Hanzo the Razor (
Kamisori Hanzō - かみそり半蔵) is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
featured in the trilogy of
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese
jidaigekiis a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama", and the period is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier — Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period — and the early...
films of the same name. The films star
Shintaro Katsu, born Toshio Okumura was a Japanese actor, singer, producer, and director...
(best known for his role as
Zatoichiis a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist . This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios and actor...
) as the title character. He also produced the trilogy through his own Katsu Productions. Lead actresses differ in each film; they include
Yukiji AsaokaYukiji Asaoka is a Japanese singer and an actress. A Tokyo native, she is the daughter of the famous Japanese painter of shin hanga style prints, Shinsui Itō, and her second and present husband is actor Masahiko Tsugawa...
playing the character Omino in
Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice.
Hanzo the Razor trilogy, titles in English:
- 1972: Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice (御用牙 Goyōkiba)
- 1973: Hanzo the Razor: The Snare (御用牙 かみそり半蔵地獄責め Goyōkiba: Kamisori Hanzō jigoku zeme)
- 1974: Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold? (御用牙 鬼の半蔵やわ肌小判 Goyōkiba: Oni no Hanzō yawahada koban)
The story is based on the
mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
Goyōkiba (御用牙) by
Kazuo Koikeis a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist and entrepreneur.-Biography:Early in Koike's career, he studied under Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito and served as a writer on the series....
, whose
Lone Wolf and Cubis a well-known gekiga or manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya, and is widely recognized as an important and...
manga was also adapted as a film series by Katsu, this time starring his brother,
Tomisaburo WakayamaTomisaburo Wakayama , born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the disgraced, scowling, 17th century ronin in the six Kozure Okami samurai feature movies....
.
Each plot details Hanzo Itami's foiling a plot by corrupt officials in
Edo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
Japan.
Discussion
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Hanzo the Razor (
Kamisori Hanzō - かみそり半蔵) is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
featured in the trilogy of
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese
jidaigekiis a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama", and the period is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier — Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period — and the early...
films of the same name. The films star
Shintaro Katsu, born Toshio Okumura was a Japanese actor, singer, producer, and director...
(best known for his role as
Zatoichiis a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist . This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios and actor...
) as the title character. He also produced the trilogy through his own Katsu Productions. Lead actresses differ in each film; they include
Yukiji AsaokaYukiji Asaoka is a Japanese singer and an actress. A Tokyo native, she is the daughter of the famous Japanese painter of shin hanga style prints, Shinsui Itō, and her second and present husband is actor Masahiko Tsugawa...
playing the character Omino in
Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice.
The trilogy
Hanzo the Razor trilogy, titles in English:
- 1972: Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice (御用牙 Goyōkiba)
- 1973: Hanzo the Razor: The Snare (御用牙 かみそり半蔵地獄責め Goyōkiba: Kamisori Hanzō jigoku zeme)
- 1974: Hanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold? (御用牙 鬼の半蔵やわ肌小判 Goyōkiba: Oni no Hanzō yawahada koban)
Premise
The story is based on the
mangaManga consist of comics and print cartoons , in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 20th century...
Goyōkiba (御用牙) by
Kazuo Koikeis a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist and entrepreneur.-Biography:Early in Koike's career, he studied under Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito and served as a writer on the series....
, whose
Lone Wolf and Cubis a well-known gekiga or manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya, and is widely recognized as an important and...
manga was also adapted as a film series by Katsu, this time starring his brother,
Tomisaburo WakayamaTomisaburo Wakayama , born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the disgraced, scowling, 17th century ronin in the six Kozure Okami samurai feature movies....
.
Each plot details Hanzo Itami's foiling a plot by corrupt officials in
Edo periodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
Japan. Distinguishing characteristics of these films include:
- Hanzo vilifies elitism and corruption, consistently railing against the powers-that-be who continue to threaten Hanzo with hara-kiri for his insolence;
- Hanzo continuously mocks his superior officer, Magobei Onishi, whom Hanzo dubs "Hebi no Magobei" ("Snake Magobei") due to Onishi's penchant for bribes and beautiful women;
- Hanzo is a constable who normally carries a short 2-pronged dagger (jutte) rather than a sword; this jutte has a hidden, weighted chain within it, which Hanzo uses to block against sword attacks or ensnare fleeing criminals;
- Hanzo consistently utilizes torture (both on himself and on others) as a means of interrogation and self-purification;
- Hanzo ritualistically flagellates his huge penis so as to make it stronger; this exercise is always followed up by Hanzo's practicing sexual intercourse with a bale of rice;
- Hanzo's home is filled with exotic traps and weapons to defeat assassins, such as a hidden wall of weapons near his o-furo (Japanese bath
For furo , the hearth used in Japanese tea ceremony, see List of Japanese tea ceremony equipment#Hearths...
) and spears that descend from the ceiling;
- Hanzo interrogates female suspects by raping them; later, he drinks sake with them in his o-furo and they immediately become infatuated with him, but primarily due to his sexual prowess;
Influence on Popular Culture
- The 2004-2005 anime series Samurai Champloo
is a Japanese animated television series consisting of twenty-six episodes. It was broadcast in Japan from May 20, 2004, through March 19, 2005, on the television network, Fuji TV. Samurai Champloo was created and directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, whose previous work, Cowboy Bebop, earned him renown...
includes occasional appearances by Manzo, a police inspector who is a parody of Hanzo.