Onibaba is a 1964 horror movie based on a Buddhist parable. Directed by Kaneto ShindÅ, the film is set in rural Japan in the fourteenth century Nanboku-chÅ period and features Nobuko Otowa and Jitsuko Yoshimura as a woman and her daughter-in-law who attack and kill passing samurai, strip them of their valuable armor and possessions, and dispose of the bodies in a deep pit. Read more…
In Zatoichi vs Yojimbo Zatoichi returns to his peaceful village, only to find that it has been taken over by Masagoro. When Masagoro hears Zatoichi is back, he sends Yojimbo to kill him. In their initial encounter, they both feel a grudging respect for the other… Read more…
Samurai Rebellion is a 1967 jidaigeki (period drama) directed by Masaki Kobayashi. Its original Japanese title is JÅi-uchi: HairyÅ tsuma shimatsu, which translates as Rebellion: Receive the Wife. The movie is set in the Edo period of Japan. Toshiro Mifune plays Isaburo Sasahara, a vassal of the daimyo of the Aisu clan. Read more…
The Samurai Trilogy is a film trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring ToshirÅ Mifune as Musashi Miyamoto and Koji Tsuruta as KojirÅ Sasaki. The films are based on the novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, about the famous duellist and author of The Book of Five Rings.
Together, they are a trilogy of epic proportions following the character growth of Musashi from brash—yet strong—young soldier to thoughtful and introspective samurai, culminating in Musashi’s duel with the greatest opponent he would ever face. Read more…
Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honoris a 1970 film telling the true story of the end of the Shogunate. The tragedy of the Shinsengumi is one of the best loved stories of Japanese history and has been adapted many times on stage, screen, television, and anime. This film, starring Toshirô Mifune and an all-star cast, stands out as one of the definitive adaptations of this classic tale. Read more…
Koheita (Koji Yakusho) is a samurai with such a reputation for debauchery that his nickname is “Dora-Heita” (Alley Cat), so his appointment as magistrate of the most corrupt township in all of Japan raises a few eyebrows on both sides of the law… But little does everyone know that it’s all a carefully constructed front to outwit the criminals and outfight the righteous samurai who think he’s too disgraceful to live!
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Portrait of Hell is a 1969 jidaigeki (period drama) film directed by Shiro Toyoda and starring Tatsuya Nakadai and Kinnosuke Nakamura.
The story, set in the Heian era, depicts the conflict between Korean painter Yoshihide (Nakadai) and his Japanese patron, the cruel and egotistical daimyo Hosokawa (Nakamura). Read more…
The samurai were the noble military class of ancient Japan. The samurai are believed to have existed from 10th century up until the Meiji reforms of the 19th century.
Although capable of brutal violence the samurai were also subject to a strict code of honour (Bushido), to the point of choosing ritual suicide by disembowelment in preference to disgrace. Bushido continues to influence modern Japanese society. Perhaps this explains why the samurai continue to inspire such fascination both within Japan and beyond. The samurai legend forms the basis of much great cinema. Read more…
The Hidden Fortress is a 1958 movie directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring ToshirÅ Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki. A literal translation of the Japanese title is The Three Villains of the Hidden Fortress. Read more…
Ran is a 1985 movie written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. It is a jidaigeki (Japanese period drama) depicting the fall of Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai), an aging Sengoku-era warlord who decides to abdicate as ruler in favor of his three sons. The story is based on legends of the daimyo MÅri Motonari, as well as on the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear. Read more…
