Jirocho Sangokushi Starring Koji Tsuruta (Jirocho), Yoshiko Sakuma (Ocho), Shingo Yamashiro, Minoru Oki, Hiroki Matsukata (Tsunagoro), Shunji Sakai (Shunkichi) Toei Company, 102 minutes Color, 2.35:1 scope ratio English-subtitled DVD: Kurotokagi Gumi

Masahiro Makino could rightly be considered the master of Shimizu no Jirocho movies. He made more films about the chivalrous yakuza boss than any other director, dating back to the 1930s. In the '50s he did a long-running series called Jirocho Sangokushi based on a novel by Genzo Murakami (the title means Jirocho's Tales of Three Provinces) and starring Akio Kobori. I've not seen any of these films yet but would definitely love to. After doing a number of movies featuring Jirocho and his men as supporting characters (such as Fighting Disposition and The Newcomer to Shimizu), Makino launched a new Jirocho Sangokushi series starting in 1963. This first part, given the English title Kingdom of Jirocho, is the only one I've seen and I look forward to getting my hands on the rest. I'm sure someday I'll have a better perspective on this movie in the context of Makino's greater body of Jirocho works, so for now I'll keep my comments brief.

In this series the role of Jirocho goes to Koji Tsuruta, an actor best known for playing modern-day yakuza and Musashi's rival Kojiro in Hiroshi Inagaki's Samurai trilogy. Tsurata does a great job of portraying the reserved calm of the legendary boss, and though he's younger than the typical Jirocho actor, that's perfectly appropriate since this is the story of how Jirocho got his start. This movie is very much Jirocho: Year One, detailing how the legendary boss rounded up his loyal 28 men and began building his reputation in the yakuza world.

After being on the road for two years, Jirocho returns to Shimizu and is reunited with his wife Ocho. His family members and old acquiantances still call him by his real name, Chogoro. It was standard practice for yakuza to adopt a professional alias, and it's unusual to hear the Chogoro name used in the other movies about Jirocho's later life. Jirocho's uncle and brother initially express disapproval over his line of work, warning him he will be branded an outlaw. "But that's because all the yakuza have been bad till now," Jirocho asserts. "I think I can be a good selfless yakuza."

The eager Onikichi is revealed as the first of Jirocho's men, pledging his allegiance after Jirocho saves him from a gang of dishonest gamblers. At first Jirocho is reluctant to take him on because he doesn't think he has the means to support any henchmen yet. But he finally agrees, and Onikichi takes a part-time job with a barrel maker next door to Jirocho's home to help out with money.

Tsunagoro becomes the next to join the crew, first appearing as a messenger delivering a challenge to Jirocho from a rival boss. When Jirocho sends Onikichi as his messenger to accept the challenge, Onikichi takes along a coffin from the barrel maker's shop. This is a classic scene that also takes place in Sadatsugu Matsuda's A Chivalrous Spirit. It's hilarious because Onikichi isn't at all morose or cowardly in carrying his own coffin to his expected death, he's absolutely thrilled with the idea. The gunslinging Tsunagoro comes to Onikichi's aid and decides Jirocho is the boss he'd rather serve.

Next the ronin Omasa comes along seeking the up-and-coming Boss Jirocho he's heard about. Omasa has grown weary of the samurai life and decides to become a yakuza, and Jirocho accepts the spear master as his third man. He is destined to become known as Jirocho's strongest henchman and de facto lieutenant. When Jirocho and his budding band are rushing off to some confrontation, a filthy, disheveled former monk with wild bushy hair tags along. His name isn't given and I've never seen this character before in a Jirocho movie, so I'll just call him Priest Pig-Pen. Jirocho and his men don't officially accept him into the gang, and mainly they complain about how he smells and wonder what he's doing there.

The final act of the film plays out another familiar incident when Jirocho takes his men to stay with his old friend Sataro who runs an inn. Sataro was prosperous when "Chogoro" knew him before, but now his gambling habit has ruined him and left his inn in a dilapidated state. Even Priest Pig-Pen complains about the shoddy accommodations. When Jirocho kindly gives him a loan, Sataro gambles it all away while his guests are sleeping. Then he steals and pawns their clothes for more money, which he also loses. A similar tale of the host with a gambling problem is told with different names and details in Matsuda's Road of Chivalry.

Kingdom of Jirocho ends anticlimactically with Sataro's admiring proclamation that Jirocho will one day be the greatest boss of the Tokaido Road, in ironic counterpoint with the spectacle of the not-so-heroic image of the yakuza gang running along in their underwear. Obviously this is just the beginning of a long journey, and I look forward to finding English-subtitled versions of the sequels so I can see the rest of the story.