is a 1957 color

Japanese film The , also known domestically as , has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2022, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced, producing 634 fi ...

, directed by

Sadatsugu Matsuda (まつださだつぐ) (2 November 1906 – 20 January 2003, Tokyo, Japan) was a Japanese film director. He directed films from 1925 to 1969. His name is also incorrectly spelled as Sadaji Matsuda. He was the son of producer and directo ...

(松田定次), and the first of an all-star cast trilogy, loosely based on the legend of

Shimizu Jirocho was a famous yakuza and entrepreneur. He is considered a folk hero in Japan. Born , he was adopted by his uncle Jirohachi Yamamoto who was a rice wholesaler. Due to the fall of his adoptive family he became a bakuto (gambler) and thereafter the ...

(1820–1893), Japan's most famous gangster and folk hero, whose life and exploits were featured in sixteen films between 1911 and 1940.

Plot

As the gangster boss of the Tokaido Road, Jirocho (Cheizo Kataoka) sends his men to track down a fugitive, who has killed Jirocho's associate. They eventually find the fugitive hiding out at the property of another gangster boss, Kansuke (Eijiro Tono), who unknowingly shelters a wanted man. Kansuke's nephew Kurokoma (Ryunosuke Tsukigata), wanting to take over Jirocho's control over the Tokaido Road, convinces Kansuke that the fugitive is a spy for Jirocho. After an angry confrontation between Jirocho and Kansuke, they rally their men for a battle, but gangster boss Omaeda (Utaemon Ichikawa) intervenes and appeals to Jirocho to reconsider. Jirocho's wife Ocho urges him to listen. Omaeda and Jirocho have a conversation that completely alters Jirocho's outlook. He calls off the battle and instructs his men to assist poor farmers, villagers and temples as part of his spiritual atonement. Meanwhile, Kurokoma conspires to take advantage of Jirocho's vow not to fight by plotting a battle that could destroy Jirocho and his men.

Cast

Chiezō Kataoka Masayoshi Ueki (植木正義, ''Ueki Masayoshi''; March 30, 1903 – March 31, 1983), known professionally as , was a Japanese film and television actor most famous for his starring roles in jidaigeki. Career Born as Masayoshi Ueki in 1903, in G ...

片岡千恵蔵 (Jirocho of Shimizu) *

Eijirō Tōno was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as ''Seven Sam ...

(Kansuke) *

Ryūnosuke Tsukigata was a Japanese actor known especially for his work in jidaigeki in film and television. His real name was Kiyoto Monden. Career Born in Miyagi Prefecture, Tsukigata entered the actor's school at Nikkatsu in 1920, but earned his first starring ro ...

(Kurokoma) *

Utaemon Ichikawa was a Japanese film actor famous for starring roles in jidaigeki from the 1920s to the 1960s. Trained in kabuki from childhood, he made his film debut in 1925 at Makino Film Productions under Shōzō Makino. Quickly gaining popularity, he follow ...

(市川右太衛門) (Omaeda) *

Hashizo Okawa was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than one hundred Jidaigeki films from 1955 to 1967. Biography Born in Tokyo, the son of a Yanagibashi geisha, he was soon adopted by the Ono (小野) family. His adoptive father was a kabuki ac ...

(大川橋蔵) (Sangoro) *

Kinnosuke Nakamura (November 20, 1932 – March 10, 1997) was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born , son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name ('' ...

中村錦之助 (Ishimatsu) *

Chiyonosuke Azuma was a Japanese actor and '' Nihon-buyō'' dancer. He appeared in more than 40 films from 1954 to 1993. Biography Azuma was born on 19 August 1926, in Shinjuku, Tokyo. He attended the Tokyo University of the Arts, while studying Japanese dance u ...

東千代之介 (Shichigoro) *

Yumiko Hasegawa Yumiko is a feminine Japanese given name. Written forms Yumiko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *弓子, "bow, child". *由美子, "reason/cause, beauty, child". *結実子, "fruition, child". *夕実子, "evening, ...

(Osen) *

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''. Overall Ryūtarō Ōtomo appeared in more than 100 ...

大友柳太朗 (Chobei) *

Isao Yamagata was a Japanese film actor. In 1942, Yamagata and So Yamamura formed the ''Bunkaza Theatre Company''. In 1949 he made his film debut with ''Kirareya Senta''. Yamagata became famous for his role in 1953 film ''Gate of Hell (film), Gate of Hell'' ...

(Miyakodori) *

Eitarō Shindō was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1936 and 1975. He is most closely associated with the work of Kenji Mizoguchi, with whom he made twelve films. Selected filmography * '' Sisters of the Gion'' (1936) * '' ...

(Kyuroku) * Shinobu Chihara (Otami) *

Takachiho Hidzuru 270px, Manai Falls 270px, Mount Sobo 270px, Yokagura is a town in Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the town has an estimated population of 11,065 in 4865 households, and a population density of 47 persons per km2. The total ...

高千穂ひづる *

Fushimi Sentaro Fushimi may refer to: *Emperor Fushimi was the 92nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1287 through 1298. Name Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal n ...

伏見扇太郎

Success

All three parts of

's trilogy enjoyed great success at the annual box office. The first film, ''Port of Honor'', earned ¥353 million in box office revenues, making it the most successful Japanese film of 1957. The second entry, ''

A Chivalrous Spirit A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient G ...

'', grossed over ¥341 million during its initial run, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1958. The third part, ''

Road of Chivalry A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are Road surface, p ...

'' was even more successful and earned ¥350 million, again being the highest-grossing film at the annual box office. According to film critic

Pablo Knote Pablo is a masculine given name, the Spanish form of the name Paul. People * Pablo Acha (born 1996), Spanish archer * Pablo Alarcón (born 1946), Argentine actor * Pablo Alborán (born 1989), Spanish singer * Pablo Aimar (born 1979), Argentine ...

, the trilogy was essential in establishing director

as "Japan's financially most successful filmmaker of the 1950s". The trilogy, directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda, starring Cheizo Kataoka as Jirocho of Shimizu: * ''Ninkyo Shimizu-minato'' (''Port of Chivalry'') (1957) * ''Ninkyo Tokaido'' (''A Chivalrous Spirit'') (1958) * ''Ninkyo Nakasendo'' (''Road of Chivalry'') (1960)

References

External links

* 1957 films Films directed by Sadatsugu Matsuda Toei Company films 1950s Japanese films {{1950s-Japan-film-stub