Three Women Around Yoshinaka

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.

Runtime

1h 56m

Director

Takeshi Kitano

Cast

Tadanobu Asano

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 destroyin...

Runtime

1h 36m

Director

Kenji Mizoguchi

Cast

Machiko Kyō, Mitsuko Mito, Kinuyo Tanaka

In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he ...

Runtime

2h 7m

Director

Hirokazu Kore-eda

Cast

Junichi Okada, Rie Miyazawa, Arata Furuta

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his...

Runtime

1h 40m

Director

Nagisa Ōshima

Cast

Takeshi Kitano, Ryuhei Matsuda, Tadanobu Asano

In the Sengoku period, a woman and her daughter are raped and murdered by soldiers during a time of civil war. Afterwards, a series of samurai returning from the war through that area are found mysteriously dead with their throats torn out. The governor calls in a wild and fierce young hero to quell what is evidently an Onryō ghost.

Runtime

1h 40m

Director

Kaneto Shindō

Cast

Kichiemon Nakamura II, Nobuko Otowa, Kiwako Taichi