Raizo Ichikawa Movies

In this Japanese historical epic, set 230 B.C. China, a tyrannical conqueror tries to bring all of China's warring tribes together. He marries a woman whose father he murdered. She later tries to exact revenge by killing him. Later, his enemies attempt to assassinate him, but they fail and kill his wife instead. The conqueror then builds the Great Wall of China which becomes his lifelong obsession. When a massive earthquake stops construction, the insane ruler sacrifices a man and his fiancee. This causes a major revolt amongst his subjects who finally succeed in getting him killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Intrepid ninja Ishikawa Goemon (Raizo Ichikawa) escapes a gruesome fate and sets out to seek vengeance on the warlord who tried to boil him alive as the legendary Shinobi No Mono saga continues in this action-packed sequel. Ishikawa was staring death square in the eyes when the enigmatic Hattori Hanzo rescued him from certain death. Now, as Ishikawa lifts his sword against the army of powerful warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the diabolical Tokugawa Ieyasu pulls the strings from behind the scene in an effort to become the one true ruler of Japan. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Nobunaga Oda has decimated the ranks of the Iga ninja clan, but now his one mistake is about to come back to haunt him. Goemon Ishikawa is the last living Iga Ninja. After all the violence and bloodshed, all Goemon wants is to live with his wife and his child in peace. But Nobunaga's tyranny knows no bounds, and the evil warlord will not relent until he rules all of Japan. Can the humble Goemon succeed where an entire army failed? As the battle gets underway, one man will draw on every trick he has ever known in order to purge his country of a ruthless tyrant. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

As nefarious warlord Oda Nobunga continues his quest to conquer all of Japan, a powerful young ninja becomes ensnared in a plot to kill the powerful ruler in this period adventure that helped to launch the ninja craze when originally released back in 1962. Ishikawa Goemon (Ichikawa Raizo) has lost his honor, and now in order to reclaim it he must do away with the most feared man in all of Japan. But the task won't be an easy one, because death lurks around every corner as enemy ninja gangs fast close in. In order to ensure the authenticity of their ambitious martial arts feature, the producers of Shinobi No Mono enlisted the so-called "last living ninja" as an expert consultant. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Although shown at Japan House in 1981, Bonchi was first released in Japan in 1960 as an attack, with and without humor, on the beginnings of the feminist movement. The story centers around a family's merchant business that has been handed down from mother to daughter, but the daughter has an only son, and therein lies the rub. Worse yet, the son has inherited his mother's genes and can only beget male heirs. Try as he might, through a few wives and mistresses, only little boys are born to carry on the family business. Eventually, the matriarches of the clan die off and the son finally has to come to grips with his own life in his own way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This docudrama by Kon Ichikawa is based on a real-life incident that took place in 1950. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (also the title of a novel on the subject by Yukio Mishima) rests in the northern hills of Kyoto. The original pavilion was a villa constructed by the Shogun Yoshimitsu (1358-1409) as a place for leisurely relaxation. After he died, the gold-leafed building was given over for religious use as a temple. As this drama relates, a stuttering temple acolyte who loved the building and all the sacred meaning it held, burnt it to the ground. The crazed young man (played by Raizo Ichikawa) believed that Buddhism had become too commercialized after World War II, had sold out its ideals, in fact. His slow descent into mental instability and his final act of arson are the topic of this film. Whereas most Westerners might require more explanation, the story in this drama as it stands would already be known to the average Japanese audience. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

One of a series of Japanese films shown at Japan House in New York in 1981, the Dancer and the Warrior, filmed in 1956, is another of cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa's successes. The story is set in a popular and well-known historical period in Japan: the end of the 12th century when the cultured Heian imperial court succumbed to the rule of a military dictatorship. By 1185, the Taira clan had lost the civil war with the Minamotos, and the Kamakura period had begun. Two brothers, the younger Yoshitsune and older Yoritomo have guided their Minamoto family to victory. Yoritomo is now the first military ruler in Japanese history, and the film shows the beginning of friction between him and his brother. To make matters worse, Yoshitsune defies his older brother by marrying a classical dancer without asking for his permission. Enraged, Yoritomo harrasses him until Yoshitsune has to flee the region, leaving his new wife behind. She bravely defies the tyrannical Yoritomo, determined not to give in to his abusive treatment. As the film approaches its end, the relationship between the brothers will have to be resolved, as well as the fate of the young wife. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi