The General and His Empire of Joy (1977)
Original title: 大奥浮世風呂
The General and His Empire of Joy is a 1977 Japanese-language drama movie directed by Ikuo Sekimoto, with a running time of 1h 21m. It stars Eiko Matsuda, Tokuko Watanabe and Hiromi Maya.
Zenjiro (Masaru Shiga) is a lowlife criminal, roaming the country with his merry band of crooks, gamblers and rapists. When he gets done with his latest escapade of banging a samurai's wife, he finds that his love Okoyo (Eiko Matsuda), has managed to be recruited as one of Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna's (Kantaro Suga) concubines. While attempting to win her back, Zenjiro becomes involved in increasingly murderous palace intrigues.