53 Stages of the Road

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

A historical scroll depicting the story of the tragic fate of the young samurai Minamoto Yoshitsune, based on the novel by Genzo Murakami. The action of the first part takes place in the late Heian period, when the Taira clan came to power, and Genji was oppressed. The great dream and ambitions of Genkuro Yoshitsune in his youth are depicted, he joins forces with his older brother Yoritomo to raise an army to defeat the Taira clan, and the second part depicts the fall of the clan, persecution and murder.

Having lost her parents at a young age, Osumi was taken in by her uncle, who ran a shoe shop, and grew up without ever experiencing happiness or a sense of joy. Against her will, she was betrothed to a rough-mannered clog maker named Katsuzo, and she lived a gloomy life. Then one night, a stranger named Shinshichi suddenly bursts into her home, where she lives alone, and begs her to hide him. As she reluctantly takes in this man with a mysterious past, Osumi gradually begins to feel a flutter in her heart.

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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.

​A powerful priest uses his magical abilities to imprison the rain gods within a waterfall, causing a devastating drought. The imperial court sends a princess to his remote mountain retreat to seduce him and break his spiritual concentration.

In the third entry into this mega-hit series, Isshin Tasuke, a spirited fishmonger in Edo who looks just like Shogun Iemitsu undergoes a series of unforeseen troubles in his newly wedded life.

Sen no Rikyu (Ebizo Ichikawa) is the son of a fish shop owner. Sen no Rikyu then studies tea and eventually becomes one of the primary influences upon the Japanese tea ceremony. With his elegant esthetics, Sen no Rikyu is favored by the most powerful man in Japan Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Nao Omori) and becomes one of his closest advisors. Due to conflicts, Toyotomi Hideyoshi then orders Sen no Rikyu to commit seppuku (suicide). Director Mitsutoshi Tanaka's adaptation of Kenichi Yamamoto's award-winning novel of the same name received the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the 37th Montréal World Film Festival, the Best Director Award at the 2014 Osaka Cinema Festival, the 30th Fumiko Yamaji Cultural Award and the 37th Japan Academy Film Prize in nine categories, including Best Art Direction, Excellent Film and Excellent Actor.

Near the end of the shogunate in Japan, Katsura Shogoro and his fellow samurai from the southwestern domain of Choshu enter the dojo of Saito Yakuro, the famed Shindo Munen Ryu swordsmen of Renpeikan in Edo. Katsura is initially not welcomed by the other, senior dojo followers. Undeterred, he focuses on improving his skill not only in swordsmanship but also learning how to repel the foreign British and American ships that threaten their domain.

The fate of Tokugawa’s world hangs in the balance as Yagyu Jubei is sent on a mission to discover what happened to 10 of the shogun’s spies that never returned. Matsukata Hiroki, one of the last surviving members of the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema proves that he has not lost a step as he portrays an older and wiser Yagyu Jubei in a movie that brings the best of samurai filmmaking into the 21st century. Summoned from semi-retirement by Shogun Iemitsu, Jubei is asked to take to the road and investigate a clan rumored to be preparing explosives for a rebellion. With help from a beautiful female ninja they head into the Shirakawa domain where the fighting skills of both are tested time and again as they strive to destroy a conspiracy that could bring a new Warring States Era. In the 1960's Yagyu Jubei was the signature role of the great Konoe Jushiro, father of Matsukata Hiroki. This brings the character full circle.

During the Edo period, a gifted swordsman was exiled from his clan when he questioned the misconduct of his leader. Years after, his dying wife wish was for him to go back to his clan.

The first part of an entertaining historical drama depicting the eventful story of the revenge of an actor with a strange fate, with a variety of characters and exciting developments.

In the turbulent last days of the Edo period, Kawai Tsugunosuke, a Japanese samurai serving the Makino clan of Nagaoka, dreamt of independence from the restraints of vassalship. Despite his progressive views and his desire for his estate to remain neutral during the Boshin Civil War, he was bound by loyalty and duty to the clan and was compelled to choose sides.

Having put down his sword and given up the will to fight, the masterless samurai Iemon lives in solitude while being haunted by his violent enigmatic past...

The Color Print of Edo is a 1939 black and white Japanese silent film with benshi accompaniment directed by Kazuo Mori. It is a cheerful period drama, sprinkled with comical scenes and tells the story of a loyal and handsome Edo period servant who fights to help his older brother marry the woman he loves. The star of this film, Utaemon Ichikawa, gained enormous popularity for his portrayal of a cheerful and chivalrous man.

The mysterious story behind the Skull Coins, which are said to reveal the location of treasure, and the battle for them will make your heart beat faster.

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.

In this film, Hibari plays a dual role as brother and sister. The story involves a journey to Hanagasa for an incognito Lord (Kotaro Satomi) to overthrow an attempted usurpation of his domain, while being harassed by vassals of the usurper (Kensaku Hara). There's also a mysterious ronin played by Jushiro Konoe. The songs are seamlessly woven into the narrative and don't overwhelm the action. While the plot is derivative it is good example of its type and quite enjoyable. Note that there are some flashback sequences in black and white.

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

A feudal epic presenting the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. The impostor becomes comfortable living his life among nobility, but his responsibilities to his station grow more demanding the longer he occupies it.