When The Godfather came out in 1972, the movie broke box office records and became an international hit. Before the film, organized crime families weren’t much of a target in American entertainment outside of The Untouchables reruns. In Japan, the Yakuza (their version of the Mafia) been the source for years of bullet filled movies although none had broken through in the American marketplace. We were denied some amazing mobster action. Oddly enough, when The Godfather movies arrived Toei studios wanted a film that reflected the “family” sensibilities of the Francis Ford Coppola movies except reflecting Japan’s underworld history. Akihiko Ito’s essay points out the real-life Godfather who is the basis of the three films. Over the course of three films, we see how one man attempted to take over Japan.
Japanese Godfather (1977 – 132 minutes) has the head of Abe Textile dealing with an executive being blackmailed after hooking up with a woman at a club. He doesn’t want his company disgraced in the press. He fears paying off the blackmailer will only lead to future payment. He drops by the headquarters of Nakajima-gumi to take a meeting with Kazumasa Sakura (The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice‘s Shin Saburi) to see if the mobsters can quietly take care of their issue. He even offers a large amount of cash as a donation for the favor. Turns out Sakura wants to take his Yakuza operation legit and part of it is being partners with businesses. He wants a merger with the Textile company. Sakura has Sakota (The Street Fighter‘s Sonny Chiba) and others take care of the problem with their new business partner. But is taking his crime operation into the legit world going to be a smooth transition from Sakura?
Sonny Chiba’s role is smaller than expected but his character has a major impact on the film. Why wasn’t he on the screen more? Chiba was extremely busy in 1977 appearing in 9 films also including Golgo 13: Assignment, Karate For Life, Doberman Cop and Hokuriku Proxy War. You get a concentrated Chiba experience here. Without spoiling the film, Chiba is not in the sequels. Although the studio found an equal in star power with the arrival of the legendary Toshirô Mifune (The Seven Samurai) on the marquee.
Japanese Godfather: Ambition (1977 – 141 minutes) has the Nakajima-gumi dealing with a turf war when Kanto Alliance arrives. This powerful organization is led by Kosuke Oishi (Toshirô Mifune). Like Sakura, Oishi has that semi-legit dream for his operation so they aren’t relying on drugs, gambling and prostitution to keep the coffers full. The two rivals must battle in new ways outside of just sending their thugs to attack.
Japanese Godfather: Conclusion (1978 -131 minutes) has the power struggle get amped up with the man at the top of Japan’s underworld on the brink of death. Instead of appointing a successor, he wants Sakura and Oishi to work together in unity. This includes taking over Saipan Islands turf as the U.S. military is in the process of taking upgrading things there. Neither boss wants to share the future riches of the potential tourist trap. Which crime family will rule supreme? At the end of this great power struggle, we’re reminded of the small business that suffer the consequences of the mobster culture which makes this experience so much more than glamorizing the gangsters.
There is a distinctly different tone between the Japanese Godfather films compared to Battles Without Honor And Humanity. The camera angles and editing don’t get too wild on the screen here. There’s a more deliberate pacing from director Sadao Nakajima. While Japanese Godfather is inspired by the success of The Godfather, the Tokyo version has a much more impactful ending than Coppola’s Godfather Part III. The Japanese Godfather Trilogy is one where you don’t want to skip the final film so you can fully experience the rise and destruction of the new Yakuza.
The Video for all three films is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The transfers look sharp so you’ll see the intrigue of the power struggles. The Audio is LPCM 1.0 mono. You’ll hear all the bullets clearly. The movies are subtitled in English.
Sadao Nakajima (33:12) is a vintage interview with the director from 2019 (he passed way in 2023). Sadao gets into his rift with actor Koji Tsuruta and how Japanese Godfather reunited them.
Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (16:09) has the director of Kichiku talk about studying under Sadao Nakajima. Turns out the director was still busy making films so he didn’t hang out on campus. When Sadao was on campus, he had a bit of an entourage with him. But he wasn’t removed from the kids. He did mentor Kazuyoshi on his scripts at school. They even meet after he’d graduated from school. They’d hang out at a cafe, smoke as Sadao recounted tales of Japanese filmmaking fun.
Koji Takada (28:54) has the screenwriter of the trilogy talks about how the project came about. He points out his cameo in the film. He admits that after the success of The Godfather, he was invited to play mahjong at a producer’s house. He raved about the Brando film. He gets into how The Godfather was about family, but the Yakuza has members alienate their families to join the criminal group. Takada gets into how the casting worked for the all-star film.
Trailers for Part 1 (5:26) promises the reality of a crime family. We’ll see how they get their hooks in politicians and captains of industry. The first teaser was from when the film was in production and features clips from first day of shooting ceremonies. This is the culmination of Toei’s 30 years.
Trailers for Part II (6:30) immediately declares it a masterpiece. We know that the ambition is to take Tokyo. We get two teaser trailers. There’s even a clip from a press conference on the first film.
Trailers for Part III (6:03) lets us knows this is the conclusion of the films with the Clash of the Dons. Only one man can be The Don. It’s kind of like The Highlander. This includes the Teaser and the full length trailer.
Illustrated booklet has essays by Akihiko Ito and Tom Mes.
Radiance Films present The Japanese Godfather Trilogy. Directed by Sadao Nakajima. Screenplays by Koichi Iiboshi & Kôji Takada. Starring Shin Saburi, Toshirô Mifune, Chiezô Kataoka, Bunta Sugawara, Naoko Ôtani, Kô Nishimura and Sonny Chiba. Boxset Contents: 3 movies on 3 Blu-ray discs. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: February 24, 2026.
