The Tattooed Hitman

"Bloodshed Is My Business"

1974 1h 46m JA

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 4

DramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The most dangerous hired gun in Kyushu's underworld has managed to trigger a vicious gang war, and now, there's a contract on his life. Though nobody is more skilled in the arts of dealing death, can the tattooed hitman fend off the entire Japanese mafia as he searches for the man who wants him dead?

“Bloodshed Is My Business”

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Cast

Bunta Sugawara
Ginji Yozokura
Mayumi Nagisa
Fusako Ando
Tsunehiko Watase
Kenichi Furuta
Tatsuo Umemiya
Ichiro Ishino
Hiroki Matsukata
Shoichi Gunji
Kei Satō
Yukio Yamaji
Takashi Shimura
Bukichi Oura
Gorō Ibuki

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kōsaku Yamashita
Writers: Koichi Iiboshi, Kōji Takada
Languages: Japanese, Korean
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

52 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, Korean.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Yamaguchi Gang Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kōsaku Yamashita, shot by Nagaki Yamagishi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Masao Yagi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Isamu Ichida shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bunta Sugawara and Mayumi Nagisa and Tsunehiko Watase carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Bloodshed Is My Business".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kōsaku Yamashita directs. Nagaki Yamagishi behind the camera. Masao Yagi scores. Isamu Ichida cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese, Korean.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

152 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, Korean.
3Part of the "Yamaguchi Gang Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Kōsaku Yamashita, shot by Nagaki Yamagishi. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Masao Yagi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Isamu Ichida shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bunta Sugawara and Mayumi Nagisa and Tsunehiko Watase carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Bloodshed Is My Business".
9IMDB entry: tt0201344 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Nagaki Yamagishi
Original score: Masao Yagi
Editing: Isamu Ichida
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Status: Released
Box office: $2,735,000
Original language: JA
IMDB: The Tattooed Hitman (1974)

Part of

Yamaguchi Gang Collection

An unfinished trilogy of jitsuroku yakuza films produced by Toei about the Yamaguchi Gang, starring Ken Takakura as Kazuo Taoka. After the first and second entries ("Japan's Top Gangster" and "Third Generation Boss") and a spin-off starring Bunta Sugawara ("The Tattooed Hitman"), the series was cancelled due to political pressure, and the planned third entry was reworked into a standalone ninkyo film ("Path of Japanese Chivalry: Story of All-Out Attack").