Yakuza Ladies

Yakuza Ladies (1986)

極道の妻たち

When her crime boss husband is sent to prison, a woman assumes control of one of the most powerful gangs in Japan.

Date of release
1986-11-15
TMDB
5.5 / 10 (12)
Runtime
2h 0m
Genres
Drama, Crime
Director
Hideo Gosha
Collection
Yakuza Ladies series

Casting

Interesting facts

Yakuza Wives is a 1986 Japanese yakuza film directed by Hideo Gosha and starring Shima Iwashita and Rino Katase. Koji Takada wrote the script based on journalist Shōko Ieda's 1986 book Gokudō no Tsuma-tachi, which is composed of interviews with the wives and girlfriends of real yakuza. The film was released by Toei on November 5, 1986. It was a critical and commercial success, spawning 15 sequels. At the 10th Japan Academy Film Prizes, Iwashita was nominated for Best Actress, Katase was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and Masanori Sera was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Production

Yakuza Wives is based on journalist Shōko Ieda's Gokudō no Tsuma-tachi, a 1986 collection of interviews and profiles on the wives and girlfriends of real yakuza that was serialized in Shūkan Bunshun. After reading some of it on a train, Toei producer Gorō Kusakabe successfully struck a deal with Ieda, who was already being courted by Toho, Shochiku and various TV stations to adapt the work.

Because Tamaki Awazu was so different from her previous roles, Iwashita said she was very hesitant to accept until speaking with Gosha, whom she trusted. She struggled with creating the character; "Usually I read the script and go to various places to prepare for the role, but this time I asked the producer if I could stay at a real yakuza wife's house for about three days and experience her life to prepare for the role, and he said, 'No way!' (l…

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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