August 13, 1934 · 91 years old

When the wife of the Shogun's Decapitator is murdered and he is ordered to commit suicide by the paranoid Shogun, he and his four-year-old son escape and become assassins for hire, embarking on a journey of blood and violent death.

One is a young, jazz-obsessed Japanese drifter and other is a black American GI on the lam in Tokyo. The two outsiders become outlaws and the movie depicts their growing bond as an alternately absurd and tragic culture clash.

In 1949, Mr. Shimoyama, governor of Japan National Railroads, was found dead, run by train, after a mysterious disappearance. Officially it was considered suicide, but many suspected he was killed for some political conspiracy.