Life of Hishakaku

Sanctuary

May 1996 •Japanese

Two Japanese survivors of the Khmer Rouge massacres in Cambodia vow to find a sanctuary, even if they have to build it themselves. Returning to Japan, they take seemingly opposite paths: one becomes a politician, the other a gangster. As Asami and Houjou work through the linked worlds of politics and crime in modern Japan, they don't hesitate to do anything necessary to secure their own positions and stay true to their vow. Loyal to no one else, they find their friendship increasingly tested as they rise in their chosen fields.

The Shape of Night

November 1964 •Japanese

Yoshie Nogami, a factory worker by day, works as a bar hostess at night. She begins a passionate affair with one of her regulars, but his changing demeanor and constant demands for money lead Yoshie down a dark path.

Beni

November 1996 •Japanese

Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno

August 2014 •Japanese

Kenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left for dead. He survived, and is now in Kyoto, plotting with his gathered warriors to overthrow the new government. Against Kaoru's wishes, Kenshin reluctantly agrees to go to Kyoto and help keep his country from falling back into civil war.

Crying Freeman

April 1995 •English

A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.

Hirate Miki the Swordman

October 1954 •Japanese

The man is chased by losing the beauty and preciousness of love and the foundation of life without overcoming the hardship of life.

Reigen Ohatsu ~ Furueru Iwa ~

May 2024 •Japanese

Set in the late Edo period. Ohatsu, who is the signboard girl for a diner in Nihonbashi Torichō, awakens to a mysterious power – the spiritual ability to see and hear things that ordinary people cannot. Southern Edo magistrate Negishi Hizen-no-kami Yasumori approached her to request assistance in gathering strange tales for a collection called Mimibukuro, and introduces her to Furusawa Ukyonosuke, a trainee yoriki. Thus, the two of them encounter some bizarre events...

The Reckless One

April 1967 •Japanese

Kosuke Suzuki returns to Hakata's hometown after learning that his best friend Takehara has disappeared. Kosuke is persistently hindered by Hasebe from Omura Sangyo. Kosuke's partner Kumagoro investigates and finds out that Hasebe, who killed the head of the Muraoka clan, made Takehara disappear in order to keep him silent. The third film in the series.

The Singing Gunman

June 1967 •Japanese

Fourth film in the Aitsu series. The outlaw-cum-travelling guitarist discovers that his friend has been killed by the gangsters who held up the bullion transport.

The Fallen Angel

February 2010 •Japanese

The story of a young man who has felt since childhood utterly alien from others around him. Since that time he has learned to put on a face to hide his alienation. He feels incapable of belonging to the human society, especially so by society's refusal to take him seriously. He then follows a descent into alcohol, drugs, & suicide ...

Dochinpira: The Movie

March 1995 •Japanese

Jin Kaito is a hot-blooded guy with a soft spot for the weak for hot women. His job is "catch" women under the bold catchphrase: “For just 50,000 yen, I’ll escort you to paradise.” One day, he saves a girl named Yuna from a gang of delinquents. At her request, he gives her some pleasure in return. But her sexual appetite turns out to be bottomless, and even Jin, a sexual beast, is forced to flee with his tail between his legs. Meanwhile, a man called Inuzuka, from the Jōsai gang is desperately searching for Yuna. She was connected to the gang and had stolen 100 million yen in drug deal slush funds. Unaware of all this, Jin is at that very moment having a wild night at a hotel with Yayoi, a woman he picked up at a bar…

Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! IV: The Gamble

March 1996 •Japanese

Having lost everything to horse racing, Yûji accidentally gets 10 million yen. But this sum belongs to a Yakuza.

Cyclops

May 2019 •Japanese

Shinohara has spent the last 14 years wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of his wife. After finally gaining his freedom, his only thought is of revenge. With the help of a policeman plagued by regret that he helped imprison an innocent man, Shinohara searches his wife’s true killer.

Fireworks

October 1997 •Japanese

Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his business partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.

Ichi the Killer

December 2001 •Japanese

As sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of.

Motorpsycho!

August 1965 •English

A vengeful veterinarian and a grieving widow join forces to track down violent bikers after they commit heinous acts against their loved ones.

Overkill

December 1987 •English

A Tokyo cop is sent to Los Angeles to help an LAPD detective break up a yakuza ring operating in the city.

Sonatine

September 1993 •Japanese

Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.

The Incorrigible

September 1963 •Japanese

Based on the loosely autobiographical novel of the same name by Toko Kon. Ken Yamanouchi stars as Togo Konno, the titular bastard.

Oyaji

August 2007 •Japanese

Surrounded by violence for as long as he can remember, Ryoudo Numata has steeled himself into a tremendously tough man, growing to become the very essence of "manliness" himself in order to live his life in peace. When members of a yakuza clan set on fire to his house to facilitate a real estate transaction, Kumada murders them and gets jailed for it. 15 years later, finally free, he will now have to reconnect with his family who clearly are in disarray due his long absence and face the distrust of his children who know nothing of their father except that he had abandoned them.