Kinnosuke Nakamura

In the Edo period, a nameless ronin accepts an assignment to go to a mountain pass and wait. Near the pass he stops at an inn where a collection of characters gather, including a gang set on stealing shogunate gold that's soon to come over the pass (imdb)

A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place. (imdb)

Shogun of the Tokugawa clan is dead. Either of two princes stands to inherit his position. The younger Tadanaga has the support of their mother, as well as the local government. Iemitsu, the elder and rightful heir has a scarred face and speaks with a stutter, making some distrust him as a leader. Iemitsu is supported by Yagyu, the master swordsman who trained both brothers.Masterless samurai wander in from far-n-wide to take up sides in a battle for control of the shogunate. (thelunchmovie.com)

In this Japanese historical drama, a hard-headed painter refuses to allow his daughter to be with his Korean protege and ends up throwing the lad from his house. The girl then escapes to the court of the local ruler who informs the painter that she will only be released if he will paint a mural. He does, but it is a hellish painting. He and the ruler continue to butt heads until both end up committing suicide. (rottentomatoes)

Feudal Japan. Kamo Serizawa and Isami Kondo turn a collection of student fencers into a band of assassins known as the Shinsen Group, devoted to the Tokugawa shogunate and to an elegant code of action and behavior. Kondo leads the band against the forces of the Emperor in hopes of preventing his restoration to the throne. (imdb)

When the Tokugawa Shogunate ruled the land, Tatsuno castle in Wakisaka Clan's home of Harima held an established custom: an inspection of the arms warehouse. During one of these inspections, government inspector Magodayu Okuno finds a slight bit of dirt on the tip of a spear, which sparks an argument with a low-ranking member of the Wakisaka Clan.

Kansuke Yamamoto (Toshirō Mifune) is a general of warlord Shingen Takeda (Kinnosuke Nakamura). Yamamoto has a ruthless but effective approach to battle and politics, and advises Takeda on almost everything he does, including the assassination of the lord of neighboring Suwa. Of Lord Suwa's household, Princess Yu (Yoshiko Sakuma) refuses to commit suicide, and the film comes to center on a love triangle between the lord, his general, and the princess. (Wikipedia)

Oishi is an honorable warrior who serves obediently under Lord Asano. After an angry exchange with the villainous Lord Kira, Asano impulsively draws his sword, an act that draws the wrath of the emperor. The emperor gives Asano strict instructions to commit suicide as punishment for his actions; Oishi is devastated by Asano's passing, and he organizes a band of fellow swordsmen to seek revenge against Kira and restore Asano's good name. (allmovie.com)

Bushido, a.k.a. "The Way of the Warrior" is the chivalrous code of the samurai that has influenced the Japanese way-of-life for centuries. This epic film spans several generations of a typical samurai family, and illustrates the intricate system of loyalty, honor and sacrifice which bound the samurai in ages past, and which, in many ways, persists to this very day. (amazon)

Cho, leader of Kibamasa, finds out that his gang has been threatened by another one that, besides being more modern, wants to buy the gueisha that he's in love with.

Years after the death of legendary tea master Rikyu, his disciple Honkakubo attempts to resolve the mystery of the master's death... (imdb)

First part of the famous Dai-bosatsu toge trilogy, based on Kaizan Nakazato's unfinished long series of novels (41 books, written from 1913 to 1941). Set in the last period of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Daibosatsu Toge tells the story of Tsuke Ryunosuke, a nihilistic swordmaster who doesnt hesitate to kill anyone, bad or good. (mubi.com)

With his friend Matahachi, Takezo has joined an army on its way to battle. After their side loses, they seek shelter in the isolated home of a widow, Oko, and her daughter, Akemi. Oko seduces Matahachi, who forgets his betrothal to the virtuous Otsu. Takezo returns to the village. Matahachi's family rejects Takezo's report and has him arrested for treason. A monk rescues him from death and sentences him to the study of the samurai code..(IMDB) (imdb)

This is the story of a samurai who falls on hard times due to misunderstandings and and follows the plots of his enemies. (imdb)

Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka (1959) places Chikamatsu, the author of the original play, as a character in the drama. Relatively classical at first, the film grows increasingly self-conscious as it proceeds. Chikamatsu, initially an observer taking inspiration for his writing from the events he views, begins eventually to intervene in events, saving the heroine from suicide, substituting a gentler ending for the tragedy which seems likely. (Sense of Cinema)

This is the second installment of the trilogy based on Japan's greatest novel "The Great Bodhisattva Pass", following the life and times of bloodthirsty samurai, Tsukue Ryunosuke. (MUBI)

Master swordsman, Tsukue Ryunosuke is confronted by the families of his victims. Will justice be served for the lost innocent lives? The conclusion of the famed Jidaigeki series is an amazing film, with a completely different perspective on the story from the later versions. (MUBI)

In 1590, Toyotomi Hideyoshi concerted with Tokugawa Ieyasu and attacked the army of the Hojo Clan. Confronted as such, the Hojo army focused their clan at Odawara Castle, and posted an attacking force along the mountains of Hakone. Against this backdrop is one of the best movies to come out of Toei Studios during the Golden Age. A lone swordsman named Mayadono Kyonosuke sets out to right an injustice from 5 years before. (kurotokagi)

In the second film in the series Takezo embarks on a quest after three years of solitary contemplation.

Based on the original story of a wandering gambler written by the popular author Shin Hasegawa. This is the first film adaptation of his story, which later inspired many filmmakers to create further adaptations of his work. The first half of the movie depicts a man's jealousy of his best friend and the woman he loves. The second part depicts a hero who is ready to put the past behind him and risk his life for his friend.

Ogami was the royal executioner for the Shogun until an unscrupulous lord coveting his position frames him for murder. Ogami\'s wife is killed, and he is disgraced. Unwilling to commit Hara Kiri w/out first obtaining his revenge he takes his young son, Daigoro, and becomes a bounty hunter. (imdb)

Two hostile clans had reached an artificial reconciliation which involves the marriage of a person from each family. The boy's father is away to serve the emperor, and his highly despotic mother has the absolute power. Typical of the atmosphere are the boy's words to her: "If mother was not my mother I would hate her." "If father was not my father I would hate him." The boy eventually finds a poor peasant girl and has a beautiful love affair. (imdb)

The movie opens with Musashi visiting the Yagyu clan to seek instruction from the Great Lord Sekishusai, a renowned master strategist and swordsman. It turns out that Sekishusai is mighty difficult to get an audience with, denying all requests for matches. By one of the many astounding coincidences to be found in the Eiji Yoshikawa tale, Otsu has ended up working as Sekishusai's personal assistant. (lardbiscuit.com)

Musashi has defeated and shamed the leader of the Yoshioka fencing school, and now their only chance and redeeming their tattered reputation is to kill Musashi. So they move heaven and earth to take revenge. As the vendetta mounts, Musashi takes up residence with a kind merchant named Honami. Seijuro's brother Denshichiro challenges Musashi to a duel on an evening when Musashi has already agreed (reluctantly) to accompany Honami on a visit to the local pleasure quarters. (lardbiscuit.com)

Early on we find Musashi in a private moment with Otsu by riverside. In contrast with his tender emotions before the big fight, he now tells Otsu she cannot find happiness with a man who's done all the killing he's done. They embrace, then he pulls away and leaves her, apologizing for what he's done. (...) Wandering alone, Musashi comes across a boy named Iori whose father has just died, leaving him an orphan. (...) Musashi decides to stay and help Iori with his farming for a while (...) (lardbiscuit.com)

In the film, Musashi (Kinnosuke Nakamura), hoping to extend his knowledge of the techniques of personal combat, visits the home of Baiken Shishido (Rentaro Mikuni), a bandit who has developed a highly unorthodox way of fighting with ball and chain in one hand and a small very sharp scythe in the other. Musashi first comes upon Baiken's wife (Hideko Okiyama), also adept in her husband's methods, training her baby not to fear the whirling iron ball or the cries of an advancing warrior. (nytimes.com)

Osaka in the early 1600s, aftermath of the historical Battle of Sekigahara; a group of orphan children are wandering through the battlefield scavenging for armour when they encounter a young boy named Sasuke with magical powers he says came from a meteor that crashed onto the Earth. (imdb)

Lord Oda Nobunaga,gains control of nearly all Japan,and try to enlist the aid of Magoichi and his 3.000 gunners. (The Movie Database)

This anthology tells three separate stories, all about yakuza (Japan's gangsters) in the feudal period. In the first, Sentaro, a roaming yakuza, seeks sanctuary with a gang which then asks his help in a fight against its rivals. His attention is drawn primarily to a young woman who waits in vain for the man she loves. In the second tale, two gamblers barely escape from their pursuers after being caught cheating. (imdb)

Shinkichi, a peasant employed as a cloth-dyer, has a dream: in the midst of the civil war which ravages Japan, he hopes to revive the long-banned custom of the Kyoto Gion Festival, and by doing so, bring together the warring clans and rampaging brigands in peaceful celebration. (imdb)

Inspired by a female tattooed dice dealer, a country-man decides to leave his hometown in order to accomplish his dream: to become a mounted bandit in Manchuria. Working as a docker, he later meets a young woman from Hiroshima who wants to go to Brazil.

Tokijiro has the unfortunate duty according to the code of the gamblers to join in the fighting when afforded a night's stay and meals at the home of a town boss. Though he dislikes killing, the strength of his swordsmanship will be tested time and time again in the bloody tale. (cinematerial)

Master swordsman and loya 'Hatamoto' (direct vassal to the Shogun), Saotome Mondonosuke, is sent to investigate an intrigue centering on the Date Clan. The 300th film in the long and illustrious career of Ichikawa Utaemon, one of the most popular Japanese film stars of the period; it brought out an all-star cast as well. (themoviedb)

Period piece about a young man who, because of his hard life alone in the world, has become a yakuza. When he hears that his mother may be living in Edo (Tokyo), he travels there, intent on finding her and leaving the swordsman's life behind. But a team of rival gangsters is hot on his heels. (themoviedb)

Tokugawa Ieyasu befriends another daimyo, Oda Nobunaga, and becomes a military leader.

Toruhan, a king's retainer, embarks on a journey to find a royal treasure that can only be revealed through secret codes hidden in seven crosses carried by his fellow samurai.

The adventures of Goro and his fellow samurai continue in its second installment. While being held captive by the enemy pirate Ongo, Goro discovers the whereabouts of the missing seventh cross. Will he succeed in bringing all seven cross together to reveal the secret code of the royal treasure?

The adventures of Goro and his fellow samurai concludes. After their turbulent journey, the seven crosses are finally united to reveal the secret of the royal treasure.

The great epic drama about a Nichiren's life. Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching. Nichiren Buddhism includes various schools with diverging interpretations of Nichiren's teachings. (KG)

A man’s wife dies in a swamp. Her ghost returns to haunt him.