Dedicated to Ryotaro Shiba
A Production of The Fukuro no Shiro Project
Iga was known from ancient times as 'the hidden land'.
Isolated by steep mountains...
...it was a perfect refuge for those defeated in political struggle.
Their descendants, in the Age of Civil War, were the famous 'ninja' of Iga.
Trained from childhood in stealth, they were employed in this time of upheaval...
...as spies, conspirators, agitators and assassins.
With their strong sense of tribal loyalty...
...they admitted allegiance to no lord.
Their stubborn independence earned them the heartfelt hatred of one man...
...the warlord Oda Nobunaga.
He feared that to leave this shadowy group outside the bounds of his control...
...would jeopardize his ambition to rule all of Japan.
September 1581
They're coming!
Hurry!
Nobunaga invaded the land of Iga, whose ninja inhabitants he hated...
...as if they were the demons of hell itself.
With their numberless arts of stealth...
...they could not be left free to learn his secrets and plot against him.
With a force of 50,000 men...
...he laid waste to Iga and massacred its people.
Leave no one of Iga alive!
Kill them all!
Shizu!
Rin! Pyo!
To! Sha!
Kai! Jin! Retsu!
Zai! Zen!
Ten long years passed after the destruction of Iga.
Rule of the land passed from Nobunaga to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
OWLS' CASTLE
Exeoutive Producer Shigeaki Hazama
Original Story Ryotaro Shiba
Screenplay Masahiro Shinoda & Katsuo Naruse
Producers Masaru Kakutani & Masaru Koibuchi
Photography Tatsuo Suzuki
Art Director Yoshinobu Nishioka
Music Joji Yuasa
Wardrobe Setsu Asakura
Lighting Sound Yoshio Unno Tetsuo Segawa
Editor Hiroshi Yoshida
Noh Director Period Consultant Hideo Kanze Toshiharu Takatsu
Period Music Sennojo Shigeyama
Production Manager Assistant Director Hidekazu Uehara Masaki Hamamoto
Action Director Motosada Mouri
SFX Art Consultant Kazuto Kawazoe Katsumi Asaba
Managing Producer Yoichi Matsumae A HYOGENSHA PRODUCTION
Starring
Kiichi Nakai
Mayu Tsuruta
Riona Hazuki
Takaya Kamikawa
Toshiya Nagasawa Jinpachi Nezu
Gaku Yamamoto Shohei Hino
Shoichi Ozawa Takashi Tsumura
Mako Iwamatsu
Toshio Kakei Kinnosuke Hanayagi Nobuko Tanaka
Akira Nakao Haruko Mabuchi
Atsuo Nakamura
Shima Iwashita
Directed by Masahiro Shinoda
Yodo Castle, August 1591
Death of Tsurumatsu, aged 3, Hideyoshi's son and heir
Lord Tokugawa will do anything to show loyalty to the Taiko!
The old fox!
And you will not, Lord Mitsunari?
I suppose I must.
Summon Hattori Hanzo.
Hanzo? He's right there.
What use have we for a man of Iga?
Did you see how the old man wailed when he lost his heir?
Cutting his topknot! How can he rule the country if he can't rule himself?
Who knows what he'll do next!
September 1 59 1
Taiko Hideyoshi assembles lords from across the land...
...and orders the invasion of Korea.
I have today resolved to send soldiers to Korea...
...and thence to invade the land of the Ming Emperor!
Appointing Nagoya, in Kyushu, as his army's headquarters...
...Hideyoshi builds a castle there even larger than that of Osaka.
You there! Yonder priest!
Go no further! Beyond there...
...is no place for man to dwell!
Come out, Tsuzura Juzo!
It is Shimotsuge Jirozaemon.
Master!
What brings you to a place even wild beasts shun?
It will soon be ten years you've been hidden here.
I come with a task for you.
After ten years, you speak first of a task?
It is no ordinary task. It is to kill Hideyoshi.
Hideyoshi?
Kill Hideyoshi?
Might I ask why?
Does it not please you?
I have renounced the world.
Did you not come here to await revenge?
In these ten years...
...Akechi has killed Nobunaga...
...and Hideyoshi has killed Akechi.
Kill Hideyoshi, and someone else will simply take his place.
Such wisdom you have found here?
But I cannot let you live knowing what you now know.
Your skill has not left you.
You are truly the son of the greatest of ninja.
The rumors you had kept up your skills are true.
I am no match for you now.
Look at this.
There is a man with enough gold to move heaven and earth.
He wishes us to kill Hideyoshi.
Tsuzura Juzo...it is time to come down from the mountain.
Why not ask Gohei?
You always said his skill exceeded mine.
That low-caste traitor!
He has betrayed Iga and fled!
He has?
Have these years of carving Buddhas dulled your spirit, Juzo?
What?!
What enlightenment can you draw from a bandit's wisdom?
Women, children...Nobunaga left hardly a blade of grass standing in Iga.
Where is the sin in killing his successor?
Have you forgotten that vision of Hell?
Mother!
Shizu!
Juzo!
Juzo! We must go!
Juzo!
Master, please! Let me take revenge!
Fool! You carry the Tsuzura name now! You must not throw your life away!
There will be time to take a ninja's revenge!
Now go!
Master Juzo!
Kuroami! Where have you been hiding?
Ten long years... it seems like yesterday.
Rin! Pyo! To! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!
We will open a sword-grinder's shop on Sanjo Street in Kyoto.
The name will be 'Iseya'.
The Master bids us wait there for you.
With you here, Iga can breathe. It's as if spring has come again.
Even the fallen leaves will put forth flowers.
We await you in the capital.
Nara
Samurai!
Do you seek an inn for the night?
You're as quiet as the Buddha! My sake loses its taste.
What is your name?
Kohagi.
A beautiful name. Are you from Nara?
Yes.
And born here?
Yes.
And silent you are!
In Nara, the Great Buddha's city, a woman as silent as he!
I am drunk.
What is it?
That's funny.
What is?
You say you're drunk...
...when you haven't even taken a sip.
I am Juzo of Iga...
...called here at the hour of the ox.
Will you not say your name?
So this discourtesy is deliberate...
I know you are hidden there!
Show yourself!
Who are you?
We were paid by a treacherous woman...
...to lie in wait here...
...and cut down a man of Iga.
A woman?
And what...
...is to become of me?
I do not kill without cause.
I regret the deaths of these men.
Take this for their funeral rites.
I am Kumobe. I give you the life you have spared.
May I go with you?
As you wish.
Sakai
It's like a foreign land!
A town grown rich making guns!
Where do we go?
You go to the capital.
There is a sword-grinder's called Iseya in Sanjo Street.
Lodge there, and enjoy the sights of Kyoto.
The guns of Sakai match even those of Europe.
No, they are even better.
Obrigado.
Look after him.
Sokyu...
I don't believe I know you.
I have something to discuss with you.
Would you rob me?
You will not leave here alive.
I am no thief.
I have also been told to expect one Tsuzura Juzo, of Iga...
You have?
It takes skill to penetrate my walls and appear thus before me.
I have something to ask you.
Will you take tea?
Am I not Imai Sokyu, the tea-master?
So the ninja know how to drink tea...
Why would one enjoying the Taiko's favor plot against him?
Hideyoshi has gone mad.
He would close off our trade with Korea and the Empire of Ming.
The money he spends will go south to Hakata...
...closest to the mainland.
To do nothing will ruin us here in Sakai.
Hideyoshi has no successor. His death will bring civil war again.
And wealth to Sakai.
And what of the people war will ruin?
It is because of those war will ruin...
...that Sakai must lead the land to peace.
And with whom have you joined to set in Hideyoshi's place?
That is no concern of yours!
Perhaps we should drink sake
There happens to be a beautiful woman here.
You two have met.
She has made mock of me several times.
My adopted daughter.
She is?
She is the daughter of a vanquished noble house.
She will deliver my instructions to you.
A banquet stands ready.
Kyoto
Gojogawara
The arts of stealth brought the ninja of Iga their daily bread.
But Kuroami and his followers now had a different aim:
By slipping into the mansions of the noble and the great...
...and stealing the gold and treasure there...
...they sought to damage the authority of the Taiko...
...and destabilize his rule.
Wait!
But a powerful enemy appeared against them.
Charged by the City Commissioner with controlling these robberies...
...he was able to anticipate even the ninja of Iga.
He called himself Gero Shobei.
Iseya Sword Grinders
Are you hurt?!
May I help you?
Is there a Tsuzura Juzo lodged here?
'Tsuzura'?
We are sword-grinders.
The inns are in Kawaramachi.
If you don't know...
...perhaps your master might.
Sir...
Show her inside.
Welcome.
Sir! A customer!
How may I help you?
Could these be done by the 20th?
An excellent blade...
Boy...go tell Squire Yamagata his sword is ready.
What happened to your leg?
We were surprised last night.
A man better than you?
Gero Shobei.
I had not thought the City Commissioner...
...would have a man like that.
I lost many good men.
There was a woman here to see you.
A very beautiful woman?
Who is she?
The daughter of a vanquished warlord...
...adopted by Imai Sokyu of Sakai.
That's a lie. She is a ninja.
Kill her.
That I cannot.
We have lain together once.
Yours is an evil star.
Your 'princess' left you a letter.
'For the next ten days, at the hour of the ox.'
Hmm...she says she awaits me on the roof of the Jurakudai.
Hideyoshi's palace? The time has come to act!
No. She still wants to test my skill as a ninja.
Kazama Gohei!
Tsuzura Juzo?
Master Juzo!
Kisaru!
Wait!
I'm following someone.
When did you come here?
Keep away. Keep walking.
That was Kazama Gohei, no mistake.
He is a bad enemy to have.
Your father always said he was better than me.
I haven't seen my father for a while.
If Gohei has betrayed Iga...
...I'll stab him with my own hands.
How fierce you are!
You were raised almost as brother and sister!
I feel nothing for him!
That's harsh!
'Hell hath no fury'...
I'd better go.
Wait!
Have you further use of me?
I want to help you.
No.
Why not?
I need no help from a woman.
Do I lack in skill?
I might lose control.
Were it Tsuzura Juzo, I would not protest.
You disconcert me!
Shall I do so now?
It's you I've always loved.
This body I will give you. Make me your wife.
Ah, the palace of the Taiko!
'Tis a wonderful view!
'Tis wonderful indeed!
That is the voice of Kazama Gohei.
You're late, Tsuzura Juzo. I've been waiting.
Who said you would see me here?
A woman calling herself a messenger.
Whose side is she on?
Mine?
Yours?
I know not.
She surely picked a fine place...
...to juggle the two best ninja of Iga.
One of us is a ninja of Iga no more.
'Gero Shobei'...an official of the City Commissioner!
You know that, do you?
My ninja skills have made me a samurai with a 100-koku stipend...
...with former ninjas at my command.
I was always good at transforming myself.
Gohei...
...do you know my task here?
No.
To kill the man whose roof this is.
That Noh chanting below may be that same man.
He is said in these days to be crazed for it.
And?
Who hired you?
The ninja do not say who hires them.
That is the truth.
A 1 00-koku samurai forgets.
Come back to Iga. We will work together again.
I will never return to Iga.
The ninja are bandits.
They are demons who bury their children, demons in human form.
I have had enough.
I will use my demon's learning to raise myself to a better place.
And to he who interferes...
...I will show no mercy, Iga man or no.
Juzo...
Tonight, as Kazama Gohei, I will overlook what I see.
Tomorrow, as Gero Shobei, the Taiko's enemy is mine.
Fire!
An intruder!
Farewell.
They are blamed for the fire at the Taiko's palace.
But crucifixion?!
I hear things are worse down in the south.
When that castle's finished, he'll send all the workers to Korea!
With that war over there, they'll never see Japan again!
Any man who flees dies right then and there!
I managed to get away...
Fight and die, or run and be killed.
We're dead either way!
Who would live in a world under the Taiko's rule?!
It's cruel!
Not me!
I don't want to!
Who would not live under the Taiko?
It is being said...
...that the fire at the Taiko's palace last night is part of a plot against him.
Commissioner Maeda, what do you say?
We know because they take poison when caught...
...that the thieves infiltrating the city are from Iga.
But why, when it was Nobunaga who laid waste to Iga?
They harbor the same hatred for his successor.
When men fallen in the world see a gold palace...
...they want to burn it.
Lord Maeda feigns ignorance to mock us.
These rumors that fly about are aimed at the Taiko.
But who is it that employs these people of Iga?
You disguise yourself so well you almost fooled me.
No. The others are far better.
But it's interesting work, this skulking.
But it might not go well for you if Gero Shobei strikes again.
Certainly a man who can wound even Kuroami is no ordinary samurai.
His Lordship returns!
Milord!
Call Gero Shobei!
Gero Shobei...how long has this office employed you?
Six months, sir.
And why have you infiltrated here?
You cannot hide it.
None but a man of Iga could accomplish what you have.
As you say.
I was a bandit of Iga. My name is Kazama Gohei.
I came to hate life in the shadows.
I wished through my exploits to rise to the status of samurai.
It is not unheard of.
I am told Lord Tokugawa makes use of an Iga man named Hattori Hanzo.
I ask again.
Was it men of Iga like yourself who set fire to the Taiko's palace?
Yes...but...
The truth!
Don't forget that now you belong to the ancient house of Maeda!
Yes, Milord!
Isn't Dogen here yet?
He is here, Milord.
Where?
He is before the lord Maeda Gen'i.
Why must everyone mock me!
If you are Dogen, approach.
They say you are the finest ninja of Koga.
You are aware of the movements of the men of Iga here in Kyoto?
You seek to test me.
You have a man of Iga named Gero Shobei here in your own house.
So you knew that?
I am, after all, a ninja of Koga.
Well...
...who is the better man, you or Gero Shobei?
Milord, you are as those walnuts.
What do you mean?
Round and round they turn in your hand...
...until they are smooth enough to roll in any direction.
Such insolence!
Kusunoki?
Are you here?
Kusunoki?
Where are you?
Milady!
I'm sorry!
Kisaru!
A guest?
Yes. Someone of our land.
A very handsome man!
But a bore.
You redden!
Who is that?
The Saint of the Bamboo.
The Saint of the Bamboo?
Where?
What are you doing there?
Watching the bamboo...very closely.
I don't understand.
You need not.
Bamboo grows straight and tall. You have not.
Yours is a handsome face, but an evil one.
Do you mock me?
He will keep you talking all day.
Why did you betray Iga?!
No!
When will you marry me?
One day.
Liar! I can see it in your face.
Why did you discard Iga, and me?
I have dreams.
I have the wisdom and strength to make them come true.
I will not die a low-caste ninja.
If you won't have me, I'll kill you.
Isn't it Juzo you really want?
He won't have me.
He cannot love.
Your face is red.
Whenever I think of him, I blush.
Ah, me!
But my task now will not leave Juzo unscathed.
This is more than a mere contest between us.
Leave Kyoto until this is over.
Then be wife to whoever is left alive.
Do you hear me?
Gohei!
Not even Kisaru saw through his Saint's disguise...
This is no laughing matter! The Master has betrayed us!
When it comes to a daughter, he is still a father.
He is thinking of Kisaru.
He is our leader! He cannot have feelings of his own!
To give his daughter to Gohei, our enemy...
Enough!
Firewood!
Firewood for sale!
Leave here, Juzo.
Master!
This the work of Koga.
What?!
Brutality like this can only be Dogen of Koga.
Marishiten Dogen...
Who has set him against Iga?
I do not know. The only thing is to leave.
I will tell Sokyu.
March 1 592 Hideyoshi leaves Kyoto for Nagoya.
Look! You can all but see the vigor of our soldiers!
It is truly the sight of a lifetime!
April 1 3, 1592
Taking Pusan Castle, Japanese forces push north to the capital, Hansong.
No enemy can stand against their firearms...
...and with the Korean people also in revolt against their king...
...Hansong falls only 20 days later.
But by the early summer of 1 592...
...the Japanese forces are over-extended and short of supplies.
...and resistance by the Korean people brings the advance to a halt.