Pulp International - Toei+Company

Jan 23 2020

Cold steel is fine but hot lead is a hell of a lot more efficient.

This poster was made for the classic Tomisaburô Wakayama gangster flick Kapone no shatei yamato damashi, known in English as A Boss with the Samurai Spirit. It's the third one we've found for the movie, and as you already know from our previous posts, these round promos are rare. They were made only by Toei Company, as far as we know, and only for a few years during the late 1960s and early ’70s. We have others we'll get to later. For now, see two more examples here and here, and a third in this group. Also, you can see the other two Kapone posters here and here.

Japan Toei Company Kapone no shatei yamato damashi カポネの舎弟やまと魂 A Boss with the Samurai Spirit Capone's Younger Brother: Heart and Speculation Tomisaburô Wakayama poster art cinema

Vintage Pulp

Nov 17 2019

New main ingredient, same old Female Prisoner Scorpion.

We've already shared two posters for Yumi Takigawa's women-in-prison pinky violence flick Shin joshuu sasori: 701-gô, aka New Female Prisoner Scorpion: 701, which premiered today in 1976. Above is the slightly different tateken sized poster, added here for the sake of completeness. The film is a reboot of the original Female Prisoner Scorpion series starring Meiko Kaji, and most consider it to be of lesser quality than the first four films, but quality is a relative term in pinku. Some would say all the films are bad. Not us. But some would say that. Bonus material: a Yumi promo image below. And you can see the other posters here and here.

Japan Toei Company Shin joshuu sasori: 701-gô New Female Prisoner Scorpion: 701 Yumi Takigawa 多岐川裕美 Meiko Kaji poster art cinema sexploitation pinku pinky violence

Vintage Pulp

Oct 27 2019

What music do you want played at your funeral?

The classic pinku revenge tale Zenka onna: koroshi-bushi, aka Criminal Woman: Killing Melody had three incredible posters, and with the sharing of this one we've completed the trifecta. This is a rare two-piece bo-ekibari, similar to what in the U.S. is sometimes called a billboard poster. You'll see it nowhere else online. At least not until it's taken from here. The movie starred icons Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto as deadly rivals, was perfectly directed by Atsushi Mihori, and premiered in Japan today in 1973. See the other two posters for this here and here.

Japan Toei Company Zenka onna: koroshi-bushi Criminal Woman: Killing Melody Reiko Ike Miki Sugimoto Atsushi Mihori sexploitation poster art cinema pinku pinky violence

Vintage Pulp

Sep 25 2019

Yamauchi and Shibata are back for an encore.

Several years ago we shared a rare tateken sized poster for Bankaku Rokku, aka Bankaku Rock, aka Ranking Boss Rock, and today, above, we're circling back to the film with the hansai sized poster, which we usually just call standard sized. We didn't share this in the earlier post because we didn't have it then. It just wasn't available at the time. That omission is now rectified. Something else that wasn't available back then was the movie. Well, we found that too. Our efforts are unceasing.

Bankaku Rokku is a juvie delinquent pinky violence flick in which the Akabane 100 Club and Ikebukuro Cavalry battle for supremacy. Emiko Yamauchi plays Yukiko, the “bankaku,” or chief bodyguard of the Akabane 100. When she's released from reform school she decides to settle an old score with the Cavalry gang's leader Taka, played by Etsuko Shibata. But Yukiko's revenge gets complicated when she's accused of a murder that was actually the work of Johuku Clan, a male gang of pimps and thieves.

This flick is all alienation and disaffection. When the police come looking for Yukiko her authoritarian father even urges them to give her the death penalty. Will Yukiko dodge the cops and get her sweet revenge? It wouldn't be pinky violence if she didn't at least get the chance. Broken bottles, supersharp scissors, and razor blades are the order of the day, along with numerous boobs and climactic bloodspray. There may not be much of a point to it all, but for pinky violence fans it should hit the spot. Bankaku Rokku premiered in Japan today in 1973.

Japan Toei Company Bankaku Rokku 番格ロック Bankaku Rock Ranking Boss Rock Emiko Yamauchi Etsuko Shibata pinku pinky violence poster art cinema movie review

Vintage Pulp

Jun 19 2019

Sony Chiba battles the mob in a breakout performance.

How many movies did Sonny Chiba appear in? Like two-hundred? It must be close to that. These posters were made to promote his actioner Dasso yugi, known internationally as Escape Game, or alternatively as Jail Breakers. Chiba plays a career criminal who breaks out of the joint and ends up joining a cartel that specializes in prison breaks. They're “escape coordinators.” It's a great set-up for a flick. However, Chiba fans who haven't seen this should be forewarned that he's no martial arts master here. He's just a regular ex-con trying to make a fast yen in the face of long odds. It's a pretty good film, with nice twists, fun stunts, a cool soundtrack, and, in Chiba, one of the most bankable stars of ’70s Japanese cinema. And while the movie doesn't feature his trademark martial arts, it does feature Haruko Hanibuchi in a co-starring role, and she's an art form all her own. We'll show you what we mean a bit later. Dasso yugi premiered in Japan today in 1976.

Japan Toei Company Dasso yugi Jail Breakers Escape Game Sonny Chiba Shin'ichi Chiba Haruko Wanibuchi poster art cinema movie review

Vintage Pulp

Mar 8 2019

A step by step guide to being a total badass.

This incredibly cool collectible poster was made to promote Wakai kizoku-tachi: 13-kaidan no Maki, aka 13 Steps of Maki: The Young Aristocrats, which is more girl gang goodness from the schlockmeisters at Toei Company. Etsuko Shihomi (sometimes spelled Shiomi) plays Maki of the 13 Steps, leader of the Stray Cats, a group of very tough, martial arts trained femi-delinquents. Maki and the gang bury an arrogant one percenter up to her neck on a beach in retaliation for a traffic related insult, which is all good fun, but the victim is Takako, daughter of the powerful, yakuza connected owner of Ebihara Tourism. Once she digs herself out of the sand she retaliates. This in turn brings re-retaliation from the Cats, which brings re-re-retaliation from Takako, and pretty soon things are well out of control.

The movie is based on an Ikki Kajiwara/Masaaki Satô comic, and director Makoto Naitô uses some amazing comic book style, multi-character framing, as seen in our screen grabs below. This is top notch work from Toei's pinky violence line, about as fun as a Japanese actioner gets. And in supporting roles you'll encounter Sonny Chiba, Meika Seri, and Yûko Kanô. Watching movies like this almost makes up for all the Nikkatsu roman porno misfires we slog through. Almost. Etsuko Shihomi is considered a bit of a film icon in Asia because her martial arts skills were real, and she appeared in so many movies. We have numerous posters of hers to share later and they're even more amazing than this one. Wakai kizoku-tachi: 13-kaidan no Maki premiered in Japan today in 1975.

Step one is here, on the bottom of my platform boot. Have a close look.

Step two is don't put your face where people tell you. We'll get to step three after you heal.

Japan Toei Company Wakai kizoku-tachi: 13-kaidan no Maki 若い貴族たち 13階段のマキ 13 Steps of Maki: The Young Aristocrats Makoto Naitô Etsuko Shihomi Shin'ichi Chiba Sonny Chiba Ikki Kajiwara Masaaki Satô Meika Seri Yûko Kanô poster art cinema pinku pinky violence cinema movie review

Vintage Pulp

Jan 23 2019

Meet the new boss, nothing like the old boss.

Above, a poster for the Japanese actioner Kapone no shatei yamato damashi, aka A Boss with the Samurai Spirit, aka Capone's Younger Brother: Heart and Speculation, starring the prolific Tomisaburô Wakayama. The movie deals with a hired killer whose latest contract turns out to have wide-ranging consequences, making him turn against his employer. We shared the original poster for this as part of a group post back in 2013. This is a re-issue poster. We don't know exactly when it came out, but the film originally premiered in Japan today in 1971.

Japan Toei Company Kapone no shatei yamato damashi カポネの舎弟やまと魂 A Boss with the Samurai Spirit Capone's Younger Brother: Heart and Speculation Tomisaburô Wakayama poster art cinema

Vintage Pulp

Dec 30 2018

When Meiko comes 'round trouble is sure to follow.

We're in Japan again today with another Meiko Kaji poster. Above you see an incredibly rare circular promo for the pinku film Joshû sasori: Dai-41 zakkyo-bô, aka Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, along with the standard promo. It premiered in Japan today in 1972. Meiko's paid her debt to society for now, so we'll let her go, but don't worry. She's a career criminal—she'll be back.

Japan Toei Company Joshû sasori: Dai-41 zakkyo-bô Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 Meiko Kaji pinku pinky violence poster art cinema

Vintage Pulp

Dec 29 2018

Maximum security, maximum thrills.

Japanese manga artist Toru Shinohara painted two posters for Meiko Kaji's classic Female Convict series. We shared the first, for Joshuu sasori: Dai-41 zakkyo-bô, aka Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41, back in 2014. Here's the second, for Joshû sasori: 701-gô urami-bushi, aka Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song. It premiered in Japan today in 1973. We'll get back to Shinohara a bit later.

Japan Toei Company Joshû sasori: 701-gô urami-bushi Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701's Grudge Song Meiko Kaji Toru Shinohara 篠原とおる poster art cinema pinku pinky violence

Vintage Pulp

Nov 21 2018

We're gambling that you'll like this poster.

Some of our proudest shares on this website have been the rare posters we've shown you for Hijirimen bakuto, aka, Hidirimen bakuto, aka Red Silk Gambler. All of those amazing promos have now proliferated online and you'll often see them used whenever someone writes about the movie. Well, we have one more to add to the mix, which is the tateken sized promo featuring all the main cast members—Hiroko Fuji, Junko Matsudaira, Mitsue Horikoshi, Eiko Nakamura, Sanae Tsuchida, Reiichi Hatanaka, and Reiko Ike. This should pretty much cover it for this film. Click here and scroll to see the entire collection. Hijirimen bakuto premiered in Japan today in 1972.