The first in a five film series focusing on tekiya / street peddlers, a lesser covered breed of yakuza than their sexier cousins, the bakuto / gamblers. It's very much a ninkyo film, but set in modern day and starring Toei's new hell raiser Bunta Sugawara instead of the stoic old timers Takakura or Tsuruta. Director Norifumi Suzuki adds his own brand of fun with comedy, nudity (wait for silly vice cop Toru Yuri visiting a strip club) and one of the defining Takuzo Kawatani moments when the beloved bit player gets his ass kicked by a team of female wrestlers. Sugawara plays a slightly reckless but good hearted tekiya who promised old oyabun Kanjuro Arashi to keep his dagger sealed, something made increasingly difficult by villains Fumio Watanabe and Bin Amatsu. There's also a rather charming romantic subplot with Sugawara and fellow gang member Kyosuke Machida falling for the same woman, and a solid ninkyo backbone in form of friendly enemy Tatsuo Terashima who earns Sugawara's trust by trying to prevent unnecessary bloodshed between gangs. Completing the cast are Sugawara's allies boss Minoru Oki and female boss Hiroko Sakuramachi, the latter of whom adds a bit of colour to the mix. All in all, a surprisingly entertaining and visually good looking film that started Suzuki's first own film series (he'd helm four of the five entries). It's no surprise the film was a success since in addition to being filled with humour, action and romantic emotion, Sugawara is great as a short tempered but lovable yakuza hero who is not entirely unlike the protagonist in Suzuki & Sugawara’s later Truck Yaro series. This film would be even better if not for a couple of overly talkative autopilot scene.


Kanto Street Peddlers Clan: Violent Loyalty (関東テキヤ一家 喧嘩仁義) (Japan, 1970) [Streaming] – 2/5
Disappointing routine sequel lacks the action, romantic emotion and stylish visual touch of the original film. The first 20 minutes is filled with comic relief, followed by a good 70 minutes of talking heads before the standard bloodbath ending. Most surprising however is that for a Bunta Sugawara film there is very little Bunta Sugawara in it. He’s absent from roughly every other scene, and even when he does bother showing up he often fades to the background. Could it be that he was too busy to fully commit to this production? That might just be it, considering this was already the 5th movie he appeared in in 1970, and it was only March! He would find his way into 15 more movies by the end of the year (yes, that’s a total of 20 films for 1970).
P.S. the film’s title is incorrect on IMDb where it’s spelled as Kanto tekiya ikka: Goromen jingi. It’s actually Kanto tekiya ikka: Goromentsuu.
Kanto Street Peddlers Clan: Royal Temple Duel (関東テキヤ一家 天王寺の決斗) (Japan, 1970) [Streaming] – 2.5/5
The third film brings the series a bit more back on track after the disappointing part two. Sugawara still plays the same Kanto street peddler, who this time ventures to Osaka where he defends a blind girl at a street market. The area is targeted by rotten Asao Koike and Tatsuo Endo, who have lured local senior female boss Nijiko Kiyokawa’s rebellious but not entirely indecent son Goro Ibuki to their side. This isn’t a particularly accomplished film, still mostly lacking the visual touch and the romantic pathos of the first movie, but at least Sugawara is firmly present this time (he was absent from large portion of the previous film despite playing the protagonist) and Suzuki handles the narrative with just enough energy to keep the viewer entertained. Also worth mentioning is fan favourite Yumiko Katayama as Koike’s mute woman, though sadly she’s given little to do other than look mean.
Kanto Street Peddlers Clan: Violent Fire Festival (関東テキヤ一家 喧嘩火祭り) (Japan, 1971) [Streaming] – 3.5/5
The fourth film in the series and the first sequel to rival part one is quality. This has a dynamite opening with silly detective Tatsuo Endo (basically in a Toru Yuri role) assigning tekiya truckers Bunta Sugawara and Toshiaki Minami to assist in a chase to catch a girl gang lead by Yukie Kagawa. It’s hard not to see this and several other scenes in the film foreshadowing the Truck Yaro series, especially considering the chemistry between Sugawara and Minami, the presence of trucks and festivals, and of course a mix of action/comedy/drama. More good stuff follows when Sugawara sides with female boss Yumiko Nogawa to fight evil Hiroshi Nawa, who at one point employs rebellious young hood Tsunehiko Watase and Kagawa (wearing the same black jump suit as Miki Sugimoto later in Girl Boss Guerilla, and Marianne Faithfull before them in The Girl on a Motorcycle, 1968). Tatsuo Umemiya also shows up as a cool, leather jacket gunman who gains Sugawara’s respect despite playing for the opposing team. What eventually keeps this film from being as good as the first is the loose script that doesn’t really tie all the fun stuff into a coherent package. Much is forgiven however when the last 20 minutes arrives with several visually striking set pieces (including one death scene stylized to the point of ridiculousness) and a terrific final massacre. This was Suzuki’s last contribution to the series; the fifth and final picture would be helmed by Takashi Harada.


Kanto Street Peddlers Clan: Shallow Clan Honor (関東テキヤ一家 浅草の代紋) (Japan, 1971) [Streaming] – 3/5
Norifumi Suzuki headed to pinkier pastures with his newfound muse Reiko Ike (something this film makes very obvious by featuring a billboard for the first Girl Boss film in one scene), leaving this fifth and final entry in Takashi Harada's somewhat mediocre hands. He had already worked with Bunta Sugawara several times in the Wicked Priest sequels. He helms this film in similar fashion, without much originality, but hitting the genre notes with action, comedy, and some nudity in a very Suzuki esque context when Sugawara's boys try to make money with nude photos. Hiroki Matsukata makes a series debut playing the usual conflicted foe/fried character whose incarnation can be found in every entry in the series, but it is Noboru Ando as a retired gangster with a mysterious past who gets the film's best role. Now, as stated there's not much originality to the film... until the fantastic climax where Takada somehow manages to do western and slasher in one scene, before taking the bloodshed to an eerily desolate early morning city street. Great ending to a pretty good film, and a fitting farewell to the entire series.


Leave a comment: