MOVIES

Nemuri Kyōshirō

(sleepy Kyōshirō) is a literary character that Renzaburō Shibata (1917-1978) described in 7 novels and 8 short stories since 1956. The stories take place under Tokugawa Ienari (*1773-1841) and Tokugawa Ieyoshi (*1793-1853).

Shibata was a nihilist, which is reflected in the dry and tough logic of his stories. His hero makes no moral demands on himself. He struggles with his origins and finds the world meaningless. He kills countless people, "always just because they want to kill him".
Shibata takes jabs at Christianity, which had long been banned in Japan at that time because it was a threat to the state. Sometimes, however, humanity and cautious optimism shine through in Nemuri Kyoshiro's action.

The Chinese Jade - 1963

1 Sappōchō

A woman named Chisa visits Nemuri Kyoshiro and asks for his help. The Chinese master of Shorinji Kenpo, Chen Sun, tries to kill her. Chen Sun tells Kyoshiro the surprising fact that Chisa is a member of the Maeda clan. The feudal lord of Maeda had made a lot of money through smuggling trade with a wealthy merchant. Therefore, fearing that the shogunate would find out about it, he murdered the Zeniya family. The Maeda clan sent Chisa to Kyoshiro to murder Chen Sun, who is connected to Zeniya. When Kyoshiro learns of this, he sets off from Edo to Kanazawa, the capital of the Kaga clan.

Sword of adventure - 1964

2 Shōbu

The film begins at a temple. There, Kyoshiro meets an older man who later turns out to be the finance commissioner Asahina. He is being pursued by the henchmen of Princess Taka (Takahime). She is one of the 50 children of Tokugawa Ienari. Asahina has cut off her allowance because of the difficult economic situation.
Kyoshiro looks after Asahina's safety. One of his opponents is Uneme, the wife of the Christian missionary Johannes. A ray of hope is the kind-hearted Otsuya from a soba shop.
Famous scenes are the fight in the bathhouse and the fight against Yagyu Tajimanokami, in which Kyoshiro's sword blade flies away.

Full Circle Killing - 1964

3 Engetsugiri

Takayuki Katagiri, one of the Shogun's many sons with concubines, tries out his sword on a farmer and beheads him. A rumor is spread that Kyoshiro is the culprit.
Takayuki also lusts after Muso Masamune, Kyoshiro's sword. This leads to various massacres and atrocities.

Sword of seduction - 1964

4 Joyōken

A drug gang makes Princess Kiku and her ladies-in-waiting addicted to drugs. The ex-missionary Johannes is seduced in his prison cell and is forced to renounce his faith. Kyoshiro sets out to find the "holy virgin Shima" in Hamamatsu. There he also learns the secret of his origins. He was conceived by a Portuguese missionary at a black mass. In between, some people are crucified, hanged or beheaded.
This episode features more evil, sex, drugs and strange Christians. The "full moon technique" is made more visible for the first time with strobe lights. This episode was much more successful than the previous three. That's why the series was continued.

Sword of Fire - 1965

5 Enjo-ken

On his way to the city of Edo, Kyoshiro Nemuri gets caught up in a fight between a woman with a knife and a man. He reluctantly gets involved. Through his intervention, he becomes involved in a theft plot with a high-ranking official of the Todo clan and a gang of fugitive pirates.

Sword of Satan - 1965

6 Mashōken

Kyoshiro feels guilty about a woman's death. This brings him into contact with Tsurumatsu, a boy who grows up as the son of a carpenter but is actually the son of a daimyo. In addition, Kyoshiro is pursued by Orin, who wants to avenge her brother and constantly gets him into trouble. The clan suddenly needs Tsurumatsu as their successor and wants him back. At a large-scale black mass with a disgusting missionary and on several other occasions, Kyoshiro has to defend himself against numerous attackers. He always leaves behind a pile of corpses. "Look at the samurai," he says to Tsurumatsu, "they are people who have to kill each other." In the end, the boy remains a carpenter and his clan is dissolved, which corresponds to the political goals of the shogunate.

The mask of the princess - 1966

7 Tajō-ken

Princess Kiku, a daughter of the Shogun, wants revenge on Nemuri Kyoshiro for exposing her. She has a burn on half of her face, which she covers with a kabuki mask. She will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. She even takes Haru, who Kyoshiro had bought free, hostage. In this episode, you can't trust anyone again and there are a lot of dead ninja.

Sword of Villainy - 1966

8 Buraiken

The film begins with confusing plot lines, theft and blackmail.
Ōshio Chūsai (1793-1837), was a philosopher and leader of an uprising because of the famine in Osaka. He and his son Kakonosuke worked on a project to refine crude oil from Echigo. The plans were stolen and fell into the hands of the two largest oil traders in Edo. Katsumi, a woman from a street theater group, acts as a spy. Kyoshiro is mistaken for the dead Kakonosuke. Surviving followers of Oshio want revenge. Their leader is Aizen, who also masters the full moon style. At the children's Inoko festival, the oil traders' facilities are to go up in flames. There are more mass slaughters and finally a duel between Aizen and Kyoshiro.
The novelist Shibata was very dissatisfied with the film adaptation.

Trail of Traps - 1967

9 Burai Hikae Mashō no hada

It's again about Kyoshiro's origins. A street singer wants to lure him from Edo to Kyoto. He is supposed to meet his alleged sister there. In Edo there is a brutal secret Christian devil cult called "Little Black Finger" with the leader Ukon. Chisa, the daughter of Asahina Shusuke, a high official, is supposed to bring a golden statue of the Virgin Mary to Kyoto. Kyoshiro goes too. On the way he is set numerous traps, mostly by women. The film ends with a big fight against the devil cult, which is supposedly in the tradition of the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637.

Hell is a woman - 1968

10 Onna jigoku

Two ruthless businessmen fight for control of the fief after the death of the feudal lord. Nemuri Kyoshiro is unwittingly caught up in their plans and becomes a key figure in the ensuing power struggle, especially when the collateral damage begins to arouse his anger.

In the Spider's Lair - 1968

11 Hito hada kumo

In the eleventh part of the "Sleepy Eyes of Death" series, Nemuri Kyoshiro meets a brother-sister duo, both descendants of the Shogun with concubines. They were banished because of their sadistic tendencies. In their village, they oppress and torture the residents. Kyoshiro becomes entangled in their evil plans and faces numerous traps and assassins while trying to free the oppressed.

Castle menagerie - 1969

12 Akujo-gari

This is the twelfth and final part of the Sleepy Eyes of Death series, starring Ichikawa Raizō, who was already suffering from cancer during filming. A mysterious ronin acts as Nemuri Kyoshiro and commits heinous acts to provoke him into a duel. While Kyoshiro is looking for the impostor, he becomes involved in a conspiracy in the Shogun's harem. Each of the concubines wants to be the first to give birth to an heir to the throne. There are also Christians in the underground who are being cruelly persecuted, and other political intrigues. The film begins brutally, remains brutal, and ends brutally with a showdown.