Movies: Chanbara

Set during the last days of the Tokugawa (Edo) Period, Moeyo-ken tells the story of Hijikata Toshizo and the Shinsengumi. Hijikata Toshizo is a samurai eager to test his skills and sword and make his first kill. The dojo he belongs to practices the T...

Mito Domain Samurai Seki Tetsunosuke must pay the consequences for his role in the assassination of Great Elder Ii Naosuke. Based on true events....

During the raging war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the swordsman Mohei (whose family has been completely decimated) is recruited by Toyotomi to overcome the seat of power, Osaka Castle. Mohei's daredevil skills will be put to severe tests...

Two amiable samurai wind up on opposite sides of the vendetta between Lord Asano's retainers and the family of Lord Kira that led to the famous revenge of the 47 Ronin....

Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by Yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed. Though now eve...

Ryutaro is a spy employed by the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, who is the target of assassination attempts that aim to hand power over to his younger brother Tadanaga. Before learning of these plots, Ryutaro discovers himself in a predicament of his own w...

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One samurai is ordered to kill another by their master in punishment....

The Shinsengumi is a special unit of ronin commissioned by the Tokugawa shogunate to counter anti-shogunate activities in Kyoto. A sinister plot to overthrow the shogun is set in motion and Kondo Isami and his fellow samurai must answer the call and ...

Veteran director Nakajima Sadao examines the appeal, background, context and transition of chambara, or period sword-fighting and samurai films, in Kyoto. Not only interviews with actors, choreographers and critiques are included, but the director or...

Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father's craft. After t...

Frustrated with the bad behavior of his lord, Inaba Yajuro (Otomo) declares that he is leaving the clan and sets off on a journey that leads him into a small town besieged by a violent group of brigands. In a kind of homage to Kurosawa's 7 Samurai...

Historical drama about a sleepy-eyed ronin....

[Period covered: 1637-1651] This is one of the most complicated plots of any of the Shinobi no Mono films! This film tells the story of Saizo’s son, Kirigakure Saisuke, who after seeing his father die at the Battle Of Shimabara, grows up to be an exp...

Historical drama about a sleepy-eyed ronin....

A man gets rid of a cheap pot without knowing it contains a map to a treasure. As word spreads, many join in hunting it....

Historical drama about a sleep-eyed ronin...

Fewer samurai films are being made, and the Uzumasa studio has fallen on hard times. One day, veteran "kirareyaku" (whose job it is to be felled with a sword by a film's star) actor Kamiyama is tasked with teaching sword action techniques to fledglin...

A remake of High Noon (1952) as a Japanese jidai-geki sword-fighting movie....

Edo, 1703. Young Sugino, one of the 47 rōnin seeking revenge against lord Kira, who caused that his master, Asano of Ako, committed seppuku, meets a skillful spear fighter, Genban, who trains him to fight with honor on the day of retribution....