Ninjutsu at Sanada Castle (1961)

Evil wizards and ninjutsu black magic cloud the land as the legendary Sanada Yukimura tries to defend Osaka Castle from Tokugawa Ieyasu’s tightening noose. Can Sarutobi Sasuke and Saizo the Mist level the playing field with their own ninjutsu skills? This rousing gem in the plucky swashbuckling ninja magician vein is full of familiar historical and shinobi genre names, plus rarer characters like a lady wizard and a female samurai love interest. Satomi Kotaro and Yamashiro Shingo star in what was one of the last bastions of this type of ninja movie before the Shinobi-no-Mono inspired 60s craze redefined the genre.