Ever since World War II, when Japan occupied parts of China, Hong Kong movies have always portrayed the Japanese as vicious evil people with no honor. Kung Fu filmmakers in particular, in need of opponents, have used the Japanese as central antagonists. Therefore, it’s not unusual to see that Ninjas, Shoguns, and Karate masters are commonplace in Chinese martial arts and action movies. The Japanese characters are almost always evil, and these genre productions do not render the Japanese people in a positive light. Despite the exploitative title, SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA (aka HEROES OF THE EAST), director Chia Liang Liu goes out of his way to portray the Japanese masters in an assured manner. Although these Chinese Vs. Japanese pictures number in the hundreds, a handful of them share a link in that they feature the martial arts skills of Yasuaki Kurata, a Japanese performer who made his mark in Kung Fu cinema during the 1970’s and 80’s (in pictures such as LEGEND OF A FIGHTER, RAGE OF WIND, and FIGHTING DRAGON). SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA is a rare Shaw Bros. production that’s been talked about by fans for years, but has never been widely available on home video. Ground Zero has seen fit to release this gem to DVD in 2001, as part of their Master Killer collection.

Gordon Liu is Ho Tao, the well-to-do son of a Chinese businessman, who strikes a deal with his associate, a Japanese warlord. The elders agree to have their children marry each other when they are old enough. When the time comes and Ho Tao’s Japanese bride comes to China to meet him for the first time, he wants nothing to do with her, because he assumes she is unattractive. Ho Tao feels like an ass when his bride Kuda shows up, and she turns out to be a truly beautiful woman (played by the luscious Yuko Mizono). Soon they are married, and Kuda is welcomed into Ho Tao’s family. However, it is not long before the servants complain that she practices Karate all day, usually resulting in the loss of some expensive household items. It isn’t long before the playful Kuda challenges her husband’s martial arts. This sparks a rivalry between the two, which pits Ho Tao’s Kung Fu against Kuda’s Karate skills. Ho Tao wins out every time and brags about how superior his martial arts are. The proud Kuda finally beats Ho Tao using the deceptive techniques of the Ninjas. This upsets her husband who accuses the Ninja as being dishonorable murderers. Kuda takes this as an insult, and leaves him to return home to Japan.

With his wife gone, Ho Tao realizes how much Kuda meant to him. One of his servants notices Ho Tao in a state of depression and formulates a plan to win her back. They write a letter challenging her to return and face her husband in a battle of Kung Fu vs. Ninjitsu, and send it to Japan. The letter arrives there, but falls into the hands of Kuda’s master, Sanzo (Kurata) who takes Ho Tao’s message as a challenge to all Japan. Sanzo recruits the services of his fellow martial artists, who make the long trek to China to face Ho Tao. When they arrive, Sanzo seeks out Ho Tao and informs him that every 24 hours, he will send one of his Japanese martial artists after him. Ho Tao agrees to the terms (to save face), but he is really concerned about it, as these Japanese masters have studied Kung Fu and have been specially trained to beat Kung Fu practitioners. After witnessing a drunken Kung Fu master on a binge, Ho Tao realizes that he must study Drunken Boxing to retain the upper hand. But can Ho Tao’s newly acquired Drunken Boxing skills be enough to beat these masters of the Samurai, Karate, Judo, and Ninjitsu?

Rumor has it that Shaw Brothers producer Mona Fong was so entrenched in her own ego, that she forbid the Shaw Brothers filmmakers like Chang Cheh from portraying females as heroic figures or positive role models. To showcase the martial arts skills of an actress would be to empower her, and threaten Mona Fong’s position in the company. Looking back at the Shaw Brothers cannon, no films come to mind that show that women can kick ass equal to their male counterparts. Most of the Shaw Bros efforts, like the popular Venoms films, portray women only as victims. Meanwhile, outside of the Shaw Brothers sphere of influence, independent films were showcasing the talents of Angela Mao, Lily Li, and other Kung Fu vixens. However, director Chia Liang Liu apparently butted heads with Mona Fong on several occasions over the portrayal of women in these films. The success of Chia Liang Liu’s 1978 martial arts epic, SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA hinges on the believability of a strong female character in a lead role, which was filled by Yuka Mizuno. Perhaps Mona Fong allowed her to participate because she was a foreigner, and not someone inside the Hong Kong film industry. So, Yuka Mizuno is perhaps the first actress to carry the lead torch in the Mona Fong era.

The most entertaining part of SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA is when Gordon Liu and Yuka Mizuno debate the pros and cons of each other’s martial arts disciplines. She produces the actual Ninjitsu weaponry, and he shows her the Chinese Kung Fu equivalent of each weapon. When Ho Tao prepares to face the Japanese experts, Kuda warns her husband of the strengths and weaknesses of each Japanese fighting style. Then we get to see Japanese nunchuks vs. Chinese three-sectional staff, Samurai sword technique vs. Chinese sword stance, Karate and Judo vs. Drunken Boxing, etc. Since this is a Chinese production, the Kung Fu usually wins out in each competition, but certainly not in every conflict. This is where Chia Liang Liu’s martial arts choreography really shows its brilliance in accurately depicting the Japanese and Chinese styles; he must have done a lost of research to be able to faithfully reproduce the Japanese martial arts skills such as Judo, Ninjitsu, Karate, etc. Another interesting aspect to the Japanese Vs. Chinese angle, is that since the Japanese are not perceived as evil, there is no hate or vengeance in any of these fights. It’s all about honor to these men.

The plot of SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA seems straightforward enough on the surface, but Chia Liang Liu’s decision to portray Japanese and Chinese martial artists as people with honor and integrity adds another layer of believability to the script. SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA is not just another violent martial arts film, and preaches peace to both the Japanese and Chinese. This creates some wonderful acting opportunities for the cast, mainly Gordon Liu, one of the leading martial arts stars who can provide depth to even the most one dimensional character. Yuka Mizuno was obviously hired for her Japanese martial arts skills, but lo and behold--she can act! Mizuno upstages Gordon Liu in many scenes, and together they make for the most memorable martial arts couple in Hong Kong cinema. Yasuaki Kurata gets to play an honorable Japanese warrior this time out, even though he is the source of the conflict. SHAOLIN CHALLENGES NINJA also features Norman (HEAVEN SWORD AND DRAGON CHAMBER) Chu as one of Gordon Liu’s comrades. Wilson (DIRTY KUNG FU) Tong cameos as a Chinese martial artist. Simon Yuen usually plays the old master in films like DRUNKEN MASTER, but here he plays Gordon Liu’s sober bald-headed master. Chia Liang Liu himself cameos as a tattered old drunken master who inspires Gordon Liu’s character.