Tokyo drifting: Toei corporation’s the drifting avenger and the internationalization of the australian western

One of Japan’s major film production companies, the Toei Corporation, produced a little-known (to most Australians) film entitled The Drifting Avenger in 1968. The film is unique in being a western set in America but shot in Australia with a predominantly Australian cast and produced for Japanese audiences. This article examines both the Japanese and Australian contexts surrounding the film, characterizing The Drifting Avenger an Asian Australian film in order to consider its place within the broader fields of study on Australian cinema and transnational Asian cinemas. The film is also considered within a historical trend of ‘international’ Australian westerns.