Yakuza loyalty tested by love, lies, and a stolen seal — who's really running this town?
In the late Taisho era. Umeshima Jinbei, the president of the Kanto Umeshima Kai, divided the area into the Kuroda family to the south and the Takeuchi family to the north in order to protect the security of Kame no Ii, which had opened up in place of the Yoshiwara brothel that had been burnt down in the earthquake, and had the Kuroda family rule their respective territories. Chichibu Yasaburo, the small head of the Kuroda family, had a good reputation as the mainstay of the family and was trusted by his boss Mankichi, but Furuno, who was in love with Mankichi's daughter Mie, who was in love with Yasaburo, informally informed the Takeuchi clan and took out Mankichi's seal and borrowed money from Takeuchi in the name of Yasaburo to line his pockets.
Acting
Watari's simmering restraint as Yasaburo, dignity under siege.
Production
Taisho-era detail that feels lived-in, not museum-piece.
Director
Keiichi Ozawa
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Kame no Ii pleasure quarter was a real post-1923 earthquake redevelopment, making this a fictionalized history of actual Tokyo geography.
Tetsuya Watari made this between his iconic roles in Nikkatsu's 'Outlaw' series; director Ozawa was a Toei veteran specializing in ninkyo eiga (chivalry films).
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