Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
Encyclopedia
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (Japanese: 子連れ狼 子を貸し腕貸しつかまつる or Kozure Ōkami: Kowokashi udekashi tsukamatsuru, literally Wolf with Child in Tow: Child and Expertise for Rent) 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.
, Ogami Ittō, disgraced former executioner
, or Kogi Kaishakunin
, to the shogun
, wanders the countryside, pushing a baby cart with his 3-year-old son Daigoro inside. A banner hangs off his back. "Ogami: Suiouryo technique" (Child and expertise for rent), it says. His services are asked for in a most unexpected way, when an insane woman seizes Daigoro from the cart and proceeds to try and breastfeed
the boy. Daigoro at first hesitates, but after stern look from his father, he proceeds to suckle the crazy woman's breast. The woman's mother then apologizes for her daughter's behavior and tries to give Ittō money, but the stoic
ronin
refuses, saying his son was hungry anyway.
As he walks in the rain, he remembers another rainy day several months earlier when his wife, Asami, was slain by three ninjas, ostensibly in revenge for Ittō's execution of a boy daimyo
, but it was really part of a complicated plot by the shogun's inspector Bizen and the "Shadow" Yagyū Clan to frame Ittō for treason and take over the executioner's post.
Now a wandering assassin for hire, Ittō takes a job from a Chamberlain
, to kill a rival and his gang of henchmen, who pose a threat to the chamberlain's lord. The chamberlain plans to test Ittō, but a quick slash behind his back with his Dotanuki
sword dispatches the chamberlain's two men. The targets are in a remote mountain village that is home to hot-spring
spa pools.
As Ittō pushes the baby cart, and Daigoro observes scenes of nature, such as a mother dog suckling one puppy, and two children singing a song and bouncing a ball, Ittō thinks back again to the time just after his wife was killed. He gave Daigoro a choice between a toy ball or the sword. If the child chose the ball, Ittō would put him to death send him to be with his mother – a better place in his opinion. But the curious child reaches for the sword – he has chosen to take the path of the ronin with his father, to live like demon
s at the crossroads
to hell
.
Eventually, Ittō reaches the hot-spring village. He finds that the rival chamberlain and his men have hired a band of ronins who have taken over the town and are raping, looting and pillaging. Ittō is forced to give up his sword and take his place as a hostage in the village.
The ronins discuss killing Ittō, but then decide to let him live if he will have sex
with the town's remaining prostitute while they watch. The prostitute refuses to have any part in it, but then she's threatened by one of the men, a knife expert, and in order to save the woman, Ittō steps forward and disrobes, saying he will do the men's bidding with the woman.
The episode takes one more trip back to the past, for the dramatic beheading and blood-spurting scene in which Ittō defeats one of Yagyū Retsudo's best swordsman, with the aid of a mirror on Daigoro's forehead to reflect the sun into the swordsman's eyes.
And then there is the big showdown in the village, where it is revealed that the baby cart harbors some secrets – various edged weapons, including a spear-like naginata
, which Ittō uses to take out the evil chamberlain's men, chopping one off at his ankles, leaving the bloody stumps of his feet still standing on the ground.
One of the men has matchlock
pistol
s, but Ittō quickly upturns the baby cart, which is revealed to be armored underneath, and when the gunman's pistols are empty, Ittō quickly leaps over the baby cart and brings his blade down on the man's forehead, splitting it two.
Ittō leaves the village, and the prostitute hopes to follow, but Ittō makes a motion to cut the ropes on the bridge leading to town, to stop her from following, for the journey he is on is one that is for only him and Daigoro to make.
and is played by Tatsuo Endo. In the final two films, Baby Cart in the Land of Demons
and White Heaven and Hell
, he is portrayed by Minoru Ohki (with an eyepatch
).
, to make Shogun Assassin
, a 1980
film released as an English-language compilation for American
audiences.
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:...
, 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 unspecific year of the Edo periodEdo 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....
, Ogami Ittō, disgraced former executioner
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
, or 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....
, to 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...
, wanders the countryside, pushing a baby cart with his 3-year-old son Daigoro inside. A banner hangs off his back. "Ogami: Suiouryo technique" (Child and expertise for rent), it says. His services are asked for in a most unexpected way, when an insane woman seizes Daigoro from the cart and proceeds to try and breastfeed
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
the boy. Daigoro at first hesitates, but after stern look from his father, he proceeds to suckle the crazy woman's breast. The woman's mother then apologizes for her daughter's behavior and tries to give Ittō money, but the stoic
STOIC
STOIC was a variant of Forth.It started out at the MIT and Harvard Biomedical Engineering Centre in Boston, and was written in the mid 1970s by Jonathan Sachs...
ronin
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....
refuses, saying his son was hungry anyway.
As he walks in the rain, he remembers another rainy day several months earlier when his wife, Asami, was slain by three ninjas, ostensibly in revenge for Ittō's execution of a boy daimyo
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...
, but it was really part of a complicated plot by the shogun's inspector Bizen and the "Shadow" Yagyū Clan to frame Ittō for treason and take over the executioner's post.
Now a wandering assassin for hire, Ittō takes a job from a Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
, to kill a rival and his gang of henchmen, who pose a threat to the chamberlain's lord. The chamberlain plans to test Ittō, but a quick slash behind his back with his Dotanuki
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 dispatches the chamberlain's two men. The targets are in a remote mountain village that is home to hot-spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
spa pools.
As Ittō pushes the baby cart, and Daigoro observes scenes of nature, such as a mother dog suckling one puppy, and two children singing a song and bouncing a ball, Ittō thinks back again to the time just after his wife was killed. He gave Daigoro a choice between a toy ball or the sword. If the child chose the ball, Ittō would put him to death send him to be with his mother – a better place in his opinion. But the curious child reaches for the sword – he has chosen to take the path of the ronin with his father, to live like demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s at the crossroads
Intersection (road)
An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . An intersection may be 3-way - a T junction or fork, 4-way - a crossroads, or 5-way or more...
to hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
.
Eventually, Ittō reaches the hot-spring village. He finds that the rival chamberlain and his men have hired a band of ronins who have taken over the town and are raping, looting and pillaging. Ittō is forced to give up his sword and take his place as a hostage in the village.
The ronins discuss killing Ittō, but then decide to let him live if he will have sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with the town's remaining prostitute while they watch. The prostitute refuses to have any part in it, but then she's threatened by one of the men, a knife expert, and in order to save the woman, Ittō steps forward and disrobes, saying he will do the men's bidding with the woman.
The episode takes one more trip back to the past, for the dramatic beheading and blood-spurting scene in which Ittō defeats one of Yagyū Retsudo's best swordsman, with the aid of a mirror on Daigoro's forehead to reflect the sun into the swordsman's eyes.
And then there is the big showdown in the village, where it is revealed that the baby cart harbors some secrets – various edged weapons, including a spear-like naginata
Naginata
The naginata is one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a pole weapon. Naginata were originally used by the samurai class in feudal Japan, and naginata were also used by ashigaru and sōhei .-Description:A naginata consists of a wooden shaft with a curved...
, which Ittō uses to take out the evil chamberlain's men, chopping one off at his ankles, leaving the bloody stumps of his feet still standing on the ground.
One of the men has matchlock
Matchlock
The matchlock was the first mechanism, or "lock" invented to facilitate the firing of a hand-held firearm. This design removed the need to lower by hand a lit match into the weapon's flash pan and made it possible to have both hands free to keep a firm grip on the weapon at the moment of firing,...
pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
s, but Ittō quickly upturns the baby cart, which is revealed to be armored underneath, and when the gunman's pistols are empty, Ittō quickly leaps over the baby cart and brings his blade down on the man's forehead, splitting it two.
Ittō leaves the village, and the prostitute hopes to follow, but Ittō makes a motion to cut the ropes on the bridge leading to town, to stop her from following, for the journey he is on is one that is for only him and Daigoro to make.
Cast
- 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 - Akihiro Tomikawa as Daigoro
- Tomoko Mayama as Osen, the prostitute
- Taketoshi Naitô as Bizen
- Reiko Kasahara as Asami
- Tokio Oki as Yagyū Retsudo
Production
Ittō's mortal enemy Yagyū Retsudo is depicted in four of the six Baby Cart movies and is portrayed by three different actors. Tokio Oki portrays him in this film. The character returns in the fourth film Baby Cart in PerilLone 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...
and is played by Tatsuo Endo. In the final two films, 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,...
and White Heaven and 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...
, he is portrayed by Minoru Ohki (with an eyepatch
Eyepatch
An eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...
).
Alternate version
Twelve minutes of footage from Sword of Vengeance was combined with most of the second film in the series, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River StyxLone 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...
, to make 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....
, a 1980
1980 in film
- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
film released as an English-language compilation for American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
audiences.