Hirō Matsuda — Playwright (18)
Gambling Code and Feuds (1977) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
仁義と抗争
other title: 仁義と抗争 / Gambling Code And Feuds
It is the first Toei yakuza film directed by Akinori Matsuo, who was active in Nikkatsu action movies. It is a local yakuza movie made following Okinawa Yakuza War (1976) and Hokuriku Proxy War (1977). The film depicts the war between a storied yakuza killer (Hiroki Matsukata) and the largest organized crime group in the Kansai region, which plans to advance into the Kanto region.
Appassionata (1984) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
序の舞
director: Sadao Nakajima actor: Yūko Natori / Morio Kazama
other title: 序の舞
This story is based on the novel "Jo no mai" by Tomiko Miyao which is based on the life of painter Shōen Uemura (1875–1949), the first woman to be awarded the Order of Culture. The title refers to the masterpiece bijinga ("picture of a beautiful woman") that Uemura painted at the age of 61. The main character, Tsuya Shimamura, is born in Kyoto as the second daughter of a tea trader who dies before her birth. Tsuya, who loves painting more than anything and is hopeless at housework, attends art school and at age 15 receives the name Shōsui (from the characters for "pine" and "green") from her teacher. The crown prince of England purchases one of her works, propelling her to fame overnight. The novel portrays the remainder of her stormy life, during which she is impregnated by her teacher and raises a fatherless child; through it all she devotes herself to her painting, undaunted.
In Blazing Love (1994) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
東雲楼・女の乱
director: Ikuo Sekimoto actor: Rino Katase / Keiko Saitō
other title: 東雲楼・女の乱
An illustration of the tragic lives of geishas at a popular geisha house, Shinonomero. Shortly after being sold to a geisha house at age 5, Shizu is befriended by a fellow older geisha, Tsuru. After years of living and working together, Tsuru and Shizu manage to run the operations of Shinonomero as the proprietress and assistant. Despite vows to never to let their lovers come between them or Shinonomero, moments of weakness leave Tsuru and Shizu caught up in a web of betrayal and plunged into debt. With the guilt of losing Shinonomero to Udo, a yakuza who loaned them money, it is now up to young Shizu to redeem Tsuru’s honor and restore Shinonomero as their own.
A True Story of the Private Ginza Police (1973) [Movie] IMDb TMDB
実録・私設銀座警察
director: Junya Satō actor: Noboru Andō / Tsunehiko Watase
other title: 実録・私設銀座警察
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.
Blackmail Is My Life (1968) [Movie] WikiData TMDB IMDb
恐喝こそわが人生
other title: Kamikaze Club / 恐喝こそわが人生
Though he has come from a rough background on the streets, Muraki quickly rises through the ranks by means of his well-honed blackmailing instincts. Desperate to keep rolling with his freewheeling lifestyle, Muraki sees his luck begin to crumble when he sets his sights on the business partners of a powerful gang boss.
Criminal Woman: Killing Melody (1973) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
前科おんな殺し節
director: Atsushi Mihori actor: Reiko Ike / Miki Sugimoto
other title: Criminal Woman : Killing Melody / 前科おんな殺し節
Reiko Ike stars as the daughter of a man who has been pushed into drug dealing by the local Yakuza mob. Having outlived his usefulness to the gang he is murdered and Reiko is gang raped, leading her to attempt a knife attack on the Yakuza boss (Ryoji Hayama) at a swank nightclub. Failing to kill him she ends up in prison, where she befriends a crew of other malcontents (including Yumiko Katayama and Chiyoko Kazama) and meets the Yakuza boss's girlfriend (Miki Sugimoto). Upon release Reiko reassembles her mob and launches a Machiavellian scheme to engineer a gang war between Hayama's Oba Industries and the formerly dominant Hamayasu Clan. The rival gangs begin killing each other off and Reiko works her way closer to her ultimate vengeance.