Shinsengumi shimatsuki

Raizo Ichikawa joins the Shinsengumi, the elite military police force established by the Shogunate in 1863. It isn't just a matter of police work. Despite the high-minded and oppressive rules, there's corruption and opposition from the clans, particularly the Chosu clan, which had been exiled from the imperial court. Who can be trusted?

Kenji Misumi's movie is a constant whirlwind of fighting, bleeding, and corpses strewn before a backdrop of beauty. There is no time for more than elementary character exposition. Given Ichikawa's star persona, that wasn't considered a necessity. He played a good samurai in a corrupt world. He knew he was starring in high-class progammers. He had come out of kabuki, and noted " In Kabuki you're no good unless you're old. In film you're no good once you're old. While I'm still young I'll make a living in film, once I've gotten older I'll try kabuki again."

He never got old. He died in 1969 of cancer. He was only 37 when he died, a veteran of more than 150 movies in a 14-year film career.