Female Yakuza Tale

Ocho, a female yakuza, arrives in Yokohama and is mistakenly taken by a drug trafficking organization that uses women as couriers, smuggling narcotics into Japan inside their bodies. The mistake is discovered, but the criminals drug her, and she wakes beside the corpse of a young woman with a bloodstained knife in her hand. A solitary drifter helps her escape, and she sets out to find those responsible. Her search leads her to the smuggling ring, which exploits and addicts young women, and she turns their own operation against them.

The film was directed by Teruo Ishii, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Masahiro Kakefuda and Ikuo Sekimoto. It belongs to the busiest stretch of his career: it followed Bohachi Bushido: Code of the Forgotten Eight and Prison Walls of Abashiri, Part 2, and preceded 300 Million Thief: Statute of Limitations among the seven titles listed for him. Reiko Ike plays Ochô Inoshika, with Makoto Aikawa, Arumi Kuri, Meika Seri, Jun Midorikawa and Emi Jo among the credited cast of thirty-one. Made by Toei Company and running 86 minutes, the Japanese production mixes action with crime, drama and thriller elements.

Audience response has been modest. On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from around 1,100 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.1 out of 10 from 41 votes. The film was released in Japan in June 1973.