Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza (1968)

Plot Summary

With his penultimate film, Uchida revisited one of his popular prewar titles, 1936’s Theatre of Life, an adaptation of Shiro Ozaki’s eponymous novel. Three-time Seijun Suzuki collaborator Goro Tanada wrote a gangsterized adaptation of Ozaki’s story for Uchida at a time when the yakuza had eclipsed the samurai genre as Toei's main cash crop. Protagonist Hishakaku murders a man in a quarrel over a barmaid and goes to jail. In his temporary absence, his girlfriend Otoyo, a former geisha, falls for Hishakaku’s brother, inciting a dangerous love triangle that, in typical yakuza fashion, ends tragically.

Full Cast & Characters

Koji Tsuruta

Tomisaburō Wakayama

Sumiko Fuji

Ken Takakura

Takeya Nakamura

Minoru Ōki

Kinzō Shin

Bin Amatsu

Rinichi Yamamoto

Kunio Murai

Shingo Yamashiro

Tatsuo Endō

Director & Crew

Official Trailer

Where to Watch Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza Online

Frequently Asked Questions