Check out this awesomeness! This 3×8-inch sheet of kids’ temporary tattoo image transfers has somehow survived the decades, and is aging in delightfully weird ways. No manufacturer or year, and I won’t even guess, but it’s FAR from new… Sword-slingin’ … Continued
Couple years ago now, one of my sources for the hand-colored press stills from Thailand that have so contributed to the identity of this site contacted me with some new offerings. A lot of it was stuff I already had … Continued
None of the below are really ninja, but we’ve always made room for the shadowy masked vigilante swordsmen here, so following is just a crap load of hooded hero awesomeness. And some related merchandise: …and a few hoodies nasties, too. … Continued
• If you’re a stinky old fart with bad eyes like me then you hate watching stuff on portable devices and tiny screens. Fortunately for us luddites, Ninja: The Mission Force is now available on DVD. • I’m not sure … Continued
This 1926 promotional flyer from the Nishiki-za movie theater in Kobe, Japan features some sweet hooded misadventure! From the text, this Nikkatsu production was called Teru Hi Kumoru Hi: Zenpen, (roughly Sunny Day, Cloudy Day: Chapter 1) based on a novel by Kurama … Continued
Some Kurozukin and other hooded hero goodness from the VHS days: I miss video stores in general, but I especially miss Little Tokyo stores from the height of the VHS clamshell era. Such great design at work with these case … Continued
No, this isn’t a contest or anything, I’m just stumped on who this is playing the oft-filmed Black Hood and what year it’s from: Of course, it could also be one of the myriad Kurama Tengu, as well… UPDATE: Thanks … Continued
Love this Menko card portrait of either Kurozukin (The Black Hood) or Kurama Tengu. Artist and date unknown, cardstock and discoloration from age is consistent with other stuff I have from the 50s and 60s.
Kaiketsu Kurozukin (The Black Hood) is one of Japan’s most enduring hooded hero properties, with cinematic origins in the silent era and a retooling about once a decade since. We did a brief overview of the property a while back here, with … Continued
The cambara Lone Ranger looks pretty damn cool in B&W, too, like something off a Saturday matinee serial reel. Although the color originals of these images, first seen here in August of 2009, are absolutely stunning. Kurotokagi has a great … Continued