Blue Christmas Original Soundtrack (CINK-21)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation
© Pony Canyon Inc.

Description:

Remastered reissue of the score to Kihachi Okamoto's "Blue Christmas" (11/23/1978). Bonus material include outtakes of cue M-6, unused cues (including outtakes of the unused M-7), and the Classical works that are predominately featured in the film. Music by Masaru Sato. Classical works composed by Ludwig van Beethoven and George Frederic Handel. All music is in stereo except for tracks 33 - 35, which are in mono.

Edogawa Ranpo Collection: Horrors of Malformed Men Original Soundtrack (CINK-30)

© Cinema-kan
© Toei Company, Ltd.

Description:

Premiere release of the score to Teruo Ishii's "Edogawa Ranpo Collection: Horrors of Malformed Men" (10/29/1969), also simply known as "Horrors of Malformed Men". Bonus tracks include an outtake of DB1 (M1) and the unedited version of DB22 (M24). Music composed by Hajime Kaburagi. All music is in mono.

Daimajin Original Soundtracks (CINK-27-28-29)

© Cinema-kan
© Kadokawa
Photo: © Brandon O'Brian

Description:

Deluxe box set reissue of the scores from Daiei's Daimajin Trilogy, featuring:

Disc 1: "Daimajin" (04/17/1966)
Disc 2: "Daimajin Grows Angry", A.K.A. "Return of Daimajin" (08/13/1966)
Disc 3: "Daimajin's Counterattack", A.K.A. "Wrath of Daimajin" (12/10/1966)

All three scores are remastered from the best possible tapes that could be located. Music composed by Akira Ifukube. All music is in mono.

Daibosatsu Pass Original Soundtrack (CINK-10)

© Cinema-kan
© Takarazuka Films
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

Premiere release of the score to "Daibosatsu Pass", A.K.A. "The Sword of Doom" (02/25/1966). Bonus Material includes source music, unused music and stock music. Music composed by Masaru Sato. All music is in mono.

Japan's Longest Day Original Soundtrack (CINK-12)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

This is the first volume of Cinema-kan's "Toho 8-15 Soundtrack Series". It features the premiere release of the score to Kihachi Okamoto's "Japan's Longest Day" (08/03/1967 [Roadshow], 08/12/1967). Bonus material includes source music. Music composed by Masaru Sato. All music is in mono.

Giant Space Monster Dogora Original Soundtrack (CINK-58)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

Remastered reissue of the score to Ishiro Honda's "Giant Space Monster Dogora" (08/11/1964). Bonus material includes outtakes, film edits, sound effects and rare materials from various scores composed by Akira Ifukube. Music composed by Akira Ifukube. All music is in mono.

Giant Monster Varan Original Soundtrack (CINK-56-57)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

Remastered reissue of the score to Ishiro Honda's "Giant Monster Varan" (10/14/1958). Disc 1 features the score for the theatrical release of the film and disc 2 features the score for the original unaired television version. Both discs include outtakes as bonus materials, with disc 2 including sound effects. Music composed by Akira Ifukube. All music is in mono.

Turning Point in Showa History: Battle of Okinawa Original Soundtrack (CINK-23)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

This is the fourth and currently last volume of Cinema-kan's "Toho 8-15 Soundtrack Series". It features the premiere release of the score to Kihachi Okamoto's "Battle of Okinawa" (07/17/1971 [Roadshow], 08/14/1971). Bonus material includes a wealth outtakes and source material. Music composed by Masaru Sato. All music is in mono.

Admiral of the Combined Fleet: Isoroku Yamamoto Original Soundtrack (CINK-22)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

This is the third volume of Cinema-kan's "Toho 8-15 Soundtrack Series". It features the remiere release of the score to Seiji Maruyama's "Admiral Yamamoto" (08/14/1968). Bonus material includes outtakes and source music. Music composed by Masaru Sato. All music is in mono.

The Naughty Prince's Orochi Slaying Original Soundtrack (CINK-51-52)

© Cinema-kan
© Toei Animation Co., Ltd.

Description:

Remastered reissue of the score to Yugo Serikawa's acclaimed animated feature "The Naughty Prince's Orochi Slaying" (03/24/1963 [Roadshow], 07/15/1963*). Disc 1 features the entire score while disc 2 features outtakes, instrumental takes, music effects, sound effects and trailer music. Music by composed by Akira Ifukube. All music is in mono.

Writhing Tongue Original Soundtrack (CINK-14)

© Cinema-kan
© Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Description:

Premiere release of the progressive electronic score to Yoshitarō Nomura's horror film "Writhing Tongue" (11/22/1980). Bonus material includes outtakes, unused music and a remix of the opening theme by Tatsuya Koguma created for this album. Music directed by Yasushi Akutagawa and composed/performed by Tatsuya Koguma. Tracks 1 - 31 are in mono, with the final track being in stereo.

CD News (02/16/18): Two Killer Releases from Cinema-kan

The Hitman/The Hitman's Key

 Original Soundtracks (CINK-49)

© Cinema-kan
© Kadokawa

Age of Assassins Original Soundtrack

(CINK-50)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

On February 15, Cinema-kan announced their latest CD releases. Both are killer scores from films featuring a world of assassins!

The first of the two is The Hitman/The Hitman's Key Original Soundtracks (CINK-49). This release will feature the scores to Daiei's "The Hitman" and "The Hitman's Key" (1967), composed by Hajime Kaburagi. The films follow a former soldier (Raizo Ichikawa) who doubles as a restaurant worker and a contract killer for the yakuza. Only a handful of cues from the first film have been released. Now, both scores are getting their definitive releases on one disc.

The second release is Age of Assassins Original Soundtrack (CINK-50). It will feature the score to Toho's "Age of Assassins" (1967), composed by Masaru Sato. The film is about the events of a college instructor (Tatsuya Nakadai), who finds himself at the hands of an assassin. Only a handful of cues from this film have been released in the past. This will be the premier release of the complete score.

These albums will be released on April 11, 2018 and are available to pre-order at Amazon Japan. Retail information can be found below.

UPDATE 04/10/18: Both albums are now available! Also, I have added additional album information and track lists (in Japanese and English) for both albums.

Daiei Yokai Trilogy Original Soundtracks (CINK-40-41-42)

© Cinema-kan
© Kadokawa
Photo: © Brandon O'Brian

Description:

Deluxe box set featuring remastered scores from the Daiei Yokai Trilogy (1968 - 1969).

Disc 1 features the score to Kimiyoshi Yasuda's "One Hundred Yokai Stories", A.K.A. "Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters" (03/20/1968).

Disc 2 features the score to Yoshiyuki Kuroda's "Great Yokai War", A.K.A. "Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare" (12/14/1968).

Disc 3 features the score to Kimiyoshi Yasuda and Yoshiyuki Kuroda's "Tokaido Haunted Journey", A.K.A. "Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts" (03/21/1969).

Bonus material for discs 1 and 2 include outtakes, outtakes at slow speed and cues at normal speed. Bonus material for disc 3 includes outtakes. Music by Chumei (Michiaki) Watanabe ("100 Monsters" and "Along with Ghosts") and Sei Ikeno ("Spook Warfare"). All music is in mono.

King Kong's Counterattack Original Soundtrack (CINK-37)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

Remastered reissue of the score to Ishiro Honda's "King Kong's Counterattack", A.K.A. "King Kong Escapes" (07/22/1967). Bonus material includes source music, edits, outtakes, trailer music, reference music and sound effects. Music composed by Akira Ifukube. All music is in mono.

Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira Original Soundtrack (CINK-33)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

Remastered reissue of Akira Ifukube's score to Ishiro Honda's "Frankenstein's Monsters: Sanda vs. Gaira", A.K.A. "War of the Gargantuas" (07/31/1966). Bonus material includes outtakes, unused cues, source cues, edits, instrumentals, reference music and sound effects. Music composed by Akira Ifukube. All music is in mono.

Frankenstein vs. Subterranean Monster Baragon Original Soundtrack (CINK-32)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

Remastered reissue of the score to Ishiro Honda's "Frankenstein vs. Subterranean Monster Baragon", A.K.A. "Frankenstein vs. Baragon" (08/08/1965). Bonus material includes outtakes, edits, stock music and sound effects. Music composed by Akira Ifukube. All music is in mono.

Monster Snowman Original Soundtrack (CINK-20)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Co., Ltd.
© Toho Music Corporation

Description:

Remastered reissue of the score to Ishiro Honda's "Monster Snowman" (08/14/1955). Content is identical to the 1997 Futureland release, but with improved sound quality and tracks 11 and 24 having been switched around. Music composed by Masaru Sato. All music is in mono.

Bloodthirsty Music: Toho's "Bloodthirsty" Series Music Collection (CINK-7)

© Cinema-kan
© Toho Music Corporation
© Toho Co., Ltd.

Description:

A remastered collection of composer Riichiro Manabe's music from Toho's Bloodthirsty Trilogy. Included are fourteen cues from "Fear of the Ghost House: Bloodthirsty Doll" (07/04/1970), twenty-one cues from "Cursed House: Bloodthirsty Eyes" (06/16/1971) and twenty-one cues from "Bloodthirsty Rose" (07/20/1974). Also contains previously unreleased music (tracks 57 - 60). All music is in mono.

Akira Ifukube: Nikkatsu Film Music Complete Works (3SCD-0032)

© Three Shells
© Nikkatsu Corporation

Description:

Sometime around May 2017, I was scrolling through posts on Twitter when I came across an announcement that completely surprised me, something that I've been hoping for since 2011 or so. Japanese record label Three Shells announced a four disc set titled Akira Ifukube: Nikkatsu Film Music Complete Works (3SCD-0032). The set was to include music from all fourteen films that Akira Ifukube scored for Nikkatsu, Japan’s oldest film studio.

Originally limited to two hundred copies and retailing for nearly $100 USD, the set quickly sold out well ahead of its release date of May 31, 2017 (that date also happened to be the composer's 103rd birthday). Luckily, Three Shells manufactured another two hundred copies, which gave people another chance to obtain this amazing set. I was lucky enough to get a copy as an early birthday present back in September.

Out of fourteen films, only master tapes to six films have survived. To present music from the remaining eight films, Three Shells went through the films' optical tracks and lifted segments of music that had as little dialogue and sound effects as possible. Most of the music in this set was previously unreleased. Only selected cues from most of these films were released in the past. The complete scores to five films (featured on discs 1 - 3), plus all surviving cues from "The Burmese Harp" (disc 3) are presented here for the first time.

Collection 1 (Disc 1) features the overseas score to "The Maid's Child" (1955), recorded in 1958 (tracks 1 - 17). Supplementing this are selections from the original version of the film, lifted from the film's optical track (tracks 18 - 22). The second score on this disc is "Scoundrels of the Sea" (1957) (tracks 23 - 35).

Collection 2 (Disc 2) features the scores to "Tear Down Those Walls" (1959) (tracks 1 - 19) and "Teikoku Bank Incident: Prisoner on Death Row" (1964) (tracks 20 - 51).

Collection 3 (Disc 3) features the score to "Japanese Archipelago" (1965) (tracks 1 - 26) and all surviving cues from "The Burmese Harp" (1956) (tracks 27 - 44). Supplementing the surviving cues from "The Burmese Harp" are additional selections lifted from the film's optical track (tracks 45 - 52).

Collection 4 (Disc 4) features selections from eight films, all from the films' optical tracks. The films are "Muddy Youth" (1954) (tracks 1 - 8), "Woman of Ginza (1955) (tracks 9 - 12), "Three Faces" (1955) (tracks 13 - 18), "Police Diary Continued" (1955) (tracks 19 - 23), "Silver Suicide" (1956) (tracks 24 - 27), "The Crime of Shiro Kamisaka" (1956) (tracks 28 - 33), "Wandering Shore" (1956) (tracks 34 - 38) and "Who is the Killer" (1957) (tracks 39 - 42).

Akira Ifukube's scores for Nikkatsu are some of his finest film works, from the heartwarming score to "The Maid’s Child", the Jazz-like score to "Scoundrels of the Sea", to the emotional score to "The Burmese Harp". Thanks to the efforts of Three Shells, all of this music is forever preserved for all to enjoy. All music is in mono.

New Year, New Name: An Update for 2018

Hello everyone. 2018 is now here, and I have decided to change things up a bit. On top of posting information of past CD releases from my collection, I have decided to post news of upcoming Japanese CD releases as well. Look for them in the near future!

Also, I ended up purchasing several CD releases in 2017. Most of them are releases from Japanese record label Cinema-kan. Please look for them as well.

Lastly, I gave the blog a new and far better name!