Shin'ichi Chiba

Meiko Kaji

Mikio Narita

Shingo Yamashiro

A young criminal joins a yakuza family to kill the gangsters who beat him up, but falls in love with his boss' widow's niece, piling up enemies and corpses along his wayward way.

Hiroshima Death Match

Hiroshima Death Match (1973)

Tatsuya Fuji

Susumu Fujita

Kiyoshi Kamoda

Tough girl biker Ako (pop singer Akiko Wada) comes across Mei (Meiko Kaji) and her girl gang (the Alleycats/Stray Cats) as they are about to have a knife fight in Shinjuku, Tokyo with another gang of girls. When the second gang calls in their boyfriends for help, Ako joins in and turns the tide for Mei and her gang and becomes a leader figure for the girls. Meanwhile, Mei's boyfriend Michio (Koji Wada) wants to join some right-wing nationalists, the Seiyu Group. To prove himself, he induces an old friend Kelly (Ken Sanders) to throw a boxing match so the Seiyu Group can cash in betting against him. But when the boxer, encouraged by Ako and Mei, wins the fight, the Seiyu Group takes their anger out on Michio until Mei and the Alleycats rescue him. But Mei and the girls are now on the run from the powerful group. Mei is eventually killed and Ako leaves Shinjuku, roaring away on her bike.—Anonymous

Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss

Stray Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970)

Nenji Kobayashi

Nagisa Ôshima

Kei Satô

When a cop is transferred to a new precinct it is obvious that the area's yakuza mob are not dealing with just another policeman. The cop is bent on results and is not immune to becoming rough in order to get results. Matters take a different turn, however, as the policeman juxtaposes the nature of his targets with his own colleagues, examines their actions more closely and becomes acquainted with a woman on the fringe of the criminal underworld.—aghaemi

Yakuza Graveyard

Yakuza Graveyard (1976)

Keiko Matsuzaka

Yoshio Inaba

If your wife is seeing Dr Shinichi Toya, be worried ! This medico specializes in assisting women in removing both their husbands and their clothing. Every woman, except the wife he is currently divorcing, seems to adore him, and not all of them are very nice. The nastiest is probably his head nurse, who is an old flame trying to win him back, and who helps him get rid of the excess husbands. The not-so-good doctor gets away with quite a few of these apparently accidental killings, but he starts to become both greedy and careless.—Sharptongue

The Wicked

The Wicked (1980)

Hidetoshi Nishijima

Seiyô Uchino

Misako Tanaka

Shiro Kakei lives with his boyfriend Kenji Yabuki. Shiro works as an attorney and cooks well. He is meticulous and also thrifty. Kenji is a hairdresser with a good personality.

Kinou nani tabeta?

Kinou nani tabeta? (2021)

Hisashi Igawa

Gen Kimura

Ryûdô Uzaki

A rich merchant gives his clerk an I.O.U. instead of wages. When the impoverished clerk presents the paper to the merchant at the agreed upon time asking for payment, the man flies into a rage and pretends he never wrote it and claims the clerk is trying to defraud him.—Luka Sabljak

Double Suicide of Sonezaki

Double Suicide of Sonezaki (1978)

Masami Nagasawa

Kôji Yakusho

Isao Hashizume

A middle-aged former yakuza is released from prison after thirteen years where he was placed for murder. He is struggling to adapt to society and freedom, find a job and communicate normally, but he is also preoccupied by the quest for his mother from whom he was separated as a child. He finds allies in his search for his parent and a place in mainstream society, but the process is not seamless or smooth.—aghaemi

Under the Open Sky

Under the Open Sky (2020)

Mieko Harada

Eiji Okada

Shigeo Katô

Mt. Ishizuchi, island of Shikoku, 1932. Leading a simple, sheltered life with her grandmother in the bosom of her small, isolated mountain community, 13-year-old Rin finds herself forced to do on her own when a duplicitous stranger talks her into following him. As Rin struggles to find her feet in Mitarai village on the Seto Inland Sea island of Osaki Shimojima, a cruel life awaits her at her new home, a cheap brothel on the waterfront. But now it's too late, and rebellion can only do more harm than good. If she works hard and pays off her debt, will Rin get to see her home again?—Nick Riganas

Lullaby of the Earth

Lullaby of the Earth (1976)

Tomotaka Ueda

Reisen Ri

Matsu is sheltered by an incestuous prostitute on her run from the police, her ex-prison mate and a cop whose arm she hacked off.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973)

Hideki Takahashi

Hiroshi Izumi

Yukiko Todoroki

In early 20th Century Japan, a yakuza boss goes on a 3-year journey. When he sees some trouble, he heads right for it.

The Symbol of a Man: The Rule for a Vagabond

The Symbol of a Man: The Rule for a Vagabond (1965)

Kazuko Yoshiyuki

Yoshio Harada

Shin Kishida

Lady Snowblood (Shurayuki-hime) is caught by the police and sentenced to death for her crimes (in Lady Snowblood I). As she is sent to the gallows she is rescued by the secret police who offer her a deal to assassinate some revolutionaries.—Fred Cabral

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance

Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974)

Akemi Negishi

Sanae Nakahara

Toshiyuki Hosokawa

Once again on the lam, Matsu is helped by a strip club worker who holds a grudge against the detective who's trying to find her.

Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song

Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song (1973)

Isao Natsuyagi

Yôichi Numata

After being cruelly set up and deceived by Sugimi (Natsuyagi Isao), a conniving and crooked detective she had whole-heartedly fallen in love with (and subsequently lost her virginity to...), Matsushima Nami's desire for revenge knows no bounds. Her failed attempt at stabbing Sugimi on the steps of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters results in her doing hard time in a female prison run by sadistic and horny male guards. To Sugimi's surprise, Matsushima refuses to testify against him and his connections to the mob, and now the sheer fact that she knows such secrets makes her a liability. So Sugimi and the Japanese mafia orchestrate a plan whereby Matsushima will succumb to an "accidental" death in prison. They enlist the help of Kagiri, another female inmate with ties to both Sugimi and the mafia, thus their formidable plan is quickly set in motion. Little do they realize, however, how hotly Matsushima's desire for revenge burns within her.—inferno

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)

Fumio Watanabe

Mitsuo Andô

Matsu, known to the prisoners as Scorpion, is locked away in the bowels of the prison as revenge for disrupting the smooth operation of the prison and for her disfiguring attack on the warden. Granted a one day reprieve due to the visit of a dignitary, she takes advantage and attacks the warden again. This leads to more brutal punishment and humiliation. But the punishment gives her an opportunity to escape along with six other female prisoners. Their surreal flight from prison pits the convicts against the guards, the warden and each other.—Anonymous

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)

Kô Nishimura

Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. She creates an instrument for this revenge by purposefully getting pregnant. Though she dies in childbirth, she makes sure that the child will be raised as an assassin to kill the criminals who destroyed her family. Young Yuki never knows the love of a family but only killing and revenge.—Fred Cabral

Lady Snowblood

Lady Snowblood (1973)

7.4 / 10

Action
Crime

6.1 / 10

Action
Crime

7 / 10

Action
Crime

5.5 / 10

Drama
Mystery

7.1 / 10

Comedy
Drama

6.8 / 10

Action
Crime

7.2 / 10

Action
Crime

6.9 / 10

Action
Drama

7 / 10

Action
Crime

5.9 / 10

Action

6.3 / 10

Action
Drama

6.3 / 10

Action
Crime

7.2 / 10

Action
Crime

7.1 / 10

Action
Crime

7.6 / 10

Action
Crime