Disparate denizens of Edo are united in one thing in Yasushi Sasaki’s light hearted jidaigeki, Tengu Priest (お坊主天狗, Obozu tengu), revenge. Like many jidaigeki, what they really want is revenge agai…
Nov 4, 2024 • Subscribe
More like this
Wicked Priest (極悪坊主, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1968)
A bunch of corrupt monks get a lesson in business ethics from one of their own in Kiyoshi Saeki’s aptly titled Taisho-era romp.
The Phantom Goblin (まぼろし天狗, Nobuo Nakagawa, 1962)
Hashizo Okawa takes on dual roles as earnest brothers separated at birth determined to “clean out evil in Edo” in Nobuo Nakagawa’s jidaigeki drama
Wicked Priest 4: The Killer Priest Comes Back (極悪坊主 念仏三段斬り, Takashi Harada, 1970)
Shinkai finds himself embroiled in a local river worker dispute after returning home to hold a memorial service for his mother in the fourth instalment of the Wicked…
Wicked Priest 2: Ballad of Murder (極悪坊主 人斬り数え唄, Takashi Harada, 1968)
The Wicked Priest returns for a second adventure but once again finds himself confronted with imperfect paternity
Wicked Priest 3: A Killer’s Pilgrimage (極悪坊主 念仏人斬り旅, Takashi Harada, 1969)
Three years on from his arrest at the end of the previous film, Shinkai returns for more lecherous adventures across Japan.
Wicked Priest 5: Breaking The Commandments (極悪坊主 飲む打つ買う, Buichi Saito, 1971)
The Wicked Priest returns for his final adventure and once again finds himself tackling the corruptions of the mid-Meiji society.
Haunted Samurai (土忍記 風の天狗, Keiichi Ozawa, 1970)
An exiled spy is confronted by the cruel inequalities of the feudal era in Keiichi Ozawa’s ninja drama.
New Woman Question and Answer (新女性問答, Yasushi Sasaki, 1939)
Yasushi Sasaki’s surprisingly progressive drama considers the changing place of women in the contemporary society.
Karasu Tengu Kabuto
A tengu and his protectors come together to fight a reoccurring evil in this multi-generational adventure of epic proportions and striking art from a beloved and dynamic creator. My…
The Swordsman and the Actress (大江戸千両囃子, Yasushi Sasaki, 1955)
Hibari Misora stars as an actress drawn into a complex battle for a precious fan in Yasushi Sasaki’s comic jidaigeki adventure
Mini-Post: Yasushi Muraki Overview
I’m going to attempt to start a new series of posts where I will try and talk about a subject matter in as few words as possible. One…
Sword of Destiny (孤剣は折れず 月影一刀流, Yasushi Sasaki, 1960)
A wandering swordsman winds up in intrigue on returning to his fencing school to find his old master murdered in Yasushi Sasaki’s jidaigeki adventure.
Black Dog (狗阵, Guan Hu, 2024)
Recently released from prison and returning to a rundown town, a young man begins to identify with a fugitive dog in Guan Hu’s elegiac drama.
Im: The Great Priest Imhotep
This manga is about the great Egyptian high priest Imhotep, AKA Im, reawakening in the present in order to deal with false gods known as the magai. It…
The Faraway Paladin – 06 – Warrior Priest
Will’s first episode On His Own is a good one. It starts out quiet and contemplative, as we just watch a tiny Will traverse grand vistas. He’s searching…
Day 2 of Hotsui Matsuri: Nihongo Legends-Tengu
Some people call them tricksters, others say they are ogres, and some yet liken them to angels instead. What mysterious creature do I speak of today? The Nihongo…
お湯割り
In the newsletter this month I wrote about 角ハイ (kakuhai). This is a combination of 角瓶 (kakubin), Suntory’s flagship whiskey, and ハイボール (highball), a mixed drink made from…
Reclaim (一家之主, CJ Wang, 2022)
A disillusioned middle-aged woman begins to reclaim her sense of self while trying to repair her fracturing family in CJ Wang’s touching family drama.
Destiny’s Son (斬る, Kenji Misumi, 1962)
A wandering son finds himself in the middle of intrigue on learning the sad secrets of his birth in Kenji Misumi’s elliptical, elegiac tale of death and the…
Shinobi no Mono: Band of Assassins (1962)
Yamamoto expertly utilizes the game of disguises, traps, gadgets, concealed passages, hidden stairs, and trapdoors, to offer an allegorical tale of the post-war subject’s conundrum
Osho /王将 (‘King of shogi’, 1962)
Obscure Japanese Film #106 Rentaro Mikuni This Toei production stars Rentaro Mikuni as Miyoshi Sakata (1870-1946), an illiterate sandal-...
Sasaki and Miyano
Sasaki and Miyano is currently streaming on Funimation....
Jang-Gae: The Foreigner (醬狗, Chang Chih-Wei, 2020)
An angry young man struggles to reintegrate his fracturing sense of identity in Chang Chih-Wei’s sensitive coming-of-age drama.
The Journey to Tochigi’s Tengu Hot Spring: Kita Onsen
Relax in the hot waters of Kita Onsen overseen by legendary tengu. It’s been quite a while since I published a Japan article since I’ve been traveling the…
Im: Great Priest Imhotep Volumes 1-3 Review
Less use of its Egyptian setting and inconsistent focus leave Im: Great Priest Imhotep a real miss after reading its first three volumes.
Anime Before Astro Boy (Japanese Animation 1946 - 1962)
Iconic anime movies and TV shows released before the original Astro Boy in 1963. These include TOEI's first movies like Panda and the Magic Serpent and Alakazam the…
The Whale God (鯨神, Tokuzo Tanaka, 1962)
A young man wrestles with the destructive legacy of vengeance in a traditional fishing village on the verge of eclipse in Tokuzo Tanaka’s parabolic drama.
Sanjuro (椿三十郎, Akira Kurosawa, 1962)
The cynical drifter finds himself offering fatherly advice to idealistic but hot-headed samurai youth in Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo followup.
Tokyo Bay (東京湾, Yoshitaro Nomura, 1962)
Two old war buddies find themselves on opposite sides of the law in Nomura’s sprawling journey through the post-war underworld
Lights, Camera, Garage Kits! The Cinematic Influences of Yasushi Nirasawa
Yasushi Nirasawa helped revitalize Kamen Rider in the ’00s, but could he have done it without the influence of Joel Schumacher?
Sasaki to Miyano – 07
「困らせたくねーのに。」 (Komarasetaku nē no ni.) "I Don't Want to Pressure Him" Freeman finds more to complain about, big shocker!
Dark Green: Sasaki Junko
So, uh, it has been a couple of months. And while I have been reading all the books as always, my brain hasn’t quite been able to muster…
Sasaki To Pii-chan
Seriously, I don’t even remember how I decided to watch Sasaki To Pii-chan. In a time when I am weary from all the usual isekai shenanigans, when I…
Sasaki to Miyano – 06
「気持ち。」 (Kimochi.) "Feelings" Bro - It’s not that I like you or anything…
Sasaki to Miyano – 04
「限界。」 (Genkai.) "Limit" Someone needs to slap reality into Miyano asap!
Sasaki to Miyano – 05
「いっこずつ。」 (Ikko Zutsu.) "Bit by Bit" Sasaki gets to call full house soon.
Sasaki to Miyano – 01
「初めて。」 (Hajimete.) "First Time" A wholesome and cute show about how a relationship can flourish from the most unexpected of places.
Sasaki to Pii-chan
Plot: Sasaki is a middle-aged office worker living in Japan. Feeling drained by the vapid corporate world, he heads to the pet shop in search of a new…
Sasaki to Miyano – 02
「好きな子。」 (Suki na Ko.) "Someone I Like" Being a fudanshi is never easy.
Sasaki and Miyano (1)
Author & Artist Shou HarusonoReleased Feburary 2021 by Yen PressTranslation: Leighann HarveyEditor(s): unlistedGenre: School Life, Romance
Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes: The Spirit Hunters of Tomoe Novel
It's likely that, upon reading the synopsis and looking at the cover, one of the first questions a potential reader of Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes may have is,…
Zeke Yeager – The Wallist Priest of Dry Bones Theory
Are Zeke Yeager’s unique titan shifter abilities related to the biblical Prophet Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones?
Review—The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter
Not since Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea have we had the privilege of seeing first-hand the traditions, superstitions and folklore of a Japanese island culture that has all…
Review—The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter
Not since Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea have we had the privilege of seeing first-hand the traditions, superstitions and folklore of a Japanese island culture that has all…
12 Days of Christmas: A Cradle for Priest Myoue
For the gods in Kyousougiga, it seems that abandoning all responsibility is part of the job. When the young Yakushimaru first receives the power of creation from his…
![Featured image for King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) review [The Godzilla Project]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20221222/1671692410.49612.81479.png)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) review [The Godzilla Project]
A splendid Godzilla narrative that delivers thrilling kaiju action while elegantly exploring the impact of the rise of capitalism and consumerism on Japanese society and the traumatic truth…
A Woman’s Place (女の座, Mikio Naruse, 1962)
The young women of post-war Japan struggle to define themselves in a changing society in Mikio Naruse’s uncharacteristically hopeful family drama
A Wanderer’s Notebook (放浪記, Mikio Naruse, 1962)
A determined young woman seeks a way out of poverty in Mikio Naruse’s biopic of author Fumiko Hayashi.
おやすみ、東京
Atsuhiro Yoshida’s 2018 linked short story collection おやすみ、東京 chronicles the adventures of a cast of slightly odd characters with subtle connections to one another. Each of the stories…
Sasaki and Peeps Episode #05
So, remember the high school girl who waits for Sasaki-san? Well, it turns out that she encountered a crime scene where a woman got killed.
