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 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.
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
Mr. Kobayashi
Two stubborn Samurai fight a meaningless battle for a woman's hand. Treachery, murder and lost honour are unleashed in the course of a magic year in which summer turns to autumn, autumn to winter, and winter to spring. Neither has any intention of giving in to the other no matter how foul the weather.
A re-make of the classic story made for television in 1982.
Haunted by bad luck, two friends learn to trust in the world again and take their destiny into their own hands.
Reprising his role from the popular TV series "Koya no Suronin" (The Lowly Ronin), Mifune Toshiro stars in this full-length, stand-alone made for TV movie. The wandering ronin is reminiscent of his most famous role as the samurai without a name in Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro". He travels about Japan, and while he may seek happiness, violence and tragedy always cross his path. This time, he reluctantly agrees when a girl hires him to kill a local offical who has unfairly taxed her villagers. But he soon discoves that not all is at it appears when he finds a direct link to his past.
Reprising his role from the popular TV series "Koya no Suronin" (The Lowly Ronin), Mifune Toshiro stars in this full-length, stand-alone made for TV movie. The wandering ronin is reminiscent of his most famous role as the samurai without a name in Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro". He travels about Japan, and while he may seek happiness, violence and tragedy always cross his path. This time it is a woman carrying a young infant who he encounters on the road that leads him into a tale of violence, intrigue and a village in uproar. A great story and cool action scenes, a movie not to be missed!
The secret map of the treasure of Kenzan was stolen out of the house of a former soldier in Awa. A fight over the treasure that the map shows happens among the Rozyu, a Ronin, a thief, and the Hyodo family. Is the treasure there? Who will get it? Masakazu Tamura plays the role of a ronin from Edo, Hayato Arakida, from the Mumyo Tenshin school dojo and a swordmaster working for Lord Awa. The film is based on the original work of Kyotaro Nishimura. A period show with a fierce fight on a raft going down a river and romance.
Lord Taro must deliver a money chest but is robbed by brigands led by Jibu. One of Jibu's men, Rokuro, steals the money from Jibu, but after meeting and befriending Taro, Rokuro decides to return the money to Taro. But Taro's unscrupulous brother Jiro falsely accuse Taro of the theft, and Taro reactively joins the outlaw band and encourages them to steal from the nobles and give to the poor.
Set in the 19th century, "Moeyo Ken" follows the life of Toshizo Hijikata. He was the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi and fought against the Meiji Restoration.
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
A group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, in The Forest of Resurrection, the 444th portal to the other side. Their troubles start when those once killed and buried in the forest come back from the dead.
Just when you think Kyoshiro's life can't get any stranger, someone starts running around raping and murdering, and leaving notes proudly proclaiming that he did it. Tracking down the real culprit will take him along a twisted trail that involves the Shogun's harem, hidden Christians, and positively pregnant politics!
The first work in the series "Cases of An Actor in Disguise" starring Kokichi Takada, based on the original work of Tatsuro Jinde. Kasumi Ippei is a popular ronin actor, and when he is not on stage he is investigating intricate crimes, in this film Ippei will solve the abduction of seven beautiful young girls.
In July of 1864, in an incident at the Ikedaya Inn in Kyoto, thirty Shinsengumi suppressed a cell of twenty Choshu revolutionaries, possibly preventing the burning of Kyoto. The incident made the squad more famous and led to soldiers enlisting in the squad. The leader is Hijikata Toshizo, who is said to have been a spoiled brat in his childhood. One day, Toshizo discovers a woman thief with a stolen purse. In the purse, a note mentioning the name of Ito Kashitaro is found detailing illegal operations. Toshizo fears will become true. There is a rift in Shinsengumi.
Set in the late thirteenth century, this film depicts the defense of southern Japan led by the Kono clan against the Mongol invasion in 1281.
Araki Mataemon was a very strong warrior, and his feud against the samurai Kawai Matagorō is one of the most famous in Japan. Matagoro killed Gendayu, the little brother of Mataemon's brother in law, Watanabe Kazuma. Becoming a murderer out of jealousy for a childhood friend, Matagoro fled in another domain, using friends of his father and his lineage linked to Tokugawa Ieyasu. It was somehow a complicated matter, as it seems at that time, a law from Toyotomi Hideyoshi allowed a little brother taking revenge for his elder brother, but not the reverse. After some years, the lord of Kazuma and Mataemon found a way, and they were allowed to take revenge for the murder. They fought and killed Matagoro and just one other samurai who was helping the culprit. It seems at that time, Kazuma was Mataemon's only assistant.