Shortly after World War II draws to a close, the patriarch of the affluent INUGAMI family passes away. Eager to know how his fortune will be distributed, the families of his three direct descendants gather for the reading of the will, but their anticipation turns to despair when a shocking revelation is made: in order to inherit his vast estate, one of his grandsons must marry Tamayo (SHIMADA Yoko), an outsider who lived with him and to whom the inheritance has been left.

With only one of his grandsons able to receive the inheritance, the sizeable INUGAMI family is plunged into a desperate scramble to lay claim to the patriarch’s assets, one which quickly turns deadly when a series of gruesome murders tear its members even further apart. Detective KINDAICHI (ISHIZAKA Koji) is called in to pursue the culprit, but his investigation uncovers more than they bargained for…

The first of various film and TV drama adaptations of crime and mystery novelist YOKOMIZO Seishi’s best-selling novel, The Inugami Family is a thrilling ensemble mystery by ICHIKAWA Kon (Ten Dark Women, JFTFP20). Setting a new standard for the Japanese noir with his brilliant use of colour, ICHIKAWA weaves a compelling tale of human greed and family strife in an old-fashioned Japanese village, with YOKOMIZO himself even making a cameo appearance.

Screening as part of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2025: Am I Right? Justice, Justification and Judgement in Japanese Cinema.

©KADOKAWA CORPORATION 1976