Ten Duels of Young Shingo: Chapter 2(1982)

Sakon Detective Story: Handprint in Fresh Blood(ja)

Throne of Blood(ja)

Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.

Red Beard(ja)

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

The Tale of Genji(ja)

TV movie based on the novel "The Tale of Genji" by Murasaki Shikibu, which tells about the life of Prince Hikaru Genji, who was nicknamed "Shining" by people for his dazzling noble beauty. In 1991, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of TBS' founding, it was released with a total production value of around 1.2 billion yen and aired in two parts.

Three Women Around Yoshinaka(ja)

The story of Yoshinaka during the tumultuous period of warring related to us in the Heike Monogatari. Close in setting to Kinugasa’s famous Gate of Hell (1953).

Goryokaku(ja)

After the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, there was a series of battles fought while the former supporters of the Tokugawa shogunate retreated to the north where they actually started a sovereign nation that was recognized by more than one European country. Survivors of the Shinsengumi were among the followers of Enomoto Takeaki who took them to the northernmost island of Ezo where they fought their final battle at the star shaped fort, Goryokaku. The Japanese Civil Wars fought in the name of the emperor signaled the complete end of the feudal system and Japan’s entry into the modern world as those brave samurai tried to halt progress and learned that the age of modern warfare and weaponry had passed them by. Swords were no match for rifles and cannons, nor was any man a match for the power of the imperial flag. Japanese loyalty to the emperor has long defined the nation and culture despite the changing times.

Sasaki Kojiro(ja)

Ronin Sasaki Kojiro pursues his ultimate goal of becoming a master swordsman. Along the way he encounters another great swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi.

Kunisada Chuji(ja)

Kunisada Chuji is a common folk hero who looks out for poor people in the country who are at the mercy of corrupt officials. Intent on fulfilling a dying wish from one of his henchmen, Asataro, to find a decent home for his young nephew, Chuji descends from his hide-out in the mountain, and heads to the city in spite of numerous dangers that await him there.

Floating Vessel(ja)

Floating Vessel (源氏物語 浮舟 , Ukifune) is a 1957 color Japanese film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. Drawn from parts of the famous Genji monogatari by Lady Murasaki.

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade(ja)

Even though Gennosuke and Oboro are from rival ninja villages, they are secretly in love. At an annual conference with the Lord, it is dictated that a competition--a fight to the death--will take place between the five best shinobi from each village. Gennosuke and Oboro's love is made even more impossible when they each got picked as the leader of the five to represent their respective villages.

Ran(ja)

With Ran, legendary director Akira Kurosawa reimagines Shakespeare's King Lear as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. Majestic in scope, the film is Kurosawa's late-life masterpiece, a profound examination of the folly of war and the crumbling of one family under the weight of betrayal, greed, and the insatiable thirst for power.

Sanjuro(ja)

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

Bored Hatamoto: Mysterious Letter of Challenge(ja)

Bored Hatamoto film #19

The Twilight Samurai(ja)

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

Ninomiya Kinjirou(ja)

Ninomiya Kinjirou is a biopic follows the life of the eponymous character, an 18th century peasant boy who worked to rescue over 600 poor villages and hamlets from financial ruin by developing new economic policies.

Castle of Revenge(ja)

The film vividly shows the misadventures of Oishi Kuranosuke and the human dramas inside the castle, which lead to the surrender of Ako Castle after seppuku by its lord Asano Takumi-no-kami and the termination of his family's power. This is the first film of the Ako Castle trilogy.

Temple of Revenge(ja)

Revenge breeds revenge. Ikuta Denpachiro, the martial arts instructor of the Honda family in Koriyama, lost a fight to the young samurai Enjo Sozaemon in a martial arts tournament and as a result lost his position and was expelled from home. Wanting to avenge the mockery of himself, he treacherously kills Sozaemon and goes on the run. After long wanderings, Denpachiro, it would seem, finds a peaceful life and love in the face of a devoted and courageous Okatsu, but the brothers of the murdered man are already on his trail, wanting to avenge the death of Sozaemon. The film is based on a story by Itaro Yamagami.

Kagemusha(ja)

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

Yojimbo(ja)

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

Golden Valley(ja)

A samurai thief fights a gang of ghostly thieves using scorpions for treasure in the unexplored Shinano region, which is guarded by a descendant of the Heike clan.