is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

featured in the trilogy of Japanese ''

chanbara , also commonly spelled "''chambara''", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. ''Chanbara'' is a sub-category of ' ...

'' films of the same name. The films star

Shintaro Katsu was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the ''Akumyo'' series, the ''Hoodlum Soldier'' series, and the ''Zatoichi'' series. Life and career Born Toshio Okumura (奥村利夫 ''Okumura Toshio'') on 29 Novemb ...

as the title character. He also produced the trilogy through his own Katsu Productions. After the decline of

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, Kobe, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Maruben ...

at the end of the 1960s, Shintaro Katsu established his own independent production company in 1967 called Katsu Productions. In 1972, Katsu Productions released the ''

'' film trilogy with the ''Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice'' based on a '' gekiga'' by Koike Kazuo. The film series, about an incorruptible law enforcer during the

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

period, has a strong sense of justice which dictates his every move. The film incorporates elements of

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

, and is highly sexual: Hanzo has an outlandishly large penis which is a recurring theme, and he uses it to interrogate women, usually by rape, to reveal a cases' hidden secrets and truths.

Films

Recurring cast and characters

*This table only includes characters which have appeared in more than one film. *A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has not yet been announced.

Crew

References

Footnotes

Sources

* *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanzo the Razor Action film series Fictional samurai Live-action films based on manga Films about rape Japanese film series 1970s action films