Karate for Life ( ja, 空手バカ一代 ) is a 1977 Japanese martial arts film about the martial arts master
Mas Oyama
, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. A Zainichi Korean, he spent most of his life living in Japan and acquired Japanese ci ...
starring
Sonny Chiba
, known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.
Born in Fuku ...
.
It is to
Champion of Death
, also known as ''Karate Bullfighter'', is a Japanese martial arts film made by the Toei Company in 1975. It was the first in a trilogy of films based on the manga '' Karate Baka Ichidai'' (literal translation: A Karate-Crazy Life), a manga base ...
and
Karate Bear Fighter and is the third part in the , a series of movie adaptations of the
Karate Baka Ichidai
is a Japanese manga drawn by Jirō Tsunoda and Jōya Kagemaru, with the story written by Ikki Kajiwara. The story was inspired by the life of the real-life karate martial artist Mas Oyama.
The manga was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magaz ...
by
Ikki Kajiwara
, known by the pen names and , was a Japanese author, manga writer, and film producer. He is known for the work about sports and martial arts, with images of heroic young men with the occasional fine details as he moves from one topic to anoth ...
.
Like the previous two films, it was a combination of starring
Sonny Chiba
, known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.
Born in Fuku ...
and director
Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
is a Japanese film director.
Career
Born in Nagano Prefecture, Yamaguchi graduated from Waseda University and began working at the Tōei studios in Kyoto. He directed a number of action movie series in the 1970s and has also helmed many TV ...
.
Plot
Cast
*
Sonny Chiba
, known internationally as Sonny Chiba, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Chiba was one of the first actors to achieve stardom through his skills in martial arts, initially in Japan and later before an international audience.
Born in Fuku ...
as
Mas Oyama
, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. A Zainichi Korean, he spent most of his life living in Japan and acquired Japanese ci ...
*
Kōjirō Hongō
was a Japanese actor. Hongo won an Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year in 1959. His notable international performances were in the Daiei Studios Gamera films.
Selected filmography
Film
* ''Geo Tree'' (1959)
* ''The Demon of Mount Oe'' ...
as Shuzō Fujita
*
Hideo Murota
was a Japanese actor who specialized in playing villains and tough guys. In 1957, he signed a contract with Toei Studio and appeared in over 1000 films. He won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Yokohama Film Festival for his role in ''Shin ...
as Great Yamashita
*
Yōko Natsuki
is an actress, born 24 October 1952 in Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan. She started her career in the 1977 movie Karate for Life. One of her television roles was as Osono, a ninja in the jidaigeki series ''Yoshimune Hyōbanki: Abarenbō Shōgun.'' Sh ...
as Reiko
*Asao Uchida as Ryu Hō Gen
*
Masashi Ishibashi
Masashi Ishibashi (Japanese: 石橋 政嗣 ''Ishibashi Masashi'', October 6, 1924 – December 9, 2019) was a Japanese politician who served as chairman of the Japan Socialist Party from 1983 to 1986.
Biography
Early life
Born in colonia ...
as Gōzō Yonashima
References
External links
*
1977 films
Japanese martial arts films
1970s Japanese-language films
Karate films
Films directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi
Toei Company films
1977 martial arts films
Films set in Okinawa Prefecture
1970s Japanese films
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