Five Patriots of Kyoto

In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

Runtime

1h 36m

Director

Akira Kurosawa

Cast

Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi

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 Jap...

Runtime

2h 9m

Director

Yoji Yamada

Cast

Hiroyuki Sanada, Rie Miyazawa, Nenji Kobayashi

Kanichiro Yoshimura is a samurai and family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the low pay he receives from his small-town clan. He is forced by his love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.

Runtime

2h 17m

Director

Yojiro Takita

Cast

Kiichi Nakai, Koichi Sato, Yui Natsukawa

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting H...

Runtime

2h 15m

Director

Masaki Kobayashi

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita

Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.

Runtime

2h 2m

Director

Kihachi Okamoto

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai, Yūzō Kayama, Michiyo Aratama