The Japanese equivalent of penny dreadfuls glorifying Jesse James, A Diary of Chuji’s Travels gives a unique gloss to the tale of Chuji Kunisada, the legendary bakuto (or gambler, the precursors to modern-day yakuza). One of the two remaining segments of Ito’s original four-hour trilogy, it depicts Chuji’s attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. With socialist overtones, it’s a passionate artifact of early Japanese film.
Released: Dec 27, 1927
Runtime: 107 minutes
Genre: Drama
Stars: Denjirō Ōkōchi, Hideo Nakamura, Kichiji Nakamura, Seinosuke Sakamoto, Motoharu Isokawa, Ranko Sawa
Crew: Daisuke Itō (Writer), Daisuke Itō (Director), Hiromitsu Karasawa (Director of Photography)