Ayako Wakao

Images of gruesomely deformed bodies haunt Yasuzô Masumura’s heady anti-war masterpiece, which sidesteps the empty glory of combat to tend to the wounds of the soul. A quivering light in a world dominated by men, Ayako Wakao’s traumatized nurse embodies the horrors that exist beyond the battlefield.

From esteemed samurais to common thieves, the men in Yasuzô Masumura’s erotic and dangerous Edo tale are of the same pitiful breed. Daring to weaponize her branded—yet luscious—flesh as a deadly instrument, Ayako Wakao’s fallen seductress leaves a terrifying trail of foolish paramours at her feet.