A ukiyo-e artist by day, purple-hooded avenger by night — Edo Japan's most stylish vigilante.
Wearing a mask to hide his identity, a deadly swordsman challenges a tyrant from the Ruling Council of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Both TANUMA Okitsugu of the ‘Roju’ (Ruling Council) and his son Okitomo, the Magistrate in charge of the gold mint, have been abusing their political power to steal gold by casting coins with only half the amount of precious metal and keeping the rest for themselves. TAKAHASHI Hideki stars as a popular Ukiyoe artist, KANO Hidemaro, who dons a purple hood to hide his real identity, has learned of their plot and fights to stop them. The Purple Hooded Avenger is a well-known and popular series in Japan, and he stands up against injustice from the powerful ‘Elder’ TANUMA of the ‘Roju’. The story told here occurred during the 'Tenmei' Era (1781-1789). An extraordinary movie, a must see!
Costume
That purple hood is doing *everything* and knows it.
Stunts
Sword fights staged like dance numbers — chaotic, committed, slightly unhinged.
Director
Kōsaku Yamashita
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Tanuma Okitsugu was indeed a notoriously corrupt Rōjū; his 1784 assassination marked the peak of Tenmei era political chaos.
Hideki Takahashi was a massive star in Japan — casting him as a masked hero was like if Robert Redford suddenly did Zorro on a shoestring budget.
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