Goemon (2009)

Goemon is a live-action Japanese movie written and directed by Kazuaki Kiriya which revolves around the legendary ninja bandit, Ishikawa Goemon. The plot is almost entirely fictional, but features many prominent historical figures from Sengoku era Japan in a CGI-enhanced fantasy setting. It was released by Shochiku and Warner Bros. in Japan on May 1, 2009.

The story is set in the 16th century. The powerful ruler of Japan, Oda Nobunaka, is assasinated, leaving the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Eiji Okuda) in the perfect position to usurp power. Amidst the chaos, a bandit named Goemon (Yosuke Eguchi) becomes a hero to commoners by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor masses.

During one of his robberies, he steals a box from a merchant and gives it away to a poor child on the street (Arashi Fukasawa). However, the box was far more important than Goemon realized, and Toyotomi’s best men are soon tasked with finding him and the box.

Meanwhile, the legendary ninja warrior Hattori Hanzo (Susumu Terajima) is also sent to retrieve the box by Toyotomi’s chief rival, Tokugawa Ieyasu (Masato Ibu).