Tai Katō — Director (33)
Fighting Tatsu, the Rickshaw Man (1964) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
車夫遊侠伝 喧嘩辰
other title: L'indomptable d'Edo / 車夫遊侠伝 喧嘩辰
Richshaw man Tatsu has wandered to Osaka from Tokyo. He has quarrels with Kimiyakko, a geisha, and throws her into the river. But later, he falls in love with her. Yasaburo, the oyabun of the Nishikawa Gang, loves her very much too. However, as he likes Tatsu's dynamic personality, he volunteers to become a go-between for their marriage. Yasaburo gets tipped off by Yajima who wants to take over the territory of the Nishikawa Gang, and is arrested and imprisoned. After his release, Yajima tries to kill him. Ginjiro, a lover of Tamaryu respects Kimiyakko as an older sister and a follower of Tatsu, is murdered. After the third marriage ceremony just between Tatsu and Kimiyakko, Tatsu goes off to the place of fighting.
Flames of Blood (1981) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
炎のごとく
director: Tai Katō actor: Bunta Sugawara / Mitsuko Baisho
other title: 炎のごとく / Flames Of Blood
​The story follows the chance meeting between Senkichi, a wandering gambler on the run, and Orin, a blind musician who offers him kindness and shelter. As their lives become intertwined, they attempt to find a sense of peace and domesticity while caught in the crossfire of the violent Bakumatsu revolution.
Castle of Flames (1960) [Movie] IMDb TMDB
炎の城
director: Tai Katō actor: Hashizo Ōkawa / Denjirō Ōkōchi
other title: 炎の城
In 17th century Japan, Young Lord Masato returns after years abroad to find everything changed: his peace-loving father has died in what he soon finds to be mysterious circumstances, and his mother's married to his uncle, whose ruthless ambition is causing turmoil in the kingdom. Not knowing who to trust, Masato feigns madness, vowing to get to the truth, even though his act causes distress to the girl he loves, who's waited for him all these years. The ghost of his father turns up now and then to show him the way. Meanwhile a peasant revolt is brewing... It all ends tragically.
In Search of Mother (1962) [Movie] IMDb TMDB
瞼の母
other title: 瞼の母
Period piece about a young man who, because of his hard life alone in the world, has become a yakuza. When he hears that his mother may be living in Edo (Tokyo), he travels there, intent on finding her and leaving the swordsman's life behind. But a team of rival gangsters is hot on his heels.
Miyamoto Musashi (1973) [Movie] IMDb WikiData TMDB
宮本武蔵
director: Tai Katō actor: Hideki Takahashi / Jirō Tamiya
other title: 宮本武蔵
In Part I we see the young would-be swordsman setting out to achieve greatness in war, achieving nothing because fighting on the losing side, & then beginning his long period of wandering & training, with the goal always in mind of his duel with Kojiro. Part II builds toward that great duel on Ganryu Island, with considerable focus on Musashi's planning & forethought as to how to gain an advantage.
Modern Lady Gambler (1972) [Movie] IMDb TMDB
昭和おんな博徒
director: Tai Katō actor: Kyōko Enami / Hiroki Matsukata
other title: 昭和おんな博徒
Fujiko wanders aimlessly through the country, seeking vengence on the man she onced loved, who betrayed her, and destroying her family and her life. When she discovers that man had already died, she loses her will to live. But in a twist of fate, she meets Tatsumi, a raising star in the Horikawa Family. She quickly falls in love with him and his yakuza lifstyle. But when Tatsumi is chosen to but the next Boss of the family, his jealous sworn brother Morito kills him with the help of a mysterious man behind the scenes. Now Fujiko becomes a Bakuto, a wandering yakuza gambler, and once again, walks the bloody path of vengence...
Red Peony Gambler: Here to Kill You (1971) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
緋牡丹博徒 お命戴きます
director: Tai Katō actor: Sumiko Fuji / Tomisaburō Wakayama
other title: Lady Yakuza 7 - Prépare-toi à mourir ! / Lady Yakuza Red Peony Gambler 7: Here to kill you
The seventh chapter of the stunning Hibotan Bakuto series. Many years have passed since Oryu the Red Peony began her soul-searching journey after her father was killed. In her travels, she meets villagers whose crops and livelihoods are being destroyed by pollution from a local factory. They seem to work out an agreement, but Oryu must help the poor villagers when the greedy factory owner and corrupt politicians betray them…
Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game (1969) [Movie] TMDB IMDb
緋牡丹博徒 花札勝負
director: Tai Katō actor: Sumiko Fuji / Ken Takakura
other title: Lady Yakuza 3 - Le jeu des fleurs / Lady Yakuza Red Peony Gambler 3: The Flowers Cards Game
The third chapter of the ‘Red Peony Gambler’ saga depicts the happiness and sadness of Red Peony Oryu’s life as she seals her femininity with a red peony tattoo and lives in world of chivalry and honor of the yakuza. This story takes place in the middle of the Meiji era in Nagoya. Oryu is wandering the country, training herself to reinstate her family name. With a written recommendation from Kumatora, she appears at the door of the Nishinomaru family. At the same time, the family is preparing for the gambling competition at the Netsuda Shrine Festival, which they have been hosting for generations. Meanwhile, the crooked Kinbara family is plotting to take over the competition. And now Oryu is forced to get involved in the struggle…
The Blossom and the Sword (1973) [Movie] TMDB IMDb WikiData
日本侠花伝
director: Tai Katō actor: Hiroko Maki / Tetsuya Watari
other title: 日本侠花伝
Tai Kato’s early 20th century set yakuza epic about an ordinary merchant girl (Hiroko Maki) who crosses paths with an assassin (Tetsuya Watari). The encounter sends her to jail as a suspected accomplice. Years later she marries a yakuza boss, whose gang is affiliated with working class people.