is a 1969 Japanese ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...

'' film 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 ...

. Set during the late

Tokugawa period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, the story follows a reclusive ''

rōnin In feudal Japan to early modern Japan (1185–1868), a ''rōnin'' ( ; , , 'drifter' or 'wandering man', ) was a samurai who had no lord or master and in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a ''rō ...

'' who is trying to atone for past transgressions.

Plot

Magobei Wakizaka is a

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

for the Sabai clan. A nearby island, Sado, boasts a rich gold mine which provides plentiful richesThis gold was called ''goyokin'', roughly translated as "gold for official use", hence the title of the film. for the Tokugawa clan. When one of the gold ships sinks, the local fishermen recover some of the gold, intending to return it to the Tokugawa clan. However, Magobei's clan master, Rokugo Tatewaki, takes the gold and slaughters the fishermen so they cannot report the gold stolen. Magobei is appalled. He promises not to report Rokugo to the

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

in exchange for Rokugo's promise to never do so again. However, three years later, assassins sent by Rokugo's retainer, Kunai, come for Magobei, who is living in

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

. He realizes that Rokugo intends to steal more gold and slaughter more innocents. So Magobei returns to Sabai to face his former master. Rokugo hires another ronin, Samon Fujimaki, to kill Magobei, but as he is a spy for the Shogun, he joins forces with Magobei. Also, along the way, Magobei meets a young woman, Oriha, who survived the original slaughter. She and her brother, Rokuzo, join him on his way to Sabai. At Sabai they learn that Rokugo intends to move a bonfire, which serves as a warning to passing ships against dangerous rocks, so that a gold ship will hit the rocks and sink. After recovering the gold, Rokugo intends to slaughter the peasants who help him in this endeavor. The combined efforts of Magobei, Samon, Oriha, and Rokuzo result in the correct bonfire being lit, the fake bonfire being put out, and the innocent peasants' lives being saved. Thus the gold-bearing ship evades the rocks. In a final showdown, amid falling snow, Magobei slays Rokugo, but is wounded by one of Rokugo's throwing knives. As the villagers and Oriha celebrate surviving their brush with death, Magobei leaves his sword at Rokugo's grave and wordlessly walks off into the snow, with Shino following.

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 Magobei Wakizaka *

Kinnosuke Nakamura (November 20, 1932 – March 10, 1997) was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born , son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name ('' ...

as Samon Fujimaki *

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 Rokugo Tatewaki, Magobei's childhood friend, brother-in-law, and clan master * Yoko Tsukasa as Shino, Rokugo's sister and Magobei's wife *

Ruriko Asaoka is a Japanese actress. Career Asaoka made her acting debut in 1955 and has appeared in many Films and TV shows including Goyokin, Machibuse and the television series Zatoichi with Shintaro Katsu. In recent years, she has mainly worked on s ...

as Oriha *

Isao Natsuyagi was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1963 to 2013. Career In 1960, Natsuyagi began attending the Bungakuza actors school while attending Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private ...

as Kunai *

Ben Hiura is a Japanese actor and voice actor affiliated with the Seinenza Theater Company. Hiura is known for dubbing over Bruce Willis, Richard Dreyfuss, John Malkovich, Joe Pesci and many more. Filmography Films *'' Goyokin'' (1969) – Rokuzo *''Fuj ...

as Rokuzo *

Kunie Tanaka was a Japanese actor. Tanaka first made a name for himself as the lecherous antagonist of the ''Wakadaishō'' series (1961–1981) of films. He is also well-known for his roles in Kinji Fukasaku's yakuza films, namely the ''Battles Without Hon ...

as Hirosuke *

Susumu Kurobe (born ; 22 October 1939) is a television, film and stage actor from Kurobe, Toyama, Japan, widely known for his portrayal of Shin Hayata, the first Ultraman in the '' titular character series'', a role he has played since the original series in ...

as Omura Sobei *

Kō Nishimura was a Japanese actor. Known in the Western world, West primarily for supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's ''The Bad Sleep Well'' and ''Yojimbo (film), Yojimbo'', Kihachi Okamoto's ''Sword of Doom'', Yoshitaro Nomura's ''Zero Focus ...

as Ryu Ichigaku *

Hisashi Igawa Hisashi Igawa (井川比佐志 born 17 November 1936) is a Japanese actor who has appeared in such films as Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six ...

as Takeuchi *

Eijirō Tōno was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as ''Seven Sam ...

as a Chief retainer

Production

''Goyokin'' was the first Japanese production shot in

Panavision Panavision Inc. is an American motion picture equipment company (law), company founded in 1954 specializing in cameras and photographic lens, lenses, based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk a ...

. Initially,

Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...

was cast in

's role, but was replaced several weeks into filming.

Release

''Goyokin'' was released as a

roadshow theatrical release A roadshow theatrical release or reserved-seat engagement is the practice of opening a film in a limited number of theaters in major cities for a specific period of time before the wide release of the film. Roadshows would generally mimic a live ...

in Japan on 1 May 1969 where it was distributed by

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

. The film received a general release in Japan on 17 May 1969. The film was released in the United States by Toho International with English subtitles in September 1969. It was reissued in the United States with an English-language dub and a running time of 85 minutes under the title ''The Steel Edge of Revenge'' in September 1974.

Reception

''Goyokin'' won the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction ( Motoji Kojima) at the

Mainichi Film Concours The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by ''Mainichi Shimbun'' (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

*
Review at Kung Fu Cinema

Review at SaruDama
*

' at the Japanese Movie Database {{Hideo Gosha 1969 films 1969 drama films 1960s adventure drama films Films directed by Hideo Gosha 1960s Japanese-language films 1960s samurai films Jidaigeki films Japanese adventure drama films Films produced by Sanezumi Fujimoto Films scored by Masaru Sato 1960s Japanese films