#Kōji Tsuruta

[of-fear-and-love]

Textile patterns from the Samurai trilogy - 宮本武蔵 / Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954); 続宮本武蔵　一乗寺の決闘 / Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955); and 宮本武蔵完結編　決闘巌流島 / Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)

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The film poster for Nemuri Kyōshirō Sappōchō (Enter Kyōshirō Nemuri the Swordsman) aka Sleepy Eyes of Death 1: The Chinese Jade (1963).

Daiei's superstar Raizo Ichikawa took a momentary break from the Shinobi no Mono film series to take on his most famous role: the nihilistic ronin, Nemuri Kyōshirō. Nemuri was the son of a noblewoman who was raped by a Western priest during a Black Mass (the film series is sometimes referred to as Son of the Black Mass). He is the master of the Full Moon Cut, a sword technique that - once started - is impossible to defeat.

Nemuri first appeared in 1956 as the protagonist of six jidaigeki novels and several short stories by Renzaburō Shibata. Toho immediately recognized the appeal of the character and released a trilogy of films starring Tsuruta Kōji as Nemuri.

However, it was the Daiei series starring Ichikawa-san that caught the public's fancy. Ichikawa-san went on to play Nemuri in twelve films between 1963 and 1969, and the series proved to be almost popular as the studio's Zatoichi films (which starred Ichikawa-san's close friend, Shinto Katsu).

Unfortunately, Ichikawa-san's untimely death from cancer in 1969 was a mortal blow to the series. Daiei tried to carry on, casting Matsukata Hiroki (who had previously played a bad guy in the series) as Nemuri. However, the two films with Hiroki-san as Nemuri did not perform well (the public was used to Ichikawa-san in the role). That, plus the terrible financial straits that Daiei was in (the studio would soon go bankrupt) led to the film series' cancellation.

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Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettō Ganryūjima (1956)

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Ochazuke no aji, 1952 (dir. Yasujirō Ozu)

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お茶漬けの味 (1952) · Yasujirō Ozu

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The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice | dir. Yasujirō Ozu (1952)

[thejewofkansas]

THE SAMURAI TRILOGY Review

THE SAMURAI TRILOGY Review

Original American posters for the trilogy are impossible to find. What I have found are images of three separate releases of the films; an early 90s VHS release, the first Criterion Collection release in the late 90s, and Criterion’s 2012 reissue (the version I own).

Over the weekend, I found myself wanting to watch something I hadn’t already seen, and the first part of Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samur…

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List of every artist featured on VGDensetsu, Part 1

Part 2: N-Z Adam Warren Ahndongshik / アントンシク Akari Funato / 船戸明里 Akemi Takada / 高田 明美 Akihiko Yoshida / 吉田明彦 Akihiro Itō / 伊藤明弘 Akihiro Yamada / 山田 章博 Akikazu Mizuno / 水野 暁一 Akimoto Kazuhide, AKA Akimoto Kitsune / 秋元きつね Akio Akira Komeda / 米田 朗 Akira Nishimura / 西村 彰 Akira Toriyama / 鳥山 明 Akira Watanabe / 渡邊 アキラ Akira Yasuda / 安田 朗, AKA Akiman Ami Shibata / 柴田 亜美 Ano Shimizu / ANO清水 Arnold Doong Arthur Nichols, Paris Cullins Atsuji Yamamoto / 山本貴嗣 Atsushi Nishigori / 錦織 敦史 Ayano Koshiro / こしろあやの Barry E. Jackson Bengus Bill Gold Bill Sienkiewicz Bob Wakelin Chisato Mita / 実田 千聖 Clyde Caldwell Chris Achilleos Christian Lorenz Scheurer Dave Gibbons Dave McMacken David Rowe David Schleinkofer Denis Beauvais Denis Loubet Didier Chanfray

Eiji Kaneda / 金田榮路 Eisaku Kitō / 鬼頭栄作 Eisuke Ogura Emika Kida / 木田恵美可 Eri Kohjitani / 糀谷 恵里, AKA Jitari Eri Nakamura / 中村 会里 Frank Cirocco Fujinomiya Mimoli / 藤ノ宮深森 Fujiomi Munemitsu / 藤臣 宗光 Gaku Miyao / 宮尾岳 Gary Ruddell Greg Martin Greg Semkov Greg Winters Gus Allen Hajime Itō / 伊藤 哉 Hajime Katoki / カトキ ハジメ Hajime Satō / 佐藤 肇 Hajime Sorayama / 空山 基 Haruhiko Mikimoto / 美樹本 晴彦 Hidari / 左 Hideaki Ebihara / 海老原 英明 Hideaki Kodama / 小玉英章 Hidefumi Kimura / きむらひでふみ / 木村英文 Hideo Nakajima / 中嶋秀夫 Hidetomo Tsubara / 円 英智 Higuchīta / ヒグチータ / HIGUCHI-TA Hikaru Yuzuki / 弓月光 Hiroaki Hashimoto / ヒロアキ Hiroaki Shioya / 塩谷博明 Hirohide Shikishima / 敷島博英 Hiroo Isono / 磯野 宏夫 Hiroshi Fuji / 冨士宏 Hiroshi Nagai / 永井博 Hiroshi Ono / 小野浩, AKA Mr. Dotman / Mr.ドットマン Hiroyuki Nishimura / 西村博之 Hiroyuki Kitakubo / 北久保弘之 Hisashi Eguchi / 江口寿史 Hitoshi Ariga / 有賀ヒトシ Hitoshi Nishio / 西尾 仁志 Hitoshi Sasaki / 佐々木 等 Hitoshi Suenaga / 末永仁志 Hitoshi Yoneda / 米田 仁士 Hyakkimaru / 百鬼丸 Ikuo Nakayama / 中山郁夫 Inio Asano / 浅野いにお Ippei Gyoubu / 形部一平 Isamu Kamikokuryō / 上国料勇 Ishihara Gōjin / 石原豪人 Itsuki Hoshi / 星 樹 Itsuki Imazaki / いまざきいつき Jean Solé Jeff Remmer Jerry Bingham Jin Mera / 米良 仁, AKA Eiji Shiroi / 白井影二 Joe Madureira John Berkey Jun Satoh / 佐藤樹云 Jun Suemi / 末弥 純 Jun-ichi Fujikawa / 藤川 純一 Jun-ichi Nakamura / 中村 淳一 Junny Junya Inoue / 井上淳哉, AKA Joker-Jun Kamui Fujiwara / 藤原 カムイ Kaori Fujita / 藤田香 Katsuhiro Otomo / 大友 克洋 Katsumi Yokota / 横田克己 Katsutoshi Fujioka / 藤岡勝利 Katsuya Terada / 寺田 克也 Kaz Aizawa Kazuhiro Ikeda / 池田和弘, AKA Bow Kazuhiko Tsuzuki / 都築和彦 Kazuko Shibuya / 渋谷員子 Kazuma Teshigahara / 勅使河原 一馬 Kazuo Ebisawa / 海老沢 一男 Kazuo Nakagawa / 中川和雄 Kazutoshi Yamane / 山根和俊, AKA Tetsuya Ueno / 上野哲也. Kazuya Nuri / 塗 和也 Kazuyuki Kurashima / 倉島一幸 Kei Furutsuki Kei Tōme / 冬目景 Keita Amemiya / 雨宮 慶太 Keizō Shimizu / 清水恵蔵 Ken Sugimori / 杉森 建 Ken-ichi Sonoda / 園田 健一 Kenichirō Yoshimura / 吉村健一郎 Kenji Andō / 安藤賢司 Kenji Mori, AKA Moriken / もりけん Kenji Tsuruta / 鶴田 謙二 Kensuke Suzuki / 鈴木健介, AKA Hiroshi Kajiyama / 梶山浩 Kenta Tanaka / 田中 健太 Kevin Jenkins Kevin Murphy, AKA Mure Kim Hyung Tae / 김형태 Kimihiko Fujisaka / 藤坂公彦 Kinu Nishimura / 西村キヌ Kohime Ohse / 桜瀬 琥姫 Kōichi Noda / 野田弘一 Kōichi Tokita / ときた洸一 Kōichi Yotsui / 四井 浩一 Kōji / 弘司 Kōji Aihara / 相原 コージ Kōji Morimoto / 森本 晃司 Kōji Ogata / 緒方コウジ Kōtarō Kita 喜多浩太郎, AKA Kentoo Kouki Kita / 喜多 綱毅 Kow Yokoyama / 横山宏 Kunihiko Tanaka / 田中久仁彦 Larry Salk Lawrence Fletcher, AKA Lars Lee Macleod Leiji Matsumoto / 松本零士 Ley Yumeno / 夢野れい Mahiro Maeda / 前田真宏 Makoto Kobayashi / 小林 誠 Makoto Shinkai / 新海 誠 Manabu Kusunoki / 楠木学 Manabu Sakamoto / 坂本学 Marc Ericksen https://twitter.com/search? Mari Shimazaki /島崎麻里 Mark ‘Crash’ McCreery Masahiro Imai / 今井 正博 Masakazu Ohya / 大矢 正和 Masaki Segawa / せがわまさき / 濑川雅树 Masako Sugiyama / 杉山正子 Masami Ohnishi / 大西将美 Masamune Shirow / 士郎 正宗 Masao Satake / 佐竹政夫 Masao Yamazaki / 山崎 正夫 Masaomi Kanzaki / 神崎 将臣 Masashi Iwasaki / 岩崎政志 Masato Kanamono / 金物昌人, AKA Kokomahi / ここまひ Masato Kato / 加藤正人 Masato Natsumoto / 夏元 雅人 Masayuki Katō / 加藤正幸 Michael Patrick Partners Michel Allaire Michiaki Satō / 佐藤道明 Mick McGinty Mika Akitaka / 明貴 美加 Mine Yoshizaki / 吉崎 観音 Minoru Maeda / 前田実

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#349: Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (Miyamoto Musashi kanketsuhen: kettō Ganryūjima) dir. Hiroshi Inagaki, 1956 | ★★★★☆

[of-fear-and-love]

Kōji Tsuruta in 宮本武蔵完結編　決闘巌流島 / Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)

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Zoku Miyamoto Musashi: Ichijōji no Kettō (1955)