The Samurai Encyclopedia
001-011: Hideo Gosha (1929-1992)
012-015: Masaki Kobayashi (1916-1996)
016-024: Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
025-033: Kihachi Okamoto (1923-2005)
034-039: Masahiro Shinoda (1931- )
040-056: Kyoshiro Nemuri Series (Begun 1956)
057-083: Zato Ichi Series (With Shintaro Katsu 1962-1989)
084-087: The Crimson Bat Series (1969-1970)
088-095: Band Of Assassins Series (1962-1966)
096-159: (Pre-1950s)
160-208: (1950-1957)
209-240: (1958)
241-287: (1959)
288-320: (1960)
321-381: (1961-1962)
382-404: (1963-1964)
405-418: (1965-1966)
419-422: (1967)
423-435: (1968)
436-451: (1969)
452-458: (1970)
459-483: (1971-1979)
484-500: (1980s)
501-516: (1990s)
517-000: (2000-present)
012-015: Masaki Kobayashi (1916-1996)
016-024: Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998)
025-033: Kihachi Okamoto (1923-2005)
034-039: Masahiro Shinoda (1931- )
040-056: Kyoshiro Nemuri Series (Begun 1956)
057-083: Zato Ichi Series (With Shintaro Katsu 1962-1989)
084-087: The Crimson Bat Series (1969-1970)
088-095: Band Of Assassins Series (1962-1966)
096-159: (Pre-1950s)
160-208: (1950-1957)
209-240: (1958)
241-287: (1959)
288-320: (1960)
321-381: (1961-1962)
382-404: (1963-1964)
405-418: (1965-1966)
419-422: (1967)
423-435: (1968)
436-451: (1969)
452-458: (1970)
459-483: (1971-1979)
484-500: (1980s)
501-516: (1990s)
517-000: (2000-present)
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531 titles
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTetsurô TanbaIsamu NagatoMikijirô HiraWhen poor peasants kidnap a magistrate's daughter to coerce him into reducing their unfair taxes, a wandering ronin decides to give them some help.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsMikijirô HiraGô KatôShima IwashitaAfter killing a counselor of his clan, a fugitive samurai befriends a couple poaching the shogun's gold in the mountains.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsKinnosuke NakamuraTetsurô TanbaKeiko AwajiLoyal samurai Samanosuke is attacked, mutilated, and left for dead while carrying out a mission for his clan. He recovers but has lost an eye and an arm. Taking a new identity as Tange Sazen, he searches for a stolen urn which has hidden significance to his clan. But Tange Sazen has his own reasons for seeking the urn.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsIsao NatsuyagiRyôhei UchidaJunko MiyazonoA charismatic ronin gets snared into a conflict between officials at a waystation, and gains the enmity of a group of thugs.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsIsao NatsuyagiIchirô NakataniBin AmatsuKiba is caught in the intrigue between a crooked goldmine owner, a cynical, betrayed swordsman, a manipulative lady and an arrogant dojo master.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTetsurô TanbaYôko TsukasaA guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsShintarô KatsuTatsuya NakadaiYukio MishimaA destitute ronin allies himself with an established clan, but its ruthless leader tries to turn him into a mindless killer.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTatsuya NakadaiKôshirô MatsumotoShima IwashitaKumokiri Nizaemon, a former samurai warrior, has abandoned his class to become the leader of a gang of thieves. He leads his outlaws in an attempt to rob the castle of his former clan.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTetsurô TanbaYoshio HaradaAn aging Yakuza boss in the the late 18th century runs a thriving lantern and silk dying business. However, he is also a Hunter in the Dark, an shady underworld figure who unravels a mystery about a rival clan. His wife tries to protect what he wants to throw away. His new bodyguard has a missing memory. The truth lies within the code of the Yakuza, where honor and sacrifice are rewarded with a warriors death.
- DirectorToshio TsudaStarsEtsushi ToyokawaEmi WakuiHironobu NomuraNearly a shot-by-shot remake of the 1935 film of the same title by director Sadao Yamanaka.
- DirectorHideo GoshaStarsMariko IshiharaMasanori SeraMari NatsukiAfter their executions are faked by the authorities, three criminals are forced to become assassins under the Shogun's command
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira IshihamaShima IwashitaWhen a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsRentarô MikuniMichiyo AratamaMisako WatanabeA collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaGô KatôThe mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiKomaki KuriharaWakako SakaiThe story takes place in feudal Japan, when any commerce with the rest of the world was strictly prohibited. An idealist suddenly appears in an isolated inn (the one that the title refers to), the head-quarters of a group of smugglers, with stolen money intended to ransom his loved one who is forced to work in a brothel.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaKen'ichi EnomotoA Japanese general and his men disguise themselves as monks in order to pass an enemy border patrol.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMinoru ChiakiIsuzu YamadaA war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMisa UeharaMinoru ChiakiLured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTatsuya NakadaiKeiju KobayashiA crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiTsutomu YamazakiKen'ichi HagiwaraA petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsYûzô KayamaYuriko HoshiMakoto SatôA lone masterless warrior with some new friends helps ship 300 rifles to a Japanese warlord during the sengoku period.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneKeiju KobayashiMichiyo AratamaFebruary 17 to March 3, 1860, inside Edo castle. A group of assassins wait by Sakurada Gate to kill the lord of the House of Ii, a powerful man in the Tokugawa government, which has ruled Japan for 300 years. They suspect a traitor in their midst, and their suspicions fall on Niiro, an impoverished ronin who dreams of samurai status, and Kurihara, an aristocratic samurai who befriends Niiro. Niiro longs to identify his father, knowing he is a high-ranking official who will disclose himself only if Niiro achieves samurai status. With American ships in Japan's harbors, cynicism among the assassins, and change in the air, Niiro resolves to reach ends that may prove ephemeral.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaYûzô KayamaThrough his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiEtsushi TakahashiYuriko HoshiTwo ronin - an ex-samurai and an ex-farmer - get caught up in a local official's complex game of murder and betrayal.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneShima IwashitaEtsushi TakahashiImpersonating an Imperial Army officer by wearing a "red lion's mane", a poor servant returns to his village after 10 years of absence to end the village's suffering caused by corrupt officials and businessmen.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneShintarô KatsuAyako WakaoZatoichi tries to unrest the mob rule over a small village all while the gang leader's bodyguard is actually the Yojimbo, secretly taking the gang down from the inside. Will the two heroes realize in time that they are on the same side?
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsIkkô FuruyaIchirô ZaitsuAi KanzakiShipwrecked African-American slaves arrive in the midst of Bakumatsu-era Japan; they soon carve out a niche in the market with their musical talents.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsHiroyuki SanadaIttoku KishibeNaoto Takenaka(Japanese with English subtitles) A disgraced warrior planning the murder of a Japanese diplomat, and a ninja in the employ of a navy official are about to land in San Francisco when a band of thieves steal the money the diplomats are carrying. The two set off on a chase across the American west to catch the robbers.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsHiroyuki SanadaKyôka SuzukiTakehiro MurataA lively and rambunctious samurai who has made a successful living out there and developed quite a reputation returns to his hometown just in time for big things to go down. His methods are unconventional, but work. A town businessman has a few ideas and tricks up his sleeve to profit from his presence.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsTetsurô TanbaShima IwashitaEiji OkadaIn 1863, when Americans warships approach Japan, a enigmatic ronin becomes a important figure in a complex game of power between the Shogunate and the empire.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsHiroshi AoyamaJun HamamuraOsamu HitomiThe legendary samurai Sasuke Sarutobi gets caught in a web of political intrigue, deception and espionage during the early 17th century.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsKichiemon NakamuraShima IwashitaShizue KawarazakiA doomed love between a paper merchant and a courtesan.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsTatsuya NakadaiShima IwashitaShôichi OzawaAn outlaw pushes the residents of Edo's red light district to rebel against a growing number of stifling, moralistic laws.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsHiromi GôShima IwashitaShohei HinoThe tragic story of Gonza, a handsome ladies man, set in the Tokagawa Period, a time in which appearences are very important. Gonza competes with Bannojo for the honor to perform the tea ceremony to celebrate the birth of an heir to the lord of their clan. To see the sacred tea scrolls Gonza promises to marry the daughter of the family which possesses them, even though he is unofficially engaged to another. When studying the scrolls with Osai, the mother of the house, Bannajo sneaks into the house and steals their obis and runs through the town proclaiming the two as adulterers.
- DirectorMasahiro ShinodaStarsKiichi NakaiMayu TsurutaRiona HazukiAs the great military commander Nobunaga Oda was consolidating his power across Japan, one of his actions was to wipe out a clan of assassins, killing every man, woman and child he found in the village. Years later, one of the survivors has hired a young but skilled assassin to avenge the deaths of his friends and family. His mission: to sneak into the most heavily guarded castle in Japan, and kill the supreme ruler of the country.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsRaizô IchikawaTamao NakamuraShinobu ArakiNemuri Kyoshiro, a youthful and cynical ronin with unparalleled skill, is approached by both sides in a game of corruption, ambition, and double crosses. The leader of the Kaga clan, who thinks he has killed his smuggling partner, fears that the shogunate will discover his illegal activities. He learns of evidence that will prove his guilt. Meanwhile, his partner is not dead, and, assisted by a master of Shorenji boxing, is looking for revenge and for his loot. The Kaga leader sends the beautiful Chisa to enlist Nemuri's aid. The unexpected happens: the hard-bitten Nemuri falls in love. Can he protect her, topple the criminals, and avoid the boxer's deadly skill?
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaKôichi AiharaSan'emon ArashiThe orphan swordsman wanders into a town and stumbles upon the opportunity to do righteous deeds. He finds a larger plot is afoot with a corrupt court system, a well meaning public servant and lots of danger for all involved.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsRaizô IchikawaKyôko AzumaRyônosuke AzumaThe shogun's illegitimate son decapitates a peasant which draws in nomadic Nemuri Kyoshiro into more sword-fighting adventures when he's blamed for the beheading.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaMichiko AiAkira AmemiyaThis film of the sleepy-eyed ronin series has the quite reluctant hero refuse to come to the assistance of a Japanese Christian in an age of both proselytizing and persecution, but later come around and render the services of his sword following a series of events, with the involvement of a malevolent princess, that lay to bare hypocrisy in many forms.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaTamao NakamuraMichiko SugataThis film of the sleepy-eyed ronin series has the red-haired swordsman on his way to the city of Edo when he comes across the scene of a woman in the midst of a knife fight with a man. When he reluctantly and with considered hesitation becomes involved, his intervention has him involved in a thieving plot involving the top official of the local Todo Clan and a plan to cover up a theft from a band of pirates.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsRaizô IchikawaMichiko SagaMachiko HasegawaTsurumatsu, a young boy, is supposed to be a new Lord but he's not really interested, he would rather be a carpenter. So he gets kidnapped and it's up to Nemuri Kyoshiro to save him.
- DirectorAkira InoueStarsRaizô IchikawaYaeko MizutaniIchirô NakataniPrincess Kiku, Shogun's daughter, wants revenge on Nemuri Kyoshiro for embarrassing her.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaShigeru AmachiShiho FujimuraThe hero avenges a band of samurai whose master was unceremoniously assassinated for seeking justice and better conditions for the citizens. The city shall burn for the elite's greed.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaNobuo KanekoToshio KimuraThis film of the sleepy-eyed ronin series has the hero talked into escorting a precious religious artifact to Kyoto, Japan. A sect of Christian swordsmen are lying in wait to steal the statuette. What does it take for the reluctant man to accept the assignment? Why, enjoying the company of a virgin daughter of course.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsRaizô IchikawaMiwa TakadaYaeko MizutaniTwo devious retainers are competing to take control of a fief when the current Lord dies, but involving Kyoshiro in the conflict against his will is a bad idea.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsRaizô IchikawaMako MidoriMaka SarijoOur anti-hero discovers locals who are oppressed, held captive against their will. For the swordsman to succeed, he first must wade through traps and assassins, and a few seductive maidens.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaNaoko KuboShiho FujimuraJust 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 willtake him along a twisted trail that involves the Shogun's harem, hidden christians, and positively pregnant politics.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsHiroki MatsukataTomomi SatôSanae NakaharaNemuri Kyoshiro this time gets involved in a plot to replace the shogun successor.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsHiroki MatsukataYôko NamikawaKikko MatsuokaNemuri Kyoshiro this time get involved in a feud between two clans and get the target of one of the clans from where he meet a half breed like himself. Also some dolls play an important role.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuMasayo BanriRyûzô ShimadaThe adventures of a blind, gambling masseur who also happens to be a master swordsman.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsShintarô KatsuYaeko MizutaniMasayo BanriThe blind masseur and swordsman, Zatoichi, learns of a powerful political figure's secret and is quickly tailed by a group of killers.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsShintarô KatsuMikiko TsubouchiSeizaburô KawazuWishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsShintarô KatsuMiwa TakadaMasayo BanriA yakuza gang targets the blind masseur Zatoichi after he defeats their group in a wrestling match. Meanwhile a long lost love of Zatoichi's returns to his life.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuShiho FujimuraRyûzô ShimadaZatoichi promises to deliver a maiden safely home but finds two dangerous gangs have a mysterious interest in the young girl.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsShintarô KatsuShôgo ShimadaMikiko TsubouchiZatoichi is mistaken for a thief. To clear his name he must find and defeat the real villain.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsShintarô KatsuTatsuo EndôTakashi EtajimaAfter being wounded in a fight, Zatoichi is nursed to health by a young woman and her father. Now indebted to the family, he works to protect their ferry business from local thugs.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuSaburô DateKôji FujiyamaWhen Zatoichi witnesses the murder of a young mother he promises to deliver the baby to the father. Along the way he gains the help of a reluctant criminal.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuMiwa TakadaEiko TakashiroThe blind swordsman tries to locate a girl's missing father.
- DirectorAkira InoueStarsShintarô KatsuNorihei MikiMikiko TsubouchiAfter Zatoichi learns of his sensei's murder he uncovers a horrible conspiracy involving the local government and crime family.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsShintarô KatsuKanbi FujiyamaEiko TakashiroThe blind masseur and swordsman, Zatoichi, searches for proof an imprisoned man's innocence.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuMikio NaritaChizu HayashiA samurai with a high skill in chess makes friends with Zatoichi, who finds that things become peculiar in his presence.
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsShintarô KatsuShigeru AmachiJun HamamuraPromising to make a delivery for a dying man, the blind swordsman Zatoichi comes across the usual crime gangs but also meets a blind monk who brings into question his use of violence.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsShintarô KatsuMichiyo YasudaKunie TanakaZatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuShiho FujimuraYoshihiko AoyamaZatoichi, while fighting off the usual group of gangsters, meets the apprentice of the swordsman who created his blade, who relays bad news about the sword.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsShintarô KatsuRentarô MikuniKô NishimuraIn a town where debt-ridden peasants are being ruthlessly exploited, Zatoichi is forced to take sides between a cruel yakuza boss and his seemingly altruistic rival.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuJûshirô KonoeMiwa TakadaAfter an artist is threatened by the yakuza into creating valuable but highly illegal pornography, the law aims to execute him. Zatoichi, having been honor bound to protect the man and his family, must now run against the law.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuKayo MikimotoKyôsuke MachidaZatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuYoshiko MitaMakoto SatôZatoichi is tricked by a crime gang into killing a man. Realizing his mistake, he sets out to protect the dead man's sister, who is conflicted in accepting his help.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsToshirô MifuneShintarô KatsuAyako WakaoZatoichi tries to unrest the mob rule over a small village all while the gang leader's bodyguard is actually the Yojimbo, secretly taking the gang down from the inside. Will the two heroes realize in time that they are on the same side?
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsShintarô KatsuReiko ÔharaPîtâZatoichi meets an infamous blind leader of a gangster organization as he contends with a gloomy ronin widower.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuJimmy Wang YuMichie TeradaTwo of Japan and China's greatest heroic swordsman find themselves caught in a plot to protect a young child. But will national distrust and simple misunderstanding keep the two kindred spirits apart?
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsShintarô KatsuRentarô MikuniHisaya MorishigeOn the road, Zatoichi meets a dying pregnant woman and delivers the child moments before she passes. Honor bound, he sets out to find the next-of-kin who he discovers have their own problems.
- DirectorShintarô KatsuStarsShintarô KatsuKiwako TaichiKyoko YoshizawaAfter accidentally causing an old lady's death, Zatoichi seeks out her daughter to atone for the tragedy, consequently getting into all sorts of trouble.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuYukiyo ToakeEiji OkadaZatoichi returns to his home village for the first time in over ten years to find much has changed and that corruption abounds.
- DirectorShintarô KatsuStarsShintarô KatsuKanako HiguchiTakanori JinnaiOlder, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.
- DirectorTakeshi KitanoStarsTakeshi KitanoTadanobu AsanoYui NatsukawaThe blind masseur/swordsman comes to a town in control of warring gangs, and while bunking with a farming family, he meets two women with their own agenda.
- DirectorSadatsugu MatsudaStarsYôko MatsuyamaIsamu NagatoAkitake KônoA young blind girl is abandoned by her mother. When her guardian is killed, she learns to wield a sword from a traveling "Ronin". She travels to seek her mother and her revenge.
- DirectorSadatsugu MatsudaStarsYôko MatsuyamaYasunori IrikawaKikko MatsuokaBlind swordswoman Oichi ponders whether a life of peace might be better than killing criminals for money.
- DirectorHirokazu IchimuraStarsYôko MatsuyamaGorô IbukiTamayo MitsukawaOichi, the blind swordswoman, receives a scroll with a secret message from a dying courier, that must be handed to Murobuse, a high officer of the Shogunate. Her path is full of obstacles that delay her, or put her life in danger, from hungry orphans to a dagger thrower in a carnival, from robbers to a rival samurai... Will the secret of how to produce a new kind of explosive fall in the wrong hands?
- DirectorHirokazu IchimuraStarsYôko MatsuyamaYûki MeguroMeichô SoganoyaOichi, the blind bounty hunter, frees a woman from unjust prison and is now hunted by order of the local magistrate. She is concerned with the poor fishermen, who are oppressed and robbed by a gang in collusion with the authorities.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsRaizô IchikawaShiho FujimuraYûnosuke ItôA young ninja becomes embroiled in a plot to kill a tyrannical warlord. He journeys across feudal Japan, facing deceit, betrayal, and enemy ninja at every turn. Goemon must complete his mission, regain his honor, and survive.
- DirectorSatsuo YamamotoStarsRaizô IchikawaSô YamamuraShiho FujimuraConfident that he has destroyed the Iga Ninja, the evil Oda Nobunaga continues his quest to conquer Japan. Meanwhile, Ishikawa Goemon (Ichikawa Raizo) has settled down with his wife and child, and wishes only to live in peace -- a wish that will not be granted. As mighty warlords battle and connive, Goemon must once again try to assassinate Nobunaga, in order to save the Bhuddist religious community that has come to mean so much to him. But the path to success is once again a twisted one, full of scheming samurai and nefarious traps!
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaAyako WakaoSaburô DateWhen we last saw the intrepid ninja Ishikawa Goemon (Raizo Ichikawa), he was about to be boiled alive. But a good ninja is both hard to find, and even harder to kill. With the help of the enigmatic Hattori Hanzo, Goemon lives to skulk another day, and sets his sights on bringing down the warlord who tried to turn him into soup -- Toyotomi Hideyoshi. And as always, in the background, the suble hand of Tokugawa Ieyasu is pulling strings as he plots to rule all of Japan!
- DirectorTokuzô TanakaStarsRaizô IchikawaSaburô DateMidori IsomuraTokugawa Ieyasu is the ruler of all Japan. But one last loose thread must be tied up before his domination is complete -- the destruction of the Toyotomi clan, now beseiged in Osaka castle. Ieyasu's ninja are the only ones who can penetrate the fortress, but unfortunately for Ieyasu, Kirigakure Saizo (Ichikawa) and the other Toyotomi ninja can just as easily get out. As armies of samurai maneuver for battle, the fate of the nation will be decided by a desperate struggle in the dark!
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaYukiko FujiShiho FujimuraIn part five of the 8-part Shinobi No Mono Ninja film series the heroic ninja Kirigakure Saizo (Raizo Ichikawa, of Sleepy Eyes of Death fame) serves the daimyo Sanada, played by Lone Wolf and Cub star Tomisaburo Wakiyama. They are assaulted by Ieyasu and his soldiers. They flee to an allied camp, and once there start plotting how to fight back and win the war. They come across a gun merchant with a unique, three-barrel gun, giving the holder incredible fire power. They begin to strategize ways to find out how the merchant selling these firearms has acquired them, hoping that possession of these weapons in their arsenal will lead to ultimate victory. The merchants of Tanegashima are the makers of the gun, and claim they have made it according to a blueprint gained from the only Western traders they are allowed to do business with, the Portuguese. The Sanada partisans know that can't be true because the 3-barrel gun is made of iron too fine for the Portuguese to have access to. They must unravel the secret of the "3-barrel gun". Kirigakure is sent to the Island city of Tanegishima to solve the mystery. Once there he will need all his ninja skills to survive, not only the Tanegishima cartel and their Chinese allies, but enemies from his past, in the form of the daughters of a slain enemy ninja. Can he get the job done and stay alive?
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaKaoru YachigusaIsao YamagataThe story of Saizo's son, Kirigakure Saisuke, who after seeing his father die at the Battle Of Shimabara, grows up to be an expert ninja.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsRaizô IchikawaShiho FujimuraYûko KusunokiThe dream of Tokugawa Ieyasu has come true: together with his son Hidetada he rules all over Japan.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsRaizô IchikawaManami FujiMichiyo YasudaIt is the 1570's in Japan. Ninja Kasumi Kanbey specializes in making gunpowder. He lives with his young son Kojiro, who witnesses his assassination by five skilled ninjas. Kanbey manages to kill two of his attackers before succumbing to their attack. Kojiro embarks on a journey to avenge his father against the remaining three assassins. His first attempts meet with failure and so he begins seeking training from a Ninjitsu master to become skilled enough to eliminate his enemies. The master is said to be hiding in the Kai Province of Takeda Shingen. Stars ninja superstar Raizô Ichikawa, and for ninja fans is a must see.
- DirectorHisatora KumagaiStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiKan'emon NakamuraShizue YamagishiJidai-geki surprisingly critical of bushido codes and practice of seppuku (aka hara-kiri). Yaichiemon Abe, denied permission to commit ritual suicide with more than a dozen vassals to Lord Hosokawa, commits suicide anyway, which in turn brings ruin upon his survivors, who are punished for misdeed.
- DirectorBuntarô FutagawaStarsTsumasaburô BandôKôzaburô KataokaKanzaburô ArashiThe story of a nihilistic samurai whose mother is killed, whose sister is used and deceived, and who loses the only love of his life.
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiYutaka MimasuIsuzu YamadaThis film is a very funny comedy that makes fun of the moral code of the samurai Bushido, which has become obsolete and turned into an empty form during the period of feudalism.
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiYayoi KawakamiYuzuru KumeSet in the Edo period, the film deals with two brothers falling in love with the same girl. The younger brother is badly injured in a sword fight and while nursing him back to health, the girl falls in love with him. Having lost out in love, the older brother gets into a desperate fight in which he's eventually slain.