Rashomon

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

1950-08-26 | ja

Zatoichi

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.

2003-09-06 | ja

Moonshadow Ninja Scroll: Twenty-One Eyes

A wave of terror is threatening to unseat Shogun Yoshimune. Police stations are erupting into flames, convicts escaping from prison, houses robbed and vandalized, streets teeming with panicked citizens. Is Ijyuin Tanomo, highly-placed official of Owari clan, secretly using deadly ninja to foment riot and rebellion? Narumiya Shinbei, a lone samurai spy adept at ninjutsu must uncover the hidden hand orchestrating these shocking crimes. Shinbei enlists a small band of dedicated ninja to lay siege to the enemy’s stronghold, where his own sister works as an undercover agent. Now, ninja must fight ninja in a last desperate battle to save the shogunate.

1963-12-15 | ja

The Hidden Fortress

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

1958-12-28 | ja

Floating Vessel

Floating Vessel (源氏物語 浮舟 , Ukifune) is a 1957 color Japanese film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. Drawn from parts of the famous Genji monogatari by Lady Murasaki.

1957-04-29 | ja

Warriors of Ako: Scroll of Heaven, Scroll of Earth

Chronichles the story of the Forty-seven Ronin.

1956-01-15 | ja

Seven Samurai

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.

1954-04-26 | ja

Snowflowers: Seeds of Hope

A touching true story which portrays a doctor who selflessly dedicated his personal fortune to spreading the smallpox vaccination for saving people's lives.

2025-01-24 | ja

Somersault on the Way

A young boy named Chomatsu (Misora Hibari) lives with an old man Denbei near the grounds of Asakusa temple as bell ringers. In their house is an Echigo lion mask, a memento of Chomatsu's deceased father. After several incidents of Echigo lion masks being destroyed in the area, a local kingpin Saheiji shows up at Denbei's demanded he hand over the mask, a request Denbei rejects out of pity for Chomatsu. However, after it is accidentally revealed that the mask contains an important map, Saheiji plots to steal the mask. Chomatsu gets involved after his mother makes a sudden reappearance that sends the boy on a roundabout journey that will reveal the truth about his family.

1950-12-31 | ja

The Fox Dancing in the Dusk

2019-01-19 | ja

Throne of Blood

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.

1957-01-15 | ja

Red Beard

Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.

1965-04-03 | ja

Rikyu

Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord, unifying the country.

1989-09-15 | ja

Blizzard Ronin

The film tells about the life of the former vassal of the Ako clan - Fuwa Katsuemon Masatane.

1939-01-11 | ja

Isshin Tasuke: A Man Among Men

In the third entry into this mega-hit series, Isshin Tasuke, a spirited fishmonger in Edo who looks just like Shogun Iemitsu undergoes a series of unforeseen troubles in his newly wedded life.

1959-11-29 | ja

Kagemusha

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

1980-04-26 | ja

A Color Print of Edo

The Color Print of Edo is a 1939 black and white Japanese silent film with benshi accompaniment directed by Kazuo Mori. It is a cheerful period drama, sprinkled with comical scenes and tells the story of a loyal and handsome Edo period servant who fights to help his older brother marry the woman he loves. The star of this film, Utaemon Ichikawa, gained enormous popularity for his portrayal of a cheerful and chivalrous man.

1939-05-10 | ja

The Twilight Samurai

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

2002-11-02 | ja

Utamaro, Painter of the Woman

Kitagawa Utamaro is a famous ukiyo-e artist known for his paintings of beautiful women. The courtesan who became his model became even more popular. Ocho, a resident of an apartment building, hears about this and secretly plans to follow Otose, the owner of Mizuta-ya, who became famous as Utamaro's model. At this time, the Kano school, headed by Kano Eikawa, which was under the control of the shogunate, is dissatisfied with Utamaro's fame and tries to compromise him…

1959-10-11 | ja

History of Jirocho Shimizu

A historical chivalric drama with tears and laughter, telling the story of Jirocho Shimizu's family, his confrontation with Katsuzo Kurokoma's family, right up to the final battle on the Tenryu River to avenge Ishimatsu Mori.

1995-03-03 | ja