Lead actress Meiko Kaji also is an accomplished singer, and she performs the song "Shura no Hana" heard in the film. When Quentin Tarantino used the song in his "Kill Bill" films, it sparked renewed interest in her music that inspired her to record and release new songs for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Based on the Lady Snowblood manga by Kazuo Koike.
Along with its sequel, this movie served as one of the main inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's movies Kill Bill Volume 1 and 2.
Meiko Kaji was originally supposed to say the word "tears" at the end, but this line was ultimately cut from the film.