Shinobi: Heart Under Blade

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Shino, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade Name Shino, Shinobi: Heart Under Blade Director Ten Shimoyama Producer Starring Joe Odagiri, Yukie Nakama, Minoru Terada, Tomoka Kurotani, Erika Sawajiri, Kippei Shiina, Takeshi Masu, Mitsuki Koga, Tak Sakaguchi, Houka Kinoshita, Shun Ito, Riri, Minoru Terada, Masaki Nishina, Toshiya Nagasawa, Yutaka Mastushige, Renji Ishibashi, Kazuo Kitamura Distributor Eurocine Release 2005 Run Time 107 mins. Country Japan Language Japanese Preceded by na Followed by na Website IMdB Profile

Shinobi or Shinobi:Heart Under Blade is a film adaptation based on the novel by Futaro Yamada. This Tokugawa-set film depicts the fate of two star-crossed lovers, Gennosuke (Joe Odagiri) from the Koga clan and Oboro (Yukie Nakama) from the Iga clan. Both ninja groups are secluded deep within the mountains, honing their ninja skills to levels beyond that of mortal men. However, after years of enforced peace, two ninja clans are pitted against each other in mortal combat. Amidst the chaos, two lovers from rival camps try to salvage their romance in the face of impending doom.

Summary

During the Tokugawa period, right after the Warring States Period, two star-crossed lovers, Gennosuke and Oboro, met and fell in love. Both are looking for an opportunity to make their romance public, hoping their peers will let go of their various hatreds and accept them as a suitable match. However, this already complicated situation is made even worse when Iga matriarch Ogen and Koga chieftain Danjo Koga are summoned to have an audience with the Shogun. Once there, the leaders are commanded to pick their best warriors and pit them against each other in combat. The Shogun's motivation, however, has less to do with finding out which clan is stronger, and everything to do with eliminating any and all potential threats to his sovereignty.

After secretly planning to wed, Gennosuke and Oboro are shocked to learn that not only has the ban against warfare been lifted, but that they have both been chosen to lead their warriors into battle. Even so, Gennosuke flatly refuses to participate, instead proposing that he and his men start investigating why they've been forced to engage the Iga clan to begin with. Unfortunately, Gennosuke's comrades see things very differently from their lovestruck leader. In their view, they have trained their entire life to be instruments of doom at their lord's disposal and for Gennosuke to suggest that they suddenly abandon their purpose is absurd to his comrades. Oboro's clansmen are no different, as they, too, seem to be eager to spill some blood.