Lone Wolf and Cub
Encyclopedia
is a manga
created by writer Kazuo Koike
and artist Goseki Kojima
. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama
, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke
, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.
Lone Wolf and Cub chronicles the story of Ogami Ittō, the Shogun
's executioner who uses a dōtanuki
battle sword. Disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyū clan
, he is forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigorō, they seek revenge on the Yagyū clan and are known as "Lone Wolf and Cub".
(the Shōgun's executioner), a position of high power in the Tokugawa Shogunate
. Along with the oniwaban and the assassins, Ogami Ittō is responsible for enforcing the will of the Shogun
over the daimyō
(lesser domain lords). For those samurai and lords ordered to commit seppuku
, the Kogi Kaishakunin
assists their deaths by decapitating them to relieve the agony of disembowelment; in this role, he is entitled and empowered to wear the crest of the Shogunate, in effect acting in place of the Shogun.
After Ogami Ittō's wife Azami gives birth to their son, Daigorō, Ogami Ittō returns to find her and all of their household brutally murdered, with only the newborn Daigorō surviving. The supposed culprits are three former retainers of an abolished clan, avenging the execution of their lord by Ogami Ittō. However, the entire matter was planned by Ura-Yagyū (Shadow Yagyu
) Yagyū Retsudō, leader of the Ura-Yagyū clan, in order to seize Ogami's post as part of a masterplan to control the three key positions of power: the spy system, the official assassins and the Shogunate Decapitator. During the initial incursion, an ihai (funeral tablet) with the shogun's crest on it was placed inside the Ogami family shrine, signifying a supposed wish for the shogun's death. When the tablet is "discovered" during the murder investigation, its presence condemns Ittō as a traitor and thus he is forced to forfeit his post.
The 1-year-old Daigorō is given a choice by his father: a ball or a sword. If Daigorō chose the ball, his father would kill him, sending him to be with his mother; however, the child crawls toward the sword and reaches for its hilt. This assigns him the path of a rōnin
, wandering the country with his father as "demons"—the assassin-for-hire team that becomes known as Lone Wolf and Cub, vowing to destroy the Yagyū clan to avenge Azami's death and Ittō's disgrace.
On meifumadō ("The Road to Hell
"), the cursed journey for vengeance, Ogami Ittō and Daigorō experience numerous adventures, encountering (and slaying) all of Yagyū Retsudō's children and the entire Kurokuwa ninja clan, and eventually facing Retsudō himself. The first duel between Ogami Ittō and Yagyū Retsudō runs 178 panels—one of the longest single fight-scenes ever published in comics.
Toward the end of their journeys, Ogami Ittō's dōtanuki
sword is surreptitiously damaged by a supposed sword-polisher who is really an elite "Grass" ninja of the Yagyū clan. When attacked by the last of the "Grass" ninja, the sword breaks due to Yagyū tampering, and Ittō receives wounds that are ultimately fatal. Deadlocked in mid-battle with Retsudō, Ittō's spirit leaves his body after a lifetime of fatigue and bloodshed, unable to destroy his longtime enemy and ending his path of meifumadō.
The story finishes with Daigorō taking up Retsudō's spear and charging in fury. Retsudō opens his arms, disregarding all defense, and allows Daigorō to drive the spear into his body. Embracing Daigorō with tears, Yagyū Retsudō names him, "Grandson of my heart", closing the cycle of vengeance and hatred between the clans and concluding the epic.
in 1970, it became wildly popular (some 8 million copies were sold in Japan) for its powerful, epic samurai
story and its stark and gruesome depiction of violence during Tokugawa era
Japan.
Lone Wolf and Cub is one of most highly regarded manga due to its epic scope, detailed historical accuracy, masterful artwork and nostalgic recollection of the bushido
ethos. The story spans 28 volumes of manga, with over 300 pages each (totaling over 8,700 pages in all). Many of the frames of the series are hauntingly beautiful depictions of nature, historical locations in Japan and traditional activities done in the classical ukiyo-e
style.
Lone Wolf and Cub was initially released in North America by First Comics
in 1987, as a series of monthly, comic-book-sized, square-bound prestige-format black-and-white comics containing between 64 and 128 pages, with covers by Frank Miller
, and later by Bill Sienkiewicz
, Matt Wagner
, Mike Ploog
, and Ray Lago. Sales were initially strong, but fell sharply as the company went into a general decline. First Comics shut down in 1991 without completing the series, publishing less than a third of the total series in 45 prestige-format issues.
Starting in 2000, Dark Horse Comics
began to release the full series in 28 smaller-sized trade paperback volumes, completing the series with the 28th volume in 2002. Dark Horse reused all of Miller's covers from the First Comics edition, as well as several done by Sienkiewicz, and commissioned Wagner, Guy Davis, and Vince Locke
to produce new covers for several volumes of the collections.
In 2002, a "reimagined" version of the story, Lone Wolf 2100 was created by writer Mike Kennedy
and artist Francisco Ruiz Velasco with Koike's indirect involvement. The story was a post-apocalyptic
take on the tale with several differences, such as a female cub and a worldwide setting: Daisy Ogami, daughter of a renowned scientist, and Itto, her father's bodyguard and subsequent protector, attempt to escape from the Cygnat Owari Corporation's schemes. This series was not received as well as the original stories.
Dark Horse announced at the New York Comic Con that they have licensed Shin Lone Wolf & Cub, Kazuo Koike
and Hideki Mori
's follow-up to Lone Wolf and Cub, starring the famous child in the baby cart after the original revenge epic.
as Ogami Ittō have been produced based on the manga. They are also known as the Sword of Vengeance series, based on the English-language title of the first film, and later as the Baby Cart series, because young Daigoro travels in a baby carriage pushed by his father.
The first three films, directed by Kenji Misumi, were released in 1972 and produced by Shintaro Katsu
, Tomisaburo Wakayama's brother and the star of the 26 part Zatoichi
film series. The next three films were produced by Wakayama himself and directed by Buichi Saito, Kenji Misumi
and Yoshiyuki Kuroda, released in 1972, 1973, and 1974 respectively.
Shogun Assassin
(1980) was an English language compilation for the American audience, edited mainly from the second film, with 11 minutes of footage from the first. Also, the third film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
was re-released on DVD in the US under the name Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death.
The films are renowned for an incredible amount of stylized violence. In fact, after the second film, each movie climaxes with Ogami slaughtering an entire army single-handedly.
The films closely resemble the comics. Entire panels of the manga are recreated in perfect detail throughout the film series.
In addition to the six original films (and Shogun Assassin in 1980), various television movie
s have aired in connection with the television series as pilots, compilations or originals. These include several starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya (Nakamura) (see section Television series), in 1979 a film called Lone Wolf With Child: An Assassin on the Road to Hell better known as Baby Cart In Purgatory where Hideki Takahashi
plays Ogami Ittō and Tomisaburo Wakayama
as Retsudo Yagyu.
In 1992 the story was once more made into a film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Final Conflict also known as Handful of Sand or A Child's Hand Reaches Up (Kozure Ōkami: Sono chiisaki te ni, literally In That Little Hand), directed by Akira Inoue and starring Tamura Masakazu.
The first, Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Ōkami) was produced in a typical jidaigeki
format and broadcast in three 26-episode seasons from 1973 to 1976, each episode 45 minutes long. Kinnosuke (Nakamura) Yorozuya played Ogami Ittō, and later reprised the role in a mid-1980s miniseries
and several related television movies; Daigoro was played by Katzutaka Nishikawa in the first two seasons and by Takumi Satô in the final season. Yorozuya's portrayal of Ōgami in the series, and the series as a whole (with Daigoro actually playing an integral part in some of the assassinations as either a distraction or as bait for the target), is said to be more faithful to the manga than the Wakayama films.
The series was shown in the United States on Nippon TV as The Fugitive Samurai in the original Japanese with English subtitles and released for the Toronto, Canada market by CFMT-TV (now OMNI 1) in the original Japanese with English subtitles as The Iron Samurai. It has also been aired in Germany dubbed in German, in Italy dubbed in Italian; around 1980, a Portuguese dub was aired in Brazil as "O Samurai Fugitivo (The Fugitive Samurai) on TVS, actually SBT, and in Spanish, as "El Samurai Fugitivo," on the American Spanish TV station Univision.
The 26 episodes of the first season were released on DVD in Japan on December 20, 2006, apparently without subtitles. The first twelve episodes were released on DVD in Germany as Kozure Okami, with audio in Japanese and German. In the US, Media Blasters
released the original TV series on DVD on April 29, 2008 under its Tokyo Shock Label, containing the original Japanese with English subtitles.
The latest television series, also titled Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Ōkami), aired from 2002 to 2004 in Japan
with Kinya Kitaoji in the role of Ogami Ittō and Thubasa Kobayashi as Daigoro. This series is not available on DVD.
released a Japan-only beat 'em up
based on the series named Kozure Ōkami. Players guide Ogami Itto through an army of assassins while carrying his infant son on his back. A baby cart powerup enables Ookami to mow down enemies with blasts of fire. The game is considered a rarity by the Video Arcade Preservation Society as there are no known instances of the game being owned, although it is available in ROM form for MAME
.
Lone Wolf and Cub has influenced American comics, most notably Frank Miller
in his Sin City
and Ronin
series. Novelist Max Allan Collins
acknowledged the influence of Lone Wolf and Cub on his graphic novel Road to Perdition
in an interview to the BBC, declaring that "Road To Perdition is 'an unabashed homage' to Lone Wolf And Cub".
Darren Aronofsky
has been trying to get an official Hollywood version off the ground, but never really had the rights in the first place.
In Samurai Jack
, both Ogami Ittō and Daigorō make a cameo appearance
in the episode "Jack Remembers the Past".
Animal versions of Ogami Itto and Daigoro are recurring characters in Stan Sakai
's comic series Usagi Yojimbo
as Yagi and Gorogoro - the Lone Goat and Kid.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
created by writer Kazuo Koike
Kazuo Koike
is 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....
and artist Goseki Kojima
Goseki Kojima
was a Japanese manga artist.-Biography:Kojima was born on the same day as Osamu Tezuka. After getting out of junior high school, Kojima painted advertising posters for movie theaters as his source of income....
. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama
Tomisaburo Wakayama
, born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the scowling, 17th century ronin warrior in the six Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies.-Biography:...
, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke
Yorozuya Kinnosuke
was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born , son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name Yorozuya as his surname in 1971.In addition to his kabuki activity, Kinnosuke had an extensive...
, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.
Lone Wolf and Cub chronicles the story of Ogami Ittō, the Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
's executioner who uses a dōtanuki
Dotanuki
Dōtanuki is a name assumed by a number of Japanese swordsmiths from the Eiroku period onwards, originally named for their place of origin in Kikuchi, old Higo province...
battle sword. Disgraced by false accusations from the Yagyū clan
Yagyu clan
The ' were a family of daimyō with lands just outside Nara, who became the heads of one of Japan's greatest schools of swordsmanship, Yagyū Shinkage-ryū...
, he is forced to take the path of the assassin. Along with his three-year-old son, Daigorō, they seek revenge on the Yagyū clan and are known as "Lone Wolf and Cub".
Plot summary
Ogami Ittō, formidable warrior and a master of the suiō-ryū swordsmanship, serves as the Kogi KaishakuninKogi Kaishakunin
The Kogi Kaishakunin is a fictional position appearing in the manga Lone Wolf and Cub. In the story, it was the Japanese shogun's official executioner....
(the Shōgun's executioner), a position of high power in the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. Along with the oniwaban and the assassins, Ogami Ittō is responsible for enforcing the will of the Shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
over the daimyō
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
(lesser domain lords). For those samurai and lords ordered to commit seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
, the Kogi Kaishakunin
Kogi Kaishakunin
The Kogi Kaishakunin is a fictional position appearing in the manga Lone Wolf and Cub. In the story, it was the Japanese shogun's official executioner....
assists their deaths by decapitating them to relieve the agony of disembowelment; in this role, he is entitled and empowered to wear the crest of the Shogunate, in effect acting in place of the Shogun.
After Ogami Ittō's wife Azami gives birth to their son, Daigorō, Ogami Ittō returns to find her and all of their household brutally murdered, with only the newborn Daigorō surviving. The supposed culprits are three former retainers of an abolished clan, avenging the execution of their lord by Ogami Ittō. However, the entire matter was planned by Ura-Yagyū (Shadow Yagyu
Yagyu clan
The ' were a family of daimyō with lands just outside Nara, who became the heads of one of Japan's greatest schools of swordsmanship, Yagyū Shinkage-ryū...
) Yagyū Retsudō, leader of the Ura-Yagyū clan, in order to seize Ogami's post as part of a masterplan to control the three key positions of power: the spy system, the official assassins and the Shogunate Decapitator. During the initial incursion, an ihai (funeral tablet) with the shogun's crest on it was placed inside the Ogami family shrine, signifying a supposed wish for the shogun's death. When the tablet is "discovered" during the murder investigation, its presence condemns Ittō as a traitor and thus he is forced to forfeit his post.
The 1-year-old Daigorō is given a choice by his father: a ball or a sword. If Daigorō chose the ball, his father would kill him, sending him to be with his mother; however, the child crawls toward the sword and reaches for its hilt. This assigns him the path of a rōnin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
, wandering the country with his father as "demons"—the assassin-for-hire team that becomes known as Lone Wolf and Cub, vowing to destroy the Yagyū clan to avenge Azami's death and Ittō's disgrace.
On meifumadō ("The Road to Hell
Yomi
, the Japanese word for the underworld in which horrible creatures guard the exits; according to Shinto mythology as related in Kojiki, this is where the dead go to dwell and apparently rot indefinitely. Once one has eaten at the hearth of Yomi it is impossible to return to the land of the living...
"), the cursed journey for vengeance, Ogami Ittō and Daigorō experience numerous adventures, encountering (and slaying) all of Yagyū Retsudō's children and the entire Kurokuwa ninja clan, and eventually facing Retsudō himself. The first duel between Ogami Ittō and Yagyū Retsudō runs 178 panels—one of the longest single fight-scenes ever published in comics.
Toward the end of their journeys, Ogami Ittō's dōtanuki
Dotanuki
Dōtanuki is a name assumed by a number of Japanese swordsmiths from the Eiroku period onwards, originally named for their place of origin in Kikuchi, old Higo province...
sword is surreptitiously damaged by a supposed sword-polisher who is really an elite "Grass" ninja of the Yagyū clan. When attacked by the last of the "Grass" ninja, the sword breaks due to Yagyū tampering, and Ittō receives wounds that are ultimately fatal. Deadlocked in mid-battle with Retsudō, Ittō's spirit leaves his body after a lifetime of fatigue and bloodshed, unable to destroy his longtime enemy and ending his path of meifumadō.
The story finishes with Daigorō taking up Retsudō's spear and charging in fury. Retsudō opens his arms, disregarding all defense, and allows Daigorō to drive the spear into his body. Embracing Daigorō with tears, Yagyū Retsudō names him, "Grandson of my heart", closing the cycle of vengeance and hatred between the clans and concluding the epic.
Characters
—The shogun's executioner, Ittō decides to avenge the death of his wife, and to restore his clan.—The son of Ittō and Azami, Daigorō becomes a stronger warrior as the story progresses.—The leader of the Yagyū clan, Retsudō tries everything in his power to ensure that Ittō dies.—The shogun's food taster, Tanoshi dishonorably tries to kill Ittō and Daigorō.Manga
When Lone Wolf and Cub was first released in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, 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...
in 1970, it became wildly popular (some 8 million copies were sold in Japan) for its powerful, epic samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
story and its stark and gruesome depiction of violence during Tokugawa era
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
Japan.
Lone Wolf and Cub is one of most highly regarded manga due to its epic scope, detailed historical accuracy, masterful artwork and nostalgic recollection of the bushido
Bushido
, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...
ethos. The story spans 28 volumes of manga, with over 300 pages each (totaling over 8,700 pages in all). Many of the frames of the series are hauntingly beautiful depictions of nature, historical locations in Japan and traditional activities done in the classical ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
style.
Lone Wolf and Cub was initially released in North America by First Comics
First Comics
First Comics was an American comic-book publisher that was active from 1983–1991, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable...
in 1987, as a series of monthly, comic-book-sized, square-bound prestige-format black-and-white comics containing between 64 and 128 pages, with covers by Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
, and later by Bill Sienkiewicz
Bill Sienkiewicz
Boleslav Felix Robert "Bill" Sienkiewicz [pronounced sin-KEV-itch] is an Eisner Award-winning American artist and writer best known for his comic book work, primarily for Marvel Comics' The New Mutants and Elektra: Assassin...
, Matt Wagner
Matt Wagner
Matt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist, best known as the creator of the series Mage and Grendel.-Career:...
, Mike Ploog
Mike Ploog
Michael G. Ploog is an American storyboard and comic book artist, and a visual designer for movies....
, and Ray Lago. Sales were initially strong, but fell sharply as the company went into a general decline. First Comics shut down in 1991 without completing the series, publishing less than a third of the total series in 45 prestige-format issues.
Starting in 2000, Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
began to release the full series in 28 smaller-sized trade paperback volumes, completing the series with the 28th volume in 2002. Dark Horse reused all of Miller's covers from the First Comics edition, as well as several done by Sienkiewicz, and commissioned Wagner, Guy Davis, and Vince Locke
Vince Locke
Vincent Locke is an American comic book artist known for his work on Deadworld and A History of Violence and for his ultraviolent album covers for death metal band Cannibal Corpse.-Biography:...
to produce new covers for several volumes of the collections.
In 2002, a "reimagined" version of the story, Lone Wolf 2100 was created by writer Mike Kennedy
Mike Kennedy
Michael Kennedy is a former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League from 1994–95 to 1998–99 for the Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders....
and artist Francisco Ruiz Velasco with Koike's indirect involvement. The story was a post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
take on the tale with several differences, such as a female cub and a worldwide setting: Daisy Ogami, daughter of a renowned scientist, and Itto, her father's bodyguard and subsequent protector, attempt to escape from the Cygnat Owari Corporation's schemes. This series was not received as well as the original stories.
Dark Horse announced at the New York Comic Con that they have licensed Shin Lone Wolf & Cub, Kazuo Koike
Kazuo Koike
is 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....
and Hideki Mori
Hideki Mori
is a Japanese manga artist. He made his professional debut in 1982 in Shōnen Sunday, after which he was chosen by Kazuo Koike to illustrate the continuation of Lone Wolf and Cub, Shin Lone Wolf and Cub. Mori is best known for his manga adaptation of Kenichi Sakemi's historical novel Bokkō, which...
's follow-up to Lone Wolf and Cub, starring the famous child in the baby cart after the original revenge epic.
Manga titles
1. The Assassin's Road 2. The Gateless Barrier 3. The Flute of the Fallen Tiger 4. The Bell Warden 5. Black Wind 6. Lanterns For the Dead 7. Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger |
8. Chains of Death 9. Echo of the Assassin 10. Hostage Child 11. Talisman of Hades 12. Shattered Stones 13. Moon in the East, Sun in the West 14. Day of the Demons |
15. Brothers of the Grass 16. Gateway into Winter 17. The Will of the Fang 18. Twilight of the Kurokuwa 19. The Moon In Our Hearts 20. A Taste of Poison 21. Fragrance of Death |
22. Heaven & Earth 23. Tears of Ice 24. In These Small Hands 25. Perhaps in Death 26. Struggle in the Dark 27. Battle's Eve 28. The Lotus Throne |
Films
A total of seven Lone Wolf and Cub films starring Tomisaburo WakayamaTomisaburo Wakayama
, born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the scowling, 17th century ronin warrior in the six Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies.-Biography:...
as Ogami Ittō have been produced based on the manga. They are also known as the Sword of Vengeance series, based on the English-language title of the first film, and later as the Baby Cart series, because young Daigoro travels in a baby carriage pushed by his father.
The first three films, directed by Kenji Misumi, were released in 1972 and produced by Shintaro Katsu
Shintaro Katsu
, born Toshio Okumura was a Japanese actor, singer, producer, and director...
, Tomisaburo Wakayama's brother and the star of the 26 part Zatoichi
Zatoichi
is 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...
film series. The next three films were produced by Wakayama himself and directed by Buichi Saito, Kenji Misumi
Kenji Misumi
was a notable Japanese film director. He created films such as Lone Wolf and Cub and the initial film in the long-running Zatoichi series.He died at age 53.-Filmography:...
and Yoshiyuki Kuroda, released in 1972, 1973, and 1974 respectively.
Shogun Assassin
Shogun Assassin
Shogun Assassin, known in Japan as , is a jidaigeki film made for the British and American markets and released in 1980. In 2006 it was restored and re-released on DVD in North America by AnimEigo....
(1980) was an English language compilation for the American audience, edited mainly from the second film, with 11 minutes of footage from the first. Also, the third film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades , is the third in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his...
was re-released on DVD in the US under the name Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death.
| No. | English Title | Year | Japanese | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance is a 1972 film directed by Kenji Misumi, the first in a series of six Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son, Daigoro.-Plot:Set in Japan during an... |
1972 | 子連れ狼 子を貸し腕貸しつかまつる | Kozure Ōkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru | Wolf with Child in Tow: Child and Expertise for Rent |
| 2 | Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx is the second in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by... |
1972 | 子連れ狼 三途の川の乳母車 | Kozure Ōkami: Sanzu no kawa no ubaguruma | Wolf with Child in Tow: Baby Cart of the River of Sanzu |
| 3 | Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades , is the third in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his... AKA Shogun Assassin 2: Lightning Swords of Death |
1972 | 子連れ狼 死に風に向う乳母車 | Kozure Ōkami: Shinikazeni mukau ubaguruma | Wolf with Child in Tow: Baby Cart Against the Winds of Death |
| 4 | Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril , is the fourth in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by... AKA Shogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage |
1972 | 子連れ狼 親の心子の心 | Kozure Ōkami: Oya no kokoro ko no kokoro | Wolf with Child in Tow: The Heart of a Parent, the Heart of a Child |
| 5 | Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Land of Demons is the fifth in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son,... AKA Shogun Assassin 4: Five Fistfuls of Gold |
1973 | 子連れ狼 冥府魔道 | Kozure Ōkami: Meifumado | Wolf with Child in Tow: Land of Demons |
| 6 | Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell is the final entry in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young... AKA Shogun Assassin 5: Cold Road to Hell |
1974 | 子連れ狼 地獄へ行くぞ!大五郎 | Kozure Ōkami: Jigoku e ikuzo! Daigoro | Wolf with Child in Tow: Now We Go to Hell, Daigoro! |
| 7 | Shogun Assassin Shogun Assassin Shogun Assassin, known in Japan as , is a jidaigeki film made for the British and American markets and released in 1980. In 2006 it was restored and re-released on DVD in North America by AnimEigo.... |
1980 | 子連れ狼 | Kozure Ōkami (originally an English language release) | Shogun Assassin |
The films are renowned for an incredible amount of stylized violence. In fact, after the second film, each movie climaxes with Ogami slaughtering an entire army single-handedly.
The films closely resemble the comics. Entire panels of the manga are recreated in perfect detail throughout the film series.
In addition to the six original films (and Shogun Assassin in 1980), various television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
s have aired in connection with the television series as pilots, compilations or originals. These include several starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya (Nakamura) (see section Television series), in 1979 a film called Lone Wolf With Child: An Assassin on the Road to Hell better known as Baby Cart In Purgatory where Hideki Takahashi
Hideki Takahashi
is a Japanese actor. Born in Kisarazu, Chiba near Tokyo, he attended Ichikawa Gakuen and later Nihon University.- Filmography :He made his debut with Nikkatsu and acted in youth-oriented films. After becoming a star in television jidaigeki, he turned out hit after hit...
plays Ogami Ittō and Tomisaburo Wakayama
Tomisaburo Wakayama
, born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the scowling, 17th century ronin warrior in the six Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies.-Biography:...
as Retsudo Yagyu.
In 1992 the story was once more made into a film, Lone Wolf and Cub: Final Conflict also known as Handful of Sand or A Child's Hand Reaches Up (Kozure Ōkami: Sono chiisaki te ni, literally In That Little Hand), directed by Akira Inoue and starring Tamura Masakazu.
Television series
Two full-fledged television series based on the manga have been broadcast to date.The first, Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Ōkami) was produced in a typical jidaigeki
Jidaigeki
is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and 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 Meiji era is also a popular...
format and broadcast in three 26-episode seasons from 1973 to 1976, each episode 45 minutes long. Kinnosuke (Nakamura) Yorozuya played Ogami Ittō, and later reprised the role in a mid-1980s miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
and several related television movies; Daigoro was played by Katzutaka Nishikawa in the first two seasons and by Takumi Satô in the final season. Yorozuya's portrayal of Ōgami in the series, and the series as a whole (with Daigoro actually playing an integral part in some of the assassinations as either a distraction or as bait for the target), is said to be more faithful to the manga than the Wakayama films.
The series was shown in the United States on Nippon TV as The Fugitive Samurai in the original Japanese with English subtitles and released for the Toronto, Canada market by CFMT-TV (now OMNI 1) in the original Japanese with English subtitles as The Iron Samurai. It has also been aired in Germany dubbed in German, in Italy dubbed in Italian; around 1980, a Portuguese dub was aired in Brazil as "O Samurai Fugitivo (The Fugitive Samurai) on TVS, actually SBT, and in Spanish, as "El Samurai Fugitivo," on the American Spanish TV station Univision.
The 26 episodes of the first season were released on DVD in Japan on December 20, 2006, apparently without subtitles. The first twelve episodes were released on DVD in Germany as Kozure Okami, with audio in Japanese and German. In the US, Media Blasters
Media Blasters
Media Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
released the original TV series on DVD on April 29, 2008 under its Tokyo Shock Label, containing the original Japanese with English subtitles.
The latest television series, also titled Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Ōkami), aired from 2002 to 2004 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, 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...
with Kinya Kitaoji in the role of Ogami Ittō and Thubasa Kobayashi as Daigoro. This series is not available on DVD.
Video game
In 1987, video game manufacturer NichibutsuNihon Bussan
Nihon Bussan Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game manufacturer, commonly known as Nichibutsu . The company uses an owl sign for the company's official logo. The company has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka....
released a Japan-only beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
based on the series named Kozure Ōkami. Players guide Ogami Itto through an army of assassins while carrying his infant son on his back. A baby cart powerup enables Ookami to mow down enemies with blasts of fire. The game is considered a rarity by the Video Arcade Preservation Society as there are no known instances of the game being owned, although it is available in ROM form for MAME
MAME
MAME is an emulator application designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. The intention is to preserve gaming history by preventing vintage games from being lost or forgotten...
.
Influence
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
in his Sin City
Sin City
Sin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" , and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several...
and Ronin
Ronin (comic book series)
Ronin is a comic book limited series published between 1983 and 1984, by DC Comics. The series was written and drawn by Frank Miller with artwork painted by Lynn Varley. It takes place in a dystopic near-future New York in which a ronin is reincarnated...
series. Novelist Max Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins is an American mystery writer. He has written novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations and historical fiction. He wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition , created the comic book private eye Ms...
acknowledged the influence of Lone Wolf and Cub on his graphic novel Road to Perdition
Road to Perdition (comics)
Road to Perdition is a series of fictional works written by Max Allan Collins.The comic book of the original series, with art by Richard Piers Rayner, was published by DC Comics' imprint, Paradox Press...
in an interview to the BBC, declaring that "Road To Perdition is 'an unabashed homage' to Lone Wolf And Cub".
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University to study film theory and the American Film Institute to study both live-action and animation filmmaking...
has been trying to get an official Hollywood version off the ground, but never really had the rights in the first place.
In Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack is an American animated television series created by animator Genndy Tartakovsky that aired on both Cartoon Network and Toonami from 2001 to 2004. It is noted for its highly detailed, outline-free, masking-based animation, as well as for its cinematic style and pacing...
, both Ogami Ittō and Daigorō make a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the episode "Jack Remembers the Past".
Animal versions of Ogami Itto and Daigoro are recurring characters in Stan Sakai
Stan Sakai
is a third-generation Japanese American Cartoonist comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series Usagi Yojimbo. -Biography:...
's comic series Usagi Yojimbo
Usagi Yojimbo
is a comic book series created by Stan Sakai in 1987. In 2011 IGN ranked Miyamoto Usagi 92nd in the top 100 comic books heroes.-Concept:Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period of Japan , with anthropomorphic animals replacing humans, the series features a rabbit ronin, Miyamoto Usagi, whom...
as Yagi and Gorogoro - the Lone Goat and Kid.
External links
- Lone Wolf and Cub at TV AsahiTV Asahi, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
- Dark Horse Comics: Lone Wolf and Cub manga
- Website of 2002 TV series (Japanese)
- Website of 2003 TV series (Japanese)