is a 1957

Japanese film The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that ea ...

directed by

Teinosuke Kinugasa was a Japanese filmmaker. He was born in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture and died in Kyoto. Kinugasa won the 1954 Palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival for '' Gate of Hell''. Biography Kinugasa began his career as an onnagata (actor specializing in f ...

. It is set in

Awa Province (Tokushima) was a province of Japan in the area that is today Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Awa no Kuni''" in . Awa was bordered by Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was ...

Plot

From the pen of

Eiji Yoshikawa was a Japanese historical novelist. Among his best-known novels are revisions of older classics. He was mainly influenced by classics such as ''The Tale of the Heike'', ''Tale of Genji'', ''Water Margin'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', m ...

comes this exciting story. The Naruto Strait separates Tokushima from the islands of Awaji and Honshu. On Tokushima the mad lord dreams of conquest and forges a bloody revolt against the Tokugawa shogunate. A mysterious swordsman named Noriyuki Gennojo has crossed Naruto's waters to uncover the Awa clan's secrets. He puts his life on the line after finding a testament of Awa's secrets, written in blood by a dying man. Joining Noriyuki is a female ninja who loves him, and the beautiful daughter of an enemy who's sworn to kill him. Awa's defenders will stop at nothing to prevent the blood-soaked letter from reaching the shogun.

Cast

Kazuo Hasegawa was a Japanese film and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 films between 1927 and 1963. Career Born to a sake brewing family in Kyoto, he first appeared on stage at age five in a theater run by his family as a side business. In 1918, he beca ...

Raizo Ichikawa Raizo or Raizō is a Japanese-origin masculine given name. It is uncommon as a surname. People with the name or its variants include: * Raizo Ichikawa, Japanese film and kabuki actor * Raizo Matsuno (松野頼三 Matsuno Raizō; 1917 - 2006), Jap ...

Fujiko Yamamoto (born 11 December 1931) is a Japanese film and stage actress. She appeared in over 100 films between 1953 and 1963. She won the first Grand Prix of Miss Nippon in 1950. Career Yamamoto was born on 11 December 1931, in Nishi-ku, Osaka, to a cot ...

Ryosuke Kagawa was a Japanese actor. His son was child actor Sō Shuntarō. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1928 and 1986. His final film role was in the 1986 film ''Dixieland Daimyō'' directed by Kihachi Okamoto. Selected filmography * '' Sto ...

Saburo Date was a Japanese actor. In 1945, he signed a contract with Daiei Film company and started his acting career. Following year, he made his film debut with ''Okagura Kyōdai'' directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. At the same time, he was given the stage nam ...

Osamu Takizawa was a Japanese actor. He was born in Ushigome, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Starting at the Tsukiji Little Theater, Takizawa participated in a number of theatrical troupes before forming Gekidan Mingei with Jūkichi Uno. His was praised for his performan ...

References

External links

* http://www.raizofan.net/link4/movie2/naruto.htm * Films directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa 1957 films Daiei Film films 1950s Japanese films {{1950s-Japan-film-stub