''Fukurō no Shiro'' (梟の城, ''Owls' Castle'') is the ninja-themed 1959 debut novel of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese author Ryōtarō Shiba, which won him the Naoki Prize in 1960 after the story was published by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

. It has been adapted into a 3-part "Naoki Award Series" TV broadcast on the Fuji Television Network in 1960, and into two jidaigeki-genre films, ''Castle of Owls'' in 1963 and '' Owls' Castle'' in 1999.

Film adaptations

''Castle of Owls''

, literally "Owls' Castle Ninja Secret Handbook", also known as ''Samurai Spies'' (not to be confused with the unrelated film ''

Samurai Spy , also known as ''Spy Hunter'', is a 1965 film directed by Masahiro Shinoda, based on a novel by Koji Nakada. The legendary ninja Sasuke Sarutobi tracks the spy Nojiri, while a mysterious figure named Sakon leads a band of men on their own quest ...

''), is a 1963 Japanese adaptation directed by

Eiichi Kudō was a Japanese film director. Kudo directed 30 films between 1956 and 1998. His notable films are '' 13 Assassins'' (1963) and '' The Great Killing'' (1964). He joined the Toei film company in 1952 and made his film director debut with ''Fukak ...

. It starred

Ryūtarō Ōtomo (5 June 1912 – 27 September 1985) was a Japanese film and television actor most famous for his starring roles in jidaigeki. In 1936, he made his debut in movies with the film ''Aozura Roshi''. He ended his life by leaping from the top of a b ...

in the lead role.CASTLE OF OWLS vs. OWL'S CASTLE - Vintage Ninja
/ref>

Cast

as Juzo *

Minoru Ōki was a Japanese actor. His notable film appearances were ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' films, ''Stakeout'', and ''Not Forgotten''. Ōki started working as a shooting assistant at the Nikkatsu Tamagawa studio at the age of 16. In 1951, he made his film d ...

as Gohei * Hizuru Takachiho as Kohagi * Chiyoko Honma as Kizaru * Choichiro Kawarazaki as Kumotaro *

Kantarō Suga was a leading Japanese actor. His film credits span three decades, from 1960 to 1990.
(Suga Kantarō) at Maeda Geni was a Buddhist priest from Mt. Hiei, retainer of Oda Nobunaga and later one of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's '' Go-Bugyō'', along with Ishida Mitsunari, Asano Nagamasa, Mashita Nagamori and Natsuka Masaie. He entered the service of Oda Nobunaga someti ...

''Owls' Castle''

is a 1999 Japanese adaptation directed by

Masahiro Shinoda is a retired Japanese film director, originally associated with the Shochiku Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s. Early life Shinoda attended Waseda University, where he studied theater and also partici ...

starring Kiichi Nakai.

References

External links