Shintarō Katsu

Hanzo discovers a conspiracy by high ranking officials to use the shogunate's money for loans to the impoverished and forcing them into debt.

The epic saga of Zatoichi begins. As tensions mount between rival yakuza clans, one boss hires a formidable but ailing ronin as his clan’s muscle—while the other employs a humble, moral blind masseur named Ichi. With its lightning-fast swordplay, sleight-of-hand dice games, and codes of honor upheld and betrayed, this first chapter sets the stage for all the Zatoichi adventures to come.

A demon conspires to destroy Tokyo by rousing an ancient, malevolent spirit sleeping beneath the city, but a warrior is summoned to thwart his plan.

After arriving in a small village, Zatoichi finds himself accused of stealing the citizens’ hefty tax payments. To clear his name, he must face off against a corrupt official, a succession of hired blades, and a bullwhip-wielding titan, played by star Shintaro Katsu’s brother Tomisaburo Wakayama. This sixth installment of the increasingly popular and prestigious Zatoichi series features ravishing visuals by Rashomon cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa.

Zatoichi triumphs at a village wrestling match, much to the chagrin of his yakuza opponents. The defeated gang members pay a hotheaded ronin to take out the masseur; unbeknownst to them, the hired assassin is married to a former flame of Zatoichi’s, further complicating matters.

Star Shintaro Katsu sits in the director’s chair for this psychedelic and unremittingly bleak entry in the Zatoichi series, which is unlike any other in its grind-house grimness. A tale of innocence corrupted by sadistic, sleazy criminality, the film is propelled by Easy Rider–esque editing and a trippy seventies funk score by Kunihiko Murai.

An epic tale of slashing swords, cutting betrayal, and bloody revenge, Samurai Vendetta is justly hailed as one of the best samurai films ever made!

When a giant whale terrorizes a small Japanese village and decimates its hunting parties, the locals become obsessed with hunting it down.

After a Spanish swordsman murders his parents and injures him, Kiichi Hogan seeks revenge on the ruthless Gonzales for his family's honor.

A group of ronin (masterless samurai) patiently plan and execute an assault on a rival Lord's estate, exacting revenge after their master was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official. Set during the Tokugawa shogunate in 1701, based on a true story.