Shogun's Joy of Torture (1968) User Reviews

Classy mean streaked oldie Japanese torture film

[Bloodwank · 7/10 · 6 November 2011]

Teruo Ishii may never be regarded in the same exalted terms as fellow Japanese cult heroes like Norifumi Suzuki or Koji Wakamatsu (though to be fair much of his work remains pretty rare), but he was certainly no slouch, a solid and stylish contributor to many genres. The Joy of Torture is probably the best I've seen from him so far, the start of his eight strong ero guro series. An anthology film indicting Edo era savagery, while not especially graphic its a classy and even moving work with some memorable scenes.

The first story is the weakest of the three, seeing a woman driven to desperation and aberrant love by her injured brother. Interesting enough but little developed, it's a set up that would have benefited from a full length treatment or at least greater levels of emotional intensity, high melodrama should have been the style but its actually relatively subdued. Still good stuff though and its theme of love binding characters to their doom leads nicely into the next story, a tale of nuns driven wild with lust for a neighboring monk. This one really ups the ante, with escalating hysteria mounting into interesting torture scenes and bloodshed, including a hilarious use of loaches. The best is saved till last though, a dedicated tattoo artist seeks to create his finest work by watching the torture of Christian missionaries. This segment combines interesting obsession with the most protracted torture scenes of the film, lots of beating, wheeling, burning and so forth of a multitude of screaming semi naked ladies to unsettling yet undeniably erotic effect. Plus the close is (relatively speaking) pretty upbeat. So its a decent mix, but at the same time somewhat flawed. Some inconsistencies nag, most notably the aforementioned slightly flat opening story. The film is thematically inconsistent too, flitting from the tragedy of love to the mania of excess to the excess of torture, taking in the harshness of social strictures, cruelty of individuals and passion of torture along the way. Although the stories are united by recurring torturer Nambara and his (relatively) nice guy assistant, there's a slightly scattershot feel to the general critique that detracts from the overall effect. The social justification is a tad cheesy as well, which wouldn't be a bad thing but the film is exploitative enough to seem hypocritical while not exploitative enough to be hilarious in having higher pretensions. There isn't much gore either, but then its still fairly strong for its time. Altogether still a very worthy film, nudity, nastiness, solid plotting and beautiful cinematography, definitely worth a watch for vintage Japanese exploitation fans.

Happiness is a helpless victim in the throes of agony.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 4 July 2021]

Shogun's Joy of Torture sees a change in direction for director Teruo Ishii, who leaves his previous cinematic worlds of gritty crime drama and cheesy sci-fi for more exploitative territory, where the order of the day is bondage, sadism, sex and tattoos. Yes... tattoos.

The film - which is set during the Edo period - opens with some truly eye-opening violence: a woman is hung from a tree, beheaded, and her body cut in half by a swordsman; another victim is burnt alive; and a lady is torn to pieces by horses. All of this before the opening credits have even finished. The rest of the film comprises of three tales of cruel punishment meted out for different crimes, while a Shogunate assistant weighs up the pros and cons of such extreme discipline.

The first story sees pretty 18-year-old Mitsu (Masumi Tachibana) forced to accept financial help from Minosuke (Kichijirô Ueda), master of the local kimono shop, after a log falls on her brother Shinzô, leaving him in need of expensive medical care. Indebted to Minosuke, Mitsu is forced to comply with his sexual demands, which leaves Shinzô distraught, for he has long harboured incestuous desires for his sister. Unable to bear it any longer, Shinzô declares his love for Mitsu, and is happy to learn that she feels the same way. The siblings begin a sexual relationship, but their taboo trysts are soon rumbled by Minosuke, who rapes Mitsu, knowing that they dare not report him. When Shinzô commits suicide in order to put an end to his shameful life, Mitsu loses her temper and attacks Minosuke, who finally reports the girl to the authorities. In order to get Mitsu to confess, she is stripped, bound, and beaten with bamboo. Mitsu doesn't break, and is given the option of exile instead of death, but the young woman ultimately decides that she would rather be reunited with her dead brother and confesses. Her punishment is to be crucified on an inverted cross in the surf as the tide comes in. Glub, glub, glub! Mitsu's fate is made all the more harrowing after we learn that Minosuke was responsible for Shinzô's injuries in the first place, having arranged for the accident so that he could have his way with Mitsu. Naughty naughty.

The next chapter is called 'The Beheading of an Abbess in the Juko Temple'. Mother Reiho (Yukie Kagawa) takes a fancy to bald priest Syunkai (Shin'ichirô Hayashi), who she discovers is having a secret affair with pretty (but equally as bald) nun Myôshin (Miki Obana). After watching the couple going at it in the woods, Reiho approaches Syunkai and orders him to strip and purify himself under a waterfall. While the young priest is repenting for his sins, Reiho slips out of her habit and joins him and they have sex. Afterwards, Syunkai tells Reiho he only jumped her to save Myôshin, for now she is just as guilty. His ploy doesn't work: Reiho has Myôshin tied up and tortured, using loaches and a red hot chili pepper to bring tears to her eyes (and I'm not talking about Flea wearing nothing but a sock - that would be way too cruel!). Syunkai turns up demanding to see Myôshin, and stupidly agrees to be tied up beforehand, which ultimately leads to the guy having his head hacked off by the now certifiably insane Reiho. The Shogunate officials turn up to find the crazy nun carrying the priest's head. She commits harakiri, but that doesn't stop the authorities crucifying her dead body and piercing it with spears, along with a handful of other, very much alive nuns.

The third story is the murder case of tattoo artist Horicho (Asao Koike), who is committed to producing a masterpiece depicting the agony of torture. When his latest work is mocked by a Shogunate lord for its lack of realism, Horicho finds a new canvas - a woman named Hana (Reiko Mikasa) who he kidnaps for her perfect skin - and sets about creating his finest work of art. Horicho requests if he can attend the torture of prisoners, so he can accurately capture their expressions, as well as using the sadistic lord as his model for a hellish ogre. However, the tattooist's real aim is to give the torturer a taste of his own medicine.

All three stories feature copious scenes of torture and misogyny which undeniably push the boundaries for the time, but never quite live up to the promise of the amazingly gory opening credits executions. However, those who think that this one doesn't go far enough should definitely check out the 1976 unofficial sequel, The Joy of Torture 2: Oxen Split Torturing, which goes all out to shock with its nasty graphic violence.

A rough watch

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 15 February 2021]

Teruo Ishii (Inferno of Torture, Invaders from Space, Horrors of Malformed Men) is mostly known for his ero-guro (erotic-grotesque) films, but his oeuvre jumps all over the place, from science fiction to sequel series, martial arts, noir and horror. Truly, anything that he could make - 83 feature films in all - he made.

From all accounts, he was a quiet, unassuming man. Well, let me tell you - if this movie is any guide, he was an absolute maniac. An anthology of three true crimes of the Tokugawa shogunate era, this is a movie that will absolutely shock you on every level.

The first story concerns a woman who will do anything to help her brother - even the unthinkable - which causes both to pay a horrifying price. The second is about a lusty monk who causes the nuns of a Buddhist temple to suffer torture for the libidinous actions that they feel compelled to enact. And finally, in the most depraved - and well made, I mean, this looks like art the way it's filmed and presented - a sadistic torturer and a master tattoo artist discuss the way torture should be depicted within art. It's also about Christian missionaries trying to turn the Japanese to a Western god and being duly decimated. And also artistic depictions of depravity.

Honestly, this movie is a hard watch. Yet there are seven sequels from Ishii and a 1976 follow-up, Shogun's Sadism. It definitely has something to say about the nature of crime and punishment, as the final segment, though the roughest, has the most moral message. This is where I mention that this is one of many movies that speak against violence and bad morals while indulging in both. But isn't that what exploitation films are all about?

PINKY VIOLENT PRECURSOR

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 7/10 · 23 November 2021]

Film in Japan has gone through various genres of their own that have shown both creativity and a certain sense of strangeness in the eyes of those around the world. "Pink films" for obvious reasons referred to the films there in the 60s that featured nudity in them. A sub-genre of that came from Toei Studios and was known as "pinky violence". These films combined eroticism with tales of violence and action. But before those films came into being, director Teruo Ishii made the film SHOGUN'S JOY OF TORTURE.

The film was considered an example of the ero-guro or erotic grotesque film. Set in the Edo period the film offers three separate stores that involve, yes, torture and violence. This is painfully obvious with the film's opening credit sequence showing the crucifixion and beheading of a woman. The first story involves a woman trying to care for her older brother who has taken ill. To take care of him she agrees to become his boss's mistress. As he heals the bond between the two grows until it reaches the incestuous stage. What follows is not pleasant.

The second story tells the tale of two lesbian nuns. This breaks all sorts of boundaries beginning with breaking their vow of celibacy. When caught by a monk, he too takes part in their sexual encounters. To say that they pay for their transgressions is to put it lightly.

The third and last story about a sociopathic tattoo artist determined to create his most famous work. He kidnaps a young woman and begins tattooing various depictions of violence that his supporter and lord allow him to watch. Encouraging him on to more violent acts he eventually convinces him to pose as an ogre for his masterpiece. But when one goes too far there are repercussions that come into play.

There is little doubt as you can tell be reading this that this is not a film for the faint of heart nor those who find offense in things of this nature. While the descriptions I've provided don't discuss them in depth, the scenes of torture that take place with the various characters here are somewhat extreme even by today's standards. And this movie was made in 1968.

The one thing the movie does is show the difference in outlooks about film from one country to another. While films in the US were just beginning to add nudity to their films this film and others like it were crossing more extreme barriers. It might not qualify as a horror film but the gruesome moments in the film could easily be found in a number of horror films that were released the following decade in the US.

All of this makes it hard to determine if the film is entertaining or not. No doubt sadists and masochists would love it. But what about the main movie going public? I suspect not quite. Still for those interested in film from around the world and seeing the way movies are made in other countries there is a certain amount of curiosity that will be answered with this film.

Arrow Video has done a fantastic job with the film with a 1080p blu-ray presentation along with several interesting extras. Those include and audio commentary track by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes, "Teruo Ishii: Erotic-Grotesque Maestro" an exclusively filmed interview with author Patrick Macias, "Blind, Torture, Thrill" author and critic Jasper Sharp discussing the history of torture in Japanese exploitation films, the original trailer, an image gallery, a reversible sleeve with newly commissioned artwork by Jacob Phillips and for the first pressing only an illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mark Schilling.

Provocative but empty

[grantss · 4/10 · 10 April 2021]

Three tales of punishment and torture.

As the title would suggest, this is no Disney film. It's a Japanese exploitation film from 1968 and that's pretty much all you need to know in advance. It is about gratuitous nudity, sex and violence. Plot (well, plots - there's three stories) is basic and doesn't always make sense.

On the plus side, production values are pretty good for the time and performances are reasonably solid for something that is clearly no Citizen Kane.

Japanese torture extravaganza!

[RobertNorway · 8/10 · 23 October 2000]

Teruo Ishii's extremely provocative movie set in the 1600 in feudal Japan. 3 short stories dealing with punishment and torture. The first deals with incest where a woman is beaten and tortured to death for having an affair with her dying brother. The second is about lesbian nuns and the third story shows a crazy tattoo artist who kidnaps a woman to use as his canvas. Even though this movie is over 35 years old, the effects and the gore are amazing! Humans burned at barbeques, decapitations and more torture than you could possibly wish for makes this classic videonasty a must have for all fans of good and gory movies!

Don't miss out on the even more extreme sequel; The Joys of Torture 2: Oxen Split Torturing!

Very harsh Japanese torture film.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 9/10 · 25 October 2005]

"Shogun's Joy Of Torture" is the first part in Teruo Ishii's so-called "Tokugawa Series".This episode is set in seventeenth century Japan,when members of the Tokugawa clan ruled the country with fear and terror.Punishment for those who broke the rules set by the Shogunate was brutal and severe."Shogun's Joy Of Torture" tells three terrifying stories about guilt,crime,and punishment.The film is loaded with some truly shocking torture scenes,so some unprepared viewers will be offended.Women are decapitated,burned alive,beaten,whipped or torn in two by oxen.The production values are high,the cinematography is polished and the soundtrack is moody and sad."Joy of Torture" spawned seven sequels from Teruo Ishii.All of them are truly sadistic spectacles of violence and misogyny,so fans of Japanese exploitation should check them out.9 out of 10.

The First Entry In Teruo Ishii's JOYS OF TORTURE Series....

[EVOL666 · 9/10 · 5 September 2006]

I'd been holding on to this one for a month or two now, and just finally got around to checking it out. Though I liked YAKUZA LAW: LYNCHING! (one of the later films in the series), I was not too impressed with INFERNO OF TORTURE, so I let this one lay on the back-burner for a while. Big mistake. This, the original JOYS OF TORTURE film, is definitely one of the more notable entries in the pinku-style ero-goru films - especially for it's 1968 time-stamp. Like several of the other JOYS OF TORTURE films, and also like it's "unofficial" sequel, SHOGUN'S SADISM (which many don't realize WAS NOT directed by Ishii and is not a "true" part of the JOYS OF TORTURE series), this film is told anthology-style, with three tales that center around...oddly enough, torture.

The first story involves an incestuous brother and sister couple where after the brother's suicide, the sister is put to death for her refusal to deny their "relationship". The second tells of some power-hungry and corrupt nuns - one of which becomes obsessed with a monk and tortures him and his "girlfriend" because of her jealousy - until the constabulary finds out about the nuns' goings-on, and kills them all for their misconduct. The last installment is about a tattoo artist who is intent to create a master-work of torture-art on a young lady's back, and uses a friends position as an interrogator to gain access to witness the torture first-hand...

I have to say that I enjoyed JOYS OF TORTURE as much as I did Makiguchi's SHOGUN'S SADISM, thought it isn't quite as gory as that particular film. What JOYS lacks in gore compared to SHOGUN'S SADISM(though don't get me wrong, there's still a good bit for a film from 1968, and tons of torture on display...), it surpasses in terms of storyline. The acting and sets/set-pieces are all very well done, and the cinematography is beautiful and crisp. A must-see for pinku/Japanese exploitation film fans...9/10

Three tales of torture

[The_Void · 8/10 · 20 July 2008]

The Joy of Torture is apparently a part of a trilogy of torture films. It's the first one I've seen so I can't compare it to the other three; but it's certainly an interesting and well made film in its own right. The film is divided into three separate short stories and, as the title suggests, they are all about torture. While I did enjoy the film on the whole; I do have to say that I'm glad it was split into three rather than featuring just one long story as there's only really so much that can be done with this idea and the fact that the story changes three times means that the film stays fresh for the duration. The first story focuses on a brother and sister. The brother becomes ill and the pair end up having an incestuous relationship, which leads to her being tortured as incest is against the law. This is a well acted and well filmed little story and the focus is mostly on the drama between the pair. The torture and gore doesn't turn up until the end and the 'romance' between the brother and sister is not exactly heartfelt. Still, it's a decent opener.

The second story focuses on a familiar exploitation location - the Church, and focuses on the love between a nun and a priest, which naturally doesn't go down too well. This is another strong story, although the focus of it is a bit too similar to the first one with it focusing on a forbidden love. The third and final story is undoubtedly the best of the film as it tries to do something a little different from the first two. Rather than tell a story and depict the guilty parties being tortured; this time we focus on a great tattoo artist who decides that he wants to make his masterpiece on the back a young girl. He wants to paint a torture scene and in order to do this, gets himself an invite to a live torture chamber. Before the title credits we get to see a woman have her head cut off and body cut in half; and on the basis of this, I was expecting something really gory and so was a bit disappointed. The only extended scenes of torture happen in the final story and while well done; the film isn't the hardcore exploitation that I was expecting. Still, this is a good film and it's recommended to fans of this sort of stuff.