Writing

Akira Murao

Place of birth

Tokyo, Japan

Known for

Writing

Credits

40 titles

Known for

Prison Gambler poster
9.0

A film about the confrontation between two yakuza groups in the brutal Miike prison, which contained 1,500 inmates. The second film in the series Gambler / Bakuto directed by Shigehiro Ozawa.

Prison Gambler

1964

Giant Rumble poster
6.0

In this gritty tale of gamblers battling in the samurai era, Okawa Hashizo gives perhaps his greatest performance as a gambler returning to his home town. Swearing allegiance to his fiancée’s father, a decent boss, he had taken to the road after a gang fight until things cooled down. While honing his sword skills in his travels, everything in the town had changed and he descended into a virtual hell of violence. Opponents were being slaughtered by a former samurai ‘Bodyguard’ played by Tanba Tetsuro at the height of his amazing career. While these two master swordsmen are fated to meet, before that can even happen they must survive one of the longest, bloodiest swordfights in movie history!

Giant Rumble

1964

Kill! poster
7.0

A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.

Kill!

1968

Japan's Top Gangster poster
7.0

A boy born in a poor village in Tokushima spends his days idly until a chance meeting sets him on the road to becoming boss of Japan's largest gang. This epic film is the first part of greatest true-life series based on autobiography of the Yamaguchi-gumi's third leader, Taoka Kazuo.

Japan's Top Gangster

1973

Brutal Tales of Chivalry poster
7.4

After World War II, their town was a pile of rubble. Gennosuke, the second generation boss of the Kamizu Group was upholding yakuza chivalry by keeping black-market and illegal items out of their open-air market. Taking advantage of the mess, Iwasa and his gang take hold of goods from the US military, black-market and controlled items in order to become the most powerful group in Enko area.

Brutal Tales of Chivalry

1965

Greatest Boss of the Showa Era poster
7.0

Somewhat unique as it appears to be one of the very rare appearances of master thespian Itô in a yakuza role.

Greatest Boss of the Showa Era

1966

Behind the camera

Prison Gambler poster
9.0

A film about the confrontation between two yakuza groups in the brutal Miike prison, which contained 1,500 inmates. The second film in the series Gambler / Bakuto directed by Shigehiro Ozawa.

Prison Gambler

1964

Giant Rumble poster
6.0

In this gritty tale of gamblers battling in the samurai era, Okawa Hashizo gives perhaps his greatest performance as a gambler returning to his home town. Swearing allegiance to his fiancée’s father, a decent boss, he had taken to the road after a gang fight until things cooled down. While honing his sword skills in his travels, everything in the town had changed and he descended into a virtual hell of violence. Opponents were being slaughtered by a former samurai ‘Bodyguard’ played by Tanba Tetsuro at the height of his amazing career. While these two master swordsmen are fated to meet, before that can even happen they must survive one of the longest, bloodiest swordfights in movie history!

Giant Rumble

1964

Kill! poster
7.0

A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.

Kill!

1968

Japan's Top Gangster poster
7.0

A boy born in a poor village in Tokushima spends his days idly until a chance meeting sets him on the road to becoming boss of Japan's largest gang. This epic film is the first part of greatest true-life series based on autobiography of the Yamaguchi-gumi's third leader, Taoka Kazuo.

Japan's Top Gangster

1973

Brutal Tales of Chivalry poster
7.4

After World War II, their town was a pile of rubble. Gennosuke, the second generation boss of the Kamizu Group was upholding yakuza chivalry by keeping black-market and illegal items out of their open-air market. Taking advantage of the mess, Iwasa and his gang take hold of goods from the US military, black-market and controlled items in order to become the most powerful group in Enko area.

Brutal Tales of Chivalry

1965

Greatest Boss of the Showa Era poster
7.0

Somewhat unique as it appears to be one of the very rare appearances of master thespian Itô in a yakuza role.

Greatest Boss of the Showa Era

1966

Wicked Priest 3: A Killer's Pilgrimage poster
6.5

Shinkai comes to the aid of a coastal village being held hostage by a group of political revolutionaries.

Wicked Priest 3: A Killer's Pilgrimage

1969

Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die poster
7.0

The ninth and final film in the Contemporary Tales of Chivalry series.

Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die

1972

The Armed Organization poster
8.0

Violent Gang Re-Arms is a rousing tale of friction in yakuza and labor interactions with Koji Tsuruta as a yakuza supervising a dockworker's union. He finds himself between a rock and a hard place, at odds with both the dockworkers' leader (Tomisaburo Wakayama) and sadistic, unprincipled bosses (Fumio Watanabe and Tetsuro Tamba).

The Armed Organization

1971

Wicked Priest poster
6.2

Shinkai, a Buddhist monk with a penchant for drinking and gambling, sets sinners straight with judo throws rather than sermons. After fighting off a gang of street thugs, Shinkai is placed on probation but manages to escape his superiors’ watchful eyes to covertly indulge in life’s pleasures. But when he hears of rogue priests in his order consorting with yakuza, Shinkai must make them see the error of their ways and reach enlightenment, one punch at a time.

Wicked Priest

1968

The Story of a Man Among Men poster
6.0

During the Showa era, a young yakuza survives war and injury and rises to become a clan boss with the help and respect of his sworn brothers.

The Story of a Man Among Men

1984

Code Between Brothers 6 poster
6.8

Sixth film in the "Kyodai Jingi" series. Three gangsters challenge an underworld group in northern Japan.

Code Between Brothers 6

1967

A Scarred Life 2: Blood Will Tell poster
7.0

President of the territorial yakuza organization is being manipulated by a crooked leader in the military and some capitalists Ishikiri. The plan is to get multiple family of the organized crime groups based in Osaka to war it out and order the Shima to the Onishi group of the branch to expand the territory. Now members of the same yakuza gang are forced to fight each other over territory and honor.

A Scarred Life 2: Blood Will Tell

1972

Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love poster
7.5

The story of a lone wolf struggling with human compassion and duty.

Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: Forbidden Love

1971

Gamblers and Racketeers poster
10.0

Komatsu Takioka is boss of a Yakuza group rival to Masakichi Kijima boss of the Kikuya group which supports the town vendors unlike Takioka, who will stop at nothing to undermine the vendors and take over the territory. Masakichi will do all he can to protect and support the people. Ryutaro Kijima is senior son to Masakichi, though disowned, he keeps interest in the family from a distance. He will be there for his father and his hot tempered younger brother Katsuo, if they should need his loyal help.

Gamblers and Racketeers

1964

The Domain poster
6.5

The feud between two rival delivery companies, Kibamasa and Okiyama, heats up as the head of Kibamasa falls ill.

The Domain

1964

The Karate Man and the Spy poster
6.0

In the beginning of the World War I in 1914, Japan is being invaded spies from Russia and Germany. To eliminate the spies the army hires Sakuragi, a famous Karate and Kempo master.

The Karate Man and the Spy

1974

The Chivalrous Life poster
8.5

Ryoma is a former military man who gets to know the leader of a yakuza group and begins to work with them, helping them defend themselves against other yakuza gangs.

The Chivalrous Life

1967

Blood of Revenge poster
6.7

Osaka, 1907: Asajiro lives between a rock and a hard place: he has to keep his business clean and running, tame his late oyabun’s hot-blooded son and suffer the throes of his impossible love for beautiful geisha Hatsue.

Blood of Revenge

1965

Gang vs. G-Men poster
7.5

Two rival gangs of gangsters clash for dominance of a neighborhood.

Gang vs. G-Men

1962

Ashita au hito poster
NR

1962 Japanese movie

Ashita au hito

1962

Gambling Den's Master Clan poster
7.0

Sixth entry in the Bakuchi-uchi series.

Gambling Den's Master Clan

1968

New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town poster
6.5

Katsuji takes revenge on evil Tamaru who forcefully took control of the fishery business run by Katsuji’s friend.

New Prison Walls of Abashiri: The Vagrant Comes to a Port Town

1969

The Domain: The Naniwa Story poster
4.8

Second film of Makino's Nihon Kyokakuden series set in Osaka's harbor. The series also known as "The Domain" Each a stand alone film in it's own, none are connected other than starring the famous Ken Takakura as the main Character. This story begins with Ken Takakura's character coming to Osaka after his brother's death. Another exciting yakuza story with superb yakuza action!!

The Domain: The Naniwa Story

1965

New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2 poster
6.5

Suehiro Katsuji, a prisoner of Abashiri, is sent to Shikoku to work at a dock where a fierce turf battle takes place between a local gang and the dock operator.

New Prison Walls of Abashiri 2

1969

Code Between Brothers 3 poster
7.0

A man finds great camaraderie while traveling.

Code Between Brothers 3

1966

Thugs of Shinjuku poster
9.0

Fresh out of jail, a smart-mouth wise guy Goro takes the name “Big Brother Katsumata.” Not fitting in well with established gangs, he forms a rag-tag gang called “the Shinjuku Brothers.” The members of their gang are thugs who only wish they were traditional yakuza. When they turn up at the funeral for a gangster, they are not welcomed, but a senior boss intervenes to keep things calm. The boss of bosses invites them to join a respected local council of warlords. Katsumata is suspicious of why such powerful men would extend an invitation to lowlife like himself.

Thugs of Shinjuku

1970

Continental Drifter poster
8.0

Japanese crime film.

Continental Drifter

1966

A Modern Yakuza: The Code of the Lawless poster
10.0

Just released on parole, one young man hurtles towards a face-off with the gangsters controlling Shinjuku and its lucrative prostitutes.

A Modern Yakuza: The Code of the Lawless

1969

Showdown of Men 2 poster
10.0

Part two.

Showdown of Men 2

1967

The House of Evil: Dangerous Temptation poster
NR

A despicable boss uses a husband's “promotion” as bait to assault his subordinate's wife (Chieko Matsubara). The wife finally kills him, but...

The House of Evil: Dangerous Temptation

1980

New Prison Walls of Abashiri: High Stakes at Abashiri poster
8.0

Prisoner Katsuji must fend for himself and his prison mates in the fierce battle involving a family feud.

New Prison Walls of Abashiri: High Stakes at Abashiri

1970

A Modern Yakuza: Humanity and Justice of the Outlaw poster
6.7

Back after four years, Goro learns his younger brother's been thrown out of the gang and his girlfriend's married another man. It's payback time.

A Modern Yakuza: Humanity and Justice of the Outlaw

1969

The Big Boss poster
NR

A shooting incident occurs at the Asahina family gambling hall in Tokyo's Joto district. It is the work of Gaijin boss Brown and his henchman Yamaoka, whose territory is in the Jonan district, in response to Kikuya, the head of the Asahina family, refusing to join the Syndicate. Yamaoka relentlessly pursues the Asahina family and uses his brother Komatsu to kill Shibaki, Kikuya's brother, who owns Nagoya territory. When Kikuya receives information that a general meeting of the Brown and Yamaoka Syndicate is to be held in Nagoya, he is determined to root out the syndicate and rushes to Nagoya, ready to die...

The Big Boss

1963

Code Between Brothers 2 poster
7.0

The services of a wandering gambler, Seiji, are called upon to protect the turf of his loyal friend Risaburo.

Code Between Brothers 2

1966

The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry poster
7.5

Third part of Nihon Kyokakuden series is set in Kanto in 1924. Ken Takakura playing a ship's mate befriending fish shop owners harassed by yakuza.

The Domain: Kanto Legends of Chivalry

1965

Kingdom of Samurai poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Kingdom of Samurai

1966

New Prison Walls of Abashiri poster
6.5

Former soldier, Suehiro Katsuji, fights violent gangs and powerful Chinese merchants during the post-war period in Japan.

New Prison Walls of Abashiri

1968

Orders from Hell poster
7.0

After his home gets attacked by a rival gang, underworld boss Masamichi Omatsu finds himself in a tangle of familial and criminal obligations.

Orders from Hell

1964

The Racketeer Ishimatsu poster
9.0

Action-comedy film featuring the adventures of an itinerant merchant (Hiroki Matsukata) that becomes an unlikely hero.

The Racketeer Ishimatsu

1976