Gambler Tales of Hasshu A Mans Pledge

This is one of the many films based on the legend of Chuji Kunisada a wandering gambler and a defender of the weak in the Edo period In other words he was the Japanese Robin Hood In this film Kunisada Chiezo Kataoka arrives to a small town terrorized by an evil gang He insists that he is not Kunisada as the word is Kunisada has been executed but of course the audience know better Sonny Chiba plays an unusual supporting role as a helpless young man unable to defend himself from the gangsters He does however get to play taiko drums and dance with Junko Fuji who makes her film debut here Chibas father an old judge who helps Kunisada is played by Takashi Shimura The film hardly anything exceptional but its a pretty decent jidai geki yakuza drama