Sleepy Eyes Of Death 4: Sword Of Seduction 1964 Novel by Renzaburo Shibata, screenplay by Seiji Hoshikawa, directed by Kazuo Ikehiro. Raizô Ichikawa returns as Nemuri Kyoshiro.
As if living in Japan in the 1600s wasn't hard enough, Princess Kiku, the daughter of the former Shogun and an opium addict, has developed a bad habit of killing young beautiful women. As Nemuri turns away from the crowd looking at two dead women by the river, he's approached by a man who wants to hire him to protect a Christian woman. It's a really bad time to be in Japan if you're a Christian, they've gone underground to avoid persecution. Nemuri turns him down as the local constable comes rushing in. The Christian takes off, the constable questions Nemuri about it and sends him on his way.
The opium trade has flourished in the hands of a Royal doctor and a greedy rice merchant. They're bribing their contraband into the country and making themselves highly wealthy. They're somewhat worried, the nasty antics of Princess Kiku might bring attention from higher powers and that could blow their gaff. Also on the worry wagon is the current Shogun's Chief Vassal. They're all stirring the pot and having Sir Nemuri in the mix makes them worried. Lucky for him, he's got his full circle cut. This time they've added a bit of a special effect.
It's a bit darker than the last film, Nemuri learns about his mother and father from the Christian woman, and it's not a happy story. Daddy was a Christian missionary who raped mom in a Black Mass ceremony. Mom got abandoned and took her own life after the baby was born. It's was a dark bleak place for a little baby orphan but he survived.
There's plenty of other activity and some good sword play for a Nemuri body count of 56. There's a nice battle with Tomisaburô Wakayama, he back as the battling monk Chen Sun. He's working for the opium smugglers and he's not opposed to battling Nemuri to the death. I enjoyed the battle on the smuggler's ship. Over all it was entertaining and I'm enjoying the darker and meaner Nemuri.
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