Kenji Osawa
Isenokami Takahashi
A ronin named Azami Onijuro travels the Nikko Highway, he is being followed by the bounty hunter Daihachi and Yukata Danzen. He is pursued by his past as a covert spy under Lord Matsudaira. Due to certain circumstances, Onijuro betrayed him and became a wandering ronin. Ever since, he's been hunted by Matsudaira's subordinates and bounty hunters. After saving the tough and fiery woman Omom from yakuza trouble, Onijuro and his companions head to Akame-shuku (inn town). Here, a conflict brews between the Tsurugame family led by Genroku and the lawless monk group led by Tetsuzan, a former sumo wrestler gone rogue. Onijuro sides with Tetsuzan, while Daihachi and Danzen side with Genroku. This intricate web of allegiances and confrontations unfolds against the backdrop of the bustling post-town.
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
During the ultra-violent era of the downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate one man rose above the rest with his ideas of how to overthrow the corrupt government and end the bloodshed between the Choshu and Satsuma clans which would ultimately lead to the alliance of these 2 clans and restoration of the emperor to full power. Based on the play that made Sawada Shojiro famous, this is the story of Tsukigata Hanpeita, a forward looking samurai from Choshu, who along with Katsura Kogoro and Sakamoto Ryoma of Tosa worked to bring their dream of a new era in Japan.
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.
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.
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.
A samurai is struggling to make ends meet at the end of the Edo period. He has students and, among other things, teaches them about the evils of the government. A member of the yakuza thugs has fallen in love with the samurai's daughter and conspires to report the father to the authorities in order to snatch the girl. The samurai's daughter has a boyfriend who hides the father and daughter from the thug.
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.
Thieves broke into Yamashiroya, a drug wholesaler, and stole 780 ryo. In the storehouse, there was a sticker with a picture of an umbrella, the signature of Yahei Kasayama, a great thief who once ransacked the entire Kanto region. Heizo Hasegawa (Kichiemon Nakamura), the director of the reform of the thieves, learns that the theft was the work of Yahei's son Yataro (Somegoro Ichikawa [now Koshiro Matsumoto]) and his gang, thanks to the help of a spy named Isaji (Koichi Miura). He learns that Yataro is in the process of marrying Oito (Tomoka Kurokawa), the daughter of Shigezo of Narumi, a great thief from Owari. Heizo learns the true identity of the thread and the evil plans of the second generation Narumi Shigezo (Fuse Hiroshi), and he meets Nagashima no Kugoro (Matsudaira Ken), a former thief who is trying to arrange a marriage deal to return the favor to the previous generation Kasayama and the previous generation Narumi. ) while hiding his identity...
Edo is rocked by the news that a duel to the death is to be held at Takadanobaba, the famed site of a bloody revenge fought by Nakayama Yasubei, who late married into the Ako clan where he was one of the 47 ronin who took vengeance against the vile Lord Kira. This hallowed spot is to host a match between two of the finest swordsmen in Edo. Each is backed by a high ranking direct vassal of the shogun, who had bet their family heirlooms on the outcome. The loser was to commit seppuku and have his clan disbanded. Meanwhile a band of brigands are placing their bets on the fencer who had earlier killed their leader. Can retired master swordsman Akiyama Kohei keep this from becoming a major disaster?
Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) was a major daimyo during the Warring State period of Japanese history. He was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy military governor with land holdings in Owari province. Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest, eventually conquering a third of Japanese daimyo before his death in 1582. Telling the story of his rise to prominence as he leads an army of 4,000 men against the 40,000 troops of Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto to prevent the arrogant daimyo from crushing the Oda clan and taking control of the entire nation. From a newly restored anamorpic widescreen print, this is the ultimate warlord movie.
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Set in war-torn feudal Japan, the Iga ninja make a final stand as the overwhelming armies of Warlord Oda Nobunaga and the deadly Koga ninja approach. This is the ultimate battle to the death where surrender is not an option. Blood-soaked, ninja-powered mayhem from cult director Seiji Chiba (ALIEN BVS NINJA). Stars Ben Hiura (ZATOICHI) & Kentaro Shimazu (TOKYO GORE POLICE).
Furuta Oribe is ordered to become tea master under Toyotomi Hideyoshi after his teacher Sen no Rikyū, the former tea master, was ordered to commit suicide. Princess Goh, daughter of the lord but adopted by Hideyoshi, is outraged when Rikyū's severed head is thrown in the Nijo River. She sends Usu, Oribe's servant, to retrieve the head and deliver it to Rikyū's adopted daughter.
Set in 900AD and tells the story of a famous female writer of the time, Murasaki Shikibu. Her story begins from the death of her husband, a Japanese noble, then moves on to her recruitment to train the Prince's young 'wives in waiting'. It is dotted throughout and actually composed mainly of one of the fictional stories she wrote, the tale of Genji. Genji is a rich playboy who falls in love and has a son to his stepmother. He falls in love often and has many wives whom are all completely subservient to him.
The stormy tale of the Shinsengumi is told from its birth by master filmmaker Sasaki Yasushi, with an all-star cast based on the original story by Shirai Kyoji. The battles between the royalists and Shogunate supporters come to a fever pitch during the Gion Festival as the exclusionists plot to burn Kyoto and kidnap the Emperor. From its earliest beginnings as a group of ronin brought from Edo to protect the Shogun when he is in Kyoto to see His Imperial Highness, the group had to face difficulties both from within and without. Commander Serizawa Kamo's corrupt practices threaten the group's very existence, as they try to recover from the bad reputation he left them with. Their redemption comes when they learn of Katsura Kogoro plans to gather men at Kyoto's Ikedaya Inn for his attack on the city. Along with Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Soji, Kondo leads the group in an attempt to save Japan from the rebels.
The main character, Baian Fujieda, is a dark hero who has two faces: one as a skilled acupuncturist who saves lives, and the other as a criminal who buries evil that cannot be kept alive for the sake of others. Popular writer Shotaro Ikenami's historical novel series of the same title, on which the film "BAIAN The Assassin, M.D." is based, is a blockbuster bestseller with a total of over 6 million copies in print and has been made into a timeless entertainment film many times in Japan. Many famous actors have played the role of Baian, including Ken Watanabe. The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of Shotaro Ikenami's birth. In the anniversary year of 2023, a new "BAIAN The Assassin, M.D." is born.
Genjiro was a samurai in the past, but he became a Yakuza, a dandy with a tattoo of red peonies, he helps his younger brother who is caught up in a conflict with Hatamoto.
1953 jidaigeki directed by Nobuo Nakagawa of Jigoku and Ghost of Yotsuya fame.
A humble page fathers a child by the daughter of a clan official and is banished. Years later, the child, now a stable boy, is reunited with his father, but feudal codes threaten their happiness. Uchida’s poignant masterpiece condemns the inflexible class system and launches an indictment of values that favor symbolic objects over human life. The film’s focus is on character rather than swordplay, and charged performances - especially child actor Motoharu Ueki - add to the emotional power.