Wandering samurai Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) finds a bulls-eye on his back after befriending the shogunate's tightfisted financial adviser, Asahina, who's earned the wrath of the shogun's self-indulgent daughter for cutting off her allowance. The enraged princess promptly hatches a scheme to have Asahina bumped off -- along with his protector, Kyoshiro. Shiho Fujimura also stars in this installment of the enormously popular film series.
Acting
Raizō's half-lidded menace makes exhaustion look lethal
Direction
Misumi's shadows and vertical compositions elevate pulp material
Director
Kenji Misumi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This is the second of fifteen Sleepy Eyes films shot in under two years, making Raizō Ichikawa basically the 1960s Japanese Keanu Reeves.
The princess's rage over cut spending satirizes real Edo-period financial reforms that provoked aristocratic backlash.
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1964
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