

Kazuo Ikehiro
Directing
October 25, 1929
Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Kazuo Ikehiro got his start as an assistant working for directors like Kenji Mizoguchi and Kon Ichikawa. He always had a strong preference for working in jidai-geki and says that he only did a number of modern-day yakuza films because of studio demands. Ikehiro developed a gritty, unconventional style that made him an excellent match for Zatoichi and the antihero screen personae of Raizo Ichikawa. Possibly his greatest achievement came with Raizo, when he played an instrumental part in the Nemuri Kyoshiro series. The first three movies had been fairly straightforward chambara adventures, but with 1964's Sword of Seduction, Ikehiro steered the series into the surreal and stylistically outrageous extremes that made the Son of the Black Mass so legendary.
The Filmography


Slaughter in the Snow

The Fearless Avenger

The Trail of Blood

Naked Ambition

Sleepy Eyes of Death 14: Fylfot Swordplay

Prison Break

Broken Swords

Sleepy Eyes of Death 12: Castle Menagerie

Hoodlum Priest And The Gold Mint

Lone Wolf Isazo

Sleepy Eyes of Death 9: Trail of Traps

Shinobi no mono 8: The Three Enemies

Zatoichi's Pilgrimage

The Thieves' Who's Who

Young Boss: Prison Release

Young Boss

Shinobi No Mono 5: Return of Mist Saizo

Sleepy Eyes of Death 4: Sword of Seduction
