A scroll holds 350,000 souls hostage. One wrong slash and an entire clan falls.
A Golden Age drama depicting the exploits of passionate patriot Uotaro Toge in the midst of a mysterious standoff over the Secret Book of Aoi, which will determine the rise or fall of the 350,000-koku Mito clan, and showcasing swashbuckling swordsmanship.
Acting
Utaemon Ichikawa's controlled fury—every blink is a threat assessment.
Direction
Ozawa squeezes claustrophobic tension from wide open castle chambers.
Cinematography
Shadows swallow half the frame; paranoia made visible.
Director
Shigehiro Ozawa
Utaemon Ichikawa
Uotaro Toge
Sentarō Fushimi
Hoshinojo Toge
Satomi Oka
Oen
Shin Tokudaiji
Sakon Sugai
Michiyo Aratama
Asayo
Kogiku Hanayagi
Oshima
Shunji Sakai
Kerohachi
Koinosuke Onoe
Nariaki Mito
Isao Yamagata
Higashiko Fujita
Kunio Kaga
Isenokami Abe
Eitarō Shindō
Monjuro Kaida
Yoshio Yoshida
Osho
Ryōsuke Kagawa
Nadaemon Mizunoya
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Utaemon Ichikawa was a famed onnagata (female-role specialist) in kabuki before becoming cinema's most bankable samurai.
The 'Mito Komon' franchise this spawned became a 40-year television institution, making this the unlikely pilot to Japan's longest-running period drama.
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