"Toho Co., Ltd." "Presents" "A Katsu Production Production" ""Lone Wolf and Cub" "Kozure Ookami"" ""Baby Cart in the Land of Demons" "Meifumado" (The Crossroads to Hell)" "Produced by Wakayama Tomisaburo  Sanada Masanori" "Original Story by Koike Kazuo  Kojima Goseki Screenplay by Koike Kazuo  Nakamura Tsutomu" "Director of Photography:" "Morita Fujio Sound Recording:" "Hayashi Tsuchitaro Art Direction:" "Shimoishizaka Narinori, Music:" "Sakurai Hideaki, Lighting:" "Mima Hiroshi" "Fight Choreography:" "Kusumoto Eiichi, Editing:" "Taniguchi Toshio, Sound Effects:" "Kurashima Yo Assistant Director:" "Minamino Umeo Production Manager:" "Adachi Genichiro" "Props:" "Watanabe Zentaro, Set Design:" "Fukui Keizo, Costumes:" "Matsuda Kazuo Makeup:" "Yumoto Hideo  Tanaka Toshio Hair:" "Ishii Emi" "Color Technician:" "Takeuchi Mikio, Continuity:" "Matsuda Mitsuko, Film Developing:" "Tokyo Laboratories Stills:" "Tsuzuki Terutaka, Publicity:" "Daimon Masao, Script Supervisor:" "AndoJinichiro, Special Stunts:" "J.A.C." "Starring:" "Wakayama Tomisaburo as Ogami Itto" "Yasuda Michiyo Tomikawa Akihiro" "Yamashiro Shingo Sato Tomomi Yamauchi Akira" "Otaki Hideji, Suga Fujio Naito Taketoshi Toura Rokko, Ishiyama Ritsu Kato Yoshi" "Tanaka Hiroshi, Fujiyama Koji Otabe Michimaro, Sumida Kazuyo Amatsu Bin, Ushio Kenji Morita Gakuya" "Sato Kyoichi, Akiyama Katsutoshi Shiga Masaru, Harada Tsutomu Konaka Matsujiro, Yoshida Seiichi Shishido Taizen, Ibuki Shingo" "Nishikawa Hinode, Kubo Masayuki, Maruo Yoshihiro, Nakamura Yutaka, Takaishi Ikuko Iwata Tadashi, Nogi Toshio Jo Yoshimitsu, Kikuchi Eiichi" "Okada Eiji" "Oki Minoru" "Directed by Misumi Kenji" "Pardon me..." "The drawing of the Beasts of Hell that you have upon your veil..." "Are you in search of the "Lone Wolf and Cub?"" "Would that be you?" "!" "That's what they call me." "M..." "Magnificent..." "You are indeed the "Lone Wolf and Cub..."" "...the former Official Shogunate Executioner, Sir Ogami Itto." "I have 100 gold pieces for you..." "I am told that you require 500... for each assignment you accept..." "This is... one-fifth." "I'd like you to accept it." "Were you trying to test my ability to perform the job?" "To locate you, sixteen of my fellow clansmen have been dispatched each displaying a drawing of the Beasts of Hell." "We've traveled throughout the nation on all the major thoroughfares on land... river... and sea." "I am... of the House of Kuroda in Chikuzen..." "My name is Ayabe Ukon..." "In order to accept the job..." "I must know all the details and circumstances." "I am aware of that." "Five of us, of which I am but the first intend to test your abilities." "Each one that you defeat will give you 100 gold pieces as well as... additional details about the job." "This... will be the sign..." "I beseech you..." "I, like Ayabe Ukon am a chamberlain of the Kuroda Clan, Izumi Kazuma." "My name is Ogami Itto." "That is a message for the next emissary you shall meet." "I beseech you..." "I am Mogami Shuusuke of the Kuroda Clan." "I am no master swordsman, but please allow me to test your abilities." "My name is Ogami Itto." "If you should defeat me... take the 100 gold pieces and cumbersome though it might be, wear the rosary and proceed..." "It shall be so." "The Lord of the Kuroda Clan in Chiku- zen... a fief worth 520,000 koku is but a five-year-old princess." "The Shogunate was deceived and told that she was our Clan's First Son." "Because of her age, Lord Matsumaru's debut before the Shogun..." ""Genpuku Ceremony:" celebration of boys reaching adulthood, at ages 12-16." "...was deferred until her Genpuku Ceremony." "The previous Lord..." "Kuroda Naritaka has abdicated in favor of his "son."" "Should the Shogunate ever find out the truth our Clan would surely fall!" "Please... save our Clan..." "from this predicament!" "The princess..." "The princess..." "Are you the third man?" "My name is Mawatari Hachiro..." "of the Kuroda Clan." "The 100 gold pieces are in my purse." "Defeat me and they're yours." "Very well." "There's still time before I die." "I'll tell you the details of our assassination request..." "I shall continue talking until my last breath." "Lord Kuroda has... treated his concubine Otae like no other." "Their child is a princess named Hamachiyo." "They're raising her as the First Son, Prince Matsumaru." "But the real Matsumaru... the child of his true wife has been imprisoned... despite being the Lord's child." "Lord Kuroda Naritaka..." "detailed all of this in writing... in a secret document." "The document... was entrusted by Lord Naritaka into the care of Abbot Jikei, to whom he personally bestowed it." "Abbot Jikei... is the High Priest of Soufuku-Ji Temple wherein the ancestors of the Kuroda are buried." "The Abbot is not only highly revered by Lord Naritaka but is regarded by our Clansmen to be a living Buddha." "Indeed... even the Shogunate speaks highly of him." "He is everything a priest ought to be." "However, the document is about to be delivered to the Shogunate." "This is the Kuroda Clan's darkest hour." "So I beg you..." "Please recover the document..." "The document..." "A moment, please..." "There's a suspicious ronin by the pond just ahead." "Supposedly, he's waiting for a ronin with a child." "If it's you, sir, that he wants..." "please, let me help you." "Do not concern yourself." "My name is Kikuchi Yamon of the Kuroda Clan." "Sir if you're the former Shogunate Executioner, Sir Ogami Itto then you're the master of the Suioryu Style." "I'd like to see your technique..." "the wave-slashing stroke." "I want to see it... with my own eyes." "T..." "The document... is in the hands of Abbot Jikei..." "In order to celebrate the completion of Zuisan-In Temple in Kamakura Jikei has left his home province." "However, this aroused the suspicions of another priest at Soufuku-Ji Temple." "You see, Abbot Jikei had already notified those in Kamakura that he wouldn't be attending the ceremony." "Yet, as soon as he was entrusted with the document he changed his mind and rushed off to Kamakura." "In an attempt to unravel this mystery, the other priest, knowing that the penalty for being wrong would be seppuku, checked the document." "Next, with Head Chamberlain Wakita's help, we staked our lives and discovered that Abbot Jikei is in fact a leader of the network of ninja spies in the Saikaidoo region and that... they're affiliated with the Yagyu!" "We're afraid that the document will be handed over to Yagyu Retsudo." "I believe I asked you not to concern yourself." "It's alright, I'm just a traveler." "Besides, I was worried." "My name... is Kanbei of the Sazare-lshi." "That ronin was after your life, as I suspected." "I was watching over you..." "Sir, I must say that you are something!" "I'll bet you must be exhausted." "Well?" "How about some tea?" "It's hot..." "I invented this, you see..." "It's a bamboo bottle inside a bigger one separated by clay." "This way, hot tea is available anytime you're on the road." "Thus... one can avoid getting sick from drinking dirty water." "Here you go." "But really... it sure is hot today." "If I may..." "What a shame, Sir Ogami Itto..." "As I feared, you are not without weaknesses." "Now that you've drunk the azalea and monkshood plant poison nothing can possibly save you." "We decided to use every method in order to properly test you." "Please forgive me." "I, Sazare Kanbei, of the Kuroda Clan in Chikuzen will now finish you off!" "P..." "Please slay Abbot Jikei..." "and obtain the document..." "The document is in the hands of Abbot Jikei... it's in his scroll container." "Nobody except the Abbot..." "Nobody..." "but he... may touch it." "Sir Ogami, I beg of you..." "Head Chamberlain Wakita... and we, the vassals of the Kuroda Clan have staked our lives for the future of our Clan." "I beseech you..." "Please..." "He longed to meet his father so much..." "Alright!" "What you see right here is..." "Let's see!" "Let's see!" "...a heirloom sword, long treasured!" "\" "And?" "As if to prove what I say..." "Come on in, folks!" "I wonder if his prayer's been answered?" "Alright!" "From a mountain far away..." "Let's See!" "With flowers in one hand..." "Alright!" "...they go across a bridge to the village..." "Alright!" "...to visit strangers' tombstones." "Alright!" "Alright!" "Here's the story of a child..." "'Tis the child to whom the parents' sins are passed down to!" "Come on in!" "Come on in!" "Take over, Miss Hana!" "Yes sir!" "Now, Miss Hana's gonna sing!" "Pay after you watch, folks!" "Adults, 18-mon!" "Kids, 9-mon!" "Minnows..." "Goldfish and turtles..." "Watermelons!" "Watermelons!" "They're so sweet!" "Buy some!" "Wow!" "Just look at the color!" "I will take your life." "'Tis impossible to destroy a void." "For I am one whose subjectivity and objectivity have integrated renouncing self to become one with the void." "From all points of view, I have become inseparable from the universe and as such, cannot be destroyed." "Meeting a Buddha, you kill him." "Meeting someone's parents, you kill them." "And so, you, too, have become one with the void, yet only as an assassin." "But, if you are able to kill me, then your assassin's enlightenment will not be a true one." "Come on in!" "Come on in!" "Buy 'em!" "Please..." "Oh, I'm sorry!" "My fault!" "I'm really sorry!" "Ouch!" "I'm really sorry!" "I don't know what to say!" "There..." "I do hope you're not hurt..." "We've got so much, we can take it easy for a while!" "Are you crazy?" "!" "If this is all we settle for, it wasn't worth coming here!" "You've got that right, sis." "You aren't called "Quick-Change" for nothing!" "Hey, Hokuro... shield me!" "Yes, sis!" "I see..." "So you're the talented investigator from Edo Shinnoji Senzo?" "I've heard about you." "How do you do." "Actually, sir, I was just now on my way to see you." "I see..." "So, you've come all the way from Edo to track down "Quick-Change" Oyoo the lady pickpocket, and Tomekichi the "Mole," her accomplice?" "Yes, sir." "I believe your office has received a bulletin from ours." "Absolutely." "They're planning on raking in money during the festival." "Hmm...?" ""Quick-Change" is able to change her disguise in an instant." "From a city girl to a whore, from a priest to a beggar she changes so fast that nobody knows what she really looks like." "I'm sorry." "Not at all." "Ow!" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, too." "That woman..." "Pickpocket!" "Pickpocket!" "Pickpocket!" "Uh-oh!" "That's Shinnoji Senzo!" "Son, you're a good boy." "Would you keep this for me for a little bit?" "Hey..." "Don't tell anybody, alright?" "Promise!" "That's..." "That's my wallet!" "Why you little punk!" "W..." "Wait!" "Say, son, what sort of lady asked you to keep it... can you tell me?" "I know that you're a good boy." "Can you tell me where she went?" "If you can, then I'll buy you candies, whistles, or whatever you want!" ""Jitte:" pronged sword-catcher." "Traditional weapon and symbol of a constable." "Usually, children cooperate if shown the jitte and offered a reward." "But, this child..." "This one's a little suspicious." "He could even be related to Oyoo!" "Hey..." "Yes sir!" "Tie the kid up!" "Yessir!" "Senzo..." "He's only a little kid." "There's no need to tie him up." "Sir... there's a possibility that he's one of the gang." "I've come after Oyoo, all the way from Edo, so if I don't catch her today, I'll be unworthy to carry the jitte." "I'd be grateful if you'd allow me to follow my hunch." "What are they doing to him?" "!" "What's going on?" "Oh, my!" "Just look at that!" "What're they doing to such a small child?" "!" "Poor thing!" "What did he do?" "!" "Some nerve they've got!" "What did he do?" "!" "Really!" "There must've been some mistake." "How dare they put a rope around such a little kid!" "What good is arresting a child?" "You can't tie someone up if you didn't see him commit a crime." "Well, all will be settled as soon as the real culprit comes forward." "So, in order to ensure that happens, I will subject the boy to a flogging." "What?" "Honestly, I don't want to do it." "But if I don't, the culprit will get away." "And there'll be many more victims." "I have to catch Oyoo, no matter what the cost!" "I..." "I'm sorry..." "We've arrested this child because "Quick-Change" Oyoo asked him to hold stolen property." "However, we shall not show mercy just because he's young." "As such, following Article 79 of the Law, he'll be flogged." "No!" "That's cruel!" "However... if Oyoo comes forward before we do so, he'll be forgiven." "That's low!" "How dare you exploit a kid like that!" "And you call yourself an officer?" "!" "Silence!" "Oyoo... why don't you come forward?" "I believe you have a heart." "Oyoo..." "I know you are in this crowd." "If you don't want this kid to be beaten, then reveal yourself." "You see, I believe that we're all born into this world as good people." "Nobody is born an evil person." "So I don't hate people." "But I do hate the crime they commit." "Do you hear me, Oyoo?" "If you don't save this kid, then I will hate you!" "You'll be the first person to earn my hatred." "And I will follow you... to the edge of the world." "Oh, I can't watch!" "The kid shows no fear!" "He shows no reaction whatsoever!" "Poor thing!" "He's such a strong- willed lad!" "Proceed." "Please go ahead." "Sis!" "Please wait!" "I'm the so-called "Quick- Change" Oyoo." "Please spare the child!" "It's wonderful that you finally came forward, Oyoo." "Because you were honest, justice will be tempered with mercy." "Sir... the child has nothing to do with me." "I don't even know who he is." "But, yes, I handed him the wallet that I'd stolen." "Young man, she's the lady... who handed you the wallet, right?" "Nope." "What?" "Nope." "Child, why are you doing this?" "!" "Nope." "Sonny, if you lie to us, you'll be beaten!" "It's her, isn't it!" "Nope!" "Child..." "It's all right." "You can tell them that I gave you the wallet." "Go ahead." "Nope." "Why are you covering for me?" "!" "Tell them the truth!" "Nope!" "Say... are you really "Quick- Change" Oyoo?" "Yes, sir, in all honesty." "I don't understand..." "I don't think he's lying either." "As you can see..." "I am "Quick-Change" Oyoo." "That's remarkable..." "But Oyoo isn't the only lady pickpocket around." "Perhaps there's something more here than meets the eye?" "If that's the case, then we'll make him confess no matter what!" "Sir!" "Listen, Kid, I'll ask you once again..." "Nope!" "Child, why?" "!" "Sir!" "I'm the Oyoo you want!" "The one who's called "Quick-Change!"" "Silence!" "Child, I beg you!" "Please tell them the truth!" "Please stop!" "I beg you!" "Why are you going to such lengths..." "just to cover up for me?" "Nope!" "Child!" "Oyoo... just what did you say to him when you handed him the wallet?" "I can't help but think that he's keeping a promise to you." "Just... to keep it for me and not to tell anyone..." "and that it was a promise." "A promise not to tell anyone, eh?" "He must be trying to keep that promise, no matter what the cost." "Nothing else makes sense." "Oyoo..." "I believe that you really are "Quick-Change" Oyoo." "Still... seeing that nobody's come forward to claim him he must be the child of a vagrant or perhaps there's another reason...?" "Child..." "I will never again try to steal from people." "Thank you..." "Son, it's all right now." "Go." "Pa..." ""Geese..." "Geese..." "fly overhead..." ""Big geese first..." ""Little geese behind them..." ""Fly like friends!"" "I am Shiranui, the governess of Lord Matsumaru of the Kuroda Clan." "I have already met the five emissaries of the Kuroda Clan." "I am aware of that." "Then we have nothing to discuss." "Why are you so persistent?" "Tell me the reason why... you are going to these lengths?" "Once you slay Abbot Jikei and obtain the document I'd like you, Sir Ogami, to personally deliver it to the Lord of the Kuroda Clan." "Can I depend on you to do so?" "I must refuse." "For me, there is only the assassination the aftermath is not my concern." "Here are 500 gold pieces, sir." "In addition to Abbot Jikei, there are others I'd like to have killed." "Tell us... the situation in every detail." "I'd like you to slay a five-year-old child the child's father..." "and mother." "I know you're the father of a motherless child..." "Sir Ogami..." "Can I ask you to kill these three:" "The child and the parents?" "We, father and child... have chosen to live in the world of bloodshedding." "We're not afraid to face any danger, known or unknown." "We live at the cross- roads to Hell." "To us... these three are our masters." "From here on, the Shadow Yagyu shall guide you." "Lord Retsudo says that he will be waiting for you across the river." "Daigoro..." "We are entering the crossroads to Hell." "You, who've chosen to walk the road of death..." "Is this a virtuous act?" "Is this a virtuous way to achieve enlightenment?" "Pa..." "How dare you, Ogami Itto!" "Kill him!" "Sir Ogami, let us handle this!" "Please proceed!" "Kuroda Masked Clansmen!" "Sir Ogami, I will get the document." "Please hurry and head for the Kuroda fief." "I shall not fail to deliver the document to you!" "G..." "Give this to..." "Lord Retsudo..." "Begone, gentlemen." "Yes, sir!" "How dare you, Ogami Itto!" "The Kuroda document is in your hands!" "We're with Lord Yagyu!" "We're going through!" "You are an enemy of the Yagyu and you have sided with the Kuroda Clan, Ogami Itto!" "You shall not be allowed to live on!" "We shall follow you unto the ends of the earth... your doom is certain!" "It is Shiranui." "I followed the Kurokuwa spies to Lord Retsudo's manor." "Sir Ogami I commend your clever strategy." "It was a brilliant maneuver." "Pertaining to that, I have yet one more request to make of you." "Would you be willing to listen, without asking for details?" "As to this request, my superior, Head Chamberlain Wakita would most certainly understand that it is made to preserve our Clan." "I firmly believe this to be so." "Sir Ogami..." "I beseech you..." "We are listening." "In that case please take out the document that you have obtained." "Please open it." "Sir Ogami... please take it directly to the Lord of the Kuroda." "Sir Ogami Itto, former Shogunate Executioner, please hear me..." "We Kuroda Masked Clansmen commend you for your fine work by the river." "Regarding the document you've obtained from Abbot Jikei we've come here to request that you to entrust it to us." "I must refuse." "What?" "I am told that the Masked Clans- men of the Kuroda are feared as the best lancers in the entire Saikaidoo." "It is said that you wear the masks in order that none may claim to have seen fear on the faces of your dead." "As such, you always enter battle wearing the masks." "That is the Kuroda way." "And so I say to you, the Kuroda Masked Clansmen that I possess the document that young Kuroda Clansmen have given their lives to retrieve." "I honor their sacrifice, and so I'd like to visit the Kuroda fief in Chikuzen to deliver the document, in person to Lord Matsumaru." "This I intend to do." "Very well." "In that case, Sir Ogami, we shall escort you to the Kuroda fief." "Sir Ogami!" "Let us handle this!" "Please proceed to the Kuroda fief at once!" "How dare you, Itto..." "You've entered the Kuroda fief!" "I am the so-called "Lone Wolf and Cub," Ogami Itto." "This is my son, Daigoro." "I've brought with me the confidential document, as requested." "Please accept it." "Sir Ogami... don't you think it is rude to bring your sword here?" "I apologize." "This sword is called a Doutanuki." "It is a battle sword." "However, as you can see, I have sealed it with my own hair." "That is why I was allowed to retain it." "Are you saying that you're following the procedures of surrender?" "Correct." "Then, why did you refuse to give the document to Saemon the leader of the Masked Clansmen?" "It is because I seek to hand it over directly to the Lord of this Clan." "Where is the Lord of the Kuroda Clan, Lord Matsumaru?" "How dare you ask that, when Lord Matsumaru is here before you?" "!" "Because the one in front of me is Hamachiyo." "Guards!" "Explain yourself, Sir Ogami!" "Why do you show readiness to attack?" "!" "The Kuroda line descends from Emperor Uda... and the warriors of Oomi..." "Kuroda Nyosuinyudoo, your greatest ancestor, conquered the Saikaidoo." "His son, Lord Kanbei, was justly acclaimed to be a great warrior." "People say..." "People honor..." "People fear that the Saikaidoo and Kuroda go hand in hand." "You are the home of many schools of swordsmanship." "The Kuroda honor Bushido, and are known to shun wiles and trickery." "This is what lets your Clan survive, and what you are known for." "However, it's said that your Lord became obsessed with the concubine Otae and the two of them put the impostor Hamachiyo in Matsumaru's place." "And that the real Matsumaru... whom the Lord's wife gave birth to is imprisoned, despite being the Lord's own child. 'Tis an inhuman act!" "Well?" "Silence, Ogami Itto!" "Try moving an inch..." "We'll kill you to preserve the honor of the Masked Clansmen!" "I am Naritaka, the former Lord of the Clan!" "I am Matsumaru's father!" "I will accept the document." "Give it to me." "Very well." "Wh..." "Why, this is..." "Kill him." "Kill him!" "The Lord will be in his chambers." "I am the Commander of the Guard, Izumi Kazuma." "Prepare yourself!" "As one warrior to another, I speak these words." "I beg you not to unmask me." "We've..." "We've sacrificed our lives for our Clan." "Please... restore order to this House..." "give it back what it once had..." "I ask this of you... for I believe that only you can do it..." "Now... please release me." "It shall be so." "Lord!" "No!" "I am innocent!" "I won't commit seppuku!" "Lord... please commit seppuku..." "Please..." "I beseech you!" "Begone!" "Begone!" "Go away!" "Go!" "Lord..." "It is for the sake of the Clan!" "I beg you!" "Take the sword, Lord!" "You betrayer!" "Wakita!" "Wakita!" "Lord!" "Please!" "Save me!" "Kill him!" "Kill him!" "Lord!" "Please commit seppuku!" "Kill him!" "The ruffian!" "K..." "K..." "Kill him!" "Please..." "Please commit seppuku!" "Kill him!" "Lord!" "Kill him!" "Lord... please commit seppuku!" "Kill him!" "Kill him!" "The Lord of the Kuroda he was." "An honorable one at that." "He respectfully committed seppuku in order to leave this world." "I hope our honored ancestors are watching us for the world shall witness the prosperity of our Clan." "Lady Shiranui..." "You've chosen to take your own life." "Sir Ogami as I am obligated to follow my Lord wherever he might go I shall now join him in the netherworlds." ""The End""