Akira Otani's intense thriller The Night of Baba Yaga tells the story of two women trying to escape from a branch of the yakuza, a real-life organized crime group thought to have originated in the 17th century when many samurai left the service of lords and turned to banditry. Like the mafia in American movies, there is a long history of the yakuza appearing in Japanese film.

In the 1960s, a type of film known as ninkyo eiga, or "chivalry films," became popular, with Toei Studio as the most well-known producer. While focused on the yakuza, these films were closely related to samurai movies, which had become popular in the 1940s and '50s, and were often similar in plot and characterization, building up the myth of the yakuza as chivalrous and honorable criminals. Stylistically, the yakuza were often depicted wearing kimonos, fighting with swords, and covered in elaborate tattoos. They were frequently portrayed as following a strict code of honor. Often the plot of these movies ...