Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza (人生劇場 飛車角と吉良常) 55 years old

With his penultimate film, Uchida revisited one of his popular prewar titles, 1936’s Theatre of Life, an adaptation of Shiro Ozaki’s eponymous novel. Three-time Seijun Suzuki collaborator Goro Tanada wrote a gangsterized adaptation of Ozaki’s story for Uchida at a time when the yakuza had eclipsed the samurai genre as Toei's main cash crop. Protagonist Hishakaku murders a man in a quarrel over a barmaid and goes to jail. In his temporary absence, his girlfriend Otoyo, a former geisha, falls for Hishakaku’s brother, inciting a dangerous love triangle that, in typical yakuza fashion, ends tragically.

Credits

Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza Cast

Name Character
Kōji Tsuruta He was 44, 63 years old when he died
Ken Takakura He was 37, 83 years old when he died
Tomisaburo Wakayama He was 38, 62 years old when he died
Sumiko Fuji She was 22, now 78 years old

Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza Crew

Name Department
Tomu Uchida as Director. He was 70 (72) years old when He died Directing
Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza poster
Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza (55 years)

  • Release day: Friday, July 12, 1968
  • Runtime: 109 minutes