Sailor Suit and Machine Gun
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese novel
by prolific author Jirō Akagawa
. It was well-received and adapted into comedy
/action film
originally released in 1981
. A satirical
take on yakuza
films, the storyline of the film involves a teenage delinquent schoolgirl
named Izumi Hoshi who inherits her father's clan
. The title is a reference to a scene where the main character shoots several rival gang members with a submachine gun
, while wearing a sailor-fuku
, a traditional Japanese school uniform
. The film stars Japanese idol
Hiroko Yakushimaru
as the main character.
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun is relatively well-known in its home country, and spawned two television series
based and expanding upon its story, one in 1982, and one in 2006. Outside of Japan, it is popular in some cult film
circles, but has not garnered much mainstream attention. It has been released on Region 2
and Region 3 DVD
, the latter being its first release that featured English
subtitles
.
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
by prolific author Jirō Akagawa
Jiro Akagawa
is a Japanese novelist born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.- Biography :Best known for his humorous mysteries, Akagawa's first novel, Ghost Train, was published in 1976 and went on to win the annually granted All Yomimono New Mystery Writers' Prize by Bungeishunjū, a Japanese literary...
. It was well-received and adapted into comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
/action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
originally released in 1981
1981 in film
-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
. A satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
take on yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
films, the storyline of the film involves a teenage delinquent schoolgirl
Sukeban
means delinquent girl or boss girl in Japanese, equivalent to the male banchō. A dictionary of says that sukeban only refers to the leader of a girl gang, not any member of the girl gang.-Characteristics:...
named Izumi Hoshi who inherits her father's clan
Japanese clans
This is a list of Japanese clans. The ancient clans mentioned in the Nihonshoki and Kojiki lost their political power before the Heian period. Instead of gozoku, new aristocracies, Kuge families emerged in the period...
. The title is a reference to a scene where the main character shoots several rival gang members with a submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
, while wearing a sailor-fuku
Japanese school uniform
Japan introduced school uniforms in the late 19th century. Today, school uniforms are common in many of the Japanese public and private school systems. The Japanese word for this type of uniform is .-Usage:...
, a traditional Japanese school uniform
School uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
. The film stars Japanese idol
Japanese idol
In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...
Hiroko Yakushimaru
Hiroko Yakushimaru
is a Japanese actress and vocalist.After passing the audition for the film produced by Haruki Kadokawa, she began her acting career. Along with teen idols Tomoyo Harada and Noriko Watanabe who made debut after a similar process, she was often described as one of "Kadokawa Sannimusume" in her early...
as the main character.
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun is relatively well-known in its home country, and spawned two television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
based and expanding upon its story, one in 1982, and one in 2006. Outside of Japan, it is popular in some cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
circles, but has not garnered much mainstream attention. It has been released on Region 2
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
and Region 3 DVD
DVD-Video
DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs, and is currently the dominant consumer video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Discs using the DVD-Video specification require a DVD drive and a MPEG-2 decoder...
, the latter being its first release that featured English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
subtitles
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
.
Film reception
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun was released in a double bill with Moeru yūsha on 19 December 1981. Distribution income for the bill reached number one on the domestic market for the period including 1982, eventually totaling ¥2.3 billion.2006 cast
The cast of the drama series was as follows:Character | (Japanese) | Actor | (Japanese) |
---|---|---|---|
Izumi Hoshi | 星 泉 | Masami Nagasawa Masami Nagasawa is a Japanese actress under Toho Entertainment. She has performed in many movies and television dramas including Crying out Love, In the Center of the World, Dragon Zakura and Proposal Daisakusen. She graduated from Horikoshi High School in 2006. She is also known as "Ma-chan" or, as Tomohisa... |
長澤 まさみ |
Takashi Hoshi | 星 貴志 | Jun Hashizume | 橋爪 淳 |
Makoto Sakuma | 佐久間 真 | Shinichi Tsutsumi Shinichi Tsutsumi is a Japanese stage and screen actor. He won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for Always Sanchōme no Yūhi.-Profile:*Place of Birth: Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan*Talent Agency: Siscompany-Movies:* Suspect X... |
堤 真一 |
Kinzo Sakai | 酒井 金造 | Yamamoto Ryūji | 山本 龍二 |
Kenji Sakai | 酒井 健次 | Akiyoshi Nakao | 中尾 明慶 |
Nishino Takeshi | 西野 武 | Hiromasa Taguchi | 田口 浩正 |
Hideki Gōda | 剛田 英樹 | Hiroaki Fukui | 福井 博章 |
Mayumi | 真由美 | Kyōko Koizumi Kyoko Koizumi ' is a Japanese singer and actress. Her music is released through Victor Entertainment . She is also known by the nickname Kyon Kyon. She had singles reach the Top ten for 12 consecutive years between 1983 and 1994, a female solo artist record, until this was broken by Namie Amuro... |
小泉 今日子 |
Hajime Sandaiji | 三大寺 一 | Ken Ogata Ken Ogata Ken Ogata was a Japanese actor.Ogata was born in Tokyo, Japan. Ogata is well known for his roles in Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book, Paul Schrader's Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters and Shohei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama... (cameo) |
緒形 拳 |
Kōhei Kuroki | 黒木 幸平 | Mantarō Koichi | 小市 慢太郎 |
Michio Inaba | 稲葉 通男 | Ken Ijiwa | 井澤 健 |
Noboru Hamaguchi | 浜口 昇 | Hirotarō Honda | 本田 博太郎 |
Mitsuaki Shibata | 柴田 光明 | Hideo Nakano | 中野 英雄 |
Ranmaru Mori | 森 蘭丸 | Ken Mori | 森 廉 |
Tomō Iwakura | 岩倉 智男 | Hajime Okayama | おかやま はじめ |
Reika Kaneda | 金田 麗華 | Yūko Morimoto | 森本 ゆうこ |
Kazuko Tokiwa | 常盤 和子 | Jūri Ihata | 井端 珠里 |
Akemi Kobayashi | 小林 朱美 | Arisa Tani | 谷 亜里咲 |
Tatsuo Medaka | 目高 辰雄 | Kokinji Katsura | 桂 小金治 |
First floor resident | Sōsuke Sugiura | 杉浦 双亮 |