© 2000 Lawrence Tuczynski

Title: Raizo Ichikawa Collection
Japanese Title: ?
CD Label: King Records
CD Number: KICA 3030 & 3031
Music by: Various
Number of tracks: Disc 1 - 53
Disc 2 - 55
Running time: Disc 1 - 74:19
Disc 2 - 77:34
Number of discs: 2
Year of release/manufacture: 1998

REVIEW September 18, 2000

Raizo Ichikawa was born August 29, 1931 in Kyoto Japan and died of rectal cancer on July 17, 1969 in Tokyo, Japan. He starred in over 27 movies from the early 1950's until his death in 1969. Among the movies were 12 Nemuri Kyoshiro movies also known as the "Sleepy Eyes Of Death" series. He also appeared in the 1962 Zatoichi movie "Zatoichi: The Life And Opinion Of Masseur Ichi".

The composers for his movies were Akira Ifukube who scored the 1962 movie "Sin Sikotei" (The Great Wall)and the 1961 movie "Shaka" (Buddha). Also Toshiro Mayuzumi who scored the 1958 "Enjo" (The Temple Of The Golden Pavilion) and Fumio Hayasaka / Masaru Satoh who scored the 1955 movie "Shin Heike Monogatari" (Legend Of The Taira Clan).

The music on this 2 CD set is a good mix of action, suspense, and slower songs. Nothing on these CD's really grabbed me but none of it was distasteful either. The set was a pleasant listen but there really wasn't anything special about the music for me. As with the other CD's in this series, the track listings don't tell you much since most of them are just numbers.


English Title:		Raizo Ichikawa Collection

Translations courtesy of Jolyon Yates

All these films were released by Daiei. Disc 1 is all 60s Samurai stuff, 
Disc 2 is more of a mix, with serious drama (Enjo), 
Yakuza drama and so on. Music for Disc 1 tracks 18-27 and 41 are by Akira Ifukube.

DISC 1

KENKI (Sword Devil, 1965, dir Misumi Kenji, str Ichikawa Raizo)

(Hajime Kaburagi)
1 DB1A (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) 2 DB9 (Flower & Dogchild) 3 DB17 (Idaten [Swift Heavenly Warrior]) 4 DB22 (Yaichiro & Hanpei) 5 DB24 (Man-cutting Hanpei) 6 DB27 (some kind of cut?) 7 DB41 (Hanpei & Osaki) 8 DB44 (Ineluctable Road) 9 DB47 (Bloodstained Flower Garden) 10 DB48 (Ending) AKAI SHURIKEN (Red Shuriken1965)
(Tessho Hagiwara)
11 DB1 (1st Half: Daiei Logo ~ Corpse & Crow River) 12 DB1 (2nd Half: Main Title) 13 DB14 (2nd Half: Lawless Port Station) 14 DB35 (Shinnosuke and Osaki) 15 DB38 (Red Shuriken) 16 DB40 (Showdown Time) 17 DB41 (Ending) DAI SATSUJIN (The Great Duel, 1966, str Kataoka Chiezo)
(Akira Ifukube)
18 DB1A (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) 19 DB8 (Injustice) 20 DB15 (Juro Futoshi’s Betrayal) 21 DB16 B (Despair) 22 DB26 (Leader Showdown) 23 DB34 (Piquant Reunion) 24 DB36 (Face Fate Takuma) 25 DB39 (Juro Showdown) 26 DB40 (Great Duel) 27 DB41A (Ending) SHIN ANBA TENGU (1965, Shin=’New’. Anba Tengu is a character name I think. Anba=’Pommel Horse’, a Tengu is a crow spirit with great swordsmanship)
(Ichiro Saito)
28 DB1A (Daiei Logo) 29 DB2A (Main Title) 30 DB19 (Anba Tengu vs New Election Group) SHIN ANBA TENGU: GOJO NO KETTO (New Anba Tengu: 5-Item Duel, 1965)
(Nakaba Takahashi)
31 DB Daiei Logo (Daiei Logo) 32 DB3 (Main Title) 33 DB38 (Ending) KAGERO SAMURAI (1961)
(Hajime Kaburagi)
34 DB1 (Daiei Logo) 35 DB2 (Main Title) SATSUJIN TANPEI (Fightmaster Tanpei, 1962)
(composed by-??)
36 DB TOP (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) YOKINA TONOSAMA (Cheerful Lord, 1962)
(Ichiro Saito)
37 DB TOP (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) KAGE O KIRU (Cut the Shadow, 1963, dir Ikehiro Kazuo)
(Ichiro Saito)
38 DB1 B (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) DAISAN NO KAGEMUSHA (3rd Shadow Warrior, 1963, dir Inoue Umetsugu)
(Hajime Kaburagi)
39 DB TOP (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) 40 DB 2 (Main Title) YOSO (Ghostly Priest aka Bronze Magician/Priest & Empress/The Sorceror,1963, dir Kinugasa Teinosuke)
(Akira Ifukube)
41 DB TOP A (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) SAKUJITSU KIETA OTOKO (The Man Who Died Yesterday)
(Sei Ikeno)
42 DB1 (Daiei Logo) 43 DB2 (Main Title) MUSHUKUSHA (Homeless Person, 1964)
(Sei Ikeno)
44 DB1 (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) BAKUTO ZAMURAI (Gambling Samurai, 1964)
(composed by-??)
45 DB TOP A (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) HITORI OKAMI (Lone Wolf aka The Lone Stalker, 1968, dir Ikehiro Kazuo)
(Takeo Watanabe)
46 DB1 (Daiei Logo) 47 DB2 A (Main Title ~ Hitori Okami) 48 DB4 (8th Grandchild’s Memory ~ Second chase has come) 49 DB15 (Late Fall’s Leafy Road) 50 DB16 (Because of the Reunion ~ Black Shadow) 51 DB31 (Iso? Falls in a Trap) 52 DB32 (Take Iso? Away ~ Fireside Grandchild) 53 DB33 (Ending ~ Iso? Alone) Disc 2 ARU KOROSHIYA (A Certain Killer, 1967, dir Mori Issei)
(Hajime Kaburagi)
1 DB4 (Main Title) 2 DB5, DB14, DB16 (Killer’s Memory) 3 DB11 (Waiting Man) 4 DB27 (A Secret Promise) 5 DB34 (Capture) 6 DB35 (Examining the Spoils ~ Treachery) 7 DB36 (Escape) 8 DB37 (Standard Fight ~ Reversal ~ Separation) 9 DB38 (Ruthless Woman) 10 DB39 (Ending ~ Killer Takes His Leave) HANAOKA SEISHU NO TSUMA (Hanaoka Seishu’s Wife, 1967, dir Yasuzo Masamura)
(Hikaru Hayashi)
11 DB1 A (Main Title) 12 DB6 (Title Backing) 13 DB30 (As to Succession & Further Favor [name?]) 14 DB34 (Osono’s Death) 15 DB37 (Further Favor’s Sadness) 16 DB43 (Ending) ENJO (Conflagration, 1958, dir Ichikawa Kon, str Ichikawa Raizo, Nakadai Tatsuya, Nakamura Gonjiro, music Toshio Mayuzumi)
(composed by-??)
17 DB1 (Main Title) 18 DB3 (To Shukaku Temple) 19 DB15 (Goichi & His Father) 20 DB28 (Dog & Goichi) 21 DB38 (Illusion ~ Father’s Funeral Procession) 22 DB52 (Dust of Soaring Flames ~ Goichi Inquiry ~ Burnt Ruins) 23 DB END A (Ending) HAKAI (Offence against Buddhism aka Sin, 1962, dir Ichikawa Kon)
(Yasushi Akutagawa)
24 DB1 (Main Title) 25 DB5 (Hiromatsu’s Vow) 26 DB11 (Wailing) 27 DB38 (Confession) 28 DB40 I (Tsuchiya & Oshio) 29 DB44 (Farewell & Ending) WAKA OYABUN (Young Boss, 1965)
(Taichiro Kosugi)
30 DB1 (Daiei Logo) 31 DB2 (Main Title) 32 DB42 (Ending) WAKA OYABUN SHUTSUGOKU (Young Boss Released, 1965)
(Hajime Kaburagi)
33 DB1 (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) 34 DB46 (Young Boss Enters Swordfight) WAKA OYABUN KENKAJO (Record of Young Boss’ Fight, 1966)
(Ichiro Saito)
35 DB TOP (Daiei Logo) 36 DB4 (Main Title) WAKA OYABUN NORIKOMO (Young Boss Marches In, 1966)
(composed by-??)
37 DB TOP A (Daiei Logo ~ Main Title) WAKA OYABUN O SHOSE (Eliminate Young Boss, 1967)
(Takeo Watanabe)
38 DB1 (Daiei Logo) 39 DB3 (Cruel Dagger Sheath) 40 DB30 (Young Boss Pursuit) WAKA OYABUN KYOJOTABI (Young Boss Criminal Journey, 1967)
(Hajime Kaburagi)
41 DB TOP (Daiei Logo) 42 DB33 (The Military & Kanasugi, Fated Confrontation) 43 DB35 (Kisugi’s Last Moment) WAKA OYABUN SENRYO HADA (Young Boss 1000 Ryo Body, 1967)
(Takeo Watanabe)
44 DB1 (Daiei Logo) 45 DB9 (Attack) BAKUTO ICHIDAI: CHIMATSURI FUDO (Gambler Generation: Blood Festival Fudo, 1969)
(Hajime Kaburagi)
46 DB1 (Daiei Logo) 47 DB3 (Main Title) 48 DB19 (Raid) 49 DB28 (Historical Suffering) 50 DB30 (Endgame) 51 DB31 (Otojiro’s Death) 52 DB33 (Stratagem) 53 DB34 (Announcement of Succession) 54 DB36 (Shining King Senaka no Fudo) 55 DB37 (Ending)