is a 1978

Japanese film The , also known domestically as , has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2022, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced, producing 634 fi ...

directed by

Hideo Gosha was a Japanese director and screenwriter. He was the first Japanese director to make the transition from television to theatrical films, and is best known for his ''jidaigeki'' and yakuza films. Beginning with '' Three Outlaw Samurai'' in 196 ...

. Based on the novel ''Kumokiri Nizaemon'' written by Shōtarō Ikenami.

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai is a Japanese film actor. He was featured in 11 films directed by Masaki Kobayashi, including '' The Human Condition'' trilogy, wherein he starred as the lead character Kaji, plus '' Harakiri'', '' Samurai Rebellion'' and '' Kwaidan''. Nakada ...

as Kumokiri Nizaemon *

Shima Iwashita is a Japanese stage and film actress who has appeared in films of Yasujirō Ozu, Keisuke Kinoshita, Masaki Kobayashi and most frequently of Masahiro Shinoda, her husband. She is best known for starring in the '' Yakuza Wives'' series of yakuza ...

as Chiyo * Kōshirō Matsumoto as Shikubu Abe * Takashi Yamaguchi as Tsugutomo Owari * Isao Natsuyagi *

Hiroyuki Nagato , stage name of Akio Kato (加藤晃夫), was a Japanese actor. He starred in ''Season of the Sun'', '' Endless Desire'', '' My Second Brother'', '' Stolen Desire'', and ''Sukeban Deka'', and ''Yo-Yo Girl Cop''. Life and career Nagato was born ...

Rinichi Yamamoto was a Japanese actor from Hokkaido. In 1953, he signed to the Toei Company and made his film debut in ''Gakusei Goninotoko''. He is most famous for playing villains, and appeared more than 200 films. He also had many guest appearances as a villa ...

* Kunie Tanaka * Shingo Yamashiro * Tatsuo Umemiya *

Takuzo Kawatani was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 56 films between 1967 and 1995. He was most famous for playing villains. Selected filmography Film * ''Zoku ô-oku maruhi monogatari'' (1967) * '' Eleven Samurai'' (1967) * ''Bakuchi-uchi: Nagurikomi' ...

Hideo Takamatsu was a Japanese actor from Nankoku, Kōchi Prefecture. Takamatsu appeared in more than 120 films between 1948 and 2007. Profile In 1951, he signed his contract with Daiei film company. Two years later, Takamatsu made his film debut with ''Ikare ...

as Yamada Tobei * Tappie Shimokawa as Jihei *

Tetsurō Tamba was a Japanese actor with a career spanning five decades. He appeared in nearly 300 film and television productions, both in leading and supporting roles, and was the winner of two Japan Academy Film Prizes. At the height of his career, he wa ...

as Kichibei *

Keiko Matsuzaka (born July 20, 1952) is a Japanese actress. Early life Born in Ōta, Tokyo, her father was a naturalized South Korean while her mother was Japanese. Career In the 1960s, Matsuzaka became a child actress. Matsuzaka grew into adulthood in fil ...

as Shino * Junko Miyashita as Menbiki Okyo *

Ryōhei Uchida was a Japanese ultranationalist political activist, martial artist, and "continental adventurer" ('' tairiku rōnin'') active in the pre-war Empire of Japan. Biography Uchida was born in Fukuoka prefecture. He was the son of '' Shinto Muso-ry ...

as Yomohichi Chiaki * Mitsuko Baishō as Omatsu *

Mikio Narita was a Japanese actor. He was most famous for playing villains, and often worked with Kinji Fukasaku. Narita graduated from Haiyuza Theatre Company acting school and joined Daiei Film. His career as a screen actor started in 1963. His film debut ...

Go Kato Go, GO, G.O., or Go! may refer to: Arts and entertainment Games and sport * Go (game), a board game for two players * '' Travel Go'' (formerly ''Go – The International Travel Game''), a game based on world travel * Go, the starting position ...

Production

Yoshinobu Nishioka was a Japanese ''jidaigeki'' production designer, art director, Film producer, producer and set decorator from Asuka, Nara, Asuka, Nara Prefecture who won three Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction. Nishioka join ...

- Art direction

Reception

Jason Buchanan at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

says that director

makes a "triumphant return to the samurai genre with this plot twisting, nerve shredding tale", but critic Alexander Jacoby calls it "a bland ''

chanbara , also commonly spelled "''chambara''", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. ''Chanbara'' is a sub-category of '' ...

''".

Awards and nominations

21st

Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by movie critics and writers in Tokyo, Japan, established in 1950 by , established under the name of the "Association of Tokyo Film Journalists Award", which was formed mainly by film reporters from th ...

* Won: Best Supporting Actress - Junko Miyashita

Other adaptation

* Kumokiri Nizaemon

References

External links

* * 1978 films Films directed by Hideo Gosha 1960s Japanese-language films Shochiku films 1970s samurai films Jidaigeki films 1970s Japanese films 1960s Japanese films Films scored by Toshiaki Tsushima {{1970s-Japan-film-stub