Ishii Teruo has operated under the popular and critical
radar in the West for much of his five-decade career,
though in Japan he is known as “the king of cult” and
considered one of the leading genre directors of his generation.
One reason is that he was absent from the
screen for a fourteen-year stretch, from 1979 to 1993,
when fans in the West were discovering the delights of
Suzuki Seijun and Kato Tai, who like Ishii, worked in the
once-lightly-regarded yakuza genre, but, unlike him, had
remained active as feature directors after the yakuza
movie boom ended.
When a new generation of Japanese fans started flocking
to Ishii’s comeback films, such as Gensenkan Shujin
(Master of the Gensenkan Inn, 1993) and Nejishiki (Wind-
Up Type, 1998), contemporary Fukasaku Kinji was making
a far bigger splash overseas, first with revivals of his
seminal Jingi Naki Tatakai (Battles Without Honor and
Humanity, 1973-74) series and then with his hit dystopian
fantasy Battle Royale (2000).
Ishii, on the other hand, never had a big break-out film in
the West. The films that did appear in sub-titled or
dubbed versions abroad, including his Sonny Chiba martial
arts actioners and “ero-guro” films, tended to be better
known for their stars or lurid subject matter (torture!
strange sex! naked geisha!) than their director. Meanwhile,
some of his best work, including his Line series for
the defunct Shin Toho studio, long languished in vaults.
Still another reason is the nature of his output. Ishii did
not fall into the usual cult hero categories, such as selfdestructive
rebel (Suzuki), bold innovator (Fukasaku) or
neglected genius (Kato). Though he occasionally tested
the limits of studio patience, he never exceeded them
and, like Suzuki, got himself dramatically fired. Though he
played with genre conventions, he rarely made a frontal
assault on them, as did Fukasaku with his Jingi series.
And though he wove a distinctively jazzy, propulsive
rhythm into his action films, he never developed an
instantly recognizable style, as did Kato with his trademark
low angles and extreme close-ups.
Instead, Ishii has been accused of making formula product
to order while chasing Hollywood trends, but never
quite catching up. True, he did his share of hack work,
turning out the popular Abashiri Bangaichi (The Man from
Abashiri Jail) series with barely a pause: four alone in
1966, ten altogether between 1964 and 1967. But he
was also a meticulous craftsman, master improviser,
accomplished editor and unregenerate dandy. Also,
although he bent to the studio winds, he rarely walked
the same path as his studio colleagues. Despite his nearly
two decades with Toei, his subjects and style put him outside
the studio mainstream.
He is best known, both in Japan and elsewhere, for his
“ero-guro” films, beginning with Tokugawa Onna Keizu
(Pedigree of the Tokugawa Women, 1968). This lewd, rude, semi-nude romp among the concubines of the fifth
Shogun may have started as the brainchild of Toei president
Okada Shigeru, but Ishii made it his own, with an
unabashed eroticism that raised the hackles of the conservative
Toei staff. “Ero-guro” - the term is a Japanese-
English amalgam of “erotic” and “grotesque” - flourished
as a literary and artistic movement in the Twenties and
early Thirties. One prominent leader was Edogawa
Rampo (Taro Hirai, 1894-1965), a popular writer who
specialised in tales of the mysterious and bizarre, much
like his idol Edgar Allan Poe, from whom he derived his
pen name.
The roots of “ero-guro” however, go much deeper, to the
Edo period (1600-1867), when writers and artists of the
urban demimonde freely indulged their curiosity in everything
from strange sexual games to horrendous crimes,
as well as their various conjoinings, both real and imaginary.
Ishii channeled this pre-modern “ero guro” spirit, in
contrast to Suzuki, who preferred its Taisho-era (1912-
1926) incarnation. Also, while Suzuki created dreamworlds
that blended fantasy and reality, Ishii often
approached his subject matter in the guise of a cultural
historian, albeit one with a semi-permanent leer.
His explicit portrayal of Edo-era rape, torture and sexual
perversities, behind the mask of the “objective” narrator,
may impress some as the fantasies of a dirty old man,
realized with the resources of a major studio (if with, by
today’s standards, primitive effects). Yet a closer look at
the films often reveals, in the guise of a disapproving
doctor, elderly lady-in-waiting or other “normal” character,
that far from simple-mindedly reveling in his onscreen
outrages, Ishii is well aware of their moral character,
as judged by the standards of the society at large.
That he does not come down four-square for these standards,
that he, in fact, has sympathy for his various devils
and takes obvious relish in portraying them and their
nefarious works on the screen, is very much in line with
the “ero-guro” tradition. It is also very much out of step
with not only Western PC attitudes, but the desire of many
modern Japanese (including ones at Ishii’s former studio,
Toei) to present only the positive sides of their culture to
the outside world.
Noble yakuza heroes, in other words, not the wandering
swordsman-for-hire of Porno Jidaigeki: Bohachi Bushido
(Porno Period Drama: Bohachi Bushido,1973), who joins
a band of outcasts that serve every deviant appetite in
the Yoshiwara red-light district. Colorful, warm-hearted
rural folk, not the freaks of Edogawa Ranpo Taizen Kyofu
Kikei Ningen (Horror of the Malformed Men,1969), whose
bizarre appearance and behavior make them seem, less
like escapees from a sideshow than apparitions in a mad,
bad dream.
The inhabitants of Ishii’s “ero-guro” world may be very
much his creations, but they have a long, surprisingly distinguished
lineage in. Today their descendants can be
found flourishing in manga, animation and the films of
Ishii’s juniors, particularly the work of Miike Takashi,
Ishii’s taboo-shattering spiritual heir.
Ishii is more various than his “ero guro” films would indicate,
however. Like the man he has called his directorial
“brother,” Jonathan Demme, Ishii has taken on a wide
range of projects, from kiddy monster movies to sophisticated
thrillers, while giving each one his personal stamp.
Born in Tokyo in 1920, Ishii was raised in the city’s
Asakusa district, where his father managed a cotton
wholesaling business. In 1939 he dropped out of Waseda
University and entered the Toho studio through a friend’s
introduction. He began as an assistant director, but at the end of the war he was in Manchuria, taking aerial photographs
for bombing runs. He joined the Shin Toho studio
on its founding in March 1947 and was once again
assigned as an assistant director. Among his credits are
Naruse Mikio’s Ishinaka Sensei no Gyojoki (Conduct
Report on Professor Ishinaka, 1950) and Shimizu
Hiroshi’s Shiinomi Gakuen (Shiinomi School, 1955). While
working as a member of Shimizu’s crew Ishii studied
script writing under Sekizawa Shin’ichi.
In 1957 he made his directorial debut with Ring no Oja:
Eiko no Sekai (King of the Ring - The World of Glory,
1957), a boxing film. He next turned his hand to the
Super Giants SF series (1957-58), directing six of nine
installments about super-sized aliens come to earth to
preserve world peace - the first of countless costumed
Japanese superhero films and TV programs. His best
remembered films from his Shin Toho period, however,
are the four entries in the Line series (1958-1961) that
explored the contemporary underworld with wit and style,
to a contemporary jazz soundtrack. Though inspired by
Hollywood models, they were grounded in present-day
realities - and were definitely products of Ishii’s playful,
inventive mind.
In 1961, with Shin Toho falling in bankruptcy, Ishii moved
to New Toei, where he directed Hana to Arashi to Gang
(Flower, Storm and Gang, 1961), a comic heist movie
whose box office success boosted Takakura Ken to stardom
and spawned an eleven-part series.
After this success, Ishii struck out into new territory, filming
the Matsumoto Seicho mystery Kiiroi Fudo (The Yellow
Land, 1961) and the William P. McGiven thriller Rogue Cop
- called Boss o Taose (Kill the Boss, 1963) in Ishii’s version.
In 1963 he made his first period drama, Showa
Kyokyakuden (Tales of Chivalry in the Showa Period,
1963), a hit that helped fuel the yakuza movie boom.
In 1965 Ishii had his biggest smash of the decade with
Abashiri Bangaichi (The Man From Abashiri Jail, 1965), a
prison break movie based on Stanley Kramer’s The
Defiant Ones. Once again Takakura Ken starred, while his
soulful rendition of the title song flew up the charts. Toei
released a total of 18 Abashiri Bangaichi films, of which
Ishii directed ten before exiting the series in 1966.
After directing one film for Shochiku, Daiakuto Sakusen
(Big Villain Plan, 1966), he returned to the Toei fold,
where he made a series of eight “ero-guro” films, starting
with Tokugawa Onna Keizu (Pedigree of the Tokugawa
Women) and concluding with Porno Jidaigeki: Bohachi
Bushido (Porno Period Drama: Bohachi Bushido, 1973) .
In the mid-Seventies Ishii made martial arts films starring
Sonny Chiba - Toei’s attempt to cash in on the popularity
of Bruce Lee. The next hot trend was biker movies, which
Ishii churned out until Boryoku Senshi (Violent
Warriors,1979), a film inspired by Walter Hill’s The
Warriors.
Throughout the Eighties, Ishii directed for television, not
returning to films until 1991 with the Toei straight-tovideo
title The Hitman: Chi wa Bara no Nioi (The Hitman -
Blood Smells Like Roses).
His feature comeback was Tsuge Yoshiharu World:
Gensenkan Shujin (Master of the Gensenkan Inn, 1993), a
four-part anthology film based on the work of underground
comic icon Tsuge Yoshiharu. He later helmed two
more films based on Tsuge’s manga: Burai Heiya
(Vagabond Plain, 1995) and Nejishiki (Wind-Up Type,
1998). In 1999 Ishii released Jigoku (Hell), his vision of
the netherworld, partly inspired by the hellish crimes of
the Aum Shinrikyo sect, and in 2001 Moju vs. Issun Boshi
(Blind Beast vs. Issun Boshi), another excursion into the
strange based on a story by Edogawa Rampo.
Filmography/Filmografia
Moju vs. Isshun Boshi (Blind Beast vs. Issun Boshi, 2001),
Jigoku (Hell, 1999), Nejishiki (Wind-Up Type, 1998), Burai
Heiya (Vagabond Plain, 1995), Tsuge Yoshiharu World:
Gensenkan Shujin (Master of the Gensenkan Inn, 1993),
The Hitman: Chi wa Bara no Nioi (The Hitman - Blood
Smells Like Roses, 1991) (V), Boryoku Senshi (1979),
Wakusei Robot Dangard A tai Konchu Robot Gundan
(1977), Bakuhatsu! Boso Yugi (1976), Boso no Kisetsu
(1976), Kinkin no Lumpen Taisho (1976), Jitsuroku 3
Okuen Jiken: Jiko Seiritsu (1975), Bakuhatsu! Bosozoku
(1975), Daidatsugoku (1975), Chokugeki Jigokuhen: Dai
Gyakuten (1974), Chokugeki! Jigokuhen (Direct Hit! Hell
Fist; Executioner, 1974), Gyakushu! Satsujin Ken
(Revenge! The Killing Fist; Street Fighter Counterattacks!;
The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge, 1974), Gendai Ninkyoshi
(1973), Porno Jidaigeki: Bohachi Bushido (1973),
Yasagure Anago Den: Sokatsu Lynch (Female Yakuza Tale:
Inquisition and Torture, 1973), Hidirimen Bakuto (1972),
Kyofu Kikei Ningen (1972), Genroku Onna Keizu (1970),
Kaidan Nobori Ryu (The Blind Woman’s Curse; The
Haunted Life of a Dragon-Tattooed Lass; Tattooed
Swordswoman, 1970), Kangoku ninbetsucho, 1970),
Koroshiya Ninbetsucho (1970), Noboriryu Tekkahada (The
Friendly Killer,1970), Edogawa Ranpo Taizen Kyofu Kikei
Ningen (1969), Ijo Seai Kiroku Harenchi (1969), Menji
Taisho Showa Ryoki Onna Hanzaishi (1969), Tokugawa
Irezumishi Seme Jigoku (Hell’s Tattooers, 1969), Yakuza
Keibatsushi Lynch (Yakuza Punishment: Lynch, 1969),
Zankoku Ijo Gyakutai Monogatari Genroku Jokeizu, 1969),
Tokugawa Onna Keizu (1968), Zoku Otoshimae (1968),
Onsen Anma Geisha (1968), Tokugawa onna keibatsushi
(The Joys of Torture; Punishment of the Tokugawa
Women, 1968), Abashiri Bangaichi: Aku Eno Chosen
(1967), Otoshimae (1967), Abashiri Bangaichi: Fubuki no
Toso (1967), Abashiri Bangaichi: Ketto Reika 30-do
(1967), Abashiri Bangaichi: Dai-setsugen no Taiketsu
(1966), Abashiri Bangaichi Hokkai-hen (1966), Abashiri
Bangaichi: Koya no Taiketsu (1966), Abashiri Bangaichi:
Nangoku no Taiketsu (1966), Daiakuto Sakusen (1966),
Nippon Zero Chitai: Yoru wo Nerae (1966), Shinka 101:
Koroshi no Yojinbo (1966), Abashiri Bangaichi: Bokyohen
(1965), Zoku Abashiri Bangaichi (1965), Abashiri
Bangaichi (The Man from Abashiri Jail, 1965), Kaoyaku
(1965), Irezumi Totsugekitai (1964), Gokinzo yaburi
(1964). Narazu-mono (1964), Tokyo Gang tai Hong Kong
Gang (Gang 9; Tokyo Gang vs. Hong Kong Gang, 1964),
Showa Kyokyakuden (1963), Boss o Taose (1963), Gang
tai G-men: Shudan Kinko Yaburi (Gang 6, 1963),
Ankokugai no Kaoyaku: Juichinin no Gang (Boss of the
Underworld: Gang of 11; Gang 5, 1963), Gang tai Gang
(Gang 3, 1962), Taiheiyo no G-men (The G-men of the
Pacific, 1962), Koi to Taiyo to Gang (Gang 2, 1962), Kiiroi
Fudo (1961), Ren’ai Zubari Koza (1961), Sexy Chitai
(Sexy Line, 1961), Kiri to Kage (1961), Hana to Arashi to
Gang (Flower, Storm and Gang; Gang 1, 1961), Jobachi to
Daigaku no Ryu (1960), Kurosen Chitai (Black Line,
1960), Nyotai Uzumaki Jima (Yellow Line, 1960), Mofubuki
no Shito (1959), Nippon Romance Ryoko: Sapporo Han
(1959), Senjo no Nadeshiko (1959), Jobachi no Ikari
(1958), Shirosen Himitsu Chitai (White Line, 1958), Jotai
Senbashi (1958), Amagi Shinju Tengoku ni Musubu Koi
(1958),- Super Giants Uchutei to Jinko Eisen no Kekitotsu
(Destruction of the Space Fleet; Super Giants 6, 1958),
Super Giants Jinko Eisen to Jinrui no Hametsu (Spaceship
of Human Destruction; Super Giants 5, 1958), Gonin no
Hanzaisha (1957), Super Giants Chikyu Metsubo Sunzen
(The Earth in Danger; Super Giant 4, 1957), Super Giants
Kaiseijin no Majo (Invaders >From the Planets (Super
Giants 3, 1957), Zoku Super Giants (Rescue From Outer
Space; Super Giants 2, 1956), Super Giants (The Steelman
from Outer Space; Super Giants 1, 1956), Ring no Oja:
Eiko no Sekai (1957
Mark Schilling