Acting

Mineko Maruhira

Born

1940-06-16 (86)

Place of birth

Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Known for

Acting

Credits

56 titles

Known for

Oxen Split Torturing poster
5.8

Two short stories set in Edo during the Shogun era. The first, during a time when Christians are persecuted vehemently, Iori falls in love with a young Christian girl. When she and her family are captured during a raid, his sadistic master takes her as his personal slave to torment Iori. The second follows Sutezo who, forced to serve the barbarous master of a brothel in order to repay his debts, befriends a young girl. Together, they both escape and struggle to get by on scams and petty theft.

Oxen Split Torturing

1976

Fall Guy poster
6.5

Ginshiro, threatened by poor repute and upcoming star Tachibana, forces his friend Yasu to marry Konatsu, Ginshiro's pregnant mistress; Yasu becomes a stuntman to make ends meet.

Fall Guy

1982

Samurai Reincarnation poster
5.9

After surviving the slaughter of many Christians 350 years ago, a samurai denounces God for ignoring the pleas of believers. He sells his soul to Satan and receives the power to resurrect the dead to join him in a murderous rampage.

Samurai Reincarnation

1981

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics poster
7.0

As Japan gears up for the 1964 Olympic Games, the cops start to crack down on the gangs, under pressure from the public and the press, adding a new dimension in the war for power among the yakuza families of Hiroshima.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics

1974

Fireflies in the North poster
5.6

Set in the icy wilderness of Hokkaido during the early days of the Meiji era, where the brutal warden of Kabato Prison terrorizes convicts sentenced to forced labor to build the roads needed to open up the territory.

Fireflies in the North

1984

Story of a Nymphomaniac poster
5.2

Natsu, the older of two sisters, has a relationship with Yonosuke, the local kimono trader. Unlike her more conservative sister Oshichi she tries to use sex as a means to climb to a better social position. To even attempt that she first needs to get out of the Buddhist monastery she is working at...

Story of a Nymphomaniac

1975

Film credits

1980s · 10 titles

Fall Guy poster
6.5

Ginshiro, threatened by poor repute and upcoming star Tachibana, forces his friend Yasu to marry Konatsu, Ginshiro's pregnant mistress; Yasu becomes a stuntman to make ends meet.

Fall Guy

1982

Samurai Reincarnation poster
5.9

After surviving the slaughter of many Christians 350 years ago, a samurai denounces God for ignoring the pleas of believers. He sells his soul to Satan and receives the power to resurrect the dead to join him in a murderous rampage.

Samurai Reincarnation

1981

Fireflies in the North poster
5.6

Set in the icy wilderness of Hokkaido during the early days of the Meiji era, where the brutal warden of Kabato Prison terrorizes convicts sentenced to forced labor to build the roads needed to open up the territory.

Fireflies in the North

1984

House on Fire poster
4.5

In the 50s, the complicated life of a popular writer who must share his life with his family, his numerous mistresses and his work

House on Fire

1986

Yakuza Ladies poster
5.5

When her crime boss husband is sent to prison, a woman assumes control of one of the most powerful gangs in Japan.

Yakuza Ladies

1986

Labyrinth Romanesque poster
5.0

A serial killing occurs at a port town brothel.

Labyrinth Romanesque

1988

Appassionata poster
6.3

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.

Appassionata

1984

Sure Death 4 poster
7.0

Having been demoted for failing to prevent the murder of one of his superiors, Mondo is startled by a group of masked thugs who are soon attacked in turn by an unseen force. He begins to suspect the work of assassins, but whose side are they on?

Sure Death 4

1987

The Villain from Edo Kochiyama Soshun poster
NR

Kotiyama is a swindler and extortionist, the head of a whole gang of crooks, usually posing as a poor monk; once he really took vows, but he was kicked out of the monastery long ago. He is enterprising, smart and not too cruel, so his accomplices love him. Posing as an envoy from the abbot of the Kennei Temple, Kotiama plays a show in front of Lord Matsue with an income of 150,000 koku, and extorts money from him. The film is based on the famous play by Kawatake Mokuami.

The Villain from Edo Kochiyama Soshun

1982

The Kōsuke Kindaichi Series 2: The Mummy Bride poster
NR

The second standalone TV drama in the Kōsuke Kindaichi series, starring Ikko Furuya. Fresh blood drips from the ceiling onto a bride’s gown… Kindaichi takes on the challenge of solving this mysterious case.

The Kōsuke Kindaichi Series 2: The Mummy Bride

1983

1970s · 30 titles

Oxen Split Torturing poster
5.8

Two short stories set in Edo during the Shogun era. The first, during a time when Christians are persecuted vehemently, Iori falls in love with a young Christian girl. When she and her family are captured during a raid, his sadistic master takes her as his personal slave to torment Iori. The second follows Sutezo who, forced to serve the barbarous master of a brothel in order to repay his debts, befriends a young girl. Together, they both escape and struggle to get by on scams and petty theft.

Oxen Split Torturing

1976

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics poster
7.0

As Japan gears up for the 1964 Olympic Games, the cops start to crack down on the gangs, under pressure from the public and the press, adding a new dimension in the war for power among the yakuza families of Hiroshima.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Police Tactics

1974

Story of a Nymphomaniac poster
5.2

Natsu, the older of two sisters, has a relationship with Yonosuke, the local kimono trader. Unlike her more conservative sister Oshichi she tries to use sex as a means to climb to a better social position. To even attempt that she first needs to get out of the Buddhist monastery she is working at...

Story of a Nymphomaniac

1975

Confessions of Lady Mantis poster
3.8

Midori Satsuki stars as a serial seducer who destroys one man’s life after another. Finally she seduces a professional killer, with disastrous consequences.

Confessions of Lady Mantis

1975

Red Peony Gambler: Oryu's Return poster
6.4

Oryu searches for blind child she left behind and get involved in a Yakuza turf war that takes place in the Tokyo Theater.

Red Peony Gambler: Oryu's Return

1970

Code of Wolves poster
7.5

In gangster-infested 1920s Yokohama, gambler Ishiguro gets in with the local gang -- but his view of life changes after the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Code of Wolves

1974

The Shogun Assassins poster
5.5

This is a film about a real person. Sanada Yukimura fought a war against Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The Shogun Assassins

1979

Yakuza Graveyard poster
6.6

A police investigator cracks down on yakuza business, but once he realizes the police are in negotiations with certain factions, he sides with his own syndicate of choice.

Yakuza Graveyard

1976

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode poster
7.2

While Hirono is in prison, his rival Takeda turns his own crime organization into a political party, whose two executives stir up new tensions in their thirst for power.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode

1974

The Tattooed Hitman poster
6.2

The most dangerous hired gun in Kyushu's underworld has managed to trigger a vicious gang war, and now, there's a contract on his life. Though nobody is more skilled in the arts of dealing death, can the tattooed hitman fend off the entire Japanese mafia as he searches for the man who wants him dead?

The Tattooed Hitman

1974

Violent Panic: The Big Crash poster
6.5

Takashi, a bank robber, dreams of his final heist and escaping to Brazil... but in his way, stands a woman that loves him, his dead partner's brother, a corrupt cop, a motorcycle gang and every police officer in the Kanto region.

Violent Panic: The Big Crash

1976

Company Buggers poster
7.0

Hiroshi, a small-time racketeer, makes a name for himself extorting vulnerable companies and their directors for financial gain.

Company Buggers

1975

Brave Red Flower of the North poster
6.8

An exciting tale of action on the distant northern island of Hokkaido around the beginning of the 20th Century starring two of the biggest names in Yakuza film history, Fuji Junko and Takakura Ken. Since the death of death of her father, Yuki who has traveled from her home in the southernmost part of Japan must fight corrupt local officials seeking to fill her late father's post. As her life is in danger a mysterious rifleman, played by Takakura Ken watches from the shadows. Can she finish the work her dear departed father started in an untamed land?

Brave Red Flower of the North

1970

Doberman Cop poster
6.6

Joji Kano is a loose cannon cop from backwoods Okinawa, sent to Tokyo to investigate the grisly murder of an Okinawa woman. As he probes deeper into the sleazy world of flesh-peddling, talent agency corruption and mob influence, Kano uncovers the shocking truth.

Doberman Cop

1977

Kanto Street Peddlers: Royal Temple Duel poster
NR

The third film in the Kanto Street Peddlers series. Sugawara still plays the same Kanto street peddler, who this time ventures to Osaka where he defends a blind girl at a street market. The area is targeted by rotten yakuza (Asao Koike and Tatsuo Endo), who have lured local senior female boss (Nijiko Kiyokawa’s) rebellious but not entirely indecent son Goro Ibuki to their side.

Kanto Street Peddlers: Royal Temple Duel

1970

Kogarashi Monjiro 2: Secret of Monjiro's Birth poster
6.0

Monjiro, reunited with his long lost sister, is pursued by a yakuza gang because he killed their boss. He also meets a fellow gambler who idolizes Monjiro. The gambler and Monjiro's sister are pulled into a conspiracy to get to Monjiro, but do things go as planned?

Kogarashi Monjiro 2: Secret of Monjiro's Birth

1972

A Savage Beast Goes Mad poster
6.9

Test driver Hayami loses control of his car and rolls over. His company then learns that he has kept secret that he is visually impaired, and he is fired. Without the prospect of returning to his old job he makes a plan to rob several jewelry stores. A few days later, Hayami escapes with stolen goods worth 80 million yen in a violin case on a Kyoto city bus. A wild chase ensues.

A Savage Beast Goes Mad

1976

Pimp Heaven poster
3.5

Class-A Kyoto, a strip joint in Kyoto, is raided by the police. Shohei, a salesman who happens to be there, gets caught in the middle of it and is fired from his job. Having nowhere else to go, Shohei reluctantly becomes the manager of the place... The film is a comedy full of pathos about the connection between strippers called "special delivery" and the "pimps" who hang on to them.

Pimp Heaven

1975

The Decisive Power of Aikido poster
7.8

It is about the life of Ueshiba - the founder of aikido. We can see how he decided to develop aikido and how he did it. We can see why he developed aikido and where he has learned martial arts.

The Decisive Power of Aikido

1975

Bloodiest Flower poster
6.0

A dramatic captivating tale tells of widowed Tei (Junko Fuji), she has become a coalmine operator and is determined to be successful despite mining being a predominately male domain. Overcoming the natural hardships, a more serious threat to Tei and her mine, the menacing presence of rival mining gangs who sense her vulnerability... Nihon jokyo-den:ketto midarw-bana is an outstanding drama, highlighted by wonderful characterizations/performances. Yamashita's excellent direction maintains a rich emotional flow from the opening seconds to the last. Intense and bloody encounters punctuate throughout the engaging multi layered tale!

Bloodiest Flower

1971

Kanto Street Peddlers: Violent Fire Festival poster
NR

The fourth film in the Kanto Street Peddlers series. The protagonist, played by Bunta Sugawara sides with female boss Yumiko Nogawa to fight evil Hiroshi Nawa, who at one point employs rebellious young hood Tsunehiko Watase and Kagawa. Tatsuo Umemiya also shows up as a cool, leather jacket gunman who gains Sugawara’s respect despite playing for the opposing team. What eventually keeps this film from being as good as the first is the loose script that doesn’t really tie all the fun stuff into a coherent package. Much is forgiven however when the last 20 minutes arrives with several visually striking set pieces (including one death scene stylized to the point of ridiculousness) and a terrific final massacre. This was Suzuki’s last contribution to the series; the fifth and final picture would be helmed by Takashi Harada.

Kanto Street Peddlers: Violent Fire Festival

1971

The Viper Brothers and the Young General poster
9.0

The last in the series. Sugawara runs into two mahjong cheaters (Ichiro Araki and Mako Midori + sidekick Takuzo Kawatani) whom he takes for friends in need as his naivety prevents him from seeing their true nature.

The Viper Brothers and the Young General

1975

The Viper Brothers: The Blackmailers poster
7.0

Upon his release from prison, Masa (Bunta Sugawara) is disappointed to not be picked up by his brother Katsu (Tamio Kawaji). After hitching a ride on a bus full of old women, Masa finds out that Katsu tried to fake a car accident and get some money for Masa to live on after prison. Together, the two decide to blackmail the woman (Yoko Horikoshi) who hit Katsu, who happens to be the daughter of a rich company president (Seizaburo Kawazu). 6th film in a series of 8.

The Viper Brothers: The Blackmailers

1973

Yakuza of the Present poster
7.0

In the roaring 1970s, a man who has left the world of the yakuza to become the owner of a sushi restaurant decides to rise up again when he sees his former family being overrun by a modern yakuza group from the Kansai region.

Yakuza of the Present

1973

Kanto Street Peddlers:  Clan Violent Loyalty poster
NR

The second film in the Kanto Street Peddlers Clan series starring Bunta Sugawara.

Kanto Street Peddlers: Clan Violent Loyalty

1970

Silk Hat Boss poster
9.0

In a strange outfit and full of youthful energy, the explosive Boss Kumatora raises hell like there's no tomorrow. The first movie of a new series starring Wakayama Tomisaburo as everybody's favorite character Boss Kumatora from the Red Peony Gambler series. Having made a fortune in the Russo-Japanese War, the Kumatora Family migrates to Kyushu to take on a military-related job. There they encounter the evil and malicious interference of the Chindai family of Kumamoto, and Boss Kumatora boldly fights back with the help of O'Ryu the Red Peony. A super entertaining film with non-stop comedy and action directed by Suzuki Norifumi.

Silk Hat Boss

1970

A Modern Yakuza: Three Decoy Blood Brothers poster
9.0

When a large crime syndicate seeks to invade Gifu's underworld, three brothers and their yakuza family are the only ones that stand in their way.

A Modern Yakuza: Three Decoy Blood Brothers

1971

Gambling Den Heist poster
7.2

After eight years in prison, Takeshi’s mission is a big heist from his own clan’s gambling parlor.

Gambling Den Heist

1975

Kanto Street Peddlers: Shallow Clan Honor poster
NR

The fifth and final chapter of the Kanto Street Peddlers series! Will the battle in Asakusa be enough for a complete victory?

Kanto Street Peddlers: Shallow Clan Honor

1971

Scoundrel Boss poster
7.0

Daigoro Koiwa and Katsuo Rokujo, who met by chance, open a recession-resistant funeral business and a urinary treatment business, and put it on track, but each time, they are caught in the ploy of a money lender, Sumitomo Mitsui, who works a scam, and take over the management rights, and they are taken away, and they are satisfied with the employees of Toyo Kogyo led by Mitsui. Mitsui, who embarked on a multi-corner management, acquired the rights to the long-awaited cabaret "Ryokumiya" and led the store to a great prosperity by introducing the limited service "Jungle Bump". However, due to the informant of Yamawaki Kogyo, which runs a rival store, 'Ryokumiya' was suspended from business, and hostesses and boys were pulled out one after another.

Scoundrel Boss

1975

1960s · 15 titles

Hero of the Red Light District poster
8.7

A successful textile industrialist from the provinces, who is beloved by his employees for his kindness, cannot find a wife because of a disfiguring birthmark on his face. Even the courtesans in Yoshiwara refuse to entertain him, until an indentured peasant prostitute, Tamarazu, takes the unsavoury assignment and treats him with brash tenderness.

Hero of the Red Light District

1960

Red Peony Gambler: Biographies of a Gambling Room poster
6.2

Oryu the Red Peony, a wandering female yakuza on a soul-searching journey after the death of her father. After collecting her sickly follower from jail, she is taken in by a fishing village. Feeling indebted to their generosity, she stays to work for the village and promises to leave her yakuza ways behind. When a dispute breaks out for the gambling rights to a local festival, the villagers are harassed by a gang of thugs. When the harassment turns violent, Oryu must decide wither to keep her promise or protect the villagers.

Red Peony Gambler: Biographies of a Gambling Room

1969

Kanto Street Peddlers poster
NR

Kokubu Masaru (Bunta Sugawara) is a hard-headed, hot-tempered member of a street vendor clan run by an elderly boss (Kanjuro Arashi). They come into conflict with an unholy alliance of evil Yakuza bosses (Watanabe, Amatsu and Kawazu).

Kanto Street Peddlers

1969

Red Peony Gambler: Gambler's Obligation poster
7.2

A local yakuza boss of a silk farming town shows kindness to the wandering gambler Oryu by letting her stay at his residence. When a rival yakuza gang, who wants to take over the town’s businesses, murders him, Oryu is obliged to protect his children and business.

Red Peony Gambler: Gambler's Obligation

1968

Judo vs. Karate poster
6.5

A story of friendship between a lone wolf judo expert and a youth.

Judo vs. Karate

1966

Three Yakuza poster
7.8

A tale of three Yakuza gamblers who traveled Japan during the samurai era living by their wits and sword skills. Told in 3 separate vignettes, each part tells the story of a different drifter’s life. Part 1: A man is on the run after killing two Hasshu Officials to avenge his Boss. He must make a life or death decision as he is asked to protect a gang from attack. Part 2: A pair of gamblers chased out of a crooked game must fight not only their pursuers, but the ghosts of their pasts as well. Part 3: A wanderer who wants to live according to the Yakuza Code, but is not sure that he can do so when asked to save a town from an evil official.

Three Yakuza

1965

Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game poster
7.3

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…

Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Game

1969

Samurai Geisha poster
7.5

Popular geisha Shinji (Fuji Junko) must defy a gang who plot to steal a lucrative coal business from struggling miners during the turbulent Meiji Era. A stellar all-star cast, a thrilling story, and Takakura Ken's violent swordplay, make this a classic Yakuza movie!

Samurai Geisha

1969

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

Scoundrel poster
7.0

Shimamura is a violent street thug who joins the yakuza & is merciless & unscrupulous on his rise, lacking any sense of either duty or chivalry. When imprisoned, he is repeatedly transferred from one prison to another, because no one can handle him.

Scoundrel

1968

Brothers Serving Time poster
8.0

While imprisoned, Tatsu encounters Danshi, a man who is a big honcho in the prison pecking order. After initial conflict they become sworn brothers. Tatsu and the sworn brothers he acquires weren’t really gangsters before their prison time, just ruffians. Prison, however, introduces them to plenty of gangland characters and three years later, they’re out of prison and enmeshed in the yakuza world.

Brothers Serving Time

1969

The Third Contest poster
7.0

Mondonosuke, a young sword student, has a bad dream about his sensei being killed in a duel.Consequently, he quickly returns to his sensei's dojo in Edo, where he has not set foot in three years.

The Third Contest

1965

Showdown of Men 2 poster
10.0

Part two.

Showdown of Men 2

1967

A History of the Japanese Underworld poster
9.0

The hero tries to unite various gangs.

A History of the Japanese Underworld

1968

No artwork available
NR

Pinku from 1965.

Female Color Master

1965