A 1954 jidaigeki where ronin, priests, and theater folk collide — Nomura's hidden gem.
Chikuzen, a ronin named Yoh Daisuke, after pacifying some ruffians at the theater of Onna-Kata Ogino Sawanojiki, formed a bond with the theater's bodyguard, Maruhashi Tadayasu, and Kaku, a priest. He ended up settling at the Kasugaya, the house of Oko, whom he had saved. When Oko decided to go to Edo, where her biological father lived, Daisuke accompanied her. Along the way, at Suruga Abe River, they encountered Sawanojiki's theater group, which had departed from Osaka earlier heading to Edo. A scuffle initiated by Tadayasu over a ferry boat with the students of Yui Masayuki but was amicably resolved through Masayuki's intervention.
Direction
Nomura's patient, observational style before his thriller fame.
Production
Theater troupe dynamics feel lived-in, authentic.
Director
Yoshitarō Nomura
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This early Nomura preceded his celebrated 1950s-60s suspense films like 'Zero Focus' and 'The Shadow Within.'
The title references 'Suikoden' (Water Margin), framing wandering warriors as romantic outlaws rather than masterless failures.
JP
