Takuzō Kawatani

Acting

Takuzō Kawatani

Born — Died

1941-07-21 — 1995-12-22

Place of birth

Changchun, Jilin, China

Known for

Acting

Credits

69 titles

Takuzo Kawatani was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 165 films between 1967 and 1995. He was most famous for playing villains.

Known for

Chotchan poster
NR

The 38th NHK Asadora. Based on the autobiography of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's mother.

Chotchan

1987

Empire of Passion poster
6.8

A married woman and her lover murder her husband and dump his body into a well, but his ghost returns to haunt them as the local gossip intensifies.

Empire of Passion

1978

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

The Street Fighter poster
6.8

Takuma Tsurugi takes on the government, the police, the mafia and an international ring of kidnappers who aim to dispossess a beautiful young heiress of her millions.

The Street Fighter

1974

Withered Tree, the Adventures of Monjiro poster
7.3

Kogarashi Monjiro is a lone samurai who agrees to take responsibility for a murder that his friend committed so that he can stay with his dying mother, with the expectation that his friend will confess and get him pardoned once she dies. Monjiro is sentenced to an island for prisoners. When he discovers that his friend's mother has died over a year ago, Monjiro seeks to escape with a group of prisoners in order to get his revenge.

Withered Tree, the Adventures of Monjiro

1972

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

1990s · 5 titles

1980s · 6 titles

Four Days of Snow and Blood poster
7.3

Based on the "2.26 Incident", an attempted coup d'état in Japan 1936, launched by radical ultra-nationalist parts of the military. Several leading politicians were killed and the center of Tokyo was briefly held by the insurgents before the coup was suppressed.

Four Days of Snow and Blood

1989

Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally poster
6.4

Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.

Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally

1989

Tracked poster
5.7

When a fugitive begins a romance with the woman hiding him from the law, it becomes uncertain whether he will ever escape the shadow of his heinous crimes--or the detectives hot on his trail.

Tracked

1985

Osomatsu-kun: Greetings From The Watermelon Planet-zansu! poster
7.5

Episode-length Osomatsu-kun film, released as a feature of the Toei Manga Movie Festival. Loosely based on a manga chapter, the film revolves around an alien plot to take over the world.

Osomatsu-kun: Greetings From The Watermelon Planet-zansu!

1989

River of Fireflies poster
9.0

During the winter in Toyama in 1962, Tatsuo Mizushima is fretting about his feelings for his classmate Eiko Tsujisawa while agonizing about his upcoming high school examinations. When he was little, he and Eiko had heard that in April of a year when the winter has been very harsh, any couple finding fireflies together needs to get married. However, his family's situation does not allow Tatsuo to continue his worrying about such things for very much longer.

River of Fireflies

1987

For Kayako poster
6.4

A film about the substantial population of Koreans living in Japan, and the love affair between Kayako, a Japanese girl, and Sanjun, a Korean.

For Kayako

1984

1970s · 39 titles

Empire of Passion poster
6.8

A married woman and her lover murder her husband and dump his body into a well, but his ghost returns to haunt them as the local gossip intensifies.

Empire of Passion

1978

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

The Street Fighter poster
6.8

Takuma Tsurugi takes on the government, the police, the mafia and an international ring of kidnappers who aim to dispossess a beautiful young heiress of her millions.

The Street Fighter

1974

Withered Tree, the Adventures of Monjiro poster
7.3

Kogarashi Monjiro is a lone samurai who agrees to take responsibility for a murder that his friend committed so that he can stay with his dying mother, with the expectation that his friend will confess and get him pardoned once she dies. Monjiro is sentenced to an island for prisoners. When he discovers that his friend's mother has died over a year ago, Monjiro seeks to escape with a group of prisoners in order to get his revenge.

Withered Tree, the Adventures of Monjiro

1972

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

Girl Boss Guerilla poster
6.0

Sachiko is the leader of a girl gang from Shinjuku who wind up in Kyoto and make a bid to take over the local girl gangs there.

Girl Boss Guerilla

1972

Return of the Street Fighter poster
6.1

Martial artist Takuma Tsurugi returns to take on a Yakuza family that may be embezzling money from charities to finance their own operations. Both the police and the Yakuza find themselves battling Tsurugi, but Tsurugi's fight ultimately is with the mob, and he concentrates on them.

Return of the Street Fighter

1974

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima poster
7.3

Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima

1973

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

The Kyoto Connection poster
5.0

Christina, on arriving in Japan, acquaints a Japanese man at the airport who looks like a sap. He takes her to his apartment where he brutally rapes her and keeps her hostage and bound in chains. Christina's alluring beauty eventually enchants the rapist and he is soon consulting his 'How to Stimulate a Woman' sex book in an effort to please her...

The Kyoto Connection

1973

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

Bohachi Bushido: The Villain poster
6.5

The Bohachi Clan, the most vile, corrupt organization with ties deep in the Shogunate, have controlled the flesh trade in Japan for generations. When threatened by a competitor, they employ Saburai, a nihilistic ronin on the verge of self destruction. Blood gushes and limbs fly for anyone who stands against Saburai as he instills the Way of the Bohachi.

Bohachi Bushido: The Villain

1974

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

Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group poster
8.0

A nasty schoolgirl does what she pleases, under the protection of her father, who is the school principal. Another girl is not so nasty, but she is determined and tough enough to contest the girl's gang in a democratic vote - and win. That causes her trouble in school, just when her own father, who owns a truck transport company, is murdered in a fake car accident by an American mobster. Before the girl can react, her naive mother has signed over the company to the mobster, and accepted him as her lover. Repentant, the mother starts drinking, and the good schoolgirl ties up with a halfbreed young man, who also has a grudge against Americans. He starts spying on the gangsters, discovers they are dealing in drugs, but is killed before he can report it. The good girl will lead her team in a desperation assault on the mobsters - and the police will eventually arrive just in time for the showdown.

Terrifying Girls' High School: Delinquent Convulsion Group

1973

Lustful Shogun and His 21 Mistresses poster
4.3

The Tokugawa new Shogun is not interested in women. A nobleman with the help of a lady thief replaces the Shogun with a double, while he learns about love. But the double finds pleasure not only in women, but in his new status.

Lustful Shogun and His 21 Mistresses

1972

Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight poster
6.6

A Ronin with a death wish reluctantly joins the Clan of the Forgotten Eight, a nasty crew of ronin who are wrapped up in a clan war over local prostitution.

Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight

1973

人妻セックス地獄 poster
5.5

1974 Japanese film.

人妻セックス地獄

1974

The Rapacious Jailbreaker poster
6.6

Convicted of murder, Masayuki Ueda is sent to Hiroshima Prison along with his accomplice. But for a man like him, breaking out of prison is easy.

The Rapacious Jailbreaker

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

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Head of the Boss poster
7.4

The seventh in the shocking "Jingi Naki Tatakai" movie series, which exposes the true lives of the yakuza that is hidden by a mask of "jingi". The next stage of this continuing drama is the Kanmon Channel where the Owada and the Kyoei groups are battling for territorial rights and drug smuggling. The Owada sends their man, Tetsu, and his friend Shuji to kill the Kyoei boss. With the promise of fame and riches, Shuji takes the fall and goes to jail for 7 years. But when he's released, he discovers that he and Tetsu have been all but forgotten by the Owada. Feeling betrayed, Shuji takes matters into his own hands and becomes an unsuspecting pawn in an internal conflict and an assassination attempt on the Owada boss. And now angered, Shuji seeks revenge...

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 2: Head of the Boss

1975

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 1 poster
5.9

Bunta Sugawara is Miyoshi, a low-level assassin of the Yamamori gang who is sent to jail after a bungled hit. While in stir, family member Aoki attempts to seize power from the boss, and Miyoshi finds himself stuck between the two factions with no honorable way out.

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 1

1974

Battles Without Honor and Humanity poster
7.3

In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity

1973

A Yakuza Goes Home poster
10.0

Shimamura & Mineko return to Kamagasaki in Osaka. In their return Shimamura quickly finds himself defending a lady in distress. During the skirmish he bumps into his old buddies who turns him on to the "new" goings on in town, Shimamura is angered to discover a Chinese triad organization has overthrown their gang, a situation they must reverse. Now he and the old gang finds themselves putting their lives on the line defending the honor of the "Yakuza Way", the locals of Osaka, even Japan!!

A Yakuza Goes Home

1970

Operation Plazma in Osaka poster
7.7

Amidst Japan's postwar economic boom, yakuza factions in Osaka fight for survival when Japan's largest crime syndicate plans a hostile takeover.

Operation Plazma in Osaka

1976

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War poster
7.0

Shozo Hirono has managed to separate from the Yamamori family and create his own small family, and extend his circle of acquaintances. These new friendships include a powerful underboss of the Muraoka family, Noboru Uchimoto.

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War

1973

Red Peony Gambler: Here to Kill You poster
7.8

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: Here to Kill You

1971

The Scoundler vs. The Viper Brothers poster
10.0

A crossover between Wakayama's Gokudo and Sugawara Mamushi series. Gokudo runs a restaurant and makes Takuzo Kawatani his kitchen bitch. He tries to do the same for the Mamushi bros. but the boys don't play along, which pisses Gokudo off. Things get worse when he starts helping a young teacher and Bunta has a crush on a pretty girl... and unbeknownst to them it's the same woman! Yes, the film has not one but two romantic subplots! Of course it all ends in bloodshed.

The Scoundler vs. The Viper Brothers

1974

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

Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron poster
6.1

Kumokiri Nizaemon, a former samurai warrior, has abandoned his class to become the leader of a gang of thieves. He leads his outlaws in an attempt to rob the castle of his former clan.

Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron

1978

A Wad of Notes poster
7.2

A lone gambler tries to keep a yakuza family from taking over a festival in Kitakyushu. After away from his hometown for 13 years, Ryuji comes back and saves the town that is becoming run-down from yakuza’s ill deeds.

A Wad of Notes

1970

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 3: Last Days of the Boss poster
7.1

The eighth sequel of the series by the successful “Fukasaku and Bunta” collaboration revolves around the men of a lesser organization that are constantly bullied by the upper organization and “bleed in vain” in gang wars.

New Battles Without Honor and Humanity 3: Last Days of the Boss

1976

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

The Three Ginza Rascals poster
10.0

Three men, all named Masa, join forces to capitalize on each of their unique yet questionable talents against a hyper-competitive Tokyo underworld.

The Three Ginza Rascals

1976

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

The Life of Chikuzan poster
8.2

After over 50 years of wandering up and down Japan, finally in the 1970s, the rough-hewn blind shamisen player and folk-song collector named Takahashi Chikuzan became a musical sensation. This biographical drama chronicles his wanderings and his life, with a particular focus on his humble beginnings as a peasant on a remote and arid island.

The Life of Chikuzan

1977

The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang poster
6.8

The Ni Family is the most well know and respected group of firefighters in the Kanto region. When their leader dies and the successor disappears, Tsuruji, a beautiful yet tough geisha, becomes the boss. But will she be able to confront a yakuza gang trying to take over the area?

The Kanto Scarlet Cherry Gang

1972

The Silk Hat Boss 2 poster
6.5

The Silk Hat Boss becomes involved in a car imports business during his trip to Atami.

The Silk Hat Boss 2

1970

The Silk Hat Boss 2 poster
6.5

The Silk Hat Boss becomes involved in a car imports business during his trip to Atami.

The Silk Hat Boss 2

1970

Aesthetics of a Bullet poster
7.0

A small time crook who sells rabbits for a living frequently gets himself into trouble with loan sharks and the yakuza. He dreams of becoming a successful big-shot and embarks on the life of a yakuza hitman.

Aesthetics of a Bullet

1973

1960s · 10 titles

Red Peony Gambler: Second Generation Ceremony poster
6.6

The industrial revolution comes to Japan with the introduction of the railroad system. This led to clashes between boatmen, who livelihoods are threatened, and the railroad construction workers. Oryu the Red Peony returns to her home in Kumamoto to accept her position as second generation leader of the Yano Family. But the ceremony is interrupted by fighting between local boatmen and railroad works. And it seems a rival family is pulling the strings behind the clashes.

Red Peony Gambler: Second Generation Ceremony

1969

Code of Ruffians poster
7.5

Because of trickery, the Jinya Group has only seven days to complete a mountain road project or it will forfeit a major dam construction job to the scheming Ojika Group.

Code of Ruffians

1965

Eleven Samurai poster
7.5

The lord of the Oshi fief is killed by his trespassing neighbour, the cruel and despotic Nariatsu, son of the former Shogun. After an investigation, the Oshi clan is blamed for what happened and sentenced to be disbanded. Eleven of the best samurai of the clan refuse the sentence and are willing to give their life for justice.

Eleven Samurai

1967

Japan Organized Crime Boss poster
7.4

Coming out of jail and hoping for a quiet life, Yokohama yakuza has to take the lead of his gang after the death of his boss. His small group is is taken in a crossfire between a big yakuza group from Osaka at war with the Tokyo alliance for the control of the city. He tries to keep to the old yakuza code but he is no match for the new thugs who live and fight without honor.

Japan Organized Crime Boss

1969

Yakuza Law poster
6.1

A story of yakuza lynching during the Edo, Meiji, and Showa periods.

Yakuza Law

1969

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

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

Memoir of Japanese Assassinations poster
7.5

This anthology film consists of nine incidents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when assassins changed the course of Japanese history.

Memoir of Japanese Assassinations

1969

Yakuza on Foot poster
7.5

An Osaka gangster Shimamura just got married. His new bride, Mineko is also involved in drug trafficking. When she goes to China to make a deal, things get botched pretty badly. Shimamura must travel to save her and recoup his employers’ losses.

Yakuza on Foot

1969

Gambler's Legacy poster
6.7

A yakuza member embarks on a trail of revenge for his murdered boss. Senzo, the successor of the Mita Family, searches for the man bearing a tattoo of a dragon who is said to be responsible for the death of their former leader.

Gambler's Legacy

1969

Series credits