Wrath of Daimajin

Set in a mountainous part of Japan, the story follows a group of boys whose fathers and older brothers have been seized by the cruel Lord Arakawa. He forces his captives to labour in sulfur pits, producing gunpowder, and those he no longer needs are thrown into the pits. Four boys, among them Tsurukichi, Daisaku, Kinta and Sugimatsu, set out on their own to reach the prisoners, a journey that takes them across the forbidden mountain watched over by a stone statue of the war god Daimajin. When the boys honour the statue and one of them offers himself in exchange for help, the god stirs and turns his anger on Arakawa and his men.

The film was directed by Kazuo Mori, whose earlier work includes Yoidore nitōryū, Farewell Song and Three Young Samurai; Tetsurō Yoshida wrote the screenplay and Masaichi Nagata produced it for Daiei Film. Hideki Ninomiya plays Tsurukichi, with Chikara Hashimoto as Majin and Shinji Hori, Masahide Iizuka, Muneyuki Nagatomo and Junichiro Yamashita in supporting roles. It runs 87 minutes and is part of the Daimajin series of fantasy films, blending period adventure with horror.

Released in Japan in December 1966, the film holds a rating of 6.3 out of 10 on TMDB from a small number of votes, a modest figure that reflects its status as a lesser-seen entry in the series.