Asian Movies

Shogun’s Shadow, Sh?gun Iemitsu no Ranshin: Gekitotsu, The Insanity of Shogun Iematsu: Clash, Seven Ronin vs. the Shogunate’s Army, Gekitotsu

Genre: Action.
Date: 1989
Parts: 2
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: During Japan’s feudal era, the dying shogun’s first son, Takechiyo, and his attendants are attacked by fighting monks while away from the capital. Rescued by a band of ronin led by Gyobu Igo, the adolescent Takechiyo comes under their protection as they begin a perilous journey to reach Edo before a samurai warlord named Shozaemon Iba and his inexhaustible military forces capture and kill the boy. But a simple escort mission takes a sinister turn when they discover that the forces controlling their pursuers reside at the very heart of the capital. With an entire army in pursuit, Gyobu leads his small band of heroes forward in a seemingly hopeless struggle to preserve the life of the next rightful shogun. Sonny Chiba – Iba Shoemon Hu Chien Chiang – Shishi Jingoemon Hiroki Matsukata – Abe Shigeji Ken Ogata – Igo Gyobu Tetsuro Tamba – Hotta Masamori Seizo Fukumoto Hu Jian Qiang

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Shissou -Dead Run,
Parts: 2
Language:
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: Shuji was born into a typical family in a small town. At 15, he becomes interested in a small Christian church and develops some affection for Eri, his classmate who also attends church. The normalcy begins to fall apart when a huge resort is being planned in a nearby town. Shuji and Eri run for their lives down the only path left……enjoy!

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Shiri, Swiri

Genre: Action, Thriller.
Date: 2003
Parts: 3
Language: Korean
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: “”Have you ever seen fish cry?”” When special agent Ryu of South Korea’s secret service fails to prevent the death of an arms smuggler-turned-informant, he instinctively suspects the involvement of Hee, an enigmatic sniper from a North Korean terrorist group. A skilled master of disguise, Hee has previously assassinated many government officials but since managed to disappear, escaping the unrelenting pursuit of South Korean agents. Now it appears that she has returned… Suk-kyu Han – JongWon Yu Min-sik Choi – Mu-young Park Yunjin Kim – Myung-hyun Lee Kang-ho Song – Jang-gil Lee Derek Kim – Dae-Ho Jung

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Shinobi No Mono 8, The Ninja: A New Beginning, Ninja 8, Shinsho Shinobi no Mono

Genre: Action.
Date: 1966
Parts: 3
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: Towards the end of the Tenmon Era, Shogun Ashikaga`s powers were weakening by the day and many were there who planned to overthrow him. It was the beginning of the Sengoku (Warring States) period. As the movie begins, Kasumi Kanbei is testing his gunpowder in a small house when he senses men approaching. He hides his son Kojiro and the gunpowder. As the men enter, he kills two and fights the rest. One of the attackers cuts off Kanbei`s arm with a kusarigama (sickle and chain weapon). Another man kills Kanbei as two others try to steal the gunpowder. The boy and the attackers barely escape before the remaining powder explodes.Twenty years later, Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu battle for control of Japan. Kojiro, now older, observes as a riding samurai is shot by a ninja. He tries to find the man, but is tricked and the other ninja escapes. Kojiro`s master comes by and says that the man must have been a ninja from Kai because they never fail to get Nobunaga`s messengers. He tells Kojiro to seek out Kurato Sadayu in Kai to further his skills. In Kai, Kojiro sees a man sharpening a kama that looks like the one his father was wounded by. A woman comes by to pick up the kama and he follows her to the red light district. Kojiro sleeps with Chitose and she gets up during the night to hand the kama to someone waiting outside. When she returns to bed, Kojiro holds a knife to her throat and asks if the man was Yafuse no Ijyuu – one of the men who killed his father. Chitose neither confirms nor denies the identity of the man before several men enter the room. Kojiro makes his escape and Chitose yells after him that Ijyuu is headed to Anegawa. Kojiro meets up with Ijyuu and they fight. Kojiro is wounded, but manages to cut off his enemy`s arm and finds a note on his weapon before losing consciousness from his injury. Waking to find his wound wrapped and that he`s been moved to safety, Kojiro explains to the man who saved him that he was planning to give the note to Kurato so that he could join his ninja group. The man says that he`s Kurato.Kurato Sadayu, who works for Shingen, agrees to train Kojiro. During his training, the young ninja meets Akane and learns from one of his compatriots that she`s dangerous……… Raiz? Ichikawa – Kojiro Kasumi Manami Fuji – Chitose Michiyo Ookusu – Akane (as Michiyo Yasuda) Y?nosuke It? – Sadayu Kenjiro Ishiyama Ryutaro Gomi Taketoshi Nait? Fujio Suga

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Shinobi No Mono 7, Ninja 7, Shin Shinobi no Mono – Kirigakure Saizou

Genre: Action.
Date: 1966
Parts: 3
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: Tokugawa Ieyasu`s dreams have come true – he rules the entire land with his son Hidetada as Shogun in residence in Edo. However, Ieyasu really gives the orders from his castle at Sunpu. In his sickbed, Ieyasu receives word from the priest Tenkai, that he is supremely powerful, but Ieyasu mentions that the Sanada clan ninja are still a threat because they will never give up. He suggests that the Fuma ryuu ninja may be able to fight the Iga ninja and reveals that he has summoned them to Sunpu.The bodies of several executed ninja are removed from the execution grounds by a ninja using a smokescreen as cover. As Saizou pays his respects at their graves, Karasu Sagenta thanks Saizou for retrieving the bodies and reiterates their desire to kill Ieyasu. The two disappear into an underground tunnel where their leader – Yatoji – reveals that they are the last of the ninja fighting against the Tokugawa regime. The kunoichi (female ninja) Akane reportst that Fuma Daijuro is coming with 30 men to protect Ieyasu. Yatoji says that this is a great opportunity for the remaining Iga ninja to show how powerful they are and then performs a kuji ritual. The Fuma ninja meet with Ieyasu to make sure they can protect him. The ninja give a demonstration of their soujutsu (spear) and kajutsu (fire techniques) and Daijuro assures the daimyou that he will defeat the Iga ninja. Akane uses her kunoichi skills to get some information about the interior of Ieyasu`s castle called O-oku where they think the daimyou`s bedchamber may be located. She later gives this information to Saizou. As they talk, Saizou asks Akane why she became a kunoichi even though the female ninja are not considered to be as skilled as `real` ninja. She responds that it was her destiny to become a kunoichi because her parents were killed at Sekigahara fighting against the Tokugawa forces. Saizou tells her that she should give it up and live like a human. Their discussion is ended when Saizou detects and kills one of the Fuma ninja hiding in a tree. Raiz? Ichikawa – Saizo Kumogakure Shiho Fujimura – Akane Y?ko Kusunoki – Yayoi Takahiro Tamura – Daijuro Fuma Asao Uchida Ryutaro Gomi Eitar? Ozawa Takamaru Sasaki Jotaro Senba

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Shinobi No Mono 6, The Ninja: Iga Mansion, Ninja 6, Shinobi no Mono 6, Iga Yashiki

Genre: Action.
Date: 1965
Parts: 3
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: In the 14th year of Kanei, Toyotomi`s men who managed to survive the battle of Sekigahara went to fight in the battle of Shimabara but there weren`t enough men, so they were soundly defeated. Matsudaira Izunokami, a leading general of the Tokugawa side led his men up the road to Edo?but there is a man who is thinking of Tokugawa as his deadly enemy. This is one of the most complicated plots of any of the Shinobi no Mono films! Therefore, this synopsis is a little light on details. Kirigakure Saizou tells his son and daughter that he will continue to fight against the Tokugawa. He then reveals that the girl is really the daughter of Sanada Yukimura who he`s raised as his own. He tells his son, Saisuke to protect Princess Yuri. Saizou then shoots Izunokami. The ninja is wounded in the ensuing battle. He finds himself cornered and kills himself as the children watch.0 years later, there are many plots forming to fight against the Tokugawa Shogunate. One is lead by Yui Shosetsu and his men. Saisuke, now older and skilled in Ninpo (the way of the ninja) meets Yui and begins forming plans to create uprisings throughout the country in order to avenge his father.Saisuke meets Yuri, who was separated from him when they were children. She has been raised by Izunokami as his daughter and as a Koga ninja. Her loyalty to her past and to Izunokami create conflict as she switches sides several times. Raiz? Ichikawa – Saizo Kumogakure Kaoru Yachigusa – Yurihime / Oran Isao Yamagata – Matsudaira Kenji Imai Ryuzo Shimada Mizuho Suzuki – Masayuki Yui

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Shinobi No Mono 5, Ninja 5, Zoku Kirigakure Saizo

Genre: Action.
Date: 1964
Parts: 3
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: On May 8, 1615 the summer campaign of Osaka has reached the climax. This film takes place immediately following Kirigakure Saizou. After Yukimura escapes, Ieyasu orders everyone to be killed. He gets a report after the battle that they are unable to find Yukimura`s body. He offers a big reward for the body. Hanzo reports that a small boat escaped from the castle with 3 men in it. Tokugawa Ieyasu deduces that it must have been Kirigakure Saizou and Yukimura and that they will go to Satsuma. Hanzo orders his ninja to wait until night before attacking the boat. That night as Saizou guides the boat to land through thick fog, he detects that they are being followed by several boats. Saizou enters the water and swims back to see Hanzo`s men following them. He manages to dispatch several of his opponents using shuko (hand claws), but Yukimura`s son Daisuke is struck with shuriken and collapses before Saizou can return to their boat. Pouring oil into the water and lighting it as a distraction, Saizou and Yukimura manage to escape. At Satsuma, Yukimura explains that the way to win wars from now on is to use guns, but it`s difficult to find high quality firearms like the ones made at Tanegashima (an island in southern Japan renown for its firearms production). He explains that they must determine the secret of the Tanegashima. A merchant stops by to show off his new gun that will shoot 3 rounds at once. Lord Shimazu orders Iehisa to send a message to their allies that the revolution is near. They assume that Ieyasu will be appointed as Dajo Cabinet Minister and when he is, he will stop by Kyoto to accept the position. That is when they must make their move. At Sunpu, Tokugawa checks the quality of some Tanegashima products. In an audience with Ieyasu, Iehisa is told that they know that someone named Minami Hirayuki (Yukimura) is staying at their castle. Iehisa is not sure who told him about that since there were only 3 people around when they discussed the plans for rebellion. Saizou intercepts a messenger who is carrying a message that reads `Iehisa is in secret discussions with Yoshihiro.` Saizou also eavesdrops on the conversation between a young girl and one of the messengers who used to be her gardener. The man gives her a bird that he shot near the border and she returns to a kenjutsu dojo where she presents the bird to her father who is the instructor. He asks her if he shot it near the border and she verifies this. Isaikan is the kenjutsu instructor for the Shimazu clan……. Raiz? Ichikawa – Saizo Kirigakure Yukiko Fuji – Akemi Shiho Fujimura – Shino Saburo Date Eitar? Ozawa Katsuhiko Kobayashi Tomisaburo Wakayama – Sanada Yukimura (as Jo Kenzaburo)

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Shinobi No Mono 4, Ninja 4, Shinobi no Mono 4, Kirigakure Saizo

Genre: Action.
Date: 1964
Parts: 3
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: Since the victory at Sekigahara gave him rule over all of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu has vigilantly sought to crush the Toyotomi clan. He finally declares war against the Toyotomi 15 years later in order to claim the bell of Hokoji temple in Kyoto. Hideyoshi`s widow, the lady Yodo and their son Hideyori prepare to defend against a siege at the `impregnable` Osaka castle. The winter campaign of Osaka began in November 1614. Hideyori asked several daimyo who had been loyal to Hideyoshi if they would help support his army. However, since Hideyori is clearly losing, only a few come to his aid. Sanada Yukimura, who hates Ieyasu, and Goto Mototsuga are among them so that Hideyori`s army only has 70 – 80,000 men – mostly poor ronin. In contrast, Ieyasu has gathered 200,000 troops in his army as they cross the Chausu mountains in order to surround Hideyori. As Ieyasu plans to lay siege to the castle and the troops inside, he orders Yotoji (his ninja commander) to send 3 additional ninja to join the other 3 who have already infiltrated the enemy`s ranks.Inside the castle, Lady Yodo calls Ieyasu a demon for trying to kill them by bobarding the wing of the castle where she is staying. As the bombardment continues, Kirigakure Saizou swings into the courtyard and orders Lord Yukimura and his men to escape while he takes care of the enemy. Saizou stops the enemy from killing the women who are hiding in one of the storehouses.A year later, Osaka is relatively peaceful. While in Kishu, at Mount Takano Saizou speaks with Lord Yukimura and his son Daisuke about the future of the Toyotomi clan. Yukimura sends Saizou off to watch Ieyasu`s actions. There are several scenes in which Yotoji tries to find out more information about Kirigakure or kill him and Yukimura Daisuke. In one of these, Saizou is followed in the town of Sunpu. Saizou manages to hide by ducking into a brothel. One of the women recognizes him? she is Akane who he saved from the storehouse in Osaka castle a year earlier. Yotoji storms into the room looking for Kirigakure so Akane pretends that Saizou is one of her customers, hiding his face from the other ninja.When the Ieyasu ninja reports back to his master, he says that he still knows nothing about Kirigakure. Ieyasu then orders Gunda – his trusted advisor – to watch Yukimura Sanada because he is more dangerous than the Toyotomi clan alone…… Raiz? Ichikawa – Saizo Kirigakure Saburo Date Midori Isomura – Akane Ganjiro Nakamura – Ieyasu Tokugawa Katsuhiko Kobayashi Junichiro Narita Tomisaburo Wakayama – Sanada Yukimura (as Joh Kenzaburo)

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Shinobi No Mono 3, Goemon Will Never Die, The new Ninja, Ninja 3, Shin Shinobi no Mono

Genre: Action.
Date: 1963
Parts: 3
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: After Ishikawa Goemons capture, he is to be executed by being boiled to death. As he is about to be lowered into the huge cauldron, there is an explosion, but the execution appears to be carried out. However, we quickly learn that Goemon escaped during the explosion and was replaced with another person by Hattori Hanzo. They meet in the upper floor of a temple and Ishikawa explains that he wants to kill Toyotomi Hideyoshi but Hanzo explains that that will not be easy.Goemon gives the head of his stand-in a proper burial and steals money from Hideyoshi`s coffers to pay for a memorial service. He soon meets up with Nobori no Inuhachi, an old friend who has taken to being a thief in order to make ends meet. Toyotomi Hideyoshi calls all the local daimyo to his castle in order to introduce his infant son, Hideyori, to the world. He also announces that he plans to attack the Korean forces in China and asks that all the daimyo provide troops, weapons and money for the campaign. He says that he is so confident that he will personally lead the attack and will leave his eldest son, Hidetsugu in charge during his absence.Goemon attacks Hidetsugu`s procession at night and takes his clothes, explaining that if he tells anyone about the attack he will be seen as a coward for not fighting back. With the kanpaku`s clothes, Goemon calls a meeting with Hideyoshis consort, Yodo on the premise that he wants to see Hideyori. Goemon says that Hideyori looks just like a monkey (Toyotomi Hideyoshi was known to resemble a monkey!) so he must be his father`s child. He orders Lady Yodo to tell Hideyoshi “”how sad it is for a wife and child to be taken away”” and grabs the child. They are quickly surrounded by samurai and in a very exciting scene, they are forced to escape without the child. With the campaign against Korea going well, Hideyoshi returns to Japan. He hears rumor of Hidetsugu`s poor handling of affairs back home and says that he will send Hidetsugu to Korea – this is done in order to replace him with his favored son, Hideyori. Goemon overhears this as he is gathering information and drops a couple of notes that say that the Korean campaign will fail and that Hideyoshi will suffer.With this information, Goemon sneaks into the Toyotomi castle and warns Onene (Hideyoshi`s wife) about Hideyoshi`s plans to send Hidetsugu to Korea and suggests that she may be next. She in turn tells her son that his father is planning to send him to Korea. He becomes angry and confronts his father upon his return from the battlefield. Hideyoshi disgraces his older son by throwing sake in his face. This leads Hidetsugu to commit seppuku. Raiz? Ichikawa – Goemon Ishikawa Ayako Wakao – Yodogimi Saburo Date Chikako Hosokawa Yoshiro Kitahara – Mitsunari Ishida Masao Mishima Junichiro Narita – Hidetsugu Toyotomi Eijir? Tono

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Shinobi No Mono 2, Return of a Band of Assassins, The Ninja Part II, Zoku Shinobi No Mono, Ninja 2

Genre: Action.
Date: 1963
Parts: 2
Language: Japanese
Subtitle: English

Synopsis: Zoku Shinobi no Mono is part two in the eight-film Shinobi no Mono series that chronicles the exploits of ninjas in the Sengoku or Warring States period leading up to the establishment of peace with the founding of a centralized power under Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603. As a traditional jidai geki or period drama, Zoku balances serious drama and political intrigue with as realistic a portrayal of ninjitsu arts as could be expected from a feature film. This second episode in the series is slow moving at times and uniformly dreary in tone, but features some excellent action sequences set against a fascinating and bloody period in Japan?s history. Raiz? Ichikawa – Goemon Ishikawa Shiho Fujimura – Maki Saburo Date Mikiko Tsubouchi – Tamame S? Yamamura Eijir? Tono Shigeru Amachi Tomisaburo Wakayama – Oda Nobunaga (as Jo Kenzaburo)

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