# The Blood of Wolves

The Blood of Wolves (Japanese: 孤狼の血, Hepburn: Korō no Chi) is a 2018 Japanese crime yakuza film directed by Kazuya Shiraishi, starring Koji Yakusho and Tori Matsuzaka. The 2021 film Last of The Wolves was released as a sequel to this film.

## Premise

1988, Hiroshima, Japan. Shūichi Hioka (Tori Matsuzaka) gets assigned to the second investigative unit under Shōgo Ōgami (Kōji Yakusho), a detective rumored to have mob ties, and he is put in charge of the missing person case for an employee at a yakuza-affiliated finance company. Hioka confronts ruthless gang thugs while harboring doubts about the law-breaking Ogami.

## Cast
### East Kurehara Police

* Kōji Yakusho as Shōgo Ōgami
* Tori Matsuzaka as Shūichi Hioka
* Kenichi Yajima
* Tomorowo Taguchi

### Hiroshima Prefectural Police

* Kenichi Takitō as Daisuke Saga

### Odani-gumi

* Yōsuke Eguchi as Moritaka Ichinose
* Goro Ibuki as Kenji Odani
* Tomoya Nakamura as Kyōji
* Taketo Tanaka as Takashi

### Irako-kai

* Renji Ishibashi as Shōhei Irako

### Kakomura-gumi

* Kyūsaku Shimada as Kakomura
* Yutaka Takenouchi as Nozaki
* Takuma Oto'o as Yoshida
* Katsuya as "Sekitori"

### Takii-gumi

* Pierre Taki as Ginji Takii

### Aki Shimbun

* Nakamura Shidō II as Takafumi Kōsaka

### Others

* Yōko Maki as Rikako Takagi
* Junko Abe as Momoko Okada
* Taro Suruga as Jirō Uesawa
* Megumi as Junko Uesawa
* Joey Iwanaga as Daiki Zenda

## Accolades

| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 43rd Hochi Film Awards | Best Picture | The Blood of Wolves | Won |
| 43rd Hochi Film Awards | Best Director | Kazuya Shiraishi | Nominated |
| 43rd Hochi Film Awards | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won |
| 43rd Hochi Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Tori Matsuzaka | Nominated |
| 43rd Hochi Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Yōko Maki | Nominated |
| 31st Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Best Film | The Blood of Wolves | Nominated |
| 31st Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Yūjirō Ishihara Award | The Blood of Wolves | Nominated |
| 31st Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Best Director | Kazuya Shiraishi | Won |
| 31st Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Nominated |
| 31st Nikkan Sports Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Yōko Maki | Nominated |
| 40th Yokohama Film Festival | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won |
| 40th Yokohama Film Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Tori Matsuzaka | Won |
| 73rd Mainichi Film Awards | Best Film | The Blood of Wolves | Nominated |
| 73rd Mainichi Film Awards | Best Director | Kazuya Shiraishi | Nominated |
| 73rd Mainichi Film Awards | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Nominated |
| 73rd Mainichi Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Tori Matsuzaka | Nominated |
| 73rd Mainichi Film Awards | Best Sound Recording | Kazuharu Urata | Nominated |
| 92nd Kinema Junpo Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Tori Matsuzaka | Won |
| 61st Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Film | The Blood of Wolves | Nominated |
| 61st Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Director | Kazuya Shiraishi | Won |
| 61st Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Nominated |
| 61st Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Tori Matsuzaka | Won |
| 28th Tokyo Sports Film Award | Best Film | The Blood of Wolves | Nominated |
| 28th Tokyo Sports Film Award | Best Director | Kazuya Shiraishi | Nominated |
| 28th Tokyo Sports Film Award | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Nominated |
| 28th Tokyo Sports Film Award | Best Supporting Actor | Tori Matsuzaka | Won |
| 28th Tokyo Sports Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | Yōko Maki | Nominated |
| 14th Osaka Cinema Festival | Best Film | The Blood of Wolves | Won |
| 14th Osaka Cinema Festival | Best Director | Kazuya Shiraishi | Won |
| 14th Osaka Cinema Festival | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won |
| 14th Osaka Cinema Festival | Best Supporting Actor | Tori Matsuzaka | Won |
| 14th Osaka Cinema Festival | Best Supporting Actress | Junko Abe | Won |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Picture of the Year | The Blood of Wolves | Nominated |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Director | Kazuya Shiraishi | Nominated |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Supporting Actor | Tori Matsuzaka | Won |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Supporting Actress | Yōko Maki | Nominated |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Screenplay | Jun'ya Ikegami | Nominated |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Music | Gorō Yasukawa | Nominated |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Cinematography | Takahiro Haibara | Nominated |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Lighting Direction | Minoru Kawai | Nominated |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Art Direction | Tsutomu Imamura | Won |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Sound Recording | Kazuharu Urata | Won |
| 42nd Japan Academy Prize | Best Film Editing | Hitomi Katō | Nominated |
| 13th Asian Film Awards | Best Actor | Kōji Yakusho | Won |

## Sequel

* Last of the Wolves (2021)