Tokuzō Tanaka
Director · Died December 20, 2007, aged 82 · Osaka, Japan
Tokuzō Tanaka (田中徳三, Tanaka Tokuzō, September 15, 1920 – December 20, 2007) was a Japanese film director. He is well known for directing Zatoichi series and Nemuri Kyōshirō series films.
Biography from TMDB.
- September 15, 1925
- December 20, 2007 (aged 82)
- Osaka, Japan
- Director
- 9 on MovieCove · 76 credits in all
What are Tokuzō Tanaka's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 0 · Serious 2 · Dark 3
Grounded 2 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 1
Gentle 0 · Charged 5 · Intense 0
Steady 1 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 2
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet5
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Tokuzō Tanaka's films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (7).
Subscription and free streaming for Tokuzō Tanaka's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
76 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.
Kumokiri Nizaemon: The Great Bandit (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Nemuri Kyōshirō (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Ronin on a Mission (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Kaibyō Koi-ga-fuchi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Kyoto Yokai Map 4: The 400-Year-Old Adulterous Female doctor Living in Kawaramachi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Kyoto Yokai Map 3: The 800-Year-Old Female College Student Who Lives in Toribenyama (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1985)
Furuya Ikkou's Great Detective Kindaichi Kousuke Series (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Samon’s Hell Revenge: Unauthorised Jutte Records 2 - The Assassination of the Shogun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Samon’s Hell Revenge: Unauthorised Jutte Records (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Kyoto Yokai Map 2: A 400-Year-Old Ice Woman Living on Kirara Slope (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
The Shogun's Vault I (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
The Phantom Thief Nezumi Kozo and the Tattooed Judge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Kyoto Yokai Map 1: A 900-Year-Old New Bride Living in Sagano (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
Nihon Meisaku Kaidan Gekijō: Kaidan Tone no Watashi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Japanese Masterpiece Ghost Story Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Hissatsu Shigotonin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
The 47 Ronins of Ako (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Lone Wolf and Cub (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Kenkaku Shōbai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Hayato is Coming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Crescent Scarred Hatamoto (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Haunted Castle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Girl with Bamboo Leaves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
手錠無用 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Secrets of a Woman's Temple (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Hoodlum Soldier: Looting and Pillaging (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
The Snow Woman(1968)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Sleepy Eyes of Death 10: Hell Is a Woman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
The Last Loyalty Offering (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Hoodlum Soldier on the Attack (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Five Star Private (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Assignment Dragon No. 3 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Hoodlum Soldier's Flight to Freedom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
A Drop of Grease (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The Betrayal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Zatoichi's Vengeance(1966)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Bad Reputation: Cherry Blossoms (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The Hoodlum Soldier Deserts Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Bad Reputation: Invincible Notorious Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Hoodlum Soldier and the C.O. (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Bad Reputation: The Two Notorious Men Strike Again (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Bloody Shuriken (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
The Beggar General (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
The Life of a Chivalrous Man in Suruga: Broken Swords (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Shinobi no Mono 4: Siege (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Homeless Dog (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Bad Reputation: Two Notorious Men in Tokyo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 1: The Chinese Jade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Zatoichi the Fugitive(1963)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
A Samurai Never Tells a Lie (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
New Tale of Zatoichi(1963)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Bad Reputation: Three Notorious Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
New Bad Reputation Continues (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Betting on the Sword (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
The Whale God (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Sabakareru Echizen no kami (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
誘拐 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Bad Reputation Returns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Tough Guy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Koina no Ginpei (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Fantastico (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Vagabonds from Badgerville (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Scars of Honor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
The Demon of Mount Oe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
The Princess Says No (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
The Lord and the Gambler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Ojo-kichiza (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
Bakeneko Goyōda (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Conflagration (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Akado Suzunosuke vs. the Birdman with 3 Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
A Story from Chikamatsu(1954)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
The Great White Tiger Platoon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Sansho the Bailiff(1954)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Ugetsu(1953)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Rashomon(1950)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 76 titles from 1950 to 1991.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Tokuzō Tanaka's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 90th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up9
Shape of the crowd
None of their 9 titles divides audiences: 5 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser5
Reviewers score the atmosphere 76/100 and the pacing 52/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Tokuzō Tanaka work with?
People who share at least 2 of Tokuzō Tanaka's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Akira Ifukube shares the most, 4.
Writers
- Kan ShimozawaShared titles: Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963), Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Kan Shimozawa
Actors
- Shintarō KatsuShared titles: Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963), Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Shintarō Katsu
- Fujio SugaShared titles: The Snow Woman (1968), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)See all 2 shared titles with Fujio Suga
- Gen KimuraShared titles: Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)See all 2 shared titles with Gen Kimura
- Kanae KobayashiShared titles: Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)See all 2 shared titles with Kanae Kobayashi
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Akira IfukubeShared titles: The Snow Woman (1968), Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963), Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)See all 4 shared titles with Akira Ifukube
- Chikashi MakiuraShared titles: The Snow Woman (1968), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963), Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Chikashi Makiura
- Hiroshi YamadaShared titles: The Snow Woman (1968), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963), Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Hiroshi Yamada
Producers
- Ikuo KuboderaShared titles: The Snow Woman (1968), Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966), New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Ikuo Kubodera
- Masaichi NagataShared titles: The Snow Woman (1968), Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)See all 2 shared titles with Masaichi Nagata
