Red Handkerchief (Akai hankachi)

"Red Handkerchief is the best Nikkatsu Action film"
— Joe Shishido, Nikkatsu Studio actor (A Colt is My Passport)

1964, 98 min., 35mm, color. Directed by Toshio Masuda. With Yujiro Ishihara, Hideaki Nitani, Ruriko Asaoka. View trailer.

In this “mood action” thriller, big-shot cop Mikami fatally shoots a witness during a drug investigation, and moves to the country to forget his tainted past. Years later, he returns to Yokohama to unravel the truth about the unsolved case and his shady ex-partner, now married to the woman he loves.

A career landmark for both superstar Yujiro Ishihara and director Masuda, Red Handkerchief ultimately defines Nikkatsu’s "mood action” aesthetic. The third-highest grossing Japanese film of 1964, Red Handkerchief signaled a new, more adult phase in Ishihara’s career, in which he played troubled, conflicted characters. It also marked a creative way forward for Nikkatsu Action films that continued through the middle of the decade.

Tickets: $10/$7 Japan Society members & seniors/ $4.50 students (first 20 tickets per screening). Purchase tickets online above or call the Box Office at (212) 715-1258.

This event is part of the NO BORDERS, NO LIMITS 1960s Nikkatsu Action Cinema series.