The wicked priest (V.O. Gokuaku Bozu)
Japan, 1968
Director: Kiyoshi Saeki
Genre: Action, Comedy, Gendai-geki
Plot
The colorful Buddhist monk Shinkai (Tomisaburo Wakayama) is an unusual religious man: drinker, womanizer, inveterate gambler… And also a seasoned martial artist. In the early years of the Meiji era (around 1870), when the public carrying of swords has been banned by the new authorities, Shinkai carries his sharp blade sheathed in a kind of cane. In addition to his prowess with a bladed weapon, the monk is an outstanding hand-to-hand fighter.
On one occasion he meets an attractive professional gambler-cheater, Ogin, who tries to cheat him out of his savings by cheating him at dice. But the shrewd Shinkai (who gambles all his money in exchange for her body) realizes the dishonest intentions of his opponent (who, through an accomplice hidden underneath, manipulates the dice with the help of a needle), and wins the game.
The monk is an expert lover, and always satisfies the women he takes to bed, as well as the insatiable Ogin. But the latter, taking advantage of Shinkai’s falling asleep, takes his money and disappears.
The religious man is associated with members of the Yakuza. There are two rival gangs, one led by a wise and traditional boss, a venerable old man who places great emphasis on loyalty and honor; and the other by a perfidious individual of the “new generations”, greedy and unscrupulous, a rake and traitor.
Shinkai, much loved by the locals who see in him a protector, collaborates with the group of the old yakuza of the “old school” against the other gang that tries to expel the residents of that town to build lucrative railroad projects.
At the same time, the monk must face a mysterious adversary: a fearsome blind fighter who wants to settle the score.
Shinkai will meet again with Ogin, who has become the mistress of a police chief. After a new session of wild sex, Ogin will want to escape with him, and the two of them, together with the “good” yakuza, will devise a plan to confront the bandits who want to forcibly evict the local inhabitants.
Comment
This amusing film amalgamates the Zatoichi theme with that of “Hanzo the Razor” (Goyokiba) including touches of humor. Tomisaburo Wakayama (brother of Zatoichi’s interpreter and Hanzo Shintaro Katsu), gives life to Gokuaku Bozu (“Unholy Monk”), a regular customer of prostitutes, a vicious gambler and a drinking buddy.
The quarrelsome and tattooed monk Shinkai (who is above all an enemy of hypocrisy) has a role similar to that of the wandering blind masseur Zatoichi in his films: an expert swordsman, who, allied once with some and once with others, will confront injustice based on a particular code of honor. And just like the shogunal police agent Hanzo (like Zatoichi also played by Shintaro Katsu), Shinkai is an expert lover whom women cannot forget.
In this film, the enormous physical resemblance of Tomisaburo Wakayama (the fugitive kaishakunin Ogami Itto from the excellent Kozure Okami series) to his brother Shintaro Katsu is evident, as well as the almost identical personality of the “impious monk” with that of the masseur Zatoichi.
Both names of the brothers (Katsu and Wakayama) are artistic pseudonyms, that’s why they are different. The real names of these two actors (descendants of a dynasty of kabuki performers) were Masaru (“Shintaro Katsu”) and Toshio Okumura (“Tomisaburo Wakayama”).