Sabu and Ichi's Detective Stories

The Twilight Samurai

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles

2002

Yojimbo

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the loca

1961

Ran

With Ran, legendary director Akira Kurosawa reimagines Shakespeare's King Lear as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. Majestic

1985

Sanjuro

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and

1962

After the Rain

A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst

2000

Kagemusha

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid at

1980

Harakiri

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a plac

1962

When the Last Sword Is Drawn

Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town cla

2003

Ugetsu

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage'

1953

GOZEN: The Sword of Pure Romance

GOZEN is a jidageki (period piece) dramas. The word “gozen” refers to a feudal game held in the presence of a Daimyo, described as a match “one must n

2019

Daikichi Konomura

A samurai is struggling to make ends meet at the end of the Edo period. He has students and, among other things, teaches them about the evils of the g

1954

Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice

Fearless Edo-period police inspector Hanzo Itami, nicknamed The Razor, has developed his own unique way of extracting information for his inquiries. H

1972

The Tale of Zatoichi

The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's

1962

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues

Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in

1962

Sisam

A history drama portraying the confrontation between the indigenous Ainu people living on Japan’s northernmost main island—then called “Ezo” and now k

2024

Private Detective DOBU 6: The Origami Murder Case

A spree of murders in the city targets peddlers and komuso monks, all killed in the same method. Dobu investigates after a ronin's death with a unique

1983

Sasaki Kojiro, Part 2

The conclusion of the story of famed swordsman, Sasaki Kojiro. After surviving a series of daring adventures, Kojiro seems to have finally discovered

1957

Private Detective DOBU 2: The Kyoto Murder Case

Dobu, an Edo samurai, is tasked with investigating a string of noble murders in Kyoto, disrupting his routine in Shimotani.

1982

Private Detective DOBU 3: The Exile Island Murder Case

After six exiles return to Edo, four are mysteriously killed. Two survivors, Kosuke and Kingo, lead a search to uncover a hidden motive behind the mur

1982

Private Detective DOBU 4: The Mysterious Kite Murders Case

In Edo's autumn, a wave of murders hits, targeting those linked to an old case. A young man, Utaro, takes charge, but Dobu's love interest is involved

1983