A noble-hearted samurai on the run falls for a fireman’s sister in Kiyoshi Saeki’s hugely enjoyable jidaigeki musical adventure.
Apr 15, 2023 • 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 Young Boss (花笠若衆, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1958)
Hibari Misora stars as a pair of twins separated at birth in Kiyoshi Saeki’s musical jidaigeki adventure


Three Women of the North (北の三人, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1945)
Three female radio operators become the backbone of a moribund war effort in the last propaganda film produced before the war’s end.


An Osaka Story (大阪物語, Kozaburo Yoshimura, 1957)
A man who tries to escape his poverty ends up imprisoning himself in Kozaburo Yoshimura’s tragicomedy


The Sand City in Manchuria (砂漠を渡る太陽, Kiyoshi Saeki, 1960)
An idealistic doctor stands alone against Japanese imperialist oppression in Manchuria in Kiyoshi Saeki’s wartime drama.


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
Cloud クラウド (2024) Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Cloud クラウド (2024) Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa is his chilling warning of how people are dehumanised by materialism/technology, as told through a thriller/home invasion format and a strong performanc…


Sweet Home (スウィートホーム, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 1989)
A documentary film crew encounter a vengeful ghost while investigating a creepy mansion in an early gothic horror adventure from Kiyoshi Kurosawa.


Tokyo Sonata (トウキョウソナタ, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2008)
Orphaned salarymen are the soulless ghosts haunting an increasingly empty city in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s eerie tale of urban anxiety
Mayu, Matou Volume 3 (繭、纏う)
In Volume 2, I noted that this series is detailing a love triangle, but only one participant seems to have noticed. In Mayu, Matou Volume 3 (繭、纏う) by…
Mayu, Matou, Volume 4 (繭、纏う)
As have all the volumes of Hara Yuriko’s series, Mayu, Matou, Volume 4 (繭、纏う) begins with a short scenario. In this one we meet younger Youko and her…
Mayu, Matou, Volume 5 ( 繭、纏う)
Three is a very fine balance in a story that has to be maintained. We have to care about the characters we’ve been asked to care about…we have…


Mayu, Matou, Volume 6 ( 繭、纏う)
The cover is a spoiler, there’s just no way to avoid the obvious, so let’s address that right away. We last left Hana, reaching into blackness, looking desperate. …
Edo Elf #01 — Getting an Earful
If she has an ear complex, why are all the banners in her house 75% ear? Impressions: And right back to the supposedly comical hysterical screaming. Good…
Christianity’s Reaction to Edo Period Persecution
As persecution during the early Edo period increased, the Christian community turned away from venerating martyrdom. Instead, they went further underground, hiding behind Buddhist and Shinto practi…


The Old Edo Towns of Japan
Want to experience Edo-era Japan? Check out the Koedo areas of Japan that strive to preserve a moment in time.


Man Who Causes A Storm (1957)
Inoue’s rags-to-riches narrative might not escape the territory of predictability, but he puts enough thematical meat on the table so that the spectator, in full knowlegde of how…


Temptation (誘惑, Ko Nakahira, 1957)
The cynical practicality of the post-war generation is contrasted with the wistful romanticism of their forebears in Nakahira’s charmingly witty comedy


Ghost in the Well (1957) review
Toshikazu Kono hits all the right emotional notes to deliver a satisfying tragic love story.


Full River Red (满江红, Zhang Yimou, 2023)
A bumbling corporal is swept into intrigue when charged with retrieving a compromising document in Zhang Yimou’s Song Dynasty mystery.


Winter’s Wish Spirits of Edo Kinji Walkthrough
Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo Kinji Walkthrough: Guide to help you full clear Kinji's route in the otome Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo


Winter’s Wish Spirits of Edo Yoichi Walkthrough
Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo Yoichi Walkthrough: Guide to help you full clear Yoichi's route in the otome Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo


Was Divorce in Japan’s Edo Era Easy?
Divorce in Japan's Edo era was a simple affair...if you were a man. For women, "divorce temples" provided a way out.


Winter’s Wish Spirits of Edo Ohtaro Walkthrough
Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo Ohtaro Walkthrough: Guide to help you full clear Ohtaro's route in the otome Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo


Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo Otome Review
Winter’s Wish: Spirits of Edo is a supernatural historical otome game developed by Otomate and published by Aksys Games for the Nintendo Switch. A secret organization recruits a…
On This Earth / 地上 / Chijo (1957)
Obscure Japanese Film #150 Hitomi Nozoe and Hiroshi Kawaguchi Kanazawa, central Japan, c.1920. Heiichiro (Hiroshi Kawaguchi) is a student ...


Warm Current (暖流, Yasuzo Masumura, 1957)
A trio of youngsters tussle for the post-war future through the medium of a love triangle in Masumura’s ironic melodrama


Snow Country (雪国, Shiro Toyoda, 1957)
A self-absorbed, unappreciated painter is torn between an embittered geisha and her resentful yet pure sister in Toyoda’s adaptation of the classic Kawabata novel


Dancing Girl (踊子, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1957)
The arrival of a free-spirited younger sister creates chaos in the live of a chorus dancer and her violinist husband in Hiroshi Shimizu’s elegantly lensed melodrama.


River of Salvation (一江春水, Gao Qisheng, 2020)
The seemingly boring life of a dejected young woman is disrupted by a series of revelations and reversals in Gao Qisheng’s indie drama
Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Vol. 1
By Hitomi Iruma and Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas.…


Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite
Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite (やがて君になる佐伯沙弥香について, Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka) Author: Iruma Hitoma, based on original manga by Nakatani Nio First Published: 2018…


Winter’s Wish Spirits of Edo Kunitaka Tojo Walkthrough
Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo Kunitaka Walkthrough: Guide to help you full clear Kunitaka's route in the otome Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo
Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Vol. 3
By Hitomi Iruma and Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas.…
Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Vol. 2
By Hitomi Iruma and Nakatani Nio. Released in Japan as “Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas.…


The Desperate (どろ犬, Takaharu Saeki, 1964)
A bruiser cop railing against the system is pulled towards the dark side in Takaharu Saeki’s icy noir.


Winter’s Wish Spirits of Edo Tomonari Takamura Walkthrough
Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo Tomonari Walkthrough: Guide to help you full clear Tomonari's route in the otome Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo


Winter’s Wish Spirits of Edo Genjuro Kuga Walkthrough
Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo Genjuro Kuga Walkthrough: Guide to help you full clear Genjuro's route in the otome Winter's Wish Spirits of Edo


No More Wars: the Edo Period’s Final Rebellions
After Japan was unified under Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and finished with Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Tokugawa government declared there would be no more wars. The final war is…
Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 2
Saeki Sayaka would probably not, if you asked, consider herself nostalgic. Nor would she likely think of herself as capricious, I don’t think she’d go far as to…
Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 3
Capping this weird, and horrible and amazing year off is the volume that I have been waiting for since April, when I raved about the Japanese edition. At…


Untamed (あらくれ, Mikio Naruse, 1957)
A rebellious woman strives for independence in a patriarchal society but nevertheless finds herself hamstrung by feckless men in Naruse’s Taisho-era drama


Stepbrothers (異母兄弟, Miyoji Ieki, 1957)
The destructive effects of militarist folly are borne out in the fortunes of one bifurcated family in Miyoji Ieki’s impassioned social drama.


Golden Partners (黄金のパートナー, Kiyoshi Nishimura, 1979)
Two aimless best friends team up with a young woman looking for her missing father to find long lost wartime gold in Kiyoshi Nishimura’s breezy adventure.


KOBAYASHI Kiyoshi (Jigen from “Lupin III”) Has Passed Away
KOBAYASHI Kiyoshi (Jigen from “Lupin III”) Has Passed Away The original seiyuu for Daisuke Jigen (Lupin III franchise) has passed away on July 30. The cause of death…


Episode 6: High and Low Literature in Edo Japan
Saikaku’s illustration of Yonosuke sailing for the Island of Women. Check out Episode 6 of the Read Japanese Literature podcast. This episode is marked mature. How does “this…


Tokyo Before Tokyo: Exploring Edo w. Dr. Timon Screech
Dr. Timon Screech is a professor of the history of art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He is a specialist in…


Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (春江水暖, Gu Xiaogang, 2019)
Intergenerational conflict and familial strife unfold in the manner of a scroll painting in Gu Xiaogang’s beautifully lensed social drama.


The Lower Depths (どん底, Akira Kurosawa, 1957)
In the absence of salvation a comforting falsehood is the only means of survival in Akira Kurosawa’s adaptation of the Gorky play.


Freelance Samurai (桃太郎侍, Kenji Misumi, 1957)
An abandoned son resolves to wander Japan killing the “demons” of Edo-era society in Kenji Misumi’s adaptation of the popular novel by Kiichiro Yamate.