A flower-loving samurai learns the blade. Beauty and blood collide in 83 ruthless minutes.
Hanpei is a gentle young samurai that loves flowers. One day, he witnesses an old man's quick draw of the sword. He is so impressed that he becomes the old man's pupil. Soon, Hanpei's skill of sword comes to attention of his lord. The lord orders him to assassinate a man...
Direction
Misumi's patient, doom-laden framing—every shot a noose tightening.
Acting
Raizō Ichikawa's eyes: gentle, then terrifying, finally hollow.
Director
Kenji Misumi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Daiei's 'Sleepy Eyes of Death' wave, but Sword Devil stands apart as a standalone tragedy—no franchise safety net for Hanpei.
Kenji Misumi would direct Lone Wolf and Cub; this is him honing his signature: beautiful men, ugly fates.
JP
