In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.
Residents in a town have a hard time due to the land tax and forced labor. 9 people, including Juzaburo Kokutaya (Sadao Abe), worry about the future of their town. They then set up a plan to save the town. The plan is to lend large amounts of money to han (historical term for the estate of a warrior) and distribute the interest annually to the residents, but if they're caught they will lose their lives.
Tasuke stumbles across Kokichi, a distraught man whom having lost his fiancee to Lord Kawakatsu is ready to commit suicide. Tasuke learns that Kokichi's fiancee, Otoyo, was a chambermaid whom Kawakatsu abducted in order to make her his concubine and Tasuke feels compelled to right this wrong. Meanwhile Kawakatsu is dealing in black-market lumber and receiving kick-backs but unbeknownst to him he is under investigation by Lord Izu, one of the Shogun Elders. Will Tasuke be able to rescue Otoyo from the clutches of Lord Kawakatsu and can Lord Izu put an end to his money hungry evildoings.
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.
After the forced suicide of Nobunaga Oda at the Incident at Honnō-ji, powerful figures Katsuie Shibata, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Nagahide Niwa and Tsuneoki Ikeda meet to decide on a successor. The conference would become Japan's first group made political decision. The meeting was known as the Kiyosu Kaigi.
Momotaro carries this sword into battle against injustice in shogunate Japan. Aided by ninja he must now wage a furious battle against the terrible “Ran” clan, villains in league with Ohara Ukon, a bitter samurai nursing a grudge against the shogunate. Together the ruthless conspirators will threaten the foundations of shogunate rule over Japan. Only the relentless slashing sword of Momotaro may save the nation from the Ran clan's army of killers.
A samurai who gets hit by lightning wakes up to find himself on a film set in the present day and starts to work as an extra on samurai films.
Shipwrecked African-American slaves arrive in the midst of Bakumatsu-era Japan; they soon carve out a niche in the market with their musical talents.
Koshiro Matsudaira lives in Tanjousan Bun in Echigo as a commoner and surrounded by people that love him, including his father Sakubei, who works for the Tanjousan Bun. One day, many officials working for Tanjousan Bun come to Koshiro's house and Sakubei tells his son the shocking truth about his birth. Koshiro learns that he is the son of Daimyo Ikkosai of the Tanjousan Bun. Even more shocking to Koshiro, is that Daimyo Ikkosai has suddenly handed over his feudal lord position to Koshiro and has gone into retirement. Koshiro thinks that he has come across good fortune, but he soon learns that the Tanjousan Bun has a huge debt that needs to be payed off soon.
In the year 1590, the mighty warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi is close to fulfilling his ambition of unifying all of Japan under his banner when he comes across unexpected resistance in the form of a floating fortress known as Oshi Castle. Narita Nagachika, a frivolous hedonistic fellow and unlikely candidate for the position of rebel general, finds himself in charge of defending the castle. His odds? An army of 500 men to combat Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army of 20,000.
Hironoshin is a samurai of the Echigo-Nagaoka clan. One day, Hironoshin attends a party at a mansion in Edo where his lord, Tadakiyo is invited to recite poems. Hironoshin is asked to give his opinion and foolishly comments that the piece was plagiarized. Infuriated, Tadakiyo orders Hironoshin to live his life without honor as a ‘cat flea picker', which is in fact a pseudonym for a male prostitute. The honest and straight-shooting Hironoshin convinces himself that he has no other options, and resigns himself to live as a sex worker. Hironoshin becomes an apprentice to a flea-picker boss who encourages him, convinced that Hironoshin is exacting revenge in the guise of a prostitute.
A mysterious coin found at a murder scene stirs the curiosity of young actress detective Oshichi and her brother Hyoma, who set out on a private investigation to unveil the secrets hidden behind the coin.
Kozukenosuke Kira is slashed with a sword by Ako Daimyo, who holds deep contempt towards Kozukenosuke Kira. Ako Daimyo then kills himself. Both of their families now fall into a big crisis. At this time, a vassal for the Kira family comes up with an extraordinary solution. The plan calls for Takaaki Kira, who is the younger brother of Kozukenosuke Kira, to pretend he is his older brother and deceive the shogunate. Takaaki Kira looks virtually identical to his older brother.
Princess Kinuta runs away from the palace because she doesn't want a marriage of convenience. Princess Kinuta, who has never left the palace, didn't enjoy communing with wildlife for long when she was chased by bandit moles and accidentally fell into the Valley of the Spider's Web. The princess and a white butterfly bound by a mysterious thread were about to be eaten by the spider queen when they are rescued by Tanukichiyo, a young wandering samurai who happens to be passing by. Historical fantasy comedy starring Hibari and Izumi.
In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there.
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
Tajibee, a cockfighting expert from Kawachi, and Kitahachi, a carpenter from Edo, survive a shipwreck near Beppu. They rescue Sakamoto Ryoma from masked samurai, and he entrusts them with a secret letter for Saigo Takamori of Satsuma. A shogunate spy, Chizou, overhears and pursues them. Along the way, a pickpocket named Okoma steals their wallet and the letter. When they finally deliver the letter in Satsuma, they realize it was a decoy to mislead the enemy.
Kumazou, a "cleaner" for hire, encounters a woman attempting to commit suicide with her two young siblings one night. Kumazou gives them all the money he has and saves them from jumping off a bridge. The next morning, he wakes up to find that the woman and her sons have invaded his home and settled in…
During the reign of the eighth shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Yunagaya Domain in the Tohoku region is a small han. But at the han, there is a gold mine. Suddenly, Masaatsu Naito of Yunagaya Domain receives an order to perform Sankin-kotai within 5 days. Sankin-kotai is a custom that requires the daimyo to visit the shogun in Edo. Unfortunately, the time needed to visit the shogun in Edo for Masaatsu Naito is 8 days. Masaatsu Naito also learns he received the order because a high ranking government official wants the gold mine. Also, the expense for Sankin-kotai is high and the Yunagaya Domain is such a small han that it seems impossible to complete. Nevertheless, Masaatsu Naito begins an unexpected operation to complete Sankin-kotai in 5 days.
A ghost interrupts the journey of two young noblemen who are disguised as merchants.