Wandering Ginza Butterfly (1972): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1972, Wandering Ginza Butterfly is an action and thriller film directed by Kazuhiko Yamaguchi, running about 86 minutes.

What it’s about. Gang leader Nami (cult film legend Meiko Kaji) kills a member of a yakuza group and goes away to prison. Upon her release three years later, she’s a shamed woman confined to living in the shadowy world of sex clubs and street gangs. She returns to the city to live with her uncle, a billiard-hall owner, and after befriending pimp and ne’er-do-well Ryuji (Tsunehiko Watase), she gets a job working at a hostess club in the chic Ginza neighborhood, where the expensive shops and neon lights conceal a dark world of crime and sexual slavery. But when a rival gang attempts to muscle in on the club, Nami becomes enmeshed in a violent struggle that forces her to wield a skilled pool cue to defend her uncle’s business, and eventually a short sword to wreak bloody vengeance upon her enemies.

Who’s in it. Wandering Ginza Butterfly stars Meiko Kaji as Nami, Tsunehiko Watase as Ryûji, Akiko Koyama as Kayo and Mieko Aoyagi as Saeko, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.6/10, Wandering Ginza Butterfly has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on ARROW and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store and Google Play Movies. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Wandering Ginza Butterfly page.

If you liked it. Fans of Wandering Ginza Butterfly tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.