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Why Sho Kosugi Is Awesome
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Why the Ninja Sho Kosugi is awesome!
Author’s note: I’ve been a fan of Sho Kosugi since I first saw Revenge of the Ninja on HBO back in the 1980s. In fact, I remember watching Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III: The Domination on a Friday night, one right after the other, on HBO, back when HBO actually did that regularly on Friday nights. I remember being absolutely enthralled by what I was watching, not to mention grossed out (when the guy gets the ninja star thrown into his hand in Revenge of the Ninja) and then scared (the evil ninja in Domination scared me when I was a kid. He did). The absolute coolest thing about both movies was, and still is, Sho Kosugi, the badass martial artist and ninjitsu practitioner that starred in both.
I originally wrote this piece way back in 2016. I decided to bring it back after watching both Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III: The Domination again, followed by two more Kosugi classics a few days later, Pray for Death and Rage of Honor. I’ve updated it a bit, but it’s more or less the same thing I wrote almost nine years ago (the original version is gone from the internets).
I hope you like it.
Why the Ninja Sho Kosugi is awesome!
Intro:
Sho Kosugi is an actor and martial artist who was a big deal in the 1980s. He got his big film break in 1981 when he appeared in the Cannon Films action flick Enter the Ninja, directed by Menahem Golan, as a bad guy (his first acting gig, according to Wikipedia, was in The Godfather Part II where he apparently had a part as an extra. He also apparently appeared as a villain in an imitation Bruce Lee movie called Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave). Kosugi’s villainous turn in Enter the Dragon led him to star/appear in seven movies through the decade plus a TV show (The Master with Lee Van Cleef, which I will finish reviewing one of these days. As of this writing, I still have one episode to go, episode 13. Sho Kosugi isn’t in that episode, but his son Kane is).
Now, if you’re a 1980s movie nerd, an action movie nerd, or a martial arts movie nerd, you probably know who Sho Kosugi is. You’ve probably watched his classic movies multiple times. I know I have. I wish I knew why he didn’t continue churning out movies in the 1990s, the heyday of direct-to-video and action star centric movies. Kosugi would have rocked in a PM Entertainment movie. Maybe he just got burned out from acting? Kosugi did appear as the bad guy in Ninja Assassin, which came out in 2009, so maybe he wasn’t being offered the right projects in the 1990s? It is a true loss for cinema and pop culture in general that he didn’t work more through the 1990s.
So why, specifically, do I think the Ninja Sho Kosugi is awesome?
Reasons
–He is a ninja: Well, his nickname is “the ninja.” And he’s apparently skilled in the art of ninjitsu. You don’t hear anyone say that today, do you? No one seems to want to be known as one. The great Scott Adkins made two ninja movies, probably the two best ninja movies in recent memory (Ninja, which came out in 2009, and Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear, which came out in 2013), and he doesn’t walk around Hollywood or the world telling people he’s a ninja (he could but he doesn’t). Kosugi didn’t seem to have a problem with it. He made multiple ninja type movies, he kicked all kinds of ass, and he doesn’t appear to be ashamed of it one bit today. You really have to respect that. It’s just damn cool.
But wasn’t the ninja thing just a product of the 1980s? Yes, it was, to a certain extent. But that shouldn’t make being known as a ninja any less cool today. Personally, I think the movie world needs more ninjas and more real deal ninja movies. Life on this planet would be way more interesting and fun if we had both.
–He made three classic ninja movies: Kosugi’s greatest cinematic achievement, hands down, is the 1983 Cannon movie Revenge of the Ninja, directed by the great Sam Firstenberg and is the second part of the “Cannon Ninja Trilogy.” The first one, of course, was Enter the Ninja (1981), where Kosugi played Hasegawa, the bad guy ninja meant to take out the good guy ninja played by non-martial artist but worldwide famous actor Franco Nero. The third part of the trilogy, Ninja III: The Domination, also directed by Sam Firstenberg, has Kosugi play Yamada, a badass ninja master brought to America from Japan to take out an evil ninja that has possessed an innocent woman with his evil ninja spirit (the woman is played by Lucinda Dickey, an actress who should have had a way bigger career than she did).
When you look at Revenge of the Ninja, you see an actor in full control of his persona and his character, a family man and martial artist who gets caught up in a criminal conspiracy involving an American organized crime gang and a scumbag white guy who, when he isn’t running drugs, is killing people as a silver mask wearing ninja assassin. The second you see Kosugi in action, taking on multiple ninjas himself in Japan at the very beginning of the movie, you’re in awe of his fighting skills and his ability to make you care about his family issues. I mean, by the end of the opening ninja ambush, the only family Kosugi’s Cho Osaki has left is his mother and infant son. When the crap hits the fan in America, Cho ends up having to use his ninja skills to seek revenge. And it all fits naturally. Part of that is director Sam Firstenberg and screenwriter James R. Silke, but the majority of it is Kosugi. And it’s just amazing.
If you haven’t seen any of these ninja movies, good God what are you waiting for? They’re fairly easy to find on DVD and Blu-ray, they’re often available via various streaming platforms, and they pop up on cable, too. All three are great movie watching experiences. I did review all three of them way back in the day, but all three reviews seem to be gone from the internets. Maybe I need to review them again?
–He made 9 Deaths of the Ninja watchable: 9 Deaths of the Ninja, which came out in 1985 and was written and directed by Emmett Alston, isn’t an awful movie, but it really isn’t any good, either. It’s a little too weird for its own good, it doesn’t make much sense, and is hard to follow at times. And Sho Kosugi doesn’t don a ninja outfit in the movie at any point, which is insane to think about. How the hell could that not happen in a movie called 9 Deaths of the Ninja starring Sho Kosugi? Kosugi does kick ass in the movie as a secret agent type guy, though, and his character does fight ninjas. That’s ultimately why it’s watchable.
What the hell does 9 Deaths of the Ninja even mean? A ninja is like a cat and has nine lives? Nothing like that happens or is mentioned at all in the movie. So, what the hell, man? What the hell does 9 Deaths of the Ninja freaking mean?
At least Kosugi kicks ass in the movie. That’s what’s important.
–He once did a TV interview in his ninja outfit: While promoting his terrific movie Pray for Death (which also came out in 1985), Kosugi did a TV interview for some sort of show called Martial Arts World while dressed in his ninja outfit. That’s goddamn badass. I mean, how often do you see the star of a movie today show up for a TV interview or some other type event while dressed as his or her character? And I’m not talking about in a Will Ferrell/Ron Burgundy type way, either, where it’s all a joke, or like that time John Cena wore his Peacemaker costume everywhere. I mean in a serious, non-ironic way where it’s all about being badass. It rarely happens, if ever. And that’s a damn shame. The great Ernie Hudson has done fan conventions while wearing his tan suit from Ghostbusters. Eugene Clark has also done fan conventions dressed up as his “Big Daddy” character from 2005’s Land of the Dead. And I know that the various Jason actors have participated in convention photo opportunities done up as the Jason they played. You never really see anyone else do it. I know if Kosugi was doing fan conventions today he’d likely be rocking some sort of ninja outfit.
You can find this interview on the Arrow Video Blu-ray of Pray for Death, and it also pops up on YouTube every so often. It’s definitely worth checking out.
–He can survive dubbing: If you watch Kosugi’s classic Revenge of the Ninja you can tell that his character’s voice has obviously been dubbed. It could have been a disaster as voice dubbing in martial arts movies can be real hit and miss (it still is hit and miss today, which is just mind boggling. You’d think we would have figured out how to do this somewhat flawlessly by now). His voice is a little weird in Revenge, but it isn’t ridiculous so you don’t pay attention to it. You’re more interested in what his Cho character is doing: kicking ass. That’s how you do dubbing. Kosugi also manages to get through 9 Deaths of the Ninja with an absolutely ridiculous dubbed voice. A badly dubbed voice, or someone who can’t overcome that kind of dubbing, can be destroyed by it. It shouldn’t be that way, but it’s what happens.
–He knew how to wear an eyepatch: In Ninja III: The Domination, Kosugi’s character Yamada wears an eyepatch. Why? Because the evil ninja that he’s come to America to destroy damaged his eye with a ninja throwing star to the eye back in the day. But, ultimately, Yamada wears an eye patch for two reasons: one, it’s a great place to hide something unexpected. In The Domination he hides a knockout dart under his eyepatch, which he uses on an unsuspecting police officer after Yamada is arrested. And two, it makes Yamada that much more badass, like Snake Plissken. Yamada, a guy with no depth perception, takes on a supernatural demonic ninja and he wins the fight! You just don’t want to mess with this guy.
It would have been so great if Kosugi made another movie as Yamada, tracking down some other evil ninja. That could have been an entire franchise back in the 1980s. And, hell, Kosugi is still alive. There’s no reason he can’t bring Yamada out of retirement and participate in some sort of fight against an evil ninja as an older badass one eyed ninja killer. Maybe the now older Yamada can teach a young ninja how to take out an evil ninja. Maybe Kosugi’s son Kane, who is still in the acting game, can be the “young” ninja. This could so work.
Of course, if you poke around on the internets, you find out that Kosugi didn’t really care for Ninja III: The Domination (check out Rob Hill’s Bad Movie Bible YouTube channel for a mini-documentary on Ninja III: The Domination, where he explains what Kosugi’s deal is). I still think it’s a good idea, though, for Kosugi to play Yamada again.
–Pray for Death: Pray for Death is a ninja movie where Kosugi’s family man, Akira Saito, ends up having to exact revenge on a piece of shit mob guy played by James Booth because Booth’s Limehouse Willy kills Akira’s wife and maims one of his kids. And Saito, a generally mild mannered business guy, is secretly a badass ninja who wears a cool as all hooha helmet when he has to. And when Akira puts the helmet on and exacts his revenge, it’s ninja movie bliss.
Want to know what else rocks about Pray for Death? The movie’s opening theme “Back to the Shadows.” As sung by Peggy Abernathy, “Back to the Shadows” feels like a low-budget James Bond type theme, and it fits brilliantly with the movie. It may seem a little weird at the beginning, during the opening titles, as it plays over Kosugi and one of his sons doing sword practice against an orange/red background. When the song plays over the end credits? It’s there that you realize that the song is goddamn perfection.
–The man had style: And what do I mean by that? When Kosugi wasn’t kicking ass in his ninja gear, he usually wore a suit (or a nice sweater, like in that one scene where he runs after the van in Revenge of the Ninja). I think you’ll notice that plenty of martial arts superstars in the 1980s did the same exact thing. I’m going to assume they all did it to appear sophisticated and classy (there’s a whole segment in the 1980 Chuck Norris sort of ninja movie The Octagon where Chuck walks around in a suit simply because he wanted to. There is no other explanation for it). In Kosugi’s case, it makes him look classy and kind of square (like in Revenge of the Ninja when he yells at his son for beating the shit out of a group of shithead bullies) but it also hides the fact that he’s a killer badass ninja. Hiding and subterfuge are a big part of being a successful ninja.
–Those Ninja Theater host segments: As I understand it, Ninja Theater was a video series in the 1980s. I never saw a Ninja Theater video in any video store I frequented back in the day, but, based on some of the comments I’ve seen on YouTube, where I found some of the segments, it was a very real and very cool thing. Basically, Kosugi “hosted” these videos, like Elvira or Joe Bob Briggs, doing a little opening segment talking about various ninja techniques and then “hosting” the movie, whatever it was. I’m a sucker for these kinds of intros. And check out the low budget ninja action in them! These things are nothing short of amazing. Check out the two below, and then you can find more on YouTube. They’re all awesome.
–Kosugi took on a very young Jean-Claude Van Damme and destroyed him: I am, of course, talking about Black Eagle, the action flick Kosugi made with director Eric Karson back in 1988. Kosugi doesn’t play a ninja in Black Eagle, he’s more of a secret agent type that knows martial arts and has ninja-like skills. The movie is a bit of a slog, but it has some cool moments in it, like the three times he fights then up and coming martial arts villain Jean-Claude Van Damme. You can check out my full review of Black Eagle here.
–He was willing to job to Rutger Hauer: In Blind Fury (1989), Kosugi plays a hired assassin brought in to take out Rutger Hauer’s blind swordsman. They have a pretty awesome sword fight that, in real life, would have lasted like five seconds (Rutger Hauer, as cool as he may be, would be no match for Sho goddamn Kosugi in real life. He just wouldn’t). But because Kosugi is an actor and a professional he knows that his job as a villain is to help make Hauer’s character look as badass as possible. And so Kosugi shows up, whips out his sword, and has an epic swordfight inside a penthouse that ends with Kosugi’s character being electrocuted in a hot tub. Good job, Sho Kosugi. That’s how you do it.
Oh, and Kosugi also jobbed to Franco Nero in Enter the Ninja, which is okay, too. I mean, Nero was the star of that movie and he was Franco goddamn Nero. Sometimes you have to lose so you can win later on, which Sho Kosugi so clearly did.
–Rage of Honor!: I absolutely love Rage of Honor, the action flick Kosugi made with director Gordon Hessler back in 1987 (Kosugi also made Pray for Death with Hessler). While Kosugi once again doesn’t play a full on ninja character in Rage of Honor (he’s more of a secret agent in the movie), he does engage in some of his best general martial arts sequences. Kosugi’s Shiro Tanaka is very much a one man wrecking crew in the movie, and it’s a joy to watch him mow through bad guys with abandon. Check out my full review of Rage of Honor here.
Shiro Tanaka works for something called the U.S. Drug Investigation Bureau, which, I assume, is meant to be similar to the DEA. Which organization would you want to work for, the DEA or the USDIB? Or would it just be DIB?
–He still knows how to be a badass: The last movie on Kosugi’s filmography so far is 2009’s Ninja Assassin, where Kosugi plays a hardass villain. It was brilliant casting in a movie that could have (and should have) been better. And as we see in Ninja Assassin, Kosugi still knows how to get it done. He’s older, a little more grizzled, but he can still kick ass and take names.
When I first heard about Kosugi’s casting I hoped that the movie would lead to greater interest in Kosugi’s body of work and that we might get one more truly great Kosugi ninja movie. That hasn’t happened yet, but I’m hoping that it still might one day. He can still carry a movie if necessary. And like I said earlier regarding a sequel to Ninja III: The Domination, it would be great to see Kosugi play an older Yamada, teaching a younger, up-and-coming ninja how to kill an evil one. There has to be a way for someone, somewhere, to make that kind of movie happen. Why isn’t there a massive bidding war amongst the various streaming platforms to make this happen?
Conclusion
Sho Kosugi is awesome. That’s all there is to it. You need to check out his body of work and see for yourself what he had to offer back in the 1980s. It’s the kind of movie screen presence that we just don’t have anymore. And that’s a shame.
If and when someone makes a time machine and we are able to actually go back in time, I think it would be worth it to “change history” and find a way to get Kosugi to make at least ten more movies, at least half of them proper ninja movies. More proper ninja movies starring Sho Kosugi is something that the world will always need. It would also be a good idea to do at least one more season of The Master, maybe with the second season actually starring Kosugi. I totally get why Lee Van Cleef starred in the show, as he was Lee Van Cleef, but the show would have been better if it was a full on Kosugi vehicle. It just would have been.
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Check out my review of episode 12 of The Master here, and be sure to check out my reviews of the first eleven episodes of the show via the links in the review of episode 12.
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