Alain Silver's Samurai Filmography
The complete filmography from Alain Silver's The Samurai Film (1983 edition).
Starts with filmographies of major directors (Hideo Gosha, Hiroshi Inagaki, Masaki Kobayashi, Akira Kurosawa, Kihachi Okamoto, Masahiro Shinoda), then series filmographies (Kyoshiro Nemuri, Zatoichi, The Crimson Bat), then chronology of other samurai films (1950-1982).
Films which appear to be missing from IMDB:
Oabara Hapyaku-Yacho (Kunio Watanabe, 1959)
The Thief is Shogun's Kinsman (Tomu Uchida, 1959) - no original title given
Kenka Fuji (Kunio Watanabe, 1961)
Nazano Nanairo Goten (Ko Sasaki, 1961)
Starts with filmographies of major directors (Hideo Gosha, Hiroshi Inagaki, Masaki Kobayashi, Akira Kurosawa, Kihachi Okamoto, Masahiro Shinoda), then series filmographies (Kyoshiro Nemuri, Zatoichi, The Crimson Bat), then chronology of other samurai films (1950-1982).
Films which appear to be missing from IMDB:
Oabara Hapyaku-Yacho (Kunio Watanabe, 1959)
The Thief is Shogun's Kinsman (Tomu Uchida, 1959) - no original title given
Kenka Fuji (Kunio Watanabe, 1961)
Nazano Nanairo Goten (Ko Sasaki, 1961)
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- 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.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneRentarô MikuniDanshirô IchikawaThe adventures of a few brave men and women who are scattered around Japan after the siege of a castle, during the wars of the Sengoku period.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaRentarô MikuniDepicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaKôji TsurutaMusashi Miyamoto returns to Kyoto after years of absence. After a series of fights against the Yoshioka School, he challenges its master to a duel.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneMariko OkadaKôji TsurutaMusashi Miyamoto is challenged to a duel by a confident swordsman Sasaki Kojiro. He agrees to fight him in a year's time.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsKôji TsurutaToshirô MifuneNobuko OtowaIn the Tokugawa Era, the clan of Lord Yagyu has hidden away three scrolls containing clan secrets which, if revealed, would cause revolution and disaster for the clan. The information is divided among the three scrolls, all of which must be possessed for the secrets to be understood. When Princess Yuhime steals the scrolls, Tasaburo, a samurai with magical powers, and his brother Senshiro are sent to retrieve them. In Part II, the search for the scrolls continues.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaAkira TakaradaJapanese version of 'Cyrano de Bergerac', a poet/swordsman with a huge nose who loves a woman who loves another. Ignoring his true feelings, he helps them get together.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYôko TsukasaAkihiko HirataA prince, framed for murder and starved for affection from his father, is sent on a quest.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneKyôko KagawaYuriko HoshiMohei is a wandering swordsman. He arrives in the city of Osaka, where the Toyotomi clan accepts him and comes to depend upon his courage and his battlefield skills. Those skills are sorely tested when Osaka Castle is besieged by the army of the opposing Tokugawa clan.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsYûzô KayamaChûsha IchikawaToshirô MifuneAfter their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsKôshirô MatsumotoHiroyuki NagatoRyûnosuke TsukigataA young swordsman, Tenzen, becomes possessed by his own evil sword style. It falls to his brother to restore the family's lost honor, and to challenge Tenzen to a duel to the death.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsKôshirô MatsumotoYôsuke NatsukiMakoto SatôAfter defeat at the Siege of Osaka several survivors attempt to deliver a young prince to safety.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneNobuko OtowaMakoto SatôDuring the Age of Warring States in feudal Japan, Kaga's Seven Clans of peasants unite to rebel against the local samurai warlords who oppress them.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYoshiko SakumaKinnosuke NakamuraA shrewd 16th Century samurai helps a daimyo expand his realm.
- DirectorHiroshi InagakiStarsToshirô MifuneYûjirô IshiharaRuriko AsaokaSent on a secret mission, a ronin must discover who his friends are and who must die.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorAkira InoueStarsRaizô IchikawaYaeko MizutaniIchirô NakataniPrincess Kiku, Shogun's daughter, wants revenge on Nemuri Kyoshiro for embarrassing her.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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 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.
- DirectorKazuo IkehiroStarsShintarô KatsuShôgo ShimadaMikiko TsubouchiZatoichi is mistaken for a thief. To clear his name he must find and defeat the real villain.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuMiwa TakadaEiko TakashiroThe blind swordsman tries to locate a girl's missing father.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorKimiyoshi YasudaStarsShintarô KatsuKayo MikimotoKyôsuke MachidaZatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorSeiichi FukudaStarsYûnosuke ItôMichiko SagaKôkichi Takada
- DirectorTomu UchidaStarsChiezô KataokaRyûnosuke TsukigataChizuru KitagawaA samurai travels to Edo with his two servants. On their way, they meet many people and encounter great injustice.
- DirectorKenji MisumiStarsRaizô IchikawaYôko UrajiSeizaburô KawazuA young ronin seeking to kill all evil doers get by accident involved in a big clan conspiracy and have to use the best of his wits to help and stay alive.
- DirectorTeinosuke KinugasaStarsMachiko KyôKazuo HasegawaIsao YamagataA samurai pursues a married lady-in-waiting.
- DirectorTatsuo ÔsoneStarsIneko ArimaJunzaburô BanMinosuke Bandô