them was the incredible life of Uesugi Kenshin, who rose from a son out of favor with his...


Four Days of Snow and Blood
1989 · 1h 54m
country: Japan
Based on the "2.26 Incident", an attempted coup d'état in Japan 1936, launched by radical ultra-nationalist parts of the military. Several leading politicians were killed and the center of Tokyo was briefly held by the insurgents before the coup was suppressed.


Sensei
1989 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
In one of the districts of Tokyo, an old school is planned to be torn down after the summer holidays. The only person who is seriously worried about this is the Japanese language teacher Nakajima. He decides to hold special additional classes for the lagging students during the summer holidays, which they will keep as a memento of the old school.


Tetsuro Tamba's Great Spirit World: What Happens When You Die
1989 · 1h 37m
country: Japan
Visualization based on Tetsuro Tamba's best-selling "Great Reikai". A story about a physicist who dies in an accident and experiences the afterlife as a spirit. The leading role is Tamba Tetsuro's biological son, Tamba Yoshitaka.


The Silk Road
1988 · 2h 23m
country: Japan
In 1026, students in western China are shanghaied into the forces of crown prince Li Yuanhao of Xi Xia, who wants to control the length of the Silk Road. One student is Zhao Xingde, who becomes the favorite of his commander, Zhu Wangli. While sacking a fortress, Xingde discovers Tsurpia, princess of the Uighur. He hides her; they fall in love. When he's sent away to study Xixian, he leaves Tsurpia in Zhu's care, but returns to find her engaged to Li. Tragedy follows, and he and Zhu enter a pact to take revenge when Li arrives at Dun-Huang, the region's seat of learning and culture. Against overwhelming odds, they find a surprising way to leave a monument to their life and love.


Gate of Flesh
1988 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
Prostitutes in burnt out Tokyo ghetto of post-WWII Japan peddle their flesh and save one-third of their money for a proposed dancehall to be named Paradise. The hookers live in a bombed-out building, but they accept the precarious situation with typical resolve.


Golf Before Dawn
1987 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
Comedy film.


Samurai Rebellion
1987 · 46m
country: Japan
Echizen Fukui Domain. Futago Rokubei, who backs down even at the sight of a gecko, is called "Coward Samurai" by others. His sister Kane blames him for not having any marriage proposals. One day, the lord's martial arts instructor, Nito Kouken, kills one of the lord's attendants, Kano, and flees, leading the angry lord to issue an order to kill him. However, there is no one in the domain who can match the swordsmanship of Nito. Rokubei, in order to clear his long-standing dishonor, volunteers to be the one to kill Nito and sets out on the journey, leaving behind Kane who tries to stop him in tears.


Tokyo Blackout
1987 · 2h
country: Japan
Tokyo is suddenly covered by a dome-shaped electromagnetic cloud for an unknown reason and is totally blocked and isolated from other parts of the world. The temperature inside the cloud is slowly increasing. The Soviet Pacific fleet is getting closer. The U.S. is forcing Japan to form a new government. Scientists and research workers outside Tokyo have to race against time to find out how to get through the cloud in order to rescue the 12,000,000+ lives in Tokyo and the fate of the country.


Death Shadows
1986 · 1h 55m
country: Japan
Three men sentenced to death are spared and changed into “shadows executioners”, a group of ruthless ninja working for mysterious high ranking officials. During their investigation on some illegal business, one of them, called “Yazuke the Viper”, finds his abandoned daughter, Ocho, who has now become a mistress of Denzo, a smuggler. After Yazuke’s death, Ocho is also recruited as a “shadows executioner”, with the task of completing her father’s mission.


Beyond the Shining Sea
1986 · 2h 8m
country: Japan
Heartbroken Ukiko takes refuge with a relative after a devastating breakup. While away, she makes a dangerous match with the husband of her frigid cousin.


Cabaret
1986 · 1h 44m
country: Japan
A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thriller from Haruki Kadokawa. After a saxophonist starts playing at a particular nightspot, a thug from the Yakuza adopts him as a special friend for no greater reason than he plays one of his favorite songs well. As the dangerous life of the gangster intertwines with that of the musician, it brings harm to the musician's girlfriend, who is raped. This changes the young saxophonist's attitude about his patron, but his Yakuza "friend" is still too embroiled in his own problems to worry about anything else.


Fushin no Toki
1984 · 1h 58m
country: Japan
Suspense TV movie adaptation of an original story by Sawako Ariyoshi, starring Yukiyo Toake.


Marriage Counselor Tora-san
1984 · 1h 42m
country: Japan
In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san's family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san meets an old acqaintance in Iwate Province. Tora-san refuses to drink with him, afraid that the acquaintance, now settled and married, will again become attracted to Tora-san's wandering existence. Tora-san becomes attracted to a female barber, but must break off their relationship so that she too can live a secure life. She instead gets into an abusive relationship with a motorcyclist.


Curtain Call
1984 · 1h 41m
country: Japan
Miho Nakamichi, an orphan adopted by Haruko, dreams to star in a musical. One day, Haruko promised Miho that she could go on a journey to find her real father, "Daddy-Long-Legs", who sends a bouquet of flowers every birthday, once she can wear a special pair of pointe shoes. The day finally arrives and Miho's small adventure begins.


The Street of Desire
1984 · 2h 5m
country: Japan
A valet at a fancy nightclub hatches a plot to punish those responsible for his father's death.


The Politicians
1983 · 2h 16m
country: Japan
Who will be the next prime minister? As two candidates start to compete, political game and brutal murder ensue. And the existence of secret love letters changes the situation.


Antarctica
1983 · 2h 23m
country: Japan
Two Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica.
A Bridge of Tears
A Bridge of Tears
1983 · 1h 57m
country: Japan
Japanese drama film.


Time and Tide
1983 · 1h 37m
country: Japan
An antique shop "Jidaiya" sells time not antiques. One day a lady run into this shop with a cat.


Amagi Pass
1983 · 1h 39m
country: Japan
Japan in the 1940s. A high school boy went into a magic encounter with Ozuka Hana, a geisha (pub-girl) when he traveled through Amagi Pass. A mysterious murder took place afterwards, an Ozuka was held responsible. 40 years later, the boy, who became a printing shop owner, was visited by a retired policeman who came from Amagi Pass. The truth then started to reveal itself.


Lovers Lost
1982 · 2h 6m
country: Japan
A poignant love story between a 29-year-old woman, who has once been a prostitute but is now the mistress of a wealthy jewelry merchant, and a 19-year-old college student.


Kasajiro: Truncheon versus Sword
1982 · 1h 31m
country: Japan
A series of murders at Fukagawa lumberyard is tied to a grudge letter from the deceased Kansuke Tsukunamiya. Officer Kasajiro Sakane investigates the baffling case.


Fossilized Wilderness
1982 · 2h 3m
country: Japan
Detective Nishina Sosuke, the director of the Metropolitan Police Department's Investigation Division 1, is suddenly attacked by a trio of men at his apartment at midnight. When he regains consciousness, the corpse of a foreigner shot with his pistol lies in front of him. Nishina, with the help of his friend and newspaper reporter Mineshima, who believes in his innocence and vows to cooperate, pursues the incident and reveals a conspiracy related with 5,000 kilograms of gold that disappeared at the end of the WW2.


Gate of Youth 2
1982 · 2h 17m
country: Japan
Mid 50s: the trials and tribulations of Shinsuke Ibuki, freshly arrived in Tokyo from Kyushu.


Sailor Suit and Machine Gun
1981 · 1h 52m
country: Japan
A high-school girl inherits a declining yakuza organization, which seeks to repair its fortunes under her leadership.


Call from Darkness
1981 · 2h 5m
country: Japan
Keiko Inagawa pays a visit to neurologist Aizawa about her fiancé Tatsuo Tamura. A mysterious case involving the disappearance of Tatsuo’s three brothers, one after the other, is yet to be resolved and now Tatsuo, seized with the idea that he too may disappear, has had a nervous breakdown. Aizawa suggests that Tatsuo recount his dreams as a means of solving the mystery, since human beings have an instinct that foretells the near future in the form of a dream. Keiko and Tatsuo eventually discover that the three disappearances have a strange connection…


Kasajiro: The Kappa Marriage
1981 · 1h 31m
country: Unknown
Sakane, a police officer nicknamed "Kasajiro," remains single. He meets Shinko, the daughter of a condemned smuggler with a kappa tattoo, in a mysterious encounter.


Morning Moon Is Cruel
1981 · 1h 38m
country: Japan
A small-time gofer gets his dream car while running hush money for his boss's counterfeit empire, picks up a jilted singer at the airport along the way, and ends up the last man standing in everyone's love life but his own.


Abandoned
1981 · 2h 31m
country: Japan
The film tells the story of a man who was washed ashore on an uninhabited island after a ship wrecked by a storm, and after twelve years, he returned to human society.


Gate of Youth
1981 · 2h 20m
country: Japan
The story of Shinsuke, a young man who lives through a stormy life as a poverty-stricken coal miner. Ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens. Coal workers and the mines dominate nearly every aspect of his life. Shinsuke's father a group leader at the mine, dies while bravely using dynamite to rescue a group of trapped Korean miners. Several older men attempt to help he and his mother cope, including a friendly Harley-riding yakuza boss. This movie has it all, drama, romance, sex, yakuza and violence! It is based on a story by Hiroyuki Itsuki that was originally serialized in the magazine Shukan Gendai in 1969-70.


Writhing Tongue
1980 · 1h 54m
country: Japan
Masako, a five-year-old girl living, gets a scratch on her finger. After that, she suffered horrible spasms. The doctor checks on her and arrives at the conclusion that she has tetanus. Her parents have to bear the sufferings of their child. The once peaceful family has changed completely.


The Wicked
1980 · 2h 9m
country: Japan
A selfish playboy uses rich women to pay off his debts. Divorcing his wife and marrying the woman he loves throws him into a spiral of destruction.


Virus
1980 · 2h 36m
country: Japan
Scientists in Antarctica desperately try to find a cure to a military virus that was released in a plane crash and has wiped out the rest of the world.


Battles Without Honor and Humanity: The Complete Saga
1980 · 3h 44m
country: Japan
The 224-minute compilation edition of Battles Without Honor and Humanity compiles these four movies: Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Deadly Fight in Hiroshima, Proxy War, Police Tactics.


Shadow Warriors: Hattori Hanzo
1980 · 2h 13m
country: Japan
The tale takes place around 1650, after the death of the third Tokugawa shogun, when ronin were expelled from Edo, the military capital. During the political instability following the death of Iemitsu Tokugawa, Hanzo's Iga ninja clan battles against the Koga clan as various factions vie to seize power. The child shogun Ietsuna is kidnapped but turns out to be hidden under (or over) everyone's noses in a castle turret which is reinforced by a comic book villain, the fire-spitting black ninja. The good ninja has to get through all the traps & save the child.


Heaven Sent
1979 · 1h 31m
country: Japan
Sayoko is desperate to bear a child of her own, but her live-in boyfriend Shinsaku strenuously objects to the idea. One day, someone leaves behind a six-year-old child at their door, claiming that Shinsaku—or four other men—is the child's father! Sayoko and Shinsaku set out on a journey to find the real father.


The Three Undelivered Letters
1979 · 2h 10m
country: Japan
A young Japanese-American man arrives at his grandmother's old hometown in Yamaguchi, begins to stay at her family's elite but dysfunctional household, and gets entangled in a sinister plot of murder.


G.I. Samurai
1979 · 2h 19m
country: Japan
A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the supreme Shogun.


The Fall of Ako Castle
1978 · 2h 39m
country: Japan
This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe. Lord Asano was goaded, or tricked, into drawing his sword inside the Shogun's palace -- a crime which carried the death penalty. The newly installed Shogun was furious at Asano and ordered all his clan's assets seized, meaning some 20,000 samurai and commoners were unemployed and landless at a stroke. Forty-seven of these ronin (masterless samurai) banded together to take attempt revenge on Lord Kira, who had goaded Asano into drawing his sword.


August Without Emperor
1978 · 2h 20m
country: Japan
Taking the Chilean coup as an example, a group of young officers plan to overthrow the Japanese government on V-J Day. They aim to abolish the post-war constitution, restore the national army and revive the traditional spirit of Japan. As the conspiracy is exposed, the coup squadrons are wiped out one by one. The remaining squadron takes over a night train bound for Tokyo.


The Incident
1978 · 2h 18m
country: Japan
The body of Sakai Hatsuko, a woman of 23 who has been slain with a knife, has been found in a forest. Some days later, Ueda Hiroshi, a 19-year-old shipyard worker, is arrested and charged with the murder. At Ueda's trial, a complex story unfolds.


10th Degree Earthquake
1978 · 1h 27m
country: Italy
World disasters wake up prehistoric beasts at the foot of Mt. Fuji.


Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds
1977 · 1h 32m
country: Japan
A Japanese geologist discovers that dinosaurs still exist in caves beneath the surface of a volcanic lake.


Japan's Don
1977 · 2h 12m
country: Japan
A yakuza leader must balance his violent tactics necessary for the rough streets of 1960s Tokyo with the domestic needs of his daughters.


The Great Okinawa Yakuza War
1976 · 1h 36m
country: Japan
Chiba, looking gnarly, and acting as animalistic as ever, stars alongside Matsukata as violent gangsters battling their way through fight after bloody fight with rival yakuza on the streets of Okinawa.


Sister Street Fighter: Fifth Level Fist
1976 · 1h 17m
country: Japan
Kiku Nakakawa, the only daughter of an old kimono shop owner in Kyoto, is enthusiastic about karate. To help her friend Michi avenge her brother, she sneaks into a movie studio in Kyoto where a drug dealing syndicate is based.


A Savage Beast Goes Mad
1976 · 1h 18m
country: Japan
Test driver Hayami loses control of his car and rolls over. His company then learns that he has kept secret that he is visually impaired, and he is fired. Without the prospect of returning to his old job he makes a plan to rob several jewelry stores. A few days later, Hayami escapes with stolen goods worth 80 million yen in a violin case on a Kyoto city bus. A wild chase ensues.


Violent Panic: The Big Crash
1976 · 1h 25m
country: Japan
Takashi, a bank robber, dreams of his final heist and escaping to Brazil... but in his way, stands a woman that loves him, his dead partner's brother, a corrupt cop, a motorcycle gang and every police officer in the Kanto region.


Operation Plazma in Osaka
1976 · 1h 35m
country: Japan
Amidst Japan's postwar economic boom, yakuza factions in Osaka fight for survival when Japan's largest crime syndicate plans a hostile takeover.


The Decisive Power of Aikido
1975 · 1h 22m
country: Japan
It is about the life of Ueshiba - the founder of aikido. We can see how he decided to develop aikido and how he did it. We can see why he developed aikido and where he has learned martial arts.


New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Head of the Boss
1975 · 1h 34m
country: Japan
The seventh in the shocking "Jingi Naki Tatakai" movie series, which exposes the true lives of the yakuza that is hidden by a mask of "jingi". The next stage of this continuing drama is the Kanmon Channel where the Owada and the Kyoei groups are battling for territorial rights and drug smuggling. The Owada sends their man, Tetsu, and his friend Shuji to kill the Kyoei boss. With the promise of fame and riches, Shuji takes the fall and goes to jail for 7 years. But when he's released, he discovers that he and Tetsu have been all but forgotten by the Owada. Feeling betrayed, Shuji takes matters into his own hands and becomes an unsuspecting pawn in an internal conflict and an assassination attempt on the Owada boss. And now angered, Shuji seeks revenge...


Pimp Heaven
1975 · 1h 18m
country: Japan
Class-A Kyoto, a strip joint in Kyoto, is raided by the police. Shohei, a salesman who happens to be there, gets caught in the middle of it and is fired from his job. Having nowhere else to go, Shohei reluctantly becomes the manager of the place... The film is a comedy full of pathos about the connection between strippers called "special delivery" and the "pimps" who hang on to them.


Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack
1975 · 1h 35m
country: Japan
Toei studios last ninkyo eiga of the 70's.


New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 1
1974 · 1h 38m
country: Japan
Bunta Sugawara is Miyoshi, a low-level assassin of the Yamamori gang who is sent to jail after a bungled hit. While in stir, family member Aoki attempts to seize power from the boss, and Miyoshi finds himself stuck between the two factions with no honorable way out.


The Rapacious Jailbreaker
1974 · 1h 37m
country: Japan
Convicted of murder, Masayuki Ueda is sent to Hiroshima Prison along with his accomplice. But for a man like him, breaking out of prison is easy.


Yakuza vs. Gang Leader
1974 · 1h 34m
country: Japan
Gokudo Shimamura comes to blows with the Delinquent Boss who rolls into town with his motorcycle gang.


Violent Fraternity
1974 · 1h 34m
country: Japan
Set in Shibuya in 1949, this is another film based on real life former yakuza boss Noboru Ando's memoirs.


Code of Wolves
1974 · 1h 33m
country: Japan
In gangster-infested 1920s Yokohama, gambler Ishiguro gets in with the local gang -- but his view of life changes after the Great Kanto Earthquake.


Father of the Kamikaze
1974 · 3h 19m
country: Japan
Vice Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi could see that Japan's defeat in WWII was inevitable. He came to realize that the only way to force a negotiated solution was to convince the Americans that invading Japan would cause massive casualties on both sides. The cold logic of suicide attacks, where one man and one plane could kill hundreds, seemed the only solution. In one of the cruel ironies of fate, Ohnishi actually succeeded; he convinced the Americans that invading Japan would be too costly in lives. But what he could not foresee was that America had another way of ending the war.


Third Generation Boss
1974 · 1h 36m
country: Japan
Based on Kazuo Taoka's autobiography, this film follows a Kobe gangster as he builds the small Yamaguchi-gumi into Japan's largest criminal clan.


The Karate Man and the Spy
1974 · 1h 19m
country: Japan
In the beginning of the World War I in 1914, Japan is being invaded spies from Russia and Germany. To eliminate the spies the army hires Sakuragi, a famous Karate and Kempo master.


The Maizuru Showdown between The Yakuza Brothers
1974 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
With a Kansai syndicate vying for Tokyo, one man reunites with his roguish half-brother in the midst of negotiations, when all hell breaks loose.


The Tattooed Hitman
1974 · 1h 46m
country: Japan
The most dangerous hired gun in Kyushu's underworld has managed to trigger a vicious gang war, and now, there's a contract on his life. Though nobody is more skilled in the arts of dealing death, can the tattooed hitman fend off the entire Japanese mafia as he searches for the man who wants him dead?


Jeans Blues: No Future
1974 · 1h 31m
country: Japan
Hijiriko makes off from the bar she works at with money and a car that isn't hers. Meanwhile, Jiro Katagiri is up to no good with his gangster friends and ends up making off with all their ill-gotten gains, much to their disapproval. The two misfits end up meeting after a car crash and soon end up on the road together in (another) stolen car. It's not long before the police take an interest in the crimes, and of course the gangsters are hot on Jiri's heels; meaning the two must scarper across Japan by any means necessary.


Woman Mobsters
1974 · 1h 22m
country: Japan
Bank robbers steal 30 million yen and try to elude the cops and escape with the cash. Of the three, only one manages to avoid capture. Yoko, a female accomplice, is tossed in a women's prison where she meets Yuki, and the two of them manage to escape. Their plan is meet up with the robber who avoided capture, get ahold of the cash, and get for away from the big city.


Student Yakuza
1974 · 1h 24m
country: Japan
A youth action movie in which a student lone wolf who burns with unstoppable strength, courage, and a sense of justice rampages against a gangster.


Girl Boss: Diamond Showdown
1974 · 1h 27m
country: Japan
Keiko Aizawa a vengeance-crazed vixen sets out on a journey to avenge the death of her older sister.


Bodyguard Kiba 2
1973 · 1h 29m
country: Japan
Kiba is back again, but this time he has fallen from grace and sent to prison for all the violent acts he has committed. Once he's out, he begins working as a bodyguard in a club that is crawling with gangsters.


Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War
1973 · 1h 42m
country: Japan
Shozo Hirono has managed to separate from the Yamamori family and create his own small family, and extend his circle of acquaintances. These new friendships include a powerful underboss of the Muraoka family, Noboru Uchimoto.


The Viper Brothers: The Blackmailers
1973 · 1h 28m
country: Japan
Upon his release from prison, Masa (Bunta Sugawara) is disappointed to not be picked up by his brother Katsu (Tamio Kawaji). After hitching a ride on a bus full of old women, Masa finds out that Katsu tried to fake a car accident and get some money for Masa to live on after prison. Together, the two decide to blackmail the woman (Yoko Horikoshi) who hit Katsu, who happens to be the daughter of a rich company president (Seizaburo Kawazu). 6th film in a series of 8.


A True Story of the Private Ginza Police
1973 · 1h 35m
country: Japan
Japan, 1946, just after the end of World War II. As the US occupation army patrols the dilapidated streets of Tokyo, a desperate and ambitious group of war veterans and gamblers struggle to take control of the Ginza district's underworld with the help of a deranged soldier.


Girl Boss: Escape From Reform School
1973 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
Girl Boss Ruriko and her cellmates escape from a greedy corrupt reform school that's more interested in cheating the government out of money than reformation. Each having their own reasons for escaping, they go their separate ways. With the help of a young mechanic, who's also on the lam, Ruriko tries to realize her dream of leaving the island of Japan behind. But the authorities are always one step behind her...


Hell Riders in Kyoto
1973 · 1h 23m
country: Japan
The rich punk Junya has only one thing in mind: to race with the police on his motorcycle. That makes him unpopular, not only with the police, even with his Bosozoku buddies, who slowly but surely distance themselves from him. Junya falls in love with the equally speed-hungry Hiroko.


Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom
1973 · 1h 29m
country: Japan
Three new students at a super-strict girl's school must face off with a repressive school administration, the sadistic, murderous student discipline brigade and corrupt politicians over the murder/suicide of one of their friends. They're approached by a blackmailer (Tsunehiko Watase) who promises to help them exact vengeance in exchange for setting up a corrupt local politician, and aided by a independent Yakuza biker chick (Reiko Ike).


The Viper Brothers: Four and a Half Years in Jail
1973 · 1h 30m
country: Japan
Part 5 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. After serving four and a half years in prison, Masa and his brother Katsuji leave Kobe to go to Nagoya to help a hostess get her daughter back from her mother. As they arrive in Nagoya, they get into a scuffle with the local yakuza affiliate. Sugawara and Kawaji's chemistry is even more evident here than usual, the storyline is alright if melodramatic. Delightful start with Tatsuo Endo as a nice guy prison guard! How many times have you seen that? And we got Kyosuke Machida (henchman) with cool beard and the always good Tsunehiko Watase (young hood) on board as well. One of the best films in the series.


Aesthetics of a Bullet
1973 · 1h 40m
country: Japan
A small time crook who sells rabbits for a living frequently gets himself into trouble with loan sharks and the yakuza. He dreams of becoming a successful big-shot and embarks on the life of a yakuza hitman.


Battles Without Honor and Humanity
1973 · 1h 39m
country: Japan
In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.


The Horrible Obsessions
1972 · 1h 28m
country: Japan
Detective Kikuchi is sent to Okinawa to investigate why a girl jumped from a window after shooting heroin. There, he encounters the usual assortment of addicts, dealers, pimps and sleazy American GIs.


Yakuza Wolf 2: Extend My Condolences
1972 · 1h 25m
country: Japan
Attacking Asao Uchida's lonely, clifftop mansion in no-holds barred massacre.


Wandering Ginza Butterfly: She-Cat Gambler
1972 · 1h 26m
country: Japan
Meiko Kaji reprises her role as Nami, a vengeful female gang leader, in the second installment of this high-action series that casts a new actor -- martial arts legend Sonny Chiba -- in the role of Nami's loyal friend Ryuji. This time around, Nami is looking for Hoshiden, the man who murdered her father and shattered her once-hopeful childhood. But living under an assumed name, Hoshiden could stay hidden forever.


Yakuza Skirmishes
1972 · 1h 34m
country: Japan
In the gaudy world of 1930s Shinjuku, a violent youth known as Bakudan Match tangles explosively with prostitutes, politicians and the police.


The Viper Brothers: 18 Extortion Threats
1972 · 1h 28m
country: Japan
Part 4 in a long running (8+1 films) action/comedy/melodrama series about a pair of short tempered, amoral, but not evil chinpira (Bunta Sugawara and Tamio Kawachi) thinking too big of themselves. Sugawara tries to overcome a traumatic experience of getting in bed blindfolded with a girl who turned out to be an old granny. Later he and Kawaji try to settle down in a neighbourhood harassed by businessman yakuza Bin Amatsu.


Withered Tree, the Adventures of Monjiro
1972 · 1h 31m
country: Japan
Kogarashi Monjiro is a lone samurai who agrees to take responsibility for a murder that his friend committed so that he can stay with his dying mother, with the expectation that his friend will confess and get him pardoned once she dies. Monjiro is sentenced to an island for prisoners. When he discovers that his friend's mother has died over a year ago, Monjiro seeks to escape with a group of prisoners in order to get his revenge.


Shōwa Gokudōshi
1972 · 1h 27m
country: Japan


Gang Warfare
1972 · 1h 37m
country: Japan


Wandering Ginza Butterfly
1972 · 1h 26m
country: Japan
Nami "The Red Cherry Blossom" returns to her old stomping ground in the seedy Tokyo district of Ginza after a stint in prison for killing a yakuza boss. She soon settles in, living in her uncle's pool hall and working at the local hostess club. But when ruthless yakuza Ōwada attempts to take control of the club, Nami and her uncle devise a plan to take him down.


The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang
1972 · 1h 42m
country: Japan
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?


Zorome no San Kyoudai
1972 · 1h 28m
country: Japan
In Osaka, a family sets up shop in Tsuruhashi. Trouble brews for three brothers – Jinzuke, Tadayoshi, and Eizo – when they come together in their hometown, Nakano Village, after getting word of their father's critical condition. In a Nakano Village divided by a clash between local pig bristle brush manufacturers and the village chief's group over factory expansion, the latter resorts to harassing the brush manufacturers associated with the Wadakura family. Tadayoshi and the villagers attempt to take on the village office but encounter opposition from the Wadakura family's interference. Meanwhile, Jinzuke finds himself at odds with the Wadakura family over territorial disputes in Tsuruhashi. He faces off against them, striving to thwart their factory plans...


Wolves of the City: First to Fight
1971 · 1h 28m
country: Japan
Pinku from 1971.


A Modern Yakuza: Three Decoy Blood Brothers
1971 · 1h 31m
country: Japan
When a large crime syndicate seeks to invade Gifu's underworld, three brothers and their yakuza family are the only ones that stand in their way.


The Armed Organization
1971 · 1h 39m
country: Japan
Violent Gang Re-Arms is a rousing tale of friction in yakuza and labor interactions with Koji Tsuruta as a yakuza supervising a dockworker's union. He finds himself between a rock and a hard place, at odds with both the dockworkers' leader (Tomisaburo Wakayama) and sadistic, unprincipled bosses (Fumio Watanabe and Tetsuro Tamba).


Troops of Darkness
1971 · 1h 27m
country: Japan
A disgraced yakuza member, framed for the murder of his boss, emerges from prison eight years later with revenge on his mind.


The Gambler's Counterattack
1971 · 1h 37m
country: Japan
Aiba is a gang boss who has just got out of jail, and finds everything has changed. His old gang has broken up, and only a few people still respect him. So he becomes a consultant to another gang who are about to be clobbered by a much larger gang moving in from out of town. Aiba proves a crafty tactician, and does very well at playing gangs off against each other in order to save the smaller gang. His advice is not always taken by those he tries to help, but he is generally proved right.


The Bad Boss: Wholesale Roundup
1971 · 1h 28m
country: Japan
This is the thirteenth film in the series.
Wolves on Motorcycles
Wolves on Motorcycles
1971 · 1h 29m
country: Japan
Hoodlum group helps fishermen against firm polluting their fishing ground.


Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless to Confess
1971 · 1h 26m
country: Japan
Reiko Oshida stars as a young wannabe gangster tough girl, just released from reform school. She tracks down one of her classmates fathers, who runs an auto repair shop that the local Yakuza are trying to force out of business and take over, and starts working for him. At the same time a recently released from prison, and now ill Yakuza is trying to make a new life for himself and his girl, a friend of Reiko's, who also just graduated from reform school. A fateful car crash brings the two on a collision course with each other and the brutal Yakuza clan, which can only end bloody vengeance.


Kanto Street Peddlers: Violent Fire Festival
1971 · 1h 27m
country: Japan
The fourth film in the Kanto Street Peddlers series. The protagonist, played by Bunta Sugawara sides with female boss Yumiko Nogawa to fight evil Hiroshi Nawa, who at one point employs rebellious young hood Tsunehiko Watase and Kagawa. Tatsuo Umemiya also shows up as a cool, leather jacket gunman who gains Sugawara’s respect despite playing for the opposing team. What eventually keeps this film from being as good as the first is the loose script that doesn’t really tie all the fun stuff into a coherent package. Much is forgiven however when the last 20 minutes arrives with several visually striking set pieces (including one death scene stylized to the point of ridiculousness) and a terrific final massacre. This was Suzuki’s last contribution to the series; the fifth and final picture would be helmed by Takashi Harada.


Fate Deals the Card of Death
1971 · 1h 47m
country: Japan
Seijiro and Shizue meet in Niigata and fall in love. Seijiro has to go back to Tokyo soon after, and they promise each other to meet again a year later. However, Seijiro gets jailed for five years. Unable to find him, Shizue gets married to a yakuza boss who can help her family business.


Sympathy for the Underdog
1971 · 1h 33m
country: Japan
A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.


Delinquent Girl Boss: Tokyo Drifters
1970 · 1h 25m
country: Japan
After helping a pregnant girl escape from their reform school and facing the resulting punishment, a clique of delinquent girls eventually reunites a year later in Tokyo to face different challenges in the form of yakuza and… street vendors.


Inside a Girl's Dormitory
1970 · 1h 29m
country: Japan


The Last Kamikaze
1970 · 2h 2m
country: Japan
With World War II is coming to its end and Japan nearing defeat, Japanese military leaders step up suicide attacks on Allied ships. Toei legend Koji Tsuruta stars as a Kamikaze squad leader who has second thoughts about suicide runs. He becomes torn between his own morality and his duty to his country when he must deal with a pilot under his command who refuses to complete his mission.


The Experience
1970 · 1h 26m
country: Japan
Two boys and two girls become acquainted and fall in love.


Wolves of the City, Take Your Chance
1970 · 1h 27m
country: Japan
The hoodlum group goes to a hot-spring resort town to earn money.


Three Pretty Devils
1970 · 1h 27m
country: Japan
A trio of teenage tarts try to earn money through shoplifting and prostitution scams and get into deep trouble.


Prison Tales
1970 · 1h 36m
country: Japan


Killer's Hit List
1970 · 1h 33m
country: Japan
A 1970 entertainment action masterpiece directed by Teruo Ishii. A companion piece to another Ishii-directed film from 1970, also starring Watase, Yoshida and Sato called PRISONERS' BACK LIST.