Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx

Born on March 2, 1921, Kenji got his start in the early 1950s, serving as an assistant director to Teinosuke KINUGASA, which included work on the Oscar-winning Gate of Hell. (The film also won the Grand Prix at Cannes.)

Beginning with his first film, Asa Taro Garasu in 1956, Kenji made almost 50 films in just under twenty years. During his tenure at Daiei in the 1960s, he was one of the studio’s three biggest directors, along with Tokuzo TANAKA (Sleepy Eyes #1, #10) and Kazuo IKEHIRO (Sleepy Eyes #4, #9, #12), however, his visual style eclipsed many of his contemporaries and earned him the nickname “Little Mizoguchi.” His work in the Zatoichi series, as well his 14 films with Raizo ICHIKAWA (which included three Sleepy Eyes of Death films and the Ken trilogy), established Kenji as a Master Jidaigeki (Period Samurai Films) Director in Japan.

After the collapse of Daiei, Kenji moved to television for a short period. In 1972, he returned to films and was given the task of directing the first Lone Wolf and Cub film for Shintaro KATSU’s production company. That same year, he directed the first Razor film (starring and produced by Shintaro).

In 1974, he wrote and directed his last film, The Last Samurai. He then moved to television to work on the Zatoichi series.

Kenji died of liver cancer at age 54 on September 24, 1975.

Five years after his death, Shogun Assassin (a re-edit of his first two Lone Wolf and Cub films) was released in America, exposing Kenji’s genius to a new generation of fans. —AnimEigo