Gate of Youth

Gate of Youth follows Shinsuke, a boy growing up in poverty in a coal-mining community, from his earliest years into his teens. The mines and the people who work them shape almost everything in his life. When his father, a group leader at the pit, is killed using dynamite in an attempt to rescue trapped Korean miners, several older men, among them a friendly yakuza boss who rides a Harley, try to help Shinsuke and his mother through their loss. The story is drawn from a serialized work by Hiroyuki Itsuki.

The 1981 Japanese drama was directed by Kinji Fukasaku, the thirteenth of the sixteen films he directed in chronological order, arriving between Samurai Reincarnation and Crest of Betrayal. Koreyoshi Kurahara is also credited as a director; the film is the twelfth of the fourteen he directed, following The Glacier Fox and preceding the sequel Gate of Youth 2. Tatsuo Nogami wrote the screenplay. Bunta Sugawara plays Shigezo Ibuki, with Keiko Matsuzaka, Koichi Sato, Kaoru Sugita, Nenji Kobayashi and Taiko Shinbashi in the main cast. It runs 140 minutes and was produced by Toei Company.