A gentle samurai who just wants to grow flowers finds himself consumed by courtly intrigue and a cruel destiny in a visual tour de force from Kenji Misumi
Jul 23, 2021 • Subscribe
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Ken (剣, Kenji Misumi, 1964)
A rigid young man dreaming of a “pure life” is forced to confront the contradictions of the modern society in Misumi’s melancholy masculinity drama
Destiny’s Son (斬る, Kenji Misumi, 1962)
A wandering son finds himself in the middle of intrigue on learning the sad secrets of his birth in Kenji Misumi’s elliptical, elegiac tale of death and the…
Freelance Samurai (桃太郎侍, Kenji Misumi, 1957)
An abandoned son resolves to wander Japan killing the “demons” of Edo-era society in Kenji Misumi’s adaptation of the popular novel by Kiichiro Yamate.
Bloody Shuriken (赤い手裏剣, Tokuzo Tanaka, 1965)
A cynical ronin spots a business opportunity when he rides into a town beset by gangsters in Tokuzo Tanaka’s samurai western.
On the Road Forever (無宿者, Kenji Misumi, 1964)
Wandering sons on opposing sides find themselves united in their quest to avenge absent fathers in Kenji Misumi’s filiality drama
Misumi Kubo’s Trinity
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Sword of Destiny (孤剣は折れず 月影一刀流, Yasushi Sasaki, 1960)
A wandering swordsman winds up in intrigue on returning to his fencing school to find his old master murdered in Yasushi Sasaki’s jidaigeki adventure.
Furin / 不倫 (1965)
Obscure Japanese Film #126 Ayako Wakao Saburi (Keizo Kawasaki) is a writer who has just won the Newcomer of the Year Award for…
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Episode 30: Kenji Miyazawa
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A teenage rock climber wrestles with the pressures of parental expectation and early fame in Kenji Tsukamoto’s probing documentary.
The Demon (鬼畜, Yoshitaro Nomura, 1978)
When his mistress abandons their three children on his doorstep, a resentful father and his enraged wife take drastic action to be free of them in Yoshitaro Nomura’s…
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Tsuritama is unmistakably Kenji Nakamura
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Demon Slayer 鬼滅の刃 Kimetsu no Yaiba
Tanjiro, son of a humble woodcutter, returns from town to find his family slaughtered mercilessly. The work of demons, this also turns his sister into a demon. He…
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An exquisitely layered psychological drama that unveils how a subject’s fixation on a phantasmatic image disrupts his ability to commit himself romantically to the female other
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Episode #79 (S10E8) – Kwaidan [怪談] (1965)
Podcaster Mike Lund visits the show to discuss Kwaidan, an adaptation of four of Lafcadio Hearn’s Japanese ghost stories. We discuss our favorite stories from this anthology, some…
Dead Talents Society (鬼才之道, John Hsu, 2024)
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Murderer vs. Maniac / 殺人犯 対 殺人鬼
While some books take a while to get into the action, Murderer vs. Maniac wastes no time. The opening scene is all about the protagonist ...
Let It Ghost (猛鬼3寶, Wong Hoi, 2022)
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Shikaba really is responsible for his father's death, Kanna wins a contest, and the Death Devil is going to end this fight in just three seconds! 4:43 - Ichi…
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Daughter-in-Law (민며느리, Choi Eun-hee, 1965)
A sense of female solidarity eventually develops between a dutiful young woman and her tyrannical mother-in-law in Choi Eun-hee’s lighthearted directorial debut
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Devil de Story (1983)
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Miss Oyu (お遊さま, Kenji Mizoguchi, 1951)
Oppressive social codes and repressed desire provoke a tragic love triangle in Mizoguchi’s adaptation of the story by Tanizaki.
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