Jidaigeki
Jidaigeki (時代劇) are, for the purposes of this list, period Japanese movies and TV, ranging from the stately samurai films to the wilder exploitation movies. As well as samurai, we have the ronin, ninja, yakuza and just simple folk. Most are relatively straightly-told tales of swordplay, but some do head off in fantastical directions.
Inclusion criteria: Really anything set before the 20th Century, although I am prepared to be flexible if it is more rural and involves swordplay but occurs in the early 20th Century. I have also included some non-Japanese films that are set in the period and include samurai (or similar).
Recurring themes: Historical stories and characters that we often see cropping up include: Miyamoto Musashi, The 47 Ronin (Chushingura), Jubei Yagyu and Shimizu no Jirocho.
Further reading: Patrick Galloway has released 2 books where he reviews 50 samurai films and gives profiles of the key directors and actors (but doesn't add much analysis or context, however, it is written in a nicely accessible way): Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook (2005) and Warring Clans, Flashing Blades: A Samurai Film Companion (2009); there is also: The Samurai Film (2007) by Alain Silver and Samurai Films (2008) by Roland Thorne. I haven't yet read Thorne's book but Silver's was exactly the kind of book I was looking for with an in-depth analysis of key directors, themes and characters, plus it includes a detailed filmography broken down by director or character/series or year - if you are looking to take your appreciation of jidaigeki onto a new level then that is the book for you.
Links/link: 50 Classic Samurai (Chambara, Jidaigeki) Films, a solid list, Jidai Geki at TV Tropes.
See also: Yakuza and ninja films, which often have a period setting.
Availability: A number of companies have done a lot of hard work finding these films and giving them high quality home media releases: Criterion, AnimEigo, Eureka and the BFI. There are obvious problems with pre-1945 films from Japan but we still have some films from that period.
Comments: As I don't have a Facebook account I cannot interact with the new comments system, so have switched it off. I will start a thread on the message board and link it in here shortly.
Inclusion criteria: Really anything set before the 20th Century, although I am prepared to be flexible if it is more rural and involves swordplay but occurs in the early 20th Century. I have also included some non-Japanese films that are set in the period and include samurai (or similar).
Recurring themes: Historical stories and characters that we often see cropping up include: Miyamoto Musashi, The 47 Ronin (Chushingura), Jubei Yagyu and Shimizu no Jirocho.
Further reading: Patrick Galloway has released 2 books where he reviews 50 samurai films and gives profiles of the key directors and actors (but doesn't add much analysis or context, however, it is written in a nicely accessible way): Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook (2005) and Warring Clans, Flashing Blades: A Samurai Film Companion (2009); there is also: The Samurai Film (2007) by Alain Silver and Samurai Films (2008) by Roland Thorne. I haven't yet read Thorne's book but Silver's was exactly the kind of book I was looking for with an in-depth analysis of key directors, themes and characters, plus it includes a detailed filmography broken down by director or character/series or year - if you are looking to take your appreciation of jidaigeki onto a new level then that is the book for you.
Links/link: 50 Classic Samurai (Chambara, Jidaigeki) Films, a solid list, Jidai Geki at TV Tropes.
See also: Yakuza and ninja films, which often have a period setting.
Availability: A number of companies have done a lot of hard work finding these films and giving them high quality home media releases: Criterion, AnimEigo, Eureka and the BFI. There are obvious problems with pre-1945 films from Japan but we still have some films from that period.
Comments: As I don't have a Facebook account I cannot interact with the new comments system, so have switched it off. I will start a thread on the message board and link it in here shortly.
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- DirectorCharlie ShepardStarsBarry RobbinsStephen TurnbullInternational Samurai expert, Dr. Stephen Turnbull, provides historical insights into these legendary warriors in this documentary program described as "powerful and intriguing" by the Los Angeles Times.Here to provide the thumbnail graphic, the list starts below:
- DirectorShôzô MakinoStarsRitoku ArashiFukunasuke Nakamuraaka Battle at Honnoji Temple
Shōzō Makino pretty much created the Japanese period film genre and his son Masahiro would follow in is footsteps. They both produced a lot of jidaigeki but problems with availability and information (at least for me) make it difficult to work out which of the hundreds of them belong here, but I've managed to get a few on here (and will be doing more homework on this) and you can see their profiles here for more extensive lists.
This features Oda Nobunaga the man that unified Japan under the Shogunate in the 16th Century, so he is a popular character in jidaigeki.
All of the above means it is a fitting first film for the list. - DirectorShôzô MakinoStarsMatsunosuke OnoeShimizu no Jirocho was a bit of a rogue and his story has inspired hundreds of films.
- DirectorShôzô MakinoStarsMatsunosuke Onoe
- DirectorShôzô MakinoStarsMasahiro MakinoMatsunosuke OnoeAnother depiction of the ninja hero, starring Onoe Matsunosuke - see entry for Jiraiya Goketsu Tan-Banshi (1912)
- DirectorShôzô MakinoStarsMatsunosuke Onoe
- DirectorJirô YoshinoStarsShirôgorô Sawamura
- StarsMatsunosuke Onoe
- StarsMatsunosuke Onoe
- DirectorShôzô MakinoStarsMatsunosuke OnoeSuminojo IchikawaKijaku ÔtaniThe story of Jiraiya, a legendary ninja with great powers who set off on a adventure.Jiraiya is a ninja with supernatural powers, which include disappearing and turning himself into a frog. This means the film is odder than other period films of the time but the lack of translated intertitles makes it a bit tricky to follow the story.
Public domain, get from the Internet Archive - DirectorJirô YoshinoStarsShirôgorô Sawamura
- DirectorBuntarô FutagawaStarsTsumasaburô BandôMisao SekiUtako TamakiThe story of a decent samurai who is widely considered a scum and a criminal. His bad luck and numerous misunderstandings drag him down the social ladder straight to the gutter.aka Serpent
- DirectorKôroku NumataStarsHaruko IzumiTsuyako OkajimaHideya Iwakiaka Dance of the Falling Petals: Part 1
- DirectorShôzô MakinoStarsMatsunosuke OnoeIchinomasa KataokaKitsuraku ArashiEarliest surviving feature film depicting legend of the 47 ronin (see Mizoguchi, Inagaki, Ichikawa, and others)
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiHideo NakamuraKichiji NakamuraTrilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 3. "The Chuji Patrol"
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiIchimaru IchikawaChiyoko KinoshitaTrilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 1. "Koshu Swordfighting" - First film is lost
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiEnichiro MikawaHideo NakamuraTrilogy about the travels of the kindly bakuto Kunisada Chuji. Film depicts Chuji's attempt to save the geisha Oshina, a rebellion against the rigid social structure of Edo Japan. Part 2. "Shinshu Blood Laughter"
- DirectorShôzô MakinoStarsKaoru AkiyoshiJin'ichi AmanoShinobu ArakiLord Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori was charged with receiving a group of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He was young and slightly inexperienced, so he was given the task of instructing Lord Asano in the customs of the ceremony.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsKômei MinamiJûrô TanizakiTôichirô NegishiChambara (sword fighting film) about four ronins trying to save the woman they love kidnapped by the notorious Hatamoto. 8 minutes of fragments of "Ronin Street Episode 1: Beautiful Prey" were discovered and released in 2009.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsShinobu ArakiKimie KawakamiShimpachi KiyouraA representative film directed by Masahiro Makino, son of Shozo Makino ("the father of Japanese film"). This film lent status to ensemble casts that did not rely on famous starts. The unique setting of the samurai town, exquisite camera work and fast-paced sword fighting scenes all have an original appeal that audiences can related to even today.
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsRyûnosuke TsukigataHiroshi KanekoMisao SekiIn medieval Japan, a brutal and corrupt magistrate is planning to kill the child who is about to become the heir to the estate and position of the local lord and substitute his own "heir", an orphan, in order to get control of the late lord's estate and rule as the impostor's "regent". However, a mysterious stranger appears and sets out to thwart the magistrate's plans and free the people from his oppressive rule.
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiNaoe FushimiNobuko FushimiThe only completely preserved silent film directed by Daisuke Ito, this film relates the life of a legendary thief, Jirokichi the Rat in an exquisite original story and through the revolutionary use of dynamic intertitles. The skillful benshi narration featuring a mixture of Edo dialect and Kansai dialect is highly entertaining.
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsTakeshi SakamotoChôko IidaKôji MitsuiA kabuki actor's mistress hatches a jealous plot to bring down her lover's son.Released on DVD by Criterion with the remake, Floating Weeds.
- DirectorSadao YamanakaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiKiyozoKunitarô SawamuraA man gets rid of a cheap pot without knowing it contains a map to a treasure. As word spreads, many join in hunting it.
- DirectorMansaku ItamiStarsChiezô KataokaShôsaku SugiyamaSôjin KamiyamaAkanishi Kakita moved from the countryside to a big city. Although he comes from the samurai class, he now lives in poverty among the common people in times of rebellion, but the failed Kakita is not skilled in martial arts.
- DirectorSadao YamanakaStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiKan'emon NakamuraTsuruzô NakamuraThe lives of two slum neighbors, one of a happy-go-lucky gambler and the other of a poor ronin, converge when the two get involved with the affairs of a powerful samurai official and his gangsters.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiMasahiro MakinoStarsTsumasaburô BandôTokumaro DanKomako HaraThe ronin Nakayama Yasubei delights in fighting. Various dramas unfold and lead toward Yasubei getting entangled against 18 opponents in a fight to the death.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsChiezô KataokaReiko HoshiGorô Kawabe
- DirectorMasahiro Makino
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsChiezô KataokaRyôsuke KagawaTakashi ShimuraOharu is in love with a ronin who lives next door. A mistake puts Oharu's father deeply in debt to the local lord and he is confronted with having to sell Oharu in order to pay it off.
- DirectorKajirô YamamotoStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiKazuo HasegawaYatarô KurokawaToho All-Star Cast.
- DirectorKajirô YamamotoStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiKazuo HasegawaYatarô KurokawaToho All-Star Cast.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsShinpachirô AsakaUtaemon IchikawaYaeko KumoiA cheerful period drama, sprinkled with comical scenes tells the story of a loyal and handsome Edo servant who fights to help his older brother marry the woman he loves.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiYoshizaburo ArashiUtaemon IchikawaThe legendary Forty-seven ronin plot to avenge the death of their lord, Asano Naganori, by killing Kira Yoshinaka, a shogunate official responsible for Asano being forced to commit seppuku.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaYukiko TodorokiSugata, a young man, struggles to learn the nuance and meaning of judo, and in doing so comes to learn something of the meaning of life.About Shiro Saigo, an early Judo proponent.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsTsumasaburô BandôKeiko SonoiYasushi NagataMatsugoro is a poor rickshaw driver whose animated spirit and optimistic demeanor make him a favorite of the town. Matsu helps an injured boy, Toshio, and is hired by the boy's parents.aka The Life of Matsu the Untamed
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsShinobu ArakiTarô BandôKensaku Hara
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsChôjûrô KawarasakiKan'emon NakamuraKigoro IkushimaShinobu and her brother Genichiro plead with the famous swordsman Musashi Miyamoto to teach them swordsmanship to avenge their father's death. The killers of their father see the sister and brother practicing with Miyamoto, and so enlist the help of another powerful swordsman, Kojiro Sasaki, which gives Sasaki an excuse to battle Miyamoto.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsShôtarô HanayagiKan IshiiEijirô YanagiKiyone Sakurai, an apprentice swordmaker makes a sword for his guardian, Kozaemon Onoda. Onoda breaks the sword while defending his lord which eventually leads to his death at the hands of Naito, when Naito demands to marry his daughter Sasae. Sasae vows to avenge her father's death and pleads for Kiyone Sakurai to make a special sword for her. So Kiyone and his fellow swordmaker Kiyotsugu go to the master swordsmith Kiyohide Yamatomori to learn their craft and forge the sword.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaRyûnosuke TsukigataSugata returns to prove his judo mastery in a match against Western opponents.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsDenjirô ÔkôchiSusumu FujitaKen'ichi EnomotoA Japanese general and his men disguise themselves as monks in order to pass an enemy border patrol.
- DirectorMikio NaruseStarsKazuo HasegawaKinuyo TanakaSenshô IchikawaTale of martial skill set in the Edo era, and completed with difficulty during the last months of WWII: the son of an archer ,who killed himself after losing a contest, takes up his father's former profession.
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsTsumasaburô BandôRyûtarô ÔtomoKusuo Abe
- DirectorKôzaburô YoshimuraStarsSusumu FujitaYukiko TodorokiChôko IidaMori no Ishimatsu was Shimizu no Jirocho's one-eyed henchman.
- DirectorSenkichi TaniguchiStarsToshirô MifuneRyûnosuke TsukigataYuriko HamadaIn a village subsisting on it herring fishery, a one-eyed criminal named Jakoman terrorizes the inhabitants. One of them, the son of the head of one of the fish companies by the name of Tetsu, decides to overthrow Jakoman and his cohorts.
- DirectorKeisuke KinoshitaStarsKinuyo TanakaKen UeharaHisako YamaneIemon Tamiya is an impoverished master-less samurai who craves a better life, which he cannot have because of his marriage to Oiwa, who is completely devoted to her husband.
- 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.
- DirectorRyô HagiwaraStarsKensaku HaraKomako HaraUtaemon Ichikawa
- DirectorHideo SekigawaStarsUtaemon IchikawaHaruyo Ichikawa
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsTomoemon OtaniToshirô MifuneHisako YamaneMaster swordsman Kojiro Sasaki is not content with the knowledge of his own power and constantly seeks to impress it upon others. Another great samurai swordsman, Musashi Miyamoto, has great respect for Sasaki's skills, but seeks to find spirituality and redemption for past sins rather than glory. Sasaki challenges Miyamoto, who tries to avoid conflict, but eventually the two must meet. They do so on Ganryu Island.aka Conclusion of Kojiro Sasaki: Duel on Ganryu Island or Sasaki Kojirô 3
- DirectorDaisuke ItôStarsTsumasaburô BandôUtaemon IchikawaIsuzu YamadaDuring the 17th Century bands of hatamoto, samurai vassals of the Tokugawa shogunate, were causing havoc in the new capital city of Edo. Opposing them was Banzui-in Chobei,whose sole aim was to save Edo from the hatamoto as their violent behavior threatened to pull apart the very fabric of society.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsTomoemon OtaniHideko TakamineYuriko HamadaSecond part of the saga about Sasaki Kojirô.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsKinuyo TanakaTsukie MatsuuraIchirô SugaiFollows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsAkio KoboriSetsuko WakayamaJun TazakiBased on Genzo Murakami's novel series about Shimizu no Jirocho, which spawned dozens of films - Masahiro Makino would hammer out nine of these films in the space of a couple of years.
- DirectorKazuo MoriStarsToshirô MifuneYuriko HamadaTakashi ShimuraMataemon Araki, a renowned swordsman, helps a young man find vengeance.
- DirectorRyô HagiwaraStarsTatsuya IshiguroKunio KagaChiezô Kataoka
- DirectorRyô HagiwaraStarsKusuo AbeKensaku HaraTatsuya Ishiguro
- DirectorTeinosuke KinugasaStarsMachiko KyôKazuo HasegawaIsao YamagataA samurai pursues a married lady-in-waiting.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsMasayuki MoriMachiko KyôKinuyo TanakaA tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsAkio KoboriSetsuko WakayamaSeizaburô KawazuJirocho Sangokushi 2: First Journey
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsAkio KoboriHisaya MorishigeSetsuko WakayamaJirocho Sangokushi 3: Jirocho and Ishimatsu
- DirectorMasahiro MakinoStarsAkio KoboriHisaya MorishigeSeizaburô KawazuJirocho Sangokushi 4: All Gathered at Shimizu Harbor