Kōchiyama Sōshun (河内山宗俊), also known in English as Priest of Darkness, is a 1936 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Sadao Yamanaka.

The original idea for Kōchiyama Sōshun came from a Kabuki play by Kawatake Mokuami, known as Kochiyama to naozamurai.

In the play, the two title characters are petty criminals from the Ueno district of Edo (now Tokyo).

[3] Yamanaka changed some of the characters from the play to be more good-natured, in keeping with his film aesthetic.

[4] He also modernized the Kabuki play by casting actors from the Zenshin-za Group, which aimed to bring modern acting techniques to traditional Kabuki plays.