Sword of the Stranger

Sword of the Stranger 2007

7.60

Pursued by formidable Chinese assassins, young Kotaro and his dog run into No Name, a mysterious stranger who gets pulled into the chase. The unlikely companions form a bond over saving the dog from a poison attack, but chaos erupts when the assassins find Kotaro, and No Name must face his past before a horrible fate is met again.

2007

Millennium Actress

Millennium Actress 2002

7.80

Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.

2002

Onibaba

Onibaba 1964

7.70

While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.

1964

Ugetsu

Ugetsu 1953

7.98

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

1953

The Hidden Fortress

The Hidden Fortress 1958

7.90

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

Kagemusha

Kagemusha 1980

7.80

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

Throne of Blood

Throne of Blood 1957

7.93

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

Kubi

Kubi 2023

6.80

Lord Oda Nobunaga plans to control Japan where rival warlords battle by waging war against several clans. His vassal Araki Murashige stages a rebellion and promptly disappears.

2023

Sekigahara

Sekigahara 2017

6.90

The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.

2017

The Floating Castle

The Floating Castle 2012

7.10

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.

2012

G.I. Samurai

G.I. Samurai 1979

6.10

A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the supreme Shogun.

1979

Sengoku Basara: The Last Party

Sengoku Basara: The Last Party 2011

5.10

The story of the film is set after the conflict instigated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi ended, but not before the Battle of Sekigahara determines who shall be the Shogun of Japan.

2011

Samurai Banners

Samurai Banners 1969

7.50

Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big?

1969

Castle Under Fiery Skies

Castle Under Fiery Skies 2009

8.50

The year is 1575 in feudal Japan. Oda Nobunaga's (Kippei Shiina) forces defeat Takeda Katsuyori, when Nagashino Castle was besieged during the Battle of Nagashino. The next year Oda Nobunada decides to build a lavish new castle symbolizing his unification of various factions. The castle named Azuchi Castle will be built near water and high enough to be seen from the capital city of Kyoto. Director Mitsutoshi Tanaka's adaptation of Kenichi Yamamoto's novel of the same name received the 33rd Japan Academy Film Prize for Excellent Art Direction.

2009

THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY

THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY 2023

6.80

Oda Nobunaga and Nōhime were originally married to mend a hostile relationship between neighbouring regions. Unfortunately, they were like oil and water, making for a somewhat unhappy marriage. When Oda's enemy, Imagawa Yoshimoto, attacks Owari with his vast army, Oda is devastated by the overwhelming gap in military strength. However, Nohime encourages him not to despair, and the pair draw up a tactical plan that will allow them to overcome the odds.

2023

Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard: The Fateful Feudal Movie Wars

Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard: The Fateful Feudal Movie Wars 2013

6.10

The story is divided in three portions. The Kamen Rider Wizard portion, Kamen Rider Wizard: The Promised Place, taking place after the finale and defeating Amadum. The Kamen Rider Gaim's portion of the film is titled Kamen Rider Gaim: Sengoku Battle Royale!. A battle royale is being held exclusively for the Armored Riders in Zawame City. In the final portion of the film, titled Sengoku Movie Battle, Kamen Riders Wizard and Beast join Kamen Rider Gaim in the alternate world to stop Kamen Rider Bujin Gaim from acquiring the "ultimate power" he seeks.

2013

Sword for Hire

Sword for Hire 1952

7.00

Soldiers Hayate and Yaheiji secretly escape from their besieged castle. Hayate has left behind his lover, Kano. On his way, Hayate is wounded and cared for by O’Ryo, who falls in love with him. But when Hayate accidentally kills her caretaker, he flees, with O’Ryo in pursuit. Subsequently, Hayate's comrade Yaheiji falls in love with Oryo. Kano, the lover left behind by Hayate, believes him dead, and becomes involved with another soldier, Jurota. When Jurota defects to the opposing army, he takes Kano with him. A double set of love triangles has developed, wherein each man and each woman loves one and is loved by another. Finally only combat and self-sacrifice can untangle the weave.

1952

Sanada 10 Braves

Sanada 10 Braves 2016

7.50

Set at the end of the Sengoku period to early Edo period, "Sanada Ten Braves" follows 10 members of a ninja group who all serve under samurai warrior Yukimura Sanada.

2016

Kamen Rider Hibiki The Movie: Hibiki & The Seven War Oni

Kamen Rider Hibiki The Movie: Hibiki & The Seven War Oni 2005

7.00

When a powerful new Makamou attacks and defeats Hibiki, Asumu dives into Takeshi’s history and discovers a book that details the ancient Oni and a boy sharing his name. As he reads on, he learns of the tensions between humans and Oni as they struggle to stop the Orochi Makamou, but will he discover the key to defeating the new Orochi in the present?

2005

Brave: Gunjyou Senki

Brave: Gunjyou Senki 2021

6.80

Students, including Aoi Nishino, take part in class and sports activity at a prestigious high school. Aoi Nishino is a member of the school's archery club. He practices archery studiously and doesn't socialize much with the other students. His childhood friend Haruka Seno is also a member of the archery club, but she worries about Aoi Nishino. One day, thunder strikes the school grounds. After that, the ordinary lives of the students changes drastically. Many samurai descend on the school grounds. It appears that the entire school has traveled back in time to the Sengoku period. Making things worse, they realize that they are in the time right before the Battle of Okehazama takes place.

2021

Shōgun

Shōgun 2024

8.50

In Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.

2024

Samurai Banners

Samurai Banners 2007

7.50

Fūrin Kazan was the 46th NHK Taiga drama beginning on January 7, 2007. It was aired throughout 2007. The four characters from left to right are wind, woods, fire, and mountain. The title is a reference to the war banner used by Takeda Shingen, which in turn was taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. It means "Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain."

2007

Ninja Girl & Samurai Master

Ninja Girl & Samurai Master 2016

6.50

The anime centers on a young female ninja named Chidori, whose dream is to help the Warring States-era warlord Oda Nobunaga to achieve his goals.

2016

Dororo

Dororo 2019

8.60

A samurai lord has bartered away his newborn son's organs to forty-eight demons in exchange for dominance on the battlefield. Yet, the abandoned infant survives thanks to a medicine man who equips him with primitive prosthetics—lethal ones with which the wronged son will use to hunt down the multitude of demons to reclaim his body one piece at a time, before confronting his father. On his journeys the young hero encounters an orphan who claims to be the greatest thief in Japan.

2019

What Will You Do, Ieyasu?

What Will You Do, Ieyasu? 2023

7.70

The drama series depicts the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616). Takechiyo (who later becomes Tokugawa Ieyasu) was born as the son of a poor and powerless daimyo. Takechiyo lost his father during a war. He grew up lonely and away from his mother. Takechiyo didn't have a clue about what his future would hold. He then has a dramatic meeting with the young Oda Nobunaga.

2023

Sanadamaru

Sanadamaru 2016

7.80

Spanning over 50 episodes, we follow the historical fiction of the Sanada clansmen as they plotted and fought their ways to survive the changing political alliances during the Warring States Period of Japan.

2016

Toshiie and Matsu

Toshiie and Matsu 2002

8.00

The 41st NHK Taiga Drama is Toshiie to Matsu. During the turbulent Warring States Era, one man's life and career intertwined with the three great generals of Japanese history-Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. With political savvy and the support of his fiercely loyal wife, Maeda Toshiie rose to second in power in the shogunate and built up a fiefdom that encompassed Echizen, Noto and Kaga.

2002

Awaiting Kirin

Awaiting Kirin 2020

8.30

After the Onin War, the world is plunged into chaos. Amid this situation, heroes of the warring states begin to emerge in an attempt to unify the country and rule in these turbulent times. In the mid-1540s, there is a young wandering samurai in Mino which is strategically located between the East and West. His name is Akechi Mitsuhide. At this time, there is plenty of internal strife within the Toki clan which rules Mino. Surrounded by the Oda of Owari, the Imagawa of Suruga and the Asakura of Echizen, Mino has constantly faced the risk of invasion. Mitsuhide is pulled into battle and destroys the enemy. His bravery as well as stratagem catches the attention of Saito Toshimasa, the chief retainer of the Toki clan, and he is singled out. This man who is also known as Saito Dosan will go on to takeover the Toki and make Mino his own.

2020

Hideyoshi

Hideyoshi 1996

9.50

A dramatized biography of the second of Japan's three legendary leaders. Rising from obscurity, Hideyoshi served under the command of Oda Nobunaga. With an extraordinary combination of intelligence, bravery and military skill, Hideyoshi rose to near-absolute power and greatly expanded upon Nobunaga's unification of Japan's warlords. This series also focused on Hideyoshi's personal life, particularly his relationships with his mother and his wife, and the pair's rivalry for influence over him.

1996

Shōgun

Shōgun 1980

7.63

An English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in complex political games in feudal Japan.

1980

Masamune Shogun

Masamune Shogun 1987

9.20

Broadcast TV drama NHK broadcast on January 4 to December 13, 1987 (Showa 62). In the questionnaire survey conducted by NHK, it is shining in the most favorite river drama. The original is Yamaka Sosaichi's novel "Date Masamune", the biggest drama on the theme of the Date house was the first time in 17 years since the "Shinnogi remained" (1970), which painted Datejo in the Edo period. It depicts the life of Matsudo Date of Sengoku warrior · Date Masamune who built the foundation of Sendai clan 620,000 stones in his generation as a result of my own wisdom and talent.

1987

Battle Spirits: Burning Soul

Battle Spirits: Burning Soul 2015

7.80

In the near future, a battle card game called "Battle Spirits" has gained enormous popularity. Players of the game--known as "Battlers"--start battles everywhere using their color-coded cards with different attributes, creating a "Warring States Period" for the game.

2015

Heaven and Earth

Heaven and Earth 1969

7.00

The story chronicles the life of Nagao Kagetora.

1969

Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Kings

Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Kings 2009

6.40

During the Sengoku period, there are many factions constantly at war. One of these is led by a one-eyed man named Date Masamune and another by the imposing Takeda Shingen. The latter has a fiercely loyal subordinate named Sanada Yukimura who goes head to head against Date Masamune multiple times, but the battles between them tend to get interrupted. One such battle occurs when both men try to go after another leader named Imagawa, and they’re forced to break off their heated duel when Imagawa attempts to flee the scene with his body doubles. Yukimura and Masamune go after separate Imagawas, but all of the doubles are killed by a third party, and when their paths cross again, they are in front of the menacing Oda Nobunaga and his army. It was Nobunaga’s subordinates that killed those body doubles, and Nobunaga himself proceeds to kill the real Imagawa with a shotgun blast to the head.

2009

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tokugawa Ieyasu 1983

10.00

The story chronicles the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

1983

Hyouge Mono

Hyouge Mono 2011

9.00

Sasuke Furuta is a vassal of the great warlord Nobunaga Oda and a man obsessed with tea ceremony and material desires in his pursuit of a fortuitous life. Having learned from Nobunaga and the legendary tea master Soueki Senne, Sasuke walks the way of the Hyouge Mono.

2011

Princess Go

Princess Go 2011

8.00

Princess Go was the youngest of the most famous three sisters in Japanese history, who each led a remarkable life in an age of turmoil and civil war. Go loses her parents in the war, marries three times, and feuds with her own sister in competing for power. Go's husband becomes the second Tokugawa Shogun and she ensures her prominence as she gives birth to a son who later becomes the third Shogun and a daughter, a wife of the Emperor. The drama describes the age of the civil war through the eyes of Princess Go, who plays a significant part in establishing the age of peace that lasts over 200 years in Japan.

2011

Mouri Motonari

Mouri Motonari 1997

1

The 36th NHK Taiga Drama is Mori Motonari. This series chronicles the life of Mori Motonari, a warlord of the early 1500s who stood at the vanguard of the Warring States era. All Japanese school textbooks contain the Mitsuya no kyokun, Mori's famous lesson to his three sons that teaches that while one arrow is easily broken, three arrows together cannot be broken. In 1997, 500 years after his birth, NHK dramatizes Motonari's rise from a chief of the region of Aki (now Hiroshima) to a daimyo who rules over ten provinces of the Chugoku region. Motonari was 64 years old and already the patriarch of a powerful dynasty about the time Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen appeared on the scene. And even after his death, the Mori family figured prominently in Japanese history. His grandson Terumoto became a loyal Toyotomi vassal. Defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu confiscated most of his lands, leaving him only with Suwo and Nagato, later known as Choshu. But 260 years later, the Mori got their ultimate revenge, leading the imperial forces against the Tokugawa in the Meiji Restoration.

1997

Musashi

Musashi 2003

8.33

Orphaned when he was not yet ten, Musashi grows up skilled in the martial arts. During the Battle of Sekigahara, he fights on the side of the losing Toyotomi forces, but eludes the enemy as they hunt down the vanquished soldiers. He then spends years wandering the countryside mastering the sword. As his fame spreads throughout the nation, men seek him out to test their skills against him--most notably Sasaki Kojiro who faces Musashi in the ultimate duel at Ganryujima.

2003

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan 2021

7.12

Dynamic reenactments and expert commentaries bring to life the tumultuous history and power struggles of a warring 16th-century feudal Japan.

2021