The Trail of Blood (1972)
Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father's craft. After three years, the gangs he embarrassed when he saved his wife find the family and leave Jokichi in grief, vowing revenge. To parry his terrible swift sword, rival gangs join forces, hiring a prostitute to pose as a woman needing help and breaking the code of honor to double cross the drifter. He finds unlikely allies: a thief who aids him for fun and a one-eyed swordsman who may be Jokichi's equal in skill and honor.
Director:
Kazuo Ikehiro
Writer:
Itsuhiro Ishimatsu
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Yoshio Harada as Jokichi |
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Katsuo Nakamura as |
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Toru Minegishi as |
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Etsuko Ichihara as |
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Kōji Nanbara as |
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Kayo Matsuo as |
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Sanae Kitabayashi as |
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Maki Mizuhara as |
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Kaoru Kusuda as |
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Ryoko Nakano as |
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Rakoji Nanbara as |
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Saburo Date as |
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Atsuo Nakamura as |
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Ryōhei Uchida as |
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Kantarō Suga as |
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Tokue Hanazawa as |
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Gen Shimizu as |
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Shiro Kuno as |
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Hisao Toake as |
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Kōichi Uenoyama as |
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Ikio Sawamura as |
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Chikara Hashimoto as |
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Kôji Tsutsui as |
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Takeo Kamura as |
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Kai Ato as |
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Saho Sasazawa as |
| Directing | Kazuo Ikehiro | Director |
| Writing | Itsuhiro Ishimatsu | Screenplay |
| Camera | Yasushi Ichihara | Director of Photography |
| Camera | Kazuo Miyagawa | Director of Photography |
| Art | Motoji Kojima | Art Direction |
| Production | Kikumaru Okuda | Producer |
| Editing | Michio Suwa | Editor |
| Sound | Toshio Harashima | Sound Recordist |
| Writing | Saho Sasazawa | Original Story |
| Lighting | Chihiro Imaizumi | Lighting Technician |
| Sound | Takeo Watanabe | Original Music Composer |
