Roaring Fire 1981

In Hong Kong, a crime syndicate corners and shoots Toru Hinoharu, the heir to a major business empire. At the same time in Texas, a man who looks exactly like the late Toru surfaces—a cowboy named Joji Hibiki Hiroyuki Sanada. As Joji learns his father is dying, a letter reveals a buried truth: Joji was kidnapped years ago by his father in a bid for wealth in Japan, yet Hibiki grew to think of him as a son. Over the eighteen years, Joji discovers he has a twin brother and a sister, and a Japanese newspaper had reported Toru’s death in Hong Kong. He sets out for Japan to uncover who he really is, driven by a mix of family ties and a stubborn need for clarity.

When Joji lands in Kobe, a pickpocket steals his wallet, and the trail drags him toward an old family home. He arrives with his monkey Peter, who antics with a bikini-clad woman’s top spark a chaotic but oddly bonding moment with the locals. The would‑be thief is pursued by a hulking enforcer named Spartacus Larry Shreve, whose initial pursuit turns into a grudging respect as the two men manage a precarious escape. Joji’s persistence catches the eye of Ikeda Hinokaru Seizō Fukumoto, who takes him in and introduces him to his sister, Chihiro Etsuko Shihomi, a young woman who has been blind since childhood. Though Joji first mistakes Chihiro for Toru, the siblings’ bond soon grows as Chihiro communicates with the world through sound and wind, demonstrating a quiet strength that anchors Joji’s search.

That same night, a ventriloquist named Mr. Magic Sonny Chiba performs for them, and the show hints that Ikeda may be more deeply involved in Joji’s lineage than anyone realizes. Joji overhears a tense exchange between Ikeda and the father of Reika, a friend he has just met, and realizes Ikeda’s head is tangled with a dangerous pursuit: a rare diamond known as the Queen of Sheba. When Reika’s father tries to quit, Ikeda’s moll forces him to stay, threatening to disclose darker family secrets. Joji’s instincts kick in, and Ikeda sets a trap that pummels him with a boxing match followed by a staff expert, yet Joji manages to escape with Spartacus’ unexpected aid, though the two are deeply outnumbered.

A deadly chase unfolds as ninja‑like henchmen close in on Joji and Reika. The pair are momentarily separated, with a self-sacrificing act from Spartacus aiding their escape. Ikeda escalates his scheme, using Chihiro as bait and subjecting her to heroin as part of his plan. Joji’s quest for the Queen of Sheba leads him to Hong Kong, where he confronts the syndicate and the man behind the operation. Interpol narcotics agent Shinsuke Tachizawa, initially posing a threat, reveals himself as an ally who helps Joji turn the tide against Ikeda’s forces. Together they begin to dismantle the Hong Kong operation, culminating in the arrest of the syndicate’s mastermind.

The climactic confrontation erupts when Joji crashes through Ikeda’s dinner, confronting an army of goons on the hunt for him. A helicopter chase ensues, with a pair of gunmen pursuing from above; Joji’s quick thinking and a tomahawk ceremonial strike dent the odds as he uses the environment—gas traps, a broken roof, and a river below—to surge ahead. Ikeda persists, arguing that they share the same Hinoharu blood, but Joji refuses to yield, naming himself Joji Hibiki and disarming Ikeda before delivering the Queen of Sheba to him in a final, fatal moment. Tachizawa arrives to place Joji under arrest, yet a last‑minute pivot allows Joji to escape, using magic to uncuff himself in a tense, cinematic pause. The film closes on Joji’s hopeful note as he leaps from the helicopter into the ocean, imagining a return to Texas and a new chapter beyond the shadows of his birthright.