Skip to Main Content
Vintage Ninja Vintage Ninja

Hiroki Matsukata

Talking MAGIC SERPENT on “Nerd Lunch”
4 Dec 2017

Talking MAGIC SERPENT on “Nerd Lunch”

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

I take any chance I can get to turn folks on to the ninja / kaiju genre-bender Magic Serpent (Kairyu Daikessen, aka Dragon Showdown and many other retitles), so when the invite came from Paxton and Jeeg to co-chair the … Continued

Hiroki Matsukata, Magic Serpent, Ryutaro Otomo, toad magic
RIP, the first ninja I ever knew…
30 Jan 2017

RIP, the first ninja I ever knew…

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

   We lost Japanese screen legend Hiroki Matsukata this week. The son of jidai-geki’s first Jubei Yagyu icon Jushiro Konoe, he was pretty much born to play a ninja on screen, with starring roles under the black hood in such … Continued

Amber Skowronski, Hiroki Matsukata
34 ninja can’t be wrong
23 Nov 2014

34 ninja can’t be wrong

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

SEVENTEEN NINJA (JUSHICHININ NO NINJA, 1963) is the typical 60’s Japanese boom film in that: 1.) It’s GREAT. 2.) It’s noir-as-hell — painted in gorgeous chiaroscuro cinematography. 3.) It’s also noir-as-hell because (from the gospel of James Ellroy) pretty much everybody in it is fucked. And… … Continued

17 Ninja, Hiroki Matsukata, Jushiro Konoe, Ryutaro Otomo, Satomi Kotaro
1 Oct 2010

A little MAGIC SERPENT to start things off

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 3

Surely the apex of shinobi-kaiju cinema, Magic Serpent (for the Sandy Frank/AIP-exposed) or Kairyu Dai-Kessen, is a no brainer to start of Monsters and Masks 2010! This is a staged publicity shot, you rarely if ever get that clear a … Continued

Hiroki Matsukata, kaiju, Magic Serpent, Ryutaro Otomo, toad magic
30 Mar 2010

IGA NO KAGEMARU laserdisc inserts: Part 2

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

Additional images from the inserts of the laserdisc of the 1963 “Kagaemaru of Iga” live action film: See more at Black Sun. Visit the creator’s official website (Japanese) here, with some great manga cover galleries under the “Published” link. Buy … Continued

Hiroki Matsukata, Kagemaru, Mitsuteru Yokoyama
28 Mar 2010

IGA NO KAGEMARU laserdisc inserts: Part 1

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

Inspired by Shonen King‘s excellent work over at Black Sun, here’s some of the stills from the inserts of Toho’s Iga no Kagemaru laserdisc: More coming tomorrow. In the meantime, buy the really fun 1963 film at Kurotokagi.

Hiroki Matsukata, Kagemaru, Mitsuteru Yokoyama
21 Jan 2010

Ninja Warfare in YAGYU BUGEICHO – Part 2

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

Last time we set things up for the Yagyu’s apocalyptic assault on a impregnable fortress. Yagyu Bugeicho: Katame no Ninja is an all too rare shinobi WAR movie. Unleash the dogs… Not exactly your feel-good action-comedy buddy pic here… Katame … Continued

Hiroki Matsukata, Jubei Yagyu, Jushiro Konoe
20 Jan 2010

Ninja warfare in YAGYU BUGEICHO – Part 1

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 2

Spent a lot of time on American and Chinese posters and packaging lately, so let’s take things back to where it really all starts with this site – 60’s Japanese films. This will be the first of several posts on … Continued

Hiroki Matsukata, Jubei Yagyu, Jushiro Konoe
16 Oct 2009

MAGIC SERPENT (part 2)

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

The main-event of Kairyu Daikessen is an extended kaiju beatdown between dragon and toad, with a castle destroyed in the process. Kairyu Daikessen is actually more available now than it ever was back in the day. Beautiful widescreen subtitled editions … Continued

Hiroki Matsukata, kaiju, Magic Serpent, Monsters and Masks 2009, Ryutaro Otomo, toad magic, vinyl
15 Oct 2009

The unsung kaiju-ninja epic MAGIC SERPENT (part 1)

by Keith Rainville | posted in: 1 - Film and TV | 0

Kairyu Daikessen was a 1966 Toei fusion of ninja revenge and giant monster magic. It delivered in spades on both fronts and was a fantastic movie. Then it was picked up by American International Pictures for English-language distribution, and has … Continued

Hiroki Matsukata, kaiju, Magic Serpent, Monsters and Masks 2009, Ryutaro Otomo

Welcome to VINTAGE NINJA — dedicated to old ninja movies from Japan’s 60s boom to the 80s American exploitation craze and beyond, with a ton of vintage toys, comics, and sharp pointy stuff thrown in for good measure.

Read the Definitive History:

Categories

  • 1 – Film and TV
  • 2 – Books and Manga
  • 3 – Toys and Merch
  • 4 – Collectibles
  • 5 – Art and Advertising
  • 6 – History and Martial Arts
  • 7 – Ninja Miscelany
  • 8 – News & Notes

Pages

  • About us
  • Contact
  • Some Commonly Used Terms
  • Welcome…

Tags

80s martial arts supply ads Akakage AMERICAN NINJA CASTLE OF OWLS Enter the Ninja Five Element Ninjas Generic toys Hattori Hanzo Henry Sanada HENSHIN NINJA ARASHI Hiroki Matsukata Jiraiya Jubei Yagyu Kagemaru kaiju kamui Kosugi kurozukin Lion Maru Maki Fuyukichi Masaaki Hatsumi menko cards Mitsuteru Yokoyama Monsters and Masks 2009 Monsters and Masks 2010 Monsters and Masks 2011 Monster vs. Ninja Month Raizo Ichikawa Red Shadow REVENGE OF THE NINJA Ryutaro Otomo Samurai Spy Sarutobi Sasuke Shaw Bros. Shinobi no Mono Shirato Sanpei Sho Kosugi Thai press kits The Samurai toad magic tokusatsu Tonbei VHS art vintage magazines vintage photos

©2020 Vintage Ninja/Keith J. Rainville