Based on Kazuo Taoka's autobiography, this film follows a Kobe gangster as he builds the small Yamaguchi-gumi into Japan's largest criminal clan.
Acting
Ken Takakura invented cool — the original brooding crime lord template.
Direction
Ozawa's no-nonsense pacing wastes zero time on sentiment.
Production
Kobe locations that reek of authentic 1970s underworld grime.
Director
Shigehiro Ozawa
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Noboru Andō, who plays a supporting role, was a genuine former yakuza boss before becoming an actor.
The real Yamaguchi-gumi remains Japan's largest yakuza syndicate; this film helped romanticize their origin myth during the 1970s ninkyo eiga boom.
JP
