Loyal samurai Samanosuke is attacked, mutilated, and left for dead while carrying out a mission for his clan. He recovers but has lost an eye and an arm. Taking a new identity as Tange Sazen, he searches for a stolen urn which has hidden significance to his clan. But Tange Sazen has his own reasons for seeking the urn.
Direction
Gosha's kinetic camera work revolutionized chanbara staging.
Acting
Kinnosuke Nakamura's swaggering, wounded physicality defines the role.
Cinematography
Cruel beauty in every frame—snow, blood, and glistening sword steel.
Director
Hideo Gosha
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Tange Sazen is Japan's most frequently adapted samurai character with over 30 film versions since 1927.
Nakamura performed most stunts one-armed after refusing a hidden prosthetic—director Gosha called him 'insane and perfect.'
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