
Acting
Tomisaburō Wakayama
Born — Died
1929-09-01 — 1992-04-02
Place of birth
Tokyo, Japan
Known for
Acting
Credits
72 titles
Tomisaburō Wakayama (若山 富三郎), born Masaru Okumura (奥村 勝) was a Japanese actor. His son is actor Kiichriō Wakayama.
Known for
6.6Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.
Black Rain
1989
NRA master swordsman, Kiichi Hogan, wanders Japan in search of the Spanish swordsman who murdered his parents and slashed his throat 18 years before. Renouncing any normal life the samurai has become the feared bounty hunter, "Devil" Hogan, the Mute Samurai.
Mute Samurai
1973
NRKōchiyama Sōshun serves as a cha-bōzu (He is kind of tea man) in the administrative headquarters of the Tokugawa shogunate but he works behind the scene to protect powerless people from evil power of Tokugawa shogunate. Kataoka Naojirō and Ushimatsu work for Kōchiyama. Kaneko Ichinojō is a ronin whose interests often align with Kōchiyama
Priest of Darkness
1975
NRDaisaburo Kikuchi (Tomisaburo Wakayama), a skilled lawyer full of humanity, thrillingly depicts the process of stepping into the background of the case step by step.
Zoku zoku jiken
1980
NRSet in a sushi restaurant in Tokyo shortly after the end of the war, the story follows a stubborn, old-fashioned master and his hot-tempered, brash apprentice growing up among the warm-hearted people of downtown Tokyo.
Iki no Iiyatsu
1987
NR"Tuesday Suspense Theater" was broadcast every Tuesday from 21:00 to 22:54 ( JST ) on the Nippon Television network for 24 years from September 29 , 1981 to September 27, 2005. It was a two-hour drama slot. As a general rule, suspense dramas with one complete episode (very rarely, two parts) were broadcast every week from 21:00 to 22:54 ( JST ). It is a broadcast frame. Some episodes also aired horror, historical dramas, and special effects dramas.
Tuesday Suspense Theater
1981
Film credits
1990s · 3 titles
7.5The rise to power of the famed Lady Kasuga no Tsubone, who established the 'Ooku' (the women's quarters at Edo castle) and acted as nursemaid to Tokugawa Iemitsu, the future 3rd Shogun is chronicled in this historical drama. Intrigue and suspicion abound as the two brothers Iemitsu and Tadanaga vie for the post of Shogun, while behind the scenes the remnants of the defeated Toyotomi faction, lead by Lord Ishida Mitsunari attempt to discredit the Tokugawa Shogunate and regain their former position as rulers of the nation. The hidden battles between Shogun Hidetada's wife and mistresses of the 'Ooku' come to light as they force the two brothers into a life or death struggle.
She-Shogun
1990
When Nizaemon Kumogiri, a major thief quits his job as a thief, he has two more big jobs planned in order to obtain a huge sum of money to enable his many subordinates scattered all over the country to live out the rest of their lives. First, he targets Matsuya, a medicine wholesaler in Nagoya and seduces the master of the shop by using his female subordinate, Nanakake. He then calls upon Sanji, a skilled locksmith to Nagoya, but the bandit Yagura no Fukuemon who is plotting to intercept the thief plots to extract Sanji for a large sum of money. Furthermore, Abe Shikibu, the chief of the firebrand bandit reformatory who is obsessed with Nizaemon's arrest, sends his men to Nagoya.
Kumokiri Nizaemon: The Great Bandit
1991
10.0During the 16th century, Japan was involved in the Sengoku Period, an era of civil wars and the powerful warlords who fought them. One of the earliest and strongest of these men was the Lord Takeda Shingen, a tremendous military genius.
Takeda Shingen
1991
1980s · 13 titles
6.6Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.
Black Rain
1989
6.8A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.
Shogun Assassin
1980
5.9After 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
5.7To satisfy her lover's fetish for tattooed women, Akane agrees to have her body covered in eloborate tattoos by Kyogoro, an old craftsman. Kyogoro has developed a special technique, by which his assistant, Harutsune, keeps Katsuko's mind off the pain while Kyogoro does his work. After the work is done, Harutsune makes the shocking discovery of how Kyogoro mastered his technique.
Irezumi
1982
9.0Adaptation of Shiro Ozaki's novel.
Theater Of Life
1983
5.6Uta married a priest who saved her when she tried to commit suicide at a waterfall. The love triangle between a lustful priest, his second wife and his son Masao.
White Snake Enchantment
1983
6.6A fierce succession battle ignites at a newspaper company when the president passes away.
Company Executives
1989
7.2The story of Shinsuke, a young man who lives through a stormy life as a poverty-stricken coal miner. Ranging from Shinsuke's infanthood to his mid-teens. Coal workers and the mines dominate nearly every aspect of his life. Shinsuke's father a group leader at the mine, dies while bravely using dynamite to rescue a group of trapped Korean miners. Several older men attempt to help he and his mother cope, including a friendly Harley-riding yakuza boss. This movie has it all, drama, romance, sex, yakuza and violence! It is based on a story by Hiroyuki Itsuki that was originally serialized in the magazine Shukan Gendai in 1969-70.
Gate of Youth
1981
6.0During 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
7.0A run-in with the police once again puts three former reformatory inmates on the wrong side of the law. Their situation becomes increasingly desperate as events spin out of control, culminating in an audacious hijack at sea...
The Shootout
1982
6.7An old woman has died and her widower with dementia confesses to killing her. After this, the story goes back in time to show the events leading up to her death.
A Human Promise
1986
5.5Story of three people, a barber, a Christian and a graduate of the Tokyo Military Academy during the 2nd World War.
The Imperial Japanese Empire
1982
5.0A mysterious thief called "Yami no Kiba" (Fang of Darkness), who sneaks into the residences of the shogunate one after another and steals the shogun's treasures, has been shaking the public authorities. The identity of the thief is Ichibei, a medicine seller whose father was once killed by the shogunate, and his daughter Oasa. Ichibei had been seeking revenge against the official to avenge the death of his father, Sasajima Hyobu, who was a member of the Kurokuchi clan, the official ninja. He was also plotting to seize the gold orca of the Nagoya Castle keep, aiming at the Owari clan that had slain his father. ......
The Shogun's Vault II
1982
1970s · 25 titles
7.2Ogami Itto is challenged by a quintet of warriors, each armed with one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assignment.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
1973
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
7.4Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must eliminate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
1972
4.8A small time promotor/hustler takes the pint-sized baseball team to Japan for a match against the country's best little league baseball team which sparks off a series of adventures and mishaps the boys come into.
The Bad News Bears Go to Japan
1978
7.1With most of his family already dead at Ogami Itto's hands, Retsudo launches one final plot to destroy him, and when that fails, unleashes the fury of every remaining member of the Yagyu clan.
Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell
1974
6.6Convicted 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
7.1A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
Sympathy for the Underdog
1971
7.3Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril
1972
5.9Bunta 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
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
10.0Shimamura & 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
7.8The 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
6.6Kôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police detective and they start to investigate an old unsolved murder. Then some murders happen. Kindaichi must find out about the past in order to reveal who the murderer is.
Lullaby to Kill
1977
10.0A 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
5.4Two Japanese spies with extrasensory powers go to Istanbul to stop a global agenda of assassinations.
ESPY
1974
9.0Fresh 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
10.0The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who wants to learn the new art of judo. A wise teacher reveals to Sanshiro that judo is not merely a means of combat nor a demonstration of physical skill, but an art which reveals the artist to himself.
Sugata Sanshiro
1977
6.8The 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
6.5The Silk Hat Boss becomes involved in a car imports business during his trip to Atami.
The Silk Hat Boss 2
1970
6.0A detective is charged with investigating a bank corruption scandal.
Kaoyaku
1971
7.0Hiroshi, a small-time racketeer, makes a name for himself extorting vulnerable companies and their directors for financial gain.
Company Buggers
1975
6.1This extraordinarily complex film is not only a send-up of every samurai film ever made, it is also an extrapolation of the value of life. The Yamatai, represented by Prince Susano-O and elderly advisor Sumuke, hire Yumihiko of Matsuro to hunt the phoenix so that Queen Himiko, sister of Susano-O can have eteranal life.
The Phoenix
1978
9.0The eighth installment in the popular film series starring Tomisaburo Wakayama. Embarrassed by the chairman of the Seiyu-kai for not having a family crest, Seikichi Shimamura sets out with his henchmen on a journey to acquire the crest of a local bankrupt family. The local Iwahashi clan and the fishermen fought over the construction of the industrial complex, but when Seikichi learned that the Seiyu-kai was behind the Iwahashi clan, he sided with the fishermen...
A Yakuza Has His Way
1972
7.0A mountain bandit abducts a woman who demands he kill his other wives to please her, leading to a cycle of violence and madness fueled by superstition and obsession.
Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees
1975
6.7In 1930, the chance meeting of a novelist and one of his fans opens the door to a series of mysterious events culminating in the death of a wealthy industrialist who may have been leading a double life.
A Scream from Nowhere
1977
1960s · 17 titles
6.9Ohyaku is a grifter who falls in love with a thief, who recruits her for his plan to rob a shipment of government gold. When this plan goes wrong and Ohyaku ends up in prison, she resolves to do anything to escape and claim revenge on the ones who betrayed her and her lover.
Ohyaku: The Female Demon
1968
7.4Coming 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
7.3The 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
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
6.2Shinkai, 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
5.5Erotic Pinku film showcasing he life of Buddhist nuns during the Edo Period.
Nunnery Confidential
1968
7.5Popular 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
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
8.0A former soldier is caught working the black market and sent to prison while his partner escapes and goes on to become a gangster, but their paths cross again as they both fall in love with the same woman.
Eighteen Years in Prison
1967
7.5This 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
7.5An 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
6.5The second Bounty Hunter film, when master killer Shikoro Ichibei takes up the cause of a group of farmers being driven to despair by the vile Lord Ozeki. The villainous lord has driven them to mounting their last stand at a deserted fort against an army of attackers. Wakayama Tomisaburo is superb as an expert in killing and military tactics, who leaves his medical practice at a clinic for the poor in order to counter the vicious tactics of that vile lord.
The Fort of Death
1969
6.7A 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
6.2Oryu 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
6.2[Period covered: 1614-1615] Tokugawa Ieyasu is now the ruler of all Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete -- the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now beseiged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu's ninja are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo and the other Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle in the dark!
Shinobi no Mono 4: Siege
1964
7.4Ryuko was raised by her father, a gambler named Senzo Yano in Kumamoto, Kyushu, after her mother died when she was little. When she turned 18 years old, her father was attacked and killed by a stranger in alley. Ryuko then dissolves her yakuza family, and, carrying the wallet left by the killer, she sets out on a journey to avenge her father’s death. Five years later, she wanders the nation, known only as! Red Peony Oryu who has a red peony tattooed on her shoulder and has the defiance and courage of a man. She meets Katagiri - a loner gambler, Kumatora - boss of a family in Shikoku, and Otaka - female boss of the Doman Family in Osaka. With their help, she finally catches up with the man who murdered her father.
Red Peony Gambler
1968
1950s · 2 titles
8.0Meiji Tenno portrays the buildup to the Russo-Japan War. In addition to showing the political events that led to war, it also shows the era from the story of a farm family in rural Japan that sends their son off to war. As such, it could be considered an anti-war movie, showing how, while war is devised by governments, the people do not really understand what war is, and its combatants often do not know what they are fighting for.
Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War
1957
NRA mysterious coin found at a murder scene stirs the curiosity of young actress detective Oshichi and her brother Hyoma, who set out on a private investigation to unveil the secrets hidden behind the coin.
Detective Hibari: Case of the Hidden Coin
1959
Series credits
NRA master swordsman, Kiichi Hogan, wanders Japan in search of the Spanish swordsman who murdered his parents and slashed his throat 18 years before. Renouncing any normal life the samurai has become the feared bounty hunter, "Devil" Hogan, the Mute Samurai.
Mute Samurai
1973
NRKōchiyama Sōshun serves as a cha-bōzu (He is kind of tea man) in the administrative headquarters of the Tokugawa shogunate but he works behind the scene to protect powerless people from evil power of Tokugawa shogunate. Kataoka Naojirō and Ushimatsu work for Kōchiyama. Kaneko Ichinojō is a ronin whose interests often align with Kōchiyama
Priest of Darkness
1975
NRDaisaburo Kikuchi (Tomisaburo Wakayama), a skilled lawyer full of humanity, thrillingly depicts the process of stepping into the background of the case step by step.
Zoku zoku jiken
1980
NRSet in a sushi restaurant in Tokyo shortly after the end of the war, the story follows a stubborn, old-fashioned master and his hot-tempered, brash apprentice growing up among the warm-hearted people of downtown Tokyo.
Iki no Iiyatsu
1987
NR"Tuesday Suspense Theater" was broadcast every Tuesday from 21:00 to 22:54 ( JST ) on the Nippon Television network for 24 years from September 29 , 1981 to September 27, 2005. It was a two-hour drama slot. As a general rule, suspense dramas with one complete episode (very rarely, two parts) were broadcast every week from 21:00 to 22:54 ( JST ). It is a broadcast frame. Some episodes also aired horror, historical dramas, and special effects dramas.
Tuesday Suspense Theater
1981
3.7Kamon Ryou, a guitar-playing male prostitute in a decadent downtown bar of Yokohama, is a man of many secrets: he was the culprit of the unsolved "300 Million Yen Robbery" of 1968, he has a lot of nasty friends that are trying to steal the money away from him, and he is dying of a malignant brain tumor...
He's Like a Devil
1975
NRContinuing the adventures from the film series, Shikoro Ichibei is back with his cache of unique weapons and the quickest sword in all Japan. Having worked directly for the shogun in the past, he now runs a school in his secret identity as an educator. Meanwhile he takes on secret missions as ”The Bounty Hunter” (Shokin Kasegi). The touches of humor during the scenes around the school disappear once Ichibei takes on a contract. Powerful swordplay and brutal violence highlight these episodes as Japan’s greatest sword star Wakayama Tomisaburo stands tall against all odds in this dynamic television series.
Bounty Hunter
1975
NRLord Sanada along with his deadly ninja assassins Kirigakure Saizo and Sarutobi Sasuke attempt to restore the rule of the Toyotomi during the brutal period just after the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Sanada Yukimura
1989
No synopsis available yet.
父と子の炎
1981
Behind the camera
7.2Ogami Itto is challenged by a quintet of warriors, each armed with one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assignment.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
1973
7.1With most of his family already dead at Ogami Itto's hands, Retsudo launches one final plot to destroy him, and when that fails, unleashes the fury of every remaining member of the Yagyu clan.
Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell
1974
7.3Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril
1972
