Photo/Illutration A scene from “Burai” (Provided by Rabbit House Co.)

Director Kazuyuki Izutsu’s sympathetic portrayals of social outsiders have culminated in “Burai” (Outlaw), his first film in eight years, which follows a yakuza gang leader’s postwar life in the Showa Era (1926-1989).

The story begins in 1956, when the economic white paper declared that Japan was no longer “postwar” because of its miraculous recovery from the ravages of World War II.

Masaji Ito, a junior high school student living in a provincial city, beats up his selfish father and starts working as a day laborer. After his first arrest on suspicion of extortion, Ito goes in and out of prison while using his unique wit to manage a small yakuza clan.

“As I look back, I have always been making movies about juvenile delinquents, starting with ‘Gaki Teikoku’ (Empire of Punks) and followed by ‘Kishiwada Shonen Gurentai’ (Boys be Ambitious), ‘Pacchigi!’ (We Shall Overcome Some Day) and ‘The Hero Show,’ Izutsu said. “I always wanted to make a film about grown-up delinquents.”

The story of “Burai” continues until the protagonist, played by Toshio Matsumoto, turns 60.

“I wanted to show the life of an outlaw who has survived poverty and discrimination and has nowhere to go,” the director said. “It’s my tribute to Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘The Godfather’ and Kinji Fukasaku’s ‘Battles Without Honor and Humanity.”

These two films also portray a cruel and merciless society of violence, in stark contrast to the sense of obligation and sympathy featured in Ken Takakura’s movies.

“They find all kinds of quibbles to fight gang wars with each other, saying things like they’re doing it for their parents. And Masaji struggles inside the yakuza society,” Izutsu said.

Each turning point in the outlaw’s life is brilliantly linked with significant events of the Showa Era, including: the huge protests over the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty; the 1964 Tokyo Olympics; the 1970 Osaka Expo; Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka’s plan for remodeling the Japanese archipelago; the oil crises; the bombings by the East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front; the arrest of Tanaka; and the frantic years of the asset-inflated economy.

“Yakuza may be outlaws, but actually, they are players of the information industry operating in the center of society,” Izutsu said. “It is crucial for them to set up a network of sensors to catch latest information.

“The underworld and the regular world are two sides of the same coin. I wanted to make a movie that would show the Showa Era through the life of a yakuza.”

When asked why he chose the Showa Era as the time setting of the story, the director said: “I didn’t make this movie out of nostalgia. I think about what we did in the 30 years of the Heisei Era (1989-2019). We had nothing new. So, I wanted to show the heat of the Showa Era to today’s audience.”

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