Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril
Encyclopedia
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (Japanese: 子連れ狼 親の心子の心 or Kozure Ōkami: Oya no kokoro ko no kokoro, literally Wolf with Child in Tow: The Heart of a Parent, the Heart of a Child), is the fourth in a series of six Japanese martial arts film
s based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub
manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son, Daigoro.
The film has also been released as Shogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage, the second sequel to Shogun Assassin
.
's personal bodyguard detail – is killing every man that is sent up against her. Along with her deadly use of the short blade, she strips to the waist while fighting to reveal elaborate tattoos on her chest and back. On her front is a kintarō
grasping her left breast. A portrait of a mountain witch covers her back. She then cuts off her victims' topknots, or chonmage
, which brings dishonor to the dead man and his family.
Ogami Ittō, the disgraced former shogun
's executioner, or Kogi Kaishakunin
, is hired to kill Oyuki. He tracks down the tattoo artist, who explains that she was a "fine" woman who did not scream as he dug into her flesh with his needles.
Meanwhile, Ittō's 3-year-old son, Daigoro, has grown restless waiting by the baby cart his father uses to trundle him about in. He goes exploring and finds a pair of performing clowns on the street. When the clowns finish their performance, Daigoro follows them, hoping to see more. But the clowns shoo him away, saying it's time to go home. Now, Daigoro has wandered too far. He is lost, and has become separated from his father.
Agents of the Ogamis' mortal enemies, the Yagyū, are never far away. A procession of them, accompanied by the sound of gong
s and loud shrieks, sends Daigoro into hiding. Ittō must give up his search rather than risk an entanglement with the men, so he travels on alone.
Daigoro spends days looking for his father, searching in every temple in the countryside. He enters one temple and sees a figure at the altar praying, but it is not his father. Rather, it is a man whom Daigoro immediately recognizes as someone who is unfriendly.
The man follows Daigoro, who wanders into a grass field as it is being lit on fire
by farmers. Unwittingly, Daigoro is surrounded by the flames, but he proves his resourcefulness by burying himself and surviving.
The man then turns his sword on Daigoro, who raises a stick to defend himself, and in that instant the man realizes who Daigoro is.
Just then, Ittō comes into the picture, and the two recognize each other. The man, it turns out is Gunbei Yagyū, the outcast son of Retsudo Yagyū. Gunbei and Itto had competed for the post of shogun's executioner, and Gunbei's fierce swordsmanship
surely would have won him the post, but in his over zealousness, he ends up pointing his sword at the shogun – a taboo movement that costs him the job and makes him an outcast.
Ittō and Gunbei now have a rematch, but Itto is much improved and is ready for Gunbei. With a swift stroke, he chops off Gunbei's right arm. Gunbei then begs Ittō to kill him, but Ittō refuses, saying there is nothing to be gained from slaying a man who is already dead.
With Gunbei out of the way and father and son reunited, the action then turns on finding the tattooed killer, Oyuki. He first stops at a settlement of street actors that Oyuki was said to be a part of. He talks to the elder and hears more of her story, and it happens that the elder is Oyuki's father, who is opposed to her actions, and cooperates with Ittō.
Ittō finally locates Oyuki at a hot spring
and witnesses her in action against more vassal
s who have come to try and kill her. Then her arch nemesis, her former instructor who raped her and set her on her bloody vendetta
, shows up with his flaming sword and blazing eyes. But she is no longer in his sway, and when he sees her tattoos, he is distracted and killed.
Finally, Ittō and Oyuki must duel, and he makes quick work of her. She dies a splendid death, as Itto says, without having to disrobe.
Retsudo Yagyū, meanwhile, has been playing politics. He manipulates a local daimyo into bringing in Ittō, but Ittō is able to use the baby cart and its weapons to escape from the daimyo's palace and take the man hostage. As Ittō is leaving the area with the daimyo along for safety, he is attacked by the Yagyū. The daimyo is killed by some musketeer
s and Ittō goes headlong into battle, telling his son Daigoro that he is entering the "crossroads to hell." It is a fierce battle, ending with Ittō and Retsudo in combat. They trade blows – Retsudo gets a blade in his right eye and Ittō a sword in his back. Ittō kills the swordsman who stabs him, but Retsudo gets away.
Daigoro finds his father and with great effort, pulls the sword from his father's back. Despite being severely wounded, Ittō carries Daigoro to the cart and slowly pushes it away, seeking medical treatment for himself. Watching over the scene is the now one-armed Gunbei, who is happy to see Ittō live to fight another day.
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
s based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub
Lone Wolf and Cub
is a manga created by writer Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima. First published in 1970, the story was adapted into six films starring Tomisaburo Wakayama, four plays, a television series starring Yorozuya Kinnosuke, and is widely recognized as an important and influential work.Lone Wolf and Cub...
manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son, Daigoro.
The film has also been released as Shogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage, the second sequel to Shogun Assassin
Shogun Assassin
Shogun Assassin, known in Japan as , is a jidaigeki film made for the British and American markets and released in 1980. In 2006 it was restored and re-released on DVD in North America by AnimEigo....
.
Plot
Oyuki, a tattooed female assassin – the renegade member of a daimyoDaimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
's personal bodyguard detail – is killing every man that is sent up against her. Along with her deadly use of the short blade, she strips to the waist while fighting to reveal elaborate tattoos on her chest and back. On her front is a kintarō
Kintaro
is a folk hero from Japanese folklore. A child of superhuman strength, he was raised by a mountain hag on Mount Ashigara. He became friendly with the animals of the mountain, and later, after catching Shutendouji, the terror of the region around Mount Ooe, he became a loyal follower of Minamoto no...
grasping her left breast. A portrait of a mountain witch covers her back. She then cuts off her victims' topknots, or chonmage
Chonmage
The chonmage is a form of Japanese traditional haircut worn by men. It is most commonly associated with the Edo Period and samurai, and in recent times with sumo wrestlers...
, which brings dishonor to the dead man and his family.
Ogami Ittō, the disgraced former shogun
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
's executioner, or Kogi Kaishakunin
Kogi Kaishakunin
The Kogi Kaishakunin is a fictional position appearing in the manga Lone Wolf and Cub. In the story, it was the Japanese shogun's official executioner....
, is hired to kill Oyuki. He tracks down the tattoo artist, who explains that she was a "fine" woman who did not scream as he dug into her flesh with his needles.
Meanwhile, Ittō's 3-year-old son, Daigoro, has grown restless waiting by the baby cart his father uses to trundle him about in. He goes exploring and finds a pair of performing clowns on the street. When the clowns finish their performance, Daigoro follows them, hoping to see more. But the clowns shoo him away, saying it's time to go home. Now, Daigoro has wandered too far. He is lost, and has become separated from his father.
Agents of the Ogamis' mortal enemies, the Yagyū, are never far away. A procession of them, accompanied by the sound of gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
s and loud shrieks, sends Daigoro into hiding. Ittō must give up his search rather than risk an entanglement with the men, so he travels on alone.
Daigoro spends days looking for his father, searching in every temple in the countryside. He enters one temple and sees a figure at the altar praying, but it is not his father. Rather, it is a man whom Daigoro immediately recognizes as someone who is unfriendly.
The man follows Daigoro, who wanders into a grass field as it is being lit on fire
Controlled burn
Controlled or prescribed burning, also known as hazard reduction burning or Swailing is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for...
by farmers. Unwittingly, Daigoro is surrounded by the flames, but he proves his resourcefulness by burying himself and surviving.
The man then turns his sword on Daigoro, who raises a stick to defend himself, and in that instant the man realizes who Daigoro is.
Just then, Ittō comes into the picture, and the two recognize each other. The man, it turns out is Gunbei Yagyū, the outcast son of Retsudo Yagyū. Gunbei and Itto had competed for the post of shogun's executioner, and Gunbei's fierce swordsmanship
Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to any martial art involving the use of a sword...
surely would have won him the post, but in his over zealousness, he ends up pointing his sword at the shogun – a taboo movement that costs him the job and makes him an outcast.
Ittō and Gunbei now have a rematch, but Itto is much improved and is ready for Gunbei. With a swift stroke, he chops off Gunbei's right arm. Gunbei then begs Ittō to kill him, but Ittō refuses, saying there is nothing to be gained from slaying a man who is already dead.
With Gunbei out of the way and father and son reunited, the action then turns on finding the tattooed killer, Oyuki. He first stops at a settlement of street actors that Oyuki was said to be a part of. He talks to the elder and hears more of her story, and it happens that the elder is Oyuki's father, who is opposed to her actions, and cooperates with Ittō.
Ittō finally locates Oyuki at a hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
and witnesses her in action against more vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s who have come to try and kill her. Then her arch nemesis, her former instructor who raped her and set her on her bloody vendetta
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
, shows up with his flaming sword and blazing eyes. But she is no longer in his sway, and when he sees her tattoos, he is distracted and killed.
Finally, Ittō and Oyuki must duel, and he makes quick work of her. She dies a splendid death, as Itto says, without having to disrobe.
Retsudo Yagyū, meanwhile, has been playing politics. He manipulates a local daimyo into bringing in Ittō, but Ittō is able to use the baby cart and its weapons to escape from the daimyo's palace and take the man hostage. As Ittō is leaving the area with the daimyo along for safety, he is attacked by the Yagyū. The daimyo is killed by some musketeer
Musketeer
A musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...
s and Ittō goes headlong into battle, telling his son Daigoro that he is entering the "crossroads to hell." It is a fierce battle, ending with Ittō and Retsudo in combat. They trade blows – Retsudo gets a blade in his right eye and Ittō a sword in his back. Ittō kills the swordsman who stabs him, but Retsudo gets away.
Daigoro finds his father and with great effort, pulls the sword from his father's back. Despite being severely wounded, Ittō carries Daigoro to the cart and slowly pushes it away, seeking medical treatment for himself. Watching over the scene is the now one-armed Gunbei, who is happy to see Ittō live to fight another day.
Cast
- Tomisaburo WakayamaTomisaburo Wakayama, born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the scowling, 17th century ronin warrior in the six Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies.-Biography:...
as Ogami Ittō - Akihiro Tomikawa as Daigoro
- Yoichi Hayashi as Yagyū Gunbei
- Michie Azuma as Oyuki
- Asao Koike as Tokugawa Yoshinao
- Tatsuo Endo as Yagyū Retsudo
Production
- Tatsuo Endo was the second actor in the series to portray the grizzled, grey-haired Yagyū Retsudo. In the first film, Sword of VengeanceLone Wolf and Cub: Sword of VengeanceLone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance is a 1972 film directed by Kenji Misumi, the first in a series of six Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son, Daigoro.-Plot:Set in Japan during an...
Retsudo was portrayed by Tokio Oki. In the final two films, Baby Cart in the Land of DemonsLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of DemonsLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Land of Demons is the fifth in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son,...
and White Heaven and HellLone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in HellLone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell is the final entry in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young...
, he was portrayed by Minoru Ohki (wearing an eyepatchEyepatchAn eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...
). - Tomisaburo WakayamaTomisaburo Wakayama, born Masaru Okumura, was a Japanese actor, best known for playing Ogami Ittō, the scowling, 17th century ronin warrior in the six Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies.-Biography:...
took over as producer of the series from his brother, Shintaro KatsuShintaro Katsu, born Toshio Okumura was a Japanese actor, singer, producer, and director...
, though the films remained with Katsu's production company, Katsu Films. - Buichi Saito took over as director from Kenji MisumiKenji Misumiwas a notable Japanese film director. He created films such as Lone Wolf and Cub and the initial film in the long-running Zatoichi series.He died at age 53.-Filmography:...
, who directed the first three Baby Cart films as well as the fifth in the series, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of DemonsLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of DemonsLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Land of Demons is the fifth in a series of six Japanese martial arts films based on the long-running Lone Wolf and Cub manga series about Ogami Ittō, a wandering assassin for hire who is accompanied by his young son,...
. Yoshiyuki Kuroda directed the final entry in the six-film series.