Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 21, 2024

It's probably quite likely that many Westerners have never heard of Shin Hasegawa, or at least of the writer with that name (there is evidently kind of interestingly more than one Japanese celebrity with this name, including a famous rugby player). Hasegawa wrote a 1928 opus called Kutsukake Tokijiro which was actually based on a story his father told him involving migrant farm workers and a man Hasegawa's Dad had met who was taking care of a woman and child whose husband and father the man had killed. Hasegawa made a few "dramatic" changes, including transporting the basic setup back to a feudal environment, and offering a traveling swordsman / gambler in place of a farm worker. Hasegawa's original (which some online sources state was a play, even if a supplement on this disc states it was a story or novel) became so instantly popular that it was adapted repeatedly in Japan for both stage and screen (and, later, television). This version offers the film's titular "lone yakuza", Tokijiro (Kinnosuke Nakamura), who through the vagaries of fate and/or (mis)fortune is more or less conscripted into a scheme which ends up with the death of a nemesis called Mutsuda no Sanzo (Chiyonosuke Azuma). Before he expires, Sanzo makes an unusual request of Tokijiro, asking Tokijiro to make sure Sanzo's wife and child are delivered safely to family members. This 1966 effort by Tai Katô is actually one of the "newer" versions of Hasegawa's story, and that perhaps hints at a certain "contemporary" ambience Katô brings to the production. Katô is enjoying something of a renaissance courtesy of several Blu-ray releases by Radiance Films, including I, the Executioner, Eighteen Years in Prison and By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him .

Rather unexpectedly, at least given that "genesis" setup mentioned above, this film version takes a while before it actually gets to the bits involving Tokijiro and Sanzo's widow Okinu (Junko Ikeuchi) and little boy. The first part of the film in fact spends more time detailing the "honorable" aspects of Tokijiro's character, something that's distinctly at odds with many of the various combatants who show up in the story. There's also some quasi- comedy relief courtesy of Tokijiro's acolyte Asakichi (Kiyoshi Atsumi), but it is actually a situation involving Asakichi that propels the story forward to arrive at the central section where Tokijiro sets off with Okinu and son. Unsurprisingly, a quasi-romantic spark begins to develop despite the context of how everything unfolded, but that in turn starts to roil Okinu's psyche, who feels she's not properly honoring her late husband's death.

The emotional content here makes for a fascinating counterpoint to the "blood and guts" elements that frequently define Japanese films in this same general idiom, and that aspect along with some interesting stylistic flourishes on the part of Katô (including his evidently patented use of lower framings looking up) keep the general outlines of the story often surprising. There is an undeniably soap operatic side to things in the almost dreamlike third act as various decisions on the part of both Okinu and Tokijiro seem to prevent any chance of "happily ever after". The film makes a strong if predictable case that it's hard to live by a "code of honor" when no one else is, something that may remind some of any number of other Japanese films dealing with either yakuza or ronin types.

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Radiance's insert booklet contains only the following minimal information on the transfer:

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza was transferred in high definition by Toei Co. Ltd. and supplied to Radiance Films as a high definition digital file.

I'm frankly not always a fan of these Toei produced transfers, but this is one of the more consistent ones I've seen recently. Color timing looks just slightly skewed toward orange at times, something that can make flesh tones look slightly flushed on occasion, but on the whole, the palette resonates very well and densities are generally solid throughout the presentation. There's an interesting anomaly which perhaps can be spotted in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review where at times the very center of the frame can look slightly out of focus, which leads me to believe there may have been some lens deficiencies that are inherited. There are some very minor signs of age related wear and tear, but you'll have to be pretty eagle eyed to catch them. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track in the original Japanese. Things are just very slightly thin sounding throughout, something that is probably most noticeable in some of the scoring choices and sound effects during fight scenes. Otherwise, there's really nothing problematic with the track, which delivers dialogue cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Koushi Ueno (HD; 16:36) offers the cinema scholar discussing the film and its director, giving some history and context. Subtitled in English.


• Young Master (HD; 17:35) is an interesting visual essay by Robin Gatto focusing on Kinnosuke Nakamura.


• Trailer (HD; 1:18)

Additionally, Radiance provides another nicely appointed insert booklet with a new essay by Ivo Smits and a reprint of an archival review by Tetsuya Fukasawa, along with the typical cast, crew and transfer information. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and Radiance's obi strip.

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tokijiro: Lone Yakuza starts out with almost Grand Guignol levels of violence and blood spilling, but then actually starts to mine honest to goodness human emotion, which is where the film really begins to establish its most distinctive qualities. Technical merits are generally solid and the two main supplements very worthwhile. Recommended.