
Acting
Saburo Date
Born — Died
1924-03-27 — 1991-09-12
Place of birth
Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Known for
Acting
Credits
62 titles
Known for
8.0A shikakenin was an under-the-cover trade that undertook killing in Edo. Hanemon of Otowa, an agency that introduced laborers and maids, was also one of these. Katsugoro Iseya was a timber dealer who had come in as a client. His target was the constructions magistrate Hanno, and the Tatsumiya who sipped on the benefits. Hanemon who had a stong code towards killing, where he would only kill those who do no good to be in the world, accepts this request. Baian Fujieda, a needle doctor would carry out the killing. However, the professional killer Baian fails to bring down Tatsumiya. Hanemon then looks to another shikakenin, the ronin Sanai Nishimura for the role. Although Sanai's ability with the sword is good, he lives poorly in a tenement, and accepts this commission on the condition that it is kept a secret from his wife and child. Here, they close in on Hanno and Tatsumiya again...
Professional Killers
1972
8.0Monjiro was born into a poor farm family in Mikazuki Village, Nitta County, Ueshu, and abandoned his hometown when he was 10 years old. He has been traveling aimlessly with a long toothpick in his mouth. Monjiro avoided getting involved in anything, but wherever he went, he ended up getting involved in incidents
Kogarashi Monjiro
1972
8.0In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.
Ugetsu
1953
8.1In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.
Sansho the Bailiff
1954
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Tsuki no kagebōshi: Yama o tobu kitsune hime
1958
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Tsuki no kagebōshi: Kieyuku nōmen
1958
Film credits
1970s · 10 titles
7.1After being cruelly set up and deceived by Sugimi, a detective in cahoots with the mob with whom she was whole-heartedly in love, Matsushima’s desire for revenge knows no bounds.
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion
1972
NRStory about a gambler who gets involved in a struggle between companies.
The Angry Sword
1970
6.9A Japanese bullet train is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers so the train crew can learn how to defuse the bomb.
The Bullet Train
1975
7.1Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza in order to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
1972
7.2Expelled from her group for losing her virginity, blind travelling musician Orin endures a life of hardship, abuse, and poverty while wandering the countryside, finding brief companionship with an army deserter, and struggling against a society that marginalises her.
Ballad of Orin
1977
6.7A self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the yakuza but quickly loses his self-control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.
Graveyard of Honor
1975
7.0After serving 10 years in prison for murdering a rival boss, Tetsu is appalled to see his yakuza family overgrown and dysfunctional upon his release.
Shinjuku's Number One Drunk-Killer Tetsu
1977
7.4Official Shogunate executioner Ogami Itto has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
1972
5.8Akira Inugami is the only survivor of a clan of ancient werewolves who relies on his supernatural powers to solve mysterious crimes. After a series of bloody killings perpetrated by an unseen force, Inugami uncovers a conspiracy involving a murdered cabaret singer, corrupt politicians, and a plot by the J-CIA to harvest his blood in order to steal his lycanthropic powers.
Wolf Guy
1975
5.1Karate master and anti-drug vigilante Chiba returns to his home in Japan, where he holds a press conference announcing his intention to wipe out the nation's drug industry. He also offers his services as a bodyguard to anyone who is willing to come forward and provide information about the drug lords' activities. He is soon approached by a mysterious woman claiming to have important information and asking for Chiba's protection. She seems to be legitimate, but is she really what she appears to be?
The Bodyguard
1973
1960s · 19 titles
6.7Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with dice is turning.
Zatoichi and the Chess Expert
1965
6.3Hanpei is a gentle young samurai that loves flowers. One day, he witnesses an old man's quick draw of the sword. He is so impressed that he becomes the old man's pupil. Soon, Hanpei's skill of sword comes to attention of his lord. The lord orders him to assassinate a man...
Sword Devil
1965
6.5A naively honorable samurai comes to the bitter realization that his devotion to moral samurai principles makes him an oddity among his peers, and a very vulnerable oddity in consequence. He takes the blame for the misdeeds of others, with the understanding that he will be exiled for one year and restored to the clan's good graces after the political situation dies down. As betrayal begins to heap upon betrayal, he realizes he'll have to live out his life as a ronin, if not hunted down and killed.
The Betrayal
1966
6.6A greedy developer, in league with a corrupt Shrine Magistrate, brutally tries to drive people out of a tenement building and destroy the shrine in back. But he makes the fatal mistake of hosting a 100 Ghost Stories ceremony without the closing cleansing ritual, opening the door for the Yokai Monsters to punish the wicked.
Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters
1968
6.8Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to pay his debts. The bosses true motives are revealed and he attempts to steal Osode even though the debt is paid. Zatoichi realizes his grievous error and protects the girl from the gang. Osode and Zatoichi are caught in a dilemma as she must rely on her brother's killer for protection and Zatoichi wrestles with the injustice he has caused.
Samaritan Zatoichi
1968
7.1Zatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage
1966
6.4Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan. A young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu is manipulated by a ninja master into attempting to assassinate the warlord before he completes his task.
Ninja, A Band of Assassins
1962
6.9[Period covered: 1582-1594]. As the film opens, the warlod Nobunaga Oda rides to Iga Ayanokuni shrine. He is asked if he thinks he has destroyed all the ninja who opposed him and answers that he suspects that there may be more. A servant brings water and tests it first. The paige dies and we hear gunshots as two ninja flee the scene. His suspicions confirmed, Nobunaga oversees the execution of captured ninja and decides that, in the future, he needs a much crueler method of execution. The daimyo Hideyoshi comes to visit.
Shinobi no Mono 2: Vengeance
1963
7.1Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.
The Tale of Zatoichi Continues
1962
6.9Zatoichi comes upon a dying man who asks him to give a bag of money to "Taichi". Zatoichi has no idea who this is but when he comes upon a small town harassed by gangsters, he finds that "Taichi" was the man's young son. Along his travels he also met a blind monk who makes Zatoichi question his murderous lifestyle. In trying to help the town, Zatoichi kills some gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He must make a choice of whether to use non-violence and set a good example, or violence and set the boy on the wrong path in life.
Zatoichi's Vengeance
1966
6.7When a local gambling house kidnaps some peasants because they failed to pay their debts, a rival gambling house pays their debts and sets them free.
Zatoichi the Outlaw
1967
10.0An Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six years in search of spiritual enlightenment. Siddartha (Cojoin Hong) turns his back on the old religion when people are starving needlessly and holy rituals include human sacrifices. During his meditations, he is tempted by erotic dancing women, demons, and the evil machinations of his criminal cousin. Devastate to attain the spiritual perfection and become the Buddha. He travels to convert followers by his kindness and wisdom, gaining a multitude of believers when he stops an elephant from crushing a local priest. Buddha of course goes on to become one of the great religious leaders of the world.
Buddha
1961
10.0In the fourth film of series, Secret Assignment, Raizo again plays the Jiro Shiina. This time he's out to discover who is spying for the British in the Foreign Ministry, under the code name “Cat's Eye”.
Secret Assignment
1967
6.6The disturbing story of a physician who conducted the first operation with general anaesthetic, and the women in his life who are both so determined to win his love that they volunteer as subjects for his experiments
The Wife of Seishu Hanaoka
1967
6.6Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi's recent robbery and murder and the imprisonment of his virginal daughter, Osayo, in a brothel. Through friendship with Denroku, a local dice thrower and devoted father, Ichi uncovers an unholy alliance between the governor and the area strongman: among their scams is falsifying tax records to put farmers in debt, then forcing their daughters into prostitution at the boss's brothel. With help from Denroku's daughter, Otsuru, Ichi comforts Osayo until he can provoke showdowns with the villains and their henchmen.
Zatoichi's Revenge
1965
6.4In feudal Japan, gangsters chase a young girl who might testify against their boss. When the gangsters murder the girl's grandfather on sacred ground, the door is opened for the Yokai Monsters to step in.
Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts
1969
6.6In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.
An Actor's Revenge
1963
7.0Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
New Tale of Zatoichi
1963
6.5A band of warriors journeys to Mount Oe to rescue abducted women from a demon, overcoming supernatural threats like a giant spider and a diabolical witch along the way.
The Demon of Mount Oe
1960
1950s · 28 titles
8.0In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.
Ugetsu
1953
8.1In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.
Sansho the Bailiff
1954
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Tsuki no kagebōshi: Yama o tobu kitsune hime
1958
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Tsuki no kagebōshi: Kieyuku nōmen
1958
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Zenigata Heiji torimono hikae: Onibi tōrō
1958
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Edo wa aozora
1958
7.8When the wife of a 17th-century Kyoto scrollmaker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves truly falling for one another.
Chikamatsu Monogatari
1954
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Shimizukō kenka tabi
1957
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Senryō yari
1958
6.2A middle-aged husband of a younger woman finds her youth intimidating to the point that he cannot become aroused. His solution involves the introduction of his daughter's lover to his wife.
Odd Obsession
1959
NRA true-story film depicting a police officer’s pursuit of a criminal who carries out a series of attacks on pawnshops and banks, running amok with a handgun stolen from a police officer.
Nerawareta doyōbi
1957
NRA heartwarming comedy about Osaka’s slowest taxi driver who searches all over the city for the missing daughter of a former general who has just returned from military service.
Unchan monogatari
1956
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Fūraibō ichiban shōbu
1958
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Shirazu no Yatarō
1954
7.1Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.
Gate of Hell
1953
6.8Japan, 1137. The Taira family, a samurai clan, becomes involved in the disputes between Emperor Toba and the monks of Mount Hiei.
Taira Clan Saga
1955
6.2In Kyoto a young kimono maker with traditional ideas gets involved with a married professor.
Undercurrent
1956
NRA passionate young man takes on a corrupt boss, determined to save innocent teachers and numerous orphans.
The Rust Cleaner Sings
1955
6.3In one of Japan's most frequently-told ghost stories, a murdered wife returns in an act of vengeance.
The Ghost of Yotsuya
1959
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Chi mojisen
1958
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Tōkaidō no yarōdomo
1958
NRA period drama that depicts the romance between Otomi and Yosaburo.
Otomi-san
1954
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Zenigata heiji torimono hikae: Dokuro kago
1955
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Komusō henka: Tsubanari kaidō
1956
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Tsukikage Hyōgo: Jōdan kasumigiri
1959
6.5A traditional bar mistress in Kyoto clashes with her Tokyo rival.
Night Butterflies
1957
NRA child who was taken in and raised by a woman from a once-impoverished traveling theater troupe grows up to be a beautiful young woman and performs in a dance recital. Her biological mother, who suddenly appears, is the wife of a wealthy man.
Haha shirayuki
1956
7.1Learning of his family's collapse, acolyte Goichi, sent to study silently at the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, must endure acute psychological distress.
Conflagration
1958
Series credits
8.0A shikakenin was an under-the-cover trade that undertook killing in Edo. Hanemon of Otowa, an agency that introduced laborers and maids, was also one of these. Katsugoro Iseya was a timber dealer who had come in as a client. His target was the constructions magistrate Hanno, and the Tatsumiya who sipped on the benefits. Hanemon who had a stong code towards killing, where he would only kill those who do no good to be in the world, accepts this request. Baian Fujieda, a needle doctor would carry out the killing. However, the professional killer Baian fails to bring down Tatsumiya. Hanemon then looks to another shikakenin, the ronin Sanai Nishimura for the role. Although Sanai's ability with the sword is good, he lives poorly in a tenement, and accepts this commission on the condition that it is kept a secret from his wife and child. Here, they close in on Hanno and Tatsumiya again...
Professional Killers
1972
8.0Monjiro was born into a poor farm family in Mikazuki Village, Nitta County, Ueshu, and abandoned his hometown when he was 10 years old. He has been traveling aimlessly with a long toothpick in his mouth. Monjiro avoided getting involved in anything, but wherever he went, he ended up getting involved in incidents
Kogarashi Monjiro
1972



