A murderer monk is avenged by his sister who commits suicide to transfer her grudge to a black cat who wreaks havoc on the castle court

A blind monk is killed in a cowardly manner by a samurai lord. When the monk's sister is ordered to become the lord's concubine, she commits suicide and transfers her grudge to their black cat, who assumes the human form of one of the lord's ladies-in-waiting and begins to wreak havoc around the castle court. The lord's machiavellian right-hand man (Rokko Toura, Kuroneko) and a young swordsman (Kojiro Hongo, The Bride from Hades) combine forces to solve the mystery and stop the supernatural menace.

Based on an 18th-century legend, this is one of the finest and most atmospheric examples of the Japanese ghost cat genre, which combines motifs similar to Western werewolf tales with demonic possession.

Media

Bonus Materials

• New 4K restoration by Radiance Films
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• New interview with J-horror filmmaker Mari Asato (2025, 17 mins)
• The Strange Case of Ikuko Mori: a visual essay by Tom Mes (6 mins)
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation

 

Cast & Crew

Actors:

•       Kojiro Hongo
•       Naomi Kobayashi
•       Mitsuyo Kamei

Director: Tokuzo Tanaka

Additional Details

Label: Radiance

Genre: Horror

Language: Japanese

Run Time: 82 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 06/23/26

UPC: 760137213161