He may not look it, but Utaemon Ichikawa is the fastest runner in Kyoto, and the mainstay of his private mail company. At the moment, there is a personal and business crisis at hand. There is a mysterious fleet-footed thief around, and he is the prime suspect on the run and trying to find the bad guy; a plague is killing children in town, and the local doctor needs a Dutch medicine from Nagasaki, which his firm is supposed to pick up for distribution at cost; however, the thief and his associates have gotten wind of this. They plan to get the medicine and sell it for an extortionate profit. Also, Ichikawa's lady-love, Chieko Soma has been affianced to some one else to pay off her father's debts. It's up to Our Hero to solve all these problems if there is to be a happy ending to the film.
It's a light-hearted film, aimed squarely at youngsters, just the meat of the production company Daei, best known for its samurai and magical ninja movies.
The Hiyaku was a system of courier services, national, municipal and commercial, that began during the Kamakura period, probably in the 13th century. It gave way to modern services in the second half of the 19th century. 'Tengu' refers to a type of demon, derived from Chinese culture and ultimately possibly to the Indian Garuda bird. Usually represented as a big-nosed goblin, the image softened as the centuries rolled on; the title of this film, and the name of the firm Ichikawa works for, indicates their supernatural speed.
