The Rambler under the Southern Cross

In the nine part Wataridori series (1959-1962), Kobayashi played a wanderer on Japan’s back roads with most of the accoutrements of a Western hero, from a horse to fringes, guitar and even a trusty bullwhip.

Black Strait

Newly out of prison after killing his boss' rival, Akio Maki is eager to move on and start a new life with the boss' daughter. However, the chains of the past are not so easily broken and Maki is soon ordered to kill again.

Women's Police

Around Ginza there is a night-city of bars and cabarets, hostesses, customers. Assisting to keep order here is Kagari (Akira Kobayashi) who specializes in the women, their problems and troubles. He has saved many a girl from blandishments of pimps, makes customers pay up and women play straight. So he is called 'the woman's police-man' and he takes his job seriously. One day, Chiyoko (Yukiyo Toake), a former hostess, comes to him. Her husband has been murdered and she wants help. The man had been a college classmate and Kagari decides to do...

Smashing the 0-Line

Katiri is a reporter so ambitiously amoral that he’ll sell out anyone—including his partner and the drug dealer he’s sleeping with—to get a scoop. But what happens when an even more ruthless female gang boss kidnaps his sister?

Haunted Samurai

When his sister commits suicide as a result of his actions, Rokuheita, an enforcer for the Yagyu ninja clan, considers his choices and eventually deserts the organization. Hunted by an army of bizarre shadow warriors, the target turns on his pursuers when he finds something worth fighting for.

The Ghost of Iwojima

The monologue and mysterious death of a man who survived and returned from Iwo Jima. A newspaper reporter writes an article about "The Man from Iwo Jima" asking the people who were close to him about his character and the painful memories off all those involved.

Ai to shi no katami

I Have the Sun in My Back

Shigeru, a serious young man who works as a glass cleaner, has an older brother Kenzo, who has returned from prison. Kenzo was determined to become cool, but he was exposed as the culprit of the boss's murder, and he was killed. To clear the name of his brother Kenzo, Shigeru, with the support of his girlfriend Asako, sets out to find out the truth. A combination yakuza-youth action with heavy romantic overtones.

Abashiri Prison

Also Known As: Abashiri Native Ground