The Saga of Tanegashima

The Saga of Tanegashima

109 mins | Drama | May 18, 1968

Well before “Shogun” as warring clans were fighting for power throughout Japan, a Portuguese vessel ran aground off Tanegashima. Lord Tokitaka helped Captain Pinto repair his ship. The grateful captain offered the lord a gift--a matchlock musket—the first firearm ever seen in Japan. But like a great stone hurled into placid waters, this simple gift will start a revolution. Tokitaka tasks Kinbei, his greatest swordsmith, to copy this musket and build guns for Japan. While Kinbei struggles to forge Japan’s first musket, a great love blooms between Captain Pinto and Kinbei’s daughter Wakasa. But for Kinbei, to let Wakasa marry Pinto and go to Portugal is unthinkable. And as Kinbei creates Japan’s first matchlock factory, Lord Oda Nobunaga will seize upon firearms as the key to sweep all other clans before him, tearing a blood-soaked path of destruction through Japan.

The Saga of Tanegashima

109 mins | Drama | May 18, 1968

The Saga of Tanegashima
Well before “Shogun” as warring clans were fighting for power throughout Japan, a Portuguese vessel ran aground off Tanegashima. Lord Tokitaka helped Captain Pinto repair his ship. The grateful captain offered the lord a gift--a matchlock musket—the first firearm ever seen in Japan. But like a great stone hurled into placid waters, this simple gift will start a revolution. Tokitaka tasks Kinbei, his greatest swordsmith, to copy this musket and build guns for Japan. While Kinbei struggles to forge Japan’s first musket, a great love blooms between Captain Pinto and Kinbei’s daughter Wakasa. But for Kinbei, to let Wakasa marry Pinto and go to Portugal is unthinkable. And as Kinbei creates Japan’s first matchlock factory, Lord Oda Nobunaga will seize upon firearms as the key to sweep all other clans before him, tearing a blood-soaked path of destruction through Japan.
Producers Daiei Motion Picture Co., Ltd.
Original title Teppô denraiki
Directors Kazuo Mori
Writers Etsuko Takano, Kimiyuki Hasegawa

Cast

Rick Jason

as Captain Pinto

Ayako Wakao

as Wakasa

Eijirō Tōno

as Kinbei Yaita

Shiho Fujimura

as Otane

Jun Fujimaki

as Nobunaga Oda

Asao Koike

as Matasaburo Tachibanaya

Ichirô Nakatani

as Sakuji

Rokkō Toura

as Wufeng

Ryûtarô Gomi

as Tokitada Oribenojô

Taketoshi Naitô

as Tokiaki Tanegashima

Kōichi Mizuhara

as Shigeomi

Saburo Date

as Tokunoshin Wakita

Gen Kimura

as Tokuzô

Flemming Pedersen

as Wakami