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190 movies sorted by popularity
In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.
In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.
No description available.
Legendary yakuza Shimizu Jirocho and his 28 henchmen travel the unruly path from a 'Fire Festival' in Akiba to a decisive battle by the Fujigawa.
Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.
With most of his family already dead at Ogami Itto's hands, Retsudo launches one final plot to destroy him, and when that fails, unleashes the fury of every remaining member of the Yagyu clan.
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
A heartfelt period drama that delicately portrays the joys and sorrows of a thief and the people living on the margins of society. Ihei, played by Tatsuya Nakadai, works as a painter by day. In reality, however, he is a skilled thief. To target the home of a moneylender’s mistress, he recruits a group of amateurs to join him. Men in need of large sums of money for various reasons begin to gather around Ihei, but…
A true-story film depicting a police officer’s pursuit of a criminal who carries out a series of attacks on pawnshops and banks, running amok with a handgun stolen from a police officer.
A naively honorable samurai comes to the bitter realization that his devotion to moral samurai principles makes him an oddity among his peers, and a very vulnerable oddity in consequence. He takes the blame for the misdeeds of others, with the understanding that he will be exiled for one year and restored to the clan's good graces after the political situation dies down. As betrayal begins to heap upon betrayal, he realizes he'll have to live out his life as a ronin, if not hunted down and killed.
Zatoichi comes upon a dying man who asks him to give a bag of money to "Taichi". Zatoichi has no idea who this is but when he comes upon a small town harassed by gangsters, he finds that "Taichi" was the man's young son. Along his travels he also met a blind monk who makes Zatoichi question his murderous lifestyle. In trying to help the town, Zatoichi kills some gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He must make a choice of whether to use non-violence and set a good example, or violence and set the boy on the wrong path in life.
Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza in order to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
Official Shogunate executioner Ogami Itto has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.
Itarō abandons his life as a hatamoto to become a yakuza.
After killing a man who owed him neither a debt of gratitude nor a grudge, Tokijiro decides to leave the yakuza life behind in accordance with the code of honor—but becomes an assistant to yakuza for the sake of the man’s orphaned child his mother.
A beautiful swordswoman dressed as a man falls in love with the young lord who is her enemy.
Two sculptors spend the night in a mountain lodge after being caught in a snowstorm. A female spirit appears and takes the life of one of the men. She spares the other man's life on the condition that he never tell anyone what happened that night.
When Sokichi stops providing his long-time lover Kikuyo enough money to pay for the care of their three young children, Kikuyo leaves the children with Sokichi - and his very surprised and angry wife Oume - and disappears.
The Snake Princess in hot pursuit… The stand-in bride enters the castle… But her true identity has been exposed… Life or death hinges on obtaining the mirror. A lavish period drama full of twists and turns.
Yesterday a gentleman, today a student, tomorrow a stylish man in a casual kimono—Ginji, the pickpocket with seven faces, has his sights set on the gold watch of destiny. A tale of passion, love, human emotion, pistols, and thrills.
In a mountainous region of Japan, Lord Arakawa kidnaps the men of nearby villages to use as slave labor, producing gunpowder from his sulfur pits. A band of young boys decide to rescue their enslaved fathers on their own.
Zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.
A yakuza returning from an island journey takes a stranger’s young child under his wing as he travels, gives up the woman he loves to his brother-in-arms, kills a corrupt gang boss in the name of justice and turns himself in.
A passionate young man takes on a corrupt boss, determined to save innocent teachers and numerous orphans.
Zatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.
An Indian prince leaves his world of comfort and riches behind to wander and meditate for six years in search of spiritual enlightenment. Siddartha (Cojoin Hong) turns his back on the old religion when people are starving needlessly and holy rituals include human sacrifices. During his meditations, he is tempted by erotic dancing women, demons, and the evil machinations of his criminal cousin. Devastate to attain the spiritual perfection and become the Buddha. He travels to convert followers by his kindness and wisdom, gaining a multitude of believers when he stops an elephant from crushing a local priest. Buddha of course goes on to become one of the great religious leaders of the world.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman who seek to restore the Toyotomi clan by taking in the orphaned Princess Tsuru.
During Japan's Warring States period three young Tokugawa vassals head their separate ways after Takeda Shingen's forces overran their castle. When they next meet they have all joined opposing sides.
The first film in the 2 part series about Ryuzen, a renegade martial-arts priest who, in addition to breaking all the commandments against sex and gambling, opens his own gambling den in direct defiance of the local yakuza boss. Exciting action and a twisty plot this movie breaks new barriers in Japanese cinema. Katsu Shintaro is superb in one of his better non-Zato Ichi roles as he fights off the advances of a love-lorn woman and risks his life to defeat the powerful gambling boss who has a stranglehold on the town.
Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan. A young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu is manipulated by a ninja master into attempting to assassinate the warlord before he completes his task.
1962 Japanese movie
As a child, Okin the one-armed one-eyed swordswoman was disfigured by Lord Daizen-dayu, who was after her family's most treasured possession, the famed Drenched Swallow sword. As an adult, she has become a skilled swordswoman and lives a carefree life with her adopted family. One day, Okin saves a girl from a group of yakuza, and in doing so, gets involved in a grand conspiracy involving religious leaders, government officials, the yakuza and Lord Daizen-dayu, the man who killed her father and mutilated her body...
A series of murders surrounds the 70,000 ryō in buried treasure hidden by the Kanayama Magistrate.
A murder case tied to a missing love letter… Heiji heads west along the Tōkaidō in pursuit of thirteen suspicious individuals.
The sword of the chivalrous warrior is drawn amid the struggle for a legendary sword and a plot to assassinate a young princess.
The blind masseuse is targeted by the leader of a powerful yakuza group while also fending off a jealous husband bent on revenge. Zatoichi tours Edo's underground via a rousing onsen fight scene, gambling houses and the gender-bending character of Umeji, before a final, flame-filled conflagration.
Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi's recent robbery and murder and the imprisonment of his virginal daughter, Osayo, in a brothel. Through friendship with Denroku, a local dice thrower and devoted father, Ichi uncovers an unholy alliance between the governor and the area strongman: among their scams is falsifying tax records to put farmers in debt, then forcing their daughters into prostitution at the boss's brothel. With help from Denroku's daughter, Otsuru, Ichi comforts Osayo until he can provoke showdowns with the villains and their henchmen.
Fascinated with women from an early age, Yonosuke had his first sexual encounter at the age of seven. From that day on, he recklessly and forwardly pursues women, feeding his fascination and experience. As Yonosuke's salacious behavior brings much cause for shame to the family, his father eventually breaks relations with him. Expelled from the family, 19-year-old Yonosuke embarks on a pilgrimage of lust, traveling far and wide to acquaint himself with women of all walks.
A girl from a tenement house was abducted in broad daylight, right in the heart of Edo.
A story loosely based on the affair between Empress Kōken-Shōtoku and the monk Dōkyō, set during the Nara period (710–794 A.D.).
Shocking scenes are revealed in the Nagasaki Women's prison.
The film follows the story of Sugi Toranosuke, a ronin, who returns to his home town of Edo many years after his attempted suicide as a sickly child. Rescued and adopted by a master swordsman, he has grown into a master swordsman and a very kind gentleman. The time is around 1868 the year that the nails were finally put into the coffin containing the feudal system that nurtured and sustained the samurai. Sugi is confused and unsure about what is happening but his teacher wants him out of the chaos of the multiple power struggles between the various clans.
Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to pay his debts. The bosses true motives are revealed and he attempts to steal Osode even though the debt is paid. Zatoichi realizes his grievous error and protects the girl from the gang. Osode and Zatoichi are caught in a dilemma as she must rely on her brother's killer for protection and Zatoichi wrestles with the injustice he has caused.
In the mountain regions of Hida, the dreams of a peasant named Kyonosuke, who longed to be a samurai, come true when he becomes one of three doubles, of shadows, of Lord Yasutaka. After months of intense and cruel training, he faces his destiny when the Lord and the other two shadows are killed in battle and he must take on the role of Lord Yasutaka....
A young swordsman takes on the mysterious, deadly “Demon Sword” wielded by a nihilistic master swordsman who trusts neither human compassion nor a woman’s heart… What is the fate of the undefeated Demon Sword?
A comedic retelling of the legendary encounter between Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamato Musashi.
A mysterious Komusō monk suddenly appears to stand up to the yakuza who are tormenting innocent townspeople.
A former soldier, reduced to working at a restaurant post-war, becomes a contract killer for the yakuza gangs he's in contact with.
Wandering samurai Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) finds a bulls-eye on his back after befriending the shogunate's tightfisted financial adviser, Asahina, who's earned the wrath of the shogun's self-indulgent daughter for cutting off her allowance. The enraged princess promptly hatches a scheme to have Asahina bumped off -- along with his protector, Kyoshiro. Shiho Fujimura also stars in this installment of the enormously popular film series.
Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a local boss to create illegal pornography to pay off his gambling debts. Ichi makes it his mission to save the man and reunite the family, even though it brings him into conflict with a samurai he sort of befriended on his way to the town.
Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant to get involved, because he knows how often such involvement has led to trouble in the past. But events conspire to thrust him repeatedly into involvement, and gradually he comes to believe in the man's innocence and determines to free him.
Early film directed by Kenji Misumi.
From the pen of Yoshikawa Eiji comes this exciting story. The Naruto Strait separates Tokushima from the islands of Awaji and Honshu. On Tokushima the mad lord dreams of conquest and forges a bloody revolt against the Tokugawa shogunate. A mysterious swordsman named Noriyuki Gennojo has crossed Naruto’s waters to uncover the Awa clan’s secrets. He puts his life on the line after finding a testament of Awa’s secrets, written in blood by a dying man. Joining Noriyuki are a female ninja who loves him, and the beautiful daughter of an enemy who’s sworn to kill him. Awa’s defenders willl stop at nothing to prevent the blood-soaked letter from reaching the shogun.
Film adaption by Kenji Misumi
Story about a gambler who gets involved in a struggle between companies.
The tragic, yet exciting story of the friendship between Nakayama Yasubei, a member of the 47 Ronin, and Tange Tenzen, a relative by marriage of the vile Lord Kira.
A decapitation at the hands of the shogun's monstrous misbegotten son kicks off the action and draws nomadic Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) into more sword-fighting adventures when he's blamed for the beheading. Meanwhile, the head-chopper's mother is busy knocking off the shogun's lawful heirs to secure the shogunate for her son.
In one of Japan's most frequently-told ghost stories, a murdered wife returns in an act of vengeance.
Ishimatsu of Mori, from his early days leading up to his joining with Shimizu Jirocho, Boss of the Tokaido where he made his mark in history through his tragic end this is the story of a beloved and loyal henchman.
Tsunamune Date, the young lord of Sendai Domain, was ordered by the shogunate to stand down after being spotted in a brothel. Shortly after, four advisors from his entourage were assassinated, calling into question the possessions of the Date family.
[Period covered: 1614-1615] Tokugawa Ieyasu is now the ruler of all Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete -- the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now beseiged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu's ninja are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo and the other Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle in the dark!
Story of a Beloved Wife is an autobiographical work based on Shindo's first marriage. Jūkichi Uno stars as a struggling screenwriter, and Nobuko Otowa stars as the wife who supports him through his early struggles.
A spearman who had long admired the samurai rises up after learning of cruelty of the samurai class.
A wandering gambler strolls into a village searching for his father's killer, unaware that the village is run by criminals who sell the poorest peasants into slavery.
The woman gambler Ginko risks her life for her brother-in-law.
As winds of change sweep Japan, an honest man joins the Shinsengumi out of admiration for its leader, and because he wants to live and die as a samurai. However, as his involvement grows, reality and idealism come into deadly conflict.
When a theater producer Kurato is murdered in the audience on opening night, Inspector Kawano investigates the prop pistols used on stage, but all were fake. That same night, a dancer in the troupe went missing and a police officer was shot with the same caliber gun. Kawano suspects they are all related to a gun smuggling case.
One of the nuns at Senjuan is Sister Shunko (Michiyo Yasuda). Unlike the usual nun, however, she often goes out to see the world, being of the opinion that nuns should not lead cloistered lives but should see something of modern life. She makes the acquaintance of a young girl named lkuko (Kayo Mikimoto) and saves her from the advances of a gangster named Goro (lchiro Nakatani). In the meantime she turns down several propositions and, in revenge, one of her admirers denounces her to the Mother Superior (Kuniko Miyake). This lady is of liberal views, however, and refuses to do anything about it. Then Shunko is visited by Goro's gang boss who wants lkuko back and says he will blackmail Shunko unless she agrees.
The exciting story of Jirocho and his yakuza gang that controlled the area of the Tokaido during the latter days of the samurai era. Awesome fighting from Katsu Shintaro as One-Eyed Ishimatsu highlights this great tale taken from Japanese history!
Shinjiro is a rambler, a single sword carrying lone wolf with only his fighting skills to protect him. He doesn’t know where his road leads, only that he must find his lost sister, and the ronin who stole her away. The ronin that Shinjiro has sworn to kill. On the road he’ll find his sister and test his blade against his bitter enemy. He also encounters a lost boy searching for his father, a boy he will swear to protect, and find his own lost love, a daughter of the yakuza who draws him into a frenzied and bloody battle between rival yakuza gangs for the control of a frightened town.
Adaptation of a famous Kyouka Izumi novel. Set in the early 1900's, it tells the story of the impossible love between a young scholar a beautiful geisha.
The sequel to Daibosatsu tôge (1960) and the second of the trilogy follows the adventures of Ryunosuke Tsukue after he is blinded.
Sentaro is been severely beaten for his defiance of the government and the high taxes during a time of famine. He is befriended by Kada Gentaro, a leader in the Mito Tengu group, which plans to overthrow the shogunate.
The film won 1959 Blue Ribbon Awards for best actor Raizo Ichikawa and for best cinematography Kazuo Miyagawa. The film also won 1959 Kinema Junpo Award for best actor Raizo Ichikawa.
The story of two sisters in post-war Japan. One is a geisha and the other works for the tourist board.
Soft-Boiled Goro is a 1970 film directed by Kazuo Ikehiro
A 1961 film directed by Yoshiyuki Kuroda.
Kodaira Mochizuki has come from Edo to keep Horisoto secure.
1942 Japanese movie
Set up to be the patsy by a rival gang, Furuta Makoto attacks the yakuza boss he thinks is responsible for his father’s murder. He then learns it was all a plot to take over his father’s turf and he seeks vengeance against the puppet master behind the entire conspiracy. His quest for justice leads him to prison where he must fend off the attack of a master assassin before he can make his escape and go after the true killer!
First in the Nage Utasamon series
1961 Japanese movie
One murky night, Soetsu, a blind acupuncturist and money lender, calls on Shinzaemon Fukami, a Hatamoto samurai, to collect some money. But Fukami is too busy having an affair with a maid and curtly tells Soetsu to ask Sawano, his wife, for the money. As they have no money, Sawano interprets her husband's words as telling her to give herself to Soetsu in lieu of payment. However, Fukami catches them in the act and kills them both. Snatching up Soetsu's money bag with 30 ryo in it, he then asks two ruffians, to sink the bodies in a marsh. From what follows, it seems as if the spirits of Soetsu and Sawano are still hovering on earth in anguish and anger. For soon afterwards, Fukami is found dead by his own hand and Osono, Soetsu's younger daughter, suddenly disappears from home.
Getting an opportunity to meet with another half-Caucasian swordsman, Kyoshiro finds himself involved in a series of dangerous encounters.
In the book of the world's greatest rogues, the number one man can only be one person.
Jida-geki by Santaro Marune.
Daiei Film Company's three biggest stars shine in this exciting story about Vice-Shogun Mito Komon's journey to the land of the Ainu. As the shogun's uncle, Lord Mito traveled about the nation seeking to make sure that corruption and injustice did not go unpunished. Traveling together with his two faithful bodyguards Kaku and Suke, they board ship for a voyage to the far northern island of Ezo (modern day Hokkaido) where the indigenous people called "Ainu" live. Somewhat like American Indians, the Ainu had their own culture which had not been subjugated by the Matsumae clan, rulers of the vast island. A revolt is brewing within the leadership of the Ainu, which threatens to destroy their peaceful lives. The elder lord and his retinue are the only ones who can stop this reign of terror!
Historical drama.
Period drama based on the novel by Saisei Murō.
A young woman turns to the supernatural to wreak revenge on a murderous warlord.
Film directed by Kenji Misumi.
The story is presented as a voiced-over narrative by Arita (Takahiro Tamura), speaking long after the events of the film. In a remote army base in Manchuria, near the Soviet border, long-serving corporal Arita hates the military and looks forward to the day he may leave. Although a university graduate, he has several times deliberately failed the exam for promotion and thus remains a corporal after four years' service.
After two thugs are killed, Dobu and his crew have three days to catch the murderers. Dobu suspects a hidden mastermind influencing the magistrate.
One of Japanese folklore's most popular characters is brought to life on the silver screen in this terrific version of legendary Demon slaying Peach Boy.
During the reign of Shogun Hidetada, both Hirate Musashi and Okamoto Musashi strive to become the finest swordsman in the land by defeating the Yagyu clan's top instructors and then taking on Sasaki Kojiro!
The story of Sasaki Kojiro, a young swordsman, and his quest to train under master Seigen and develop his own style.
The mysterious Koga Ninja crushes the villains who are trying to take over the inheritance of the Omi castle owner using various means! A sword and witchcraft, a mystery and revenge swirl around the mystery of the hood, in the demon tower, in the underground castle, and at the bottom of the lake!
Rikitaro and Osayo are popular entertainers who throw knives. They are sweethearts. At one day They help Ocho, who is a beautiful pickpocket when she is attacked by Ronin. in Asakusa, However, they come to be surrounded by doubtful Ronin after that. Moreover, Rikitaro is called to stop by Kajima of Edo-Karo of Nihonmatsu-Han. He calls him a young lord and treats Rikitaro as one, because his young lord, Tetsunojo is missing. Kuni-Garo makes a plan to carry out. Kikumaru, the younger brother of the mother difference in him instead of Tetsunojo, Since Rikitaro is just like Tetsunojo, then, they are convinced that it is Tetsunojo of Rikitaro. Rikitaro and Osayo decide to help Kajima and Tetsunojo. Finally they success to crush Kikumarsu's group.
The heroic warrior uses his magical powers and great sword skills to battle a criminal gang who all wear devil outfits.
One day, a funeral was held at one of the tenements in Asakusa. It was the only son of a wealthy merchant named Matasaburo, who had run away from home with a woman he was in love with and had been living here. But this funeral was actually a kyogen (a farce) orchestrated by a gardener named Yunosuke, who had planted it without telling his wife, Okinu, in order to bilk his parents out of their money. Matasaburo believed Yunosuke, who said he would dig him up right away, and was buried in the ground. ......
Ronin samurai Ibuki-san enters a town and sells his skills to the warring families. He falls in love with the beautiful horse stable owner but like all heroes, cannot stay.
Yasuda plays Omon, a woman using bamboo leaves as darts/blades to disable and kill her enemies.
Early film by Kenji Misumi.
The Great White Tiger Platoon was part of the Aizu clan's last ditch efforts to stop the advance of Imperial troops after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Meant to be a reserve unit as it was made of the young, 16-17 year old sons of Aizu samurai. Their story is one of the great tragedies of the Boshin War (1868-1869) as they were called into action. Getting cut off from the main body of their platoon, a group of 20 from the 2nd squad retreated to Iimori Hill, where they looked down upon fires surrounding Aizu Castle and thinking that the castle has fallen and all is lost, they choose to die as samurai by committing seppuku. A superb rendition of this true story that shows the true honor of the samurai.
It is a historical drama that follows Katsu Kaishu's efforts to surrender Edo Castle bloodlessly in the first year of the Meiji period.
When a nobleman finds a woman to be an obstacle to his growing political influence, he kills her and her cat and has their bodies immured in a wall. Shortly afterwards, a catlike demon begins to haunt the castle.
A kabuki actress is murdered. Her pet cat laps its mistress's blood and becomes a demon possessed by the vengeful murder victim.
A revenge comedy directed by Torajiro Saito (Oedo's most Popular Man) from a script by Chao Fushimi (The Millionaire of a Night) and shot by Hiro Imai (Akado Suzunosuke (1957)). Starring Achako Hanabishi (Segedei Momoshiki Goten), Tamao Nakamura (Akado Suzunosuke (1957)), Seinen Hayashi (Nijunin no Kenka-jou) and Sumire Harukaze (Harukaze Sumire). Also Rumiko Komachi, Shunji Sakai, Yoshio Tabata and Mieko Suzuki.
A gripping historical drama full of suspense and a mysterious bewitching mood. A puzzle of a turbulent era in which various characters fall into a maelstrom of events - a pretty girl, a strange beggar woman, a charming thief, a clever detective, the famous magistrate Toyama Saemon no jo, they all struggle to unravel this mystery of the white bell, which provoked the sudden disappearance of two beautiful women caught in one place at the same time at midnight.
Third in the Nage utasamon series
Suzunosuke visits a martial arts master and tries to learn the 'Vacuum Slash,' a secret technique of producing tornadoes.
A yakuza bodyguard is persuaded by Ōhara Yūgaku to take the farmers’ side.
The TV drama of Ima Harube was adapted by Yagi Ryuichiro ("Komuso Henge"), directed by Mori Issei ("I Am Fujikichirou"), and cinematographed by Honda Shozo ("The Return of the Ghost"). The main cast includes Katsu Shintaro ("Flower of the Wandering Bird"), Saga Michiko and Mita Tokiko ("Matashirou's Fighting Journey")
Eight members of the Kuroinu clan gather to divide an inheritance, but one of them is suddenly found decapitated. A series of murders unfolds, with one mystery leading to another.
