We think of Junko Fuji as the Keanu Reeves of vintage Japanese action movies, working with no more than three to four basic facial expressions to achieve an end result that’s always better than it should be. The above poster promotes her return as Hibotan bakuto‘s wandering gambler Oryu the Red Peony, in a sequel titled Hibotan bakuto: Isshuku ippan, aka Red Peony Gambler: Gambler’s Obligation.
In this new episode, which premiered in Japan today in 1968, Oryu has drifted into a village and been sheltered by a yakuza boss who’s trying to corner the local silk manufacturing market. Part of his plan involves buying the debts of the area mulberry farmers from local loan sharks, but the scheme instead ends up getting him killed. Junko vows revenge, and finds herself in the middle of a district-wide yakuza takeover plan. There are other plot complications, but the movie is mainly an action-drama about the yakuza code being broken for the sake of greed.
Interestingly, Junko violates the code herself—she uses a pistol. Actually, we can’t say for sure that she breaks the code, not being yakuza ourselves, but considering how shocked her enemies are when she unlimbers her rod we have to think so. At the least, it may be bad form, using a heater in a society that settles its differences with cold steel. But if it works, so be it. She needs every advantage she can get, beset as she is by six to eight blade swinging villains at a time.
Her revenge quest duly carries her toward a confrontation with the top yakuza, and along the way she picks up a couple of followers and one very useful swordsman. The choreographed action prevalent at the time might not excite modern viewers, but we love it—it’s constrained by muscle power, physical coordination, and gravity. Junko does fine within those parameters. In Hibotan bakuto: Isshuku ippan we can’t find many flaws. Proceed with confidence.
