Special Series

Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryō

丹下左膳余話　百万両の壺

Directed by: Sadao Yamanaka
1935 / 92 minutes / Unclassified all ages

A fortune in clay, a goldfish in the way.

A seemingly worthless family heirloom—a battered kokezaru pot—suddenly becomes the object of frenzied pursuit when it’s rumoured to contain a hidden map to a treasure worth one million ryō. But unbeknownst to the pursuers, the pot is in the care of an orphaned boy named Chobi-yasu, who uses it to house his goldfish. As rival clans, frustrated samurai and scheming relatives chase the pot across Edo, fate throws the gruff, one-armed swordsman Tange Sazen and the sharp-tongued Ofuji into the unlikely role of guardians to Chobi-yasu. 

With its slapstick charm, fast-paced antics and sincere emotional beats, Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryō is less about riches and more about the joyful chaos of human connection. Full of warmth and wit, director Sadao Yamanaka’s genre-defying comedy is an enduring classic of Japan’s early sound era.