As I type these words it’s International Women’s Day, and audiences worldwide are eagerly flocking to the multiplexes to see Captain Marvel, so I guess it’s as good a time as any to remind ourselves that bad ass female action stars are not a 21st century invention. In the annals of Japanese exploitation cinema, Etsuko Shihomi may not be as instantly recognisable a name as, say, Meiko Kaji, but in a career that ran from the early 70s up to the mid 80s she notched up a string of screen roles, the most noteworthy of which – including but not limited to the four films under discussion here – drew on her considerable skills as a martial artist.
Now, if you’re anything like me, you may have first heard of Sister Street Fighter in 1993’s True Romance, when Christian Slater discusses going to see it as part of a Sonny Chiba triple bill. However, while it’s a spin-off of sorts, there’s no actual narrative connection between the Street Fighter and Sister Street Fighter franchises. Reportedly studio Toei were looking to launch a female-fronted action series, and having been impressed by Shihomi’s performances in The Street Fighter and Return of the Street Fighter, they elevated her to leading lady status. (Get this: the first three Street Fighter films and the first two Sister Street Fighter films were all made in 1974 alone. Small wonder Shihomi was ready to retire little more than a decade later.)
Sister Street Fighter introduces Shihomi as Li Koryu, a half-Japanese, half-Chinese martial arts expert whose brother, an undercover narcotics cop, has disappeared in Yokohama. Leaving behind her Hong Kong home, Koryu ventures into the dangerous Japanese criminal underworld to find her brother and finish what he started busting up the despicable drugs ring. There she finds a powerful ally in Seiichi Hibiki (Chiba).
It’s a very simple low-budget action set-up, establishing a formula which would be repeated throughout the series: a relative of Koryu is in trouble with gangland villains, she goes in to help, bloody retribution ensues. Indeed, taking in the first three films back to back, you can almost set your watch to them. We open on the exact same montage of Shihomi showing off her skills – not that it’s any less impressive third time around – then cut to hackneyed stock footage of Hong Kong, as a wise elder gives Koryu her mission. (We learn very quickly that, if you’re in any way biologically related to Koryu, you’re almost certainly fucked; but then, so are those responsible for your demise.) Next she hits the streets of Japan, shady gangster types act all shady and gangster, and emotional family reunions lead to crushing heartbreak and loss, which in turn leads to a batshit finale with blood spraying left, right and centre.
The real revelation about the Sister Street Fighter series is Etsuko Shihomi herself. While the first film, and this boxset, may be sold largely on the more marketable name of Sonny Chiba, he appears only in the first film, and even there very much in a supporting capacity, with Shihomi proving more than capable of carrying the film alone. For one, and most obviously, her physical prowess is quite the sight to behold, from kicks, punches and throws to swordplay, nunchucks, gymnastic flips and proto-parkour wall-climbing. Sure, there’s the occasional bit of screamingly obvious wire work to facilitate proceedings, but – much as with the excessively red, excessively gushy arterial spray – that’s all part of the disbelief-suspending fun.
More surprising is how at no point over the course of the films is the leading lady treated as a sex object, or in any way a lesser figure than her male co-stars. Given that 45 years later, representations of women in action cinema still invariably come with a “we can do it too” prefix and men acting all shocked at a girl being able to fight, it’s striking that the Sister Street Fighter films for the most part don’t present Shihomi’s Koryu any differently to how a male action star of the time would be presented, nor do any of the characters treat her any differently than they might a male hero.
Still, before we declare the Sister Street Fighter series a triumph for feminist action cinema, it’s very much worth noting that, while Shihomi herself is never objectified, there’s still a great deal of the standard objectification and sexism of the time on display. For starters, the first three films all feature gratuitous topless bar scenes, and show secondary female characters being raped, with the usual excuse that the rapists will die horribly in the final act. Second entry Sister Street Fighter: Hanging By A Thread works in a particularly bizarre plot device designed to pack in more nudity, as young women who are sold into prostitution are also used to smuggle diamonds, with the jewels in question hidden… okay, for the sake of spoilers I won’t give it all away, but it’s one of those plot devices you only find in this kind of grade-A exploitation.
Yet even though the films are not without their unsavoury overtones (really, would it be proper exploitation otherwise?), Sister Street Fighter, Sister Street Fighter: Hanging By A Thread and Return of the Sister Street Fighter make for a very satisfying all-action trilogy. The jury’s out a little when it comes to Sister Street Fighter: Fifth Level Fist, a name-only sequel which casts Shihomi in a marginally more demure role as Kiku, a young karate instructor whose overbearing parents are trying to marry off, but who – now brace yourselves for this – finds out some of her nearest and dearest are caught up in a secret drug smuggling ring, and must soon seek revenge. This one plays a bit more to gender stereotypes and too often leaves Shihomi standing at the sidelines, leaving you impatient to see her kick arse centre stage.
As ever, sterling work has been done by Arrow Video, with terrific sound and picture quality across the board, and some nice extras including new video interviews with Sonny Chiba, director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi and screenwriter Masahiro Kakefuda, plus a limited edition booklet written by Chris Poggiali on the first pressing. All in all, existing fans will have plenty to pleased with, and I should think it’s more than enough to leave a new generation of viewers in awe of Etsuko Shihomi.
The Sister Street Fighter collection is available now on Blu-ray from Arrow Video.