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Shintaro Katsu
was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the ''Akumyo'' series, the ''Hoodlum Soldier'' series, and the ''Zatoichi'' series. Life and career Born Toshio Okumura (奥村 利夫 ''Okumura Toshio'') on 29 November 1931. He was the son of Minoru Okumura (奥村 実), a noted kabuki performer who went by the stage name Katsutōji Kineya (杵屋 勝東治) and who was renowned for his nagauta and shamisen skills, and younger brother of actor Tomisaburo Wakayama. Shintaro Katsu began his career in entertainment as a shamisen player. He switched to acting because he noticed it was better paid. In the 1960s he starred simultaneously in three long-running series of films, the Akumyo series, the Hoodlum Soldier series, and the Zatoichi series. He played the role of blind masseur Zatoichi in a series of 25 films between 1962 and 1973, in 100 episodes across a four season television series from 1974 to 1979, and in a 26th and final film in 1989, which h ...
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Kashiwa, Chiba
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 433,436 in 194,216 households and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The name of the city is written with a single '' kanji'' character: , a reference to '' Quercus dentata'', commonly known in English as the Japanese emperor oak or daimyo oak. Geography Kashiwa is located on the Shimōsa Plateau in the far northwestern corner of Chiba Prefecture, about 30 kilometers from the prefectural capital at Chiba and 25 to 35 kilometers from central Tokyo. It is separated from Ibaraki Prefecture to the north by the Tone River. Located on the Kanto Plain, the city is flat, with an elevation of between 5 and 32 meters above sea level. Neighboring municipalities *Chiba Prefecture ** Matsudo ** Abiko **Inzai **Kamagaya **Noda ** Shiroi **Nagareyama *Ibaraki Prefecture **Toride ** Moriya Climate Kashiwa has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa' ...
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Kagemusha
is a 1980 jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate the dying ''daimyō'' Takeda Shingen to dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable clan. ''Kagemusha'' is the Japanese term for a political decoy, literally meaning "shadow warrior". The film ends with the climactic 1575 Battle of Nagashino. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival (tied with '' All That Jazz''). It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and received other honours. In 2009 the film was voted at No. 59 on the list of ''The Greatest Japanese Films of All Time'' by Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo. Plot During the Sengoku period, Takeda Shingen, ''daimyō'' of the Takeda clan, meets a thief his brother Nobukado spared from crucifixion due to the thief's uncanny resemblance to Shingen; the brothers agree that he woul ...
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Masami Okumura
is a common Japanese given name and can be given to either sex. Possible writings *惟美, meaning "Considerate beauty" *真己, meaning "True self" or "Truth, Snake" *昌美, meaning "Prosperous beauty" *雅美, meaning "Gracious beauty" *成美, meaning "Become beautiful" *マサミ in (katakana) *まさみ in (hiragana) People with the name * Masami Akita (秋田 昌美), Japanese Noise musician * Masami Anno, Japanese director of the anime series ''Chūka Ichiban!'' which is based on the manga series of the same name *Masami Hirosaka (広坂 正美), Japanese radio-controlled car racer * Masami Horiuchi (堀内 正美), Japanese actor *, Japanese alpine skier *Masami Kikuchi (菊池 正美), Japanese voice actor * Masami Kobayashi (小林仁, 1890-1977), admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II *Masami Kubota, Japanese former gymnast who competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics *Masami Kurumada (車田 正美), Japanese writer and manga artist known for his ...
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Tsūkai! Kōchiyama Sōshun
is a Japanese television jidaigeki or period drama that was broadcast in 1975–1976. The lead star is Shintaro Katsu, his older brother Tomisaburo Wakayama also appeared in the episode5,7,25. Plot Kōchiyama Sōshun is a serves as a cha-bōzu (He is kind of tea man) in the administrative headquarters of the Tokugawa shogunate but he works behind the scene to protect powerless people from evil power of Tokugawa shogunate. Kaneko Ichinojō and Ushimatsu work for Kōchiyama. Cast *Shintaro Katsu as Kōchiyama Sōshun *Yoshio Harada as Kaneko Ichinojō *Shōhei Hino as Ushimatsu *Hide Demon as Kataoka Naojirō *Kaori Momoi as Ochiyo *Mitsuko Kusabue as Otaki * Tomisaburo Wakayama as Tōyama Kinsirō * So Yamamura as Mizuno Tadakuni *Hideji Ōtaki as Moritaya Seibei *Naruse Tadashi *Hosei Komatsu as Nishiyama Gensai *Shin Kishida as Tori Yozō Directors *Shintaro Katsu (Episode15,23,25) *Kenji Misumi (Episode1,5,7) *Eiichi Kudo (Episode2,10,20) *Kimiyoshi Yasuda (Episode16,2 ...
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Oshizamurai Kiichihōgan
also known as The Mute Samurai is a Japanese television ''jidaigeki'' or period drama, that was broadcast in 1973–1974. The lead star is Tomisaburo Wakayama, his younger brother Shintaro Katsu also appeared and directed episode 1. It is based on Kanda Takeshi's manga ''Oshizamurai Kiichihōgan''. Plot Kiichihōgan is a samurai who had been a victim of a vicious crime, completely changing his life forever. His parents were killed and his virgin wife was violated by a skilled Spaniard named Gonzalez. 18 years later Kiichihōgan abandons the way of the samurai and he becomes a bounty hunter, taking Japans most wanted criminals. He goes on a journey to find the Spaniard and fulfill his revenge. Cast * Tomisaburo Wakayama as Kiichihōgan *Shintaro Katsu as Manji (Nagasaki Bugyo) *Judy Ongg as Okiku * Kayo Matsuo as Kikuno * Minoru Ōki as Tokaiya *Kanjūrō Arashi as Monk Jikai * Tony Cetera as Gonzales Episode list See also * Tsūkai! Kōchiyama Sōshun (1975–76) TV series ...
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Shogun Assassin
''Shogun Assassin'' is a 1980 ''jidaigeki'' film directed by Robert Houston. ''Shogun Assassin'' was edited and compiled from the first two films in the ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' series, using 12 minutes of the first film, '' Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance'' (''Kozure Ōkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru'' or ''Wolf with Child in Tow: Child and Expertise for Rent''), and most of '' Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx'' (''Kozure Ōkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma'' or ''Wolf with Child in Tow: Perambulator of the River of Sanzu''). Both were originally released in 1972. There were six films in all in the series. These, in turn, were based on the long-running 1970s manga series ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima. The project was directed by Robert Houston and his partner David Weisman, a protégé of Andy Warhol and director of '' Ciao! Manhattan'' (1972). A fan of the original ''Kozure Ōkami'' films, Weisman ...
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Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of Hell'', for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular setting. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants of their time. ''Jidaigeki'' films are sometimes referred to as chambara movies, a word meaning "sword fight", though chambara is more accurately a subgenre of ''jidaigeki''. ''Jidaigeki'' rely on an established set of dramatic conventions including the use of makeup, language, catchphrases, and plotlines. Types Many ''jidaigeki'' take place in Edo, the military capital. Others show the adventures of people wandering from place to place. The long-running television series '' Zenigata Heiji'' and '' Abarenbō Shōgun'' typify the Edo ''jidaigeki''. '' Mi ...
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Lone Wolf And Cub
is a Japanese manga series created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work. ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' chronicles the story of Ogami Ittō, the ''shōgun''s executioner who uses a dōtanuki battle sword. Disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyū clan, he is forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigorō, they seek revenge on the Yagyū clan and are known as "Lone Wolf and Cub". Plot Ogami Ittō, formidable warrior and a master of the '' suiō-ryū'' swordsmanship, serves as the ''Kogi Kaishakunin'' (the Shōgun's executioner), a position of high power in the Tokugawa shogunate during the 1700s. Along with the oniwaban and the assassins, Ogami Ittō is responsible for enforcing the will of the ''shōgun'' over the ''da ...
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Manga
Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used in Japan to refer to both comics and cartooning. Outside of Japan, the word is typically used to refer to comics originally published in the country. In Japan, people of all ages and walks of life read manga. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action, adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, drama, historical, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and fantasy, erotica ('' hentai'' and '' ecchi''), sports and games, and suspense, among others. Many manga are translated into other languages. Since the 1950s, manga has become an increasingly major part of the Japanese publishing industry. By 1995, the manga market in Japan was valued at (), with annual sales of 1.9billion manga books a ...
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Mineko Iwasaki
, birthname , is a Japanese businesswoman, author and former geisha. Iwasaki was the most famous geisha in Japan until her sudden retirement at the age of 29. Known for her performances for celebrity and royalty during her geisha life, Iwasaki was the heir apparent () to her geisha house () while she was just a young apprentice. American author Arthur Golden interviewed her for background information when writing his 1997 book, ''Memoirs of a Geisha''. Iwasaki later regretted interviewing for Golden, having cited a breach of confidentiality and later sued and settled out of court with Golden for the parallelism between his book and her life. In 2002 she released her own autobiography (titled ''Geisha of Gion'' in the UK and ''Geisha: A Life'' in the US). Life and career Born as Masako Tanaka, she left home at the age of four to begin studying traditional Japanese dance at the Iwasaki (geisha house) in the Gion district of Kyoto. She was legally adopted by the 's owner, Madame ...
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Geisha
{{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female Japanese performing artists and entertainers trained in traditional Japanese performing arts styles, such as dance, music and singing, as well as being proficient conversationalists and hosts. Their distinct appearance is characterised by long, trailing kimono, traditional hairstyles and {{transliteration, ja, oshiroi make-up. Geisha entertain at parties known as {{transliteration, ja, ozashiki, often for the entertainment of wealthy clientele, as well as performing on stage and at festivals. Modern geisha are not prostitutes. This misconception originated due to the conflation of Japanese courtesans ({{transliteration, ja, oiran), {{transliteration, ja, oiran reenactors, the extant {{transliteration, ja, tayū, and prostitutes, who h ...
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