Akira Shiga

In 11th-century feudal Japan, following the exile of an idealistic governor, his wife and children are separated by slave traders; the children, Zushio and Anju, are sold into brutal servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho.

Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.

In Edo Japan, a kabuki actor seeks revenge against the three men who drove his parents to their deaths years ago.

During Japan's Warring States period three young Tokugawa vassals head their separate ways after Takeda Shingen's forces overran their castle. When they next meet they have all joined opposing sides.

A giant stone statue comes to life to protect the residents of a small town against the depradations of an evil warlord.

When a local gambling house kidnaps some peasants because they failed to pay their debts, a rival gambling house pays their debts and sets them free.

[Period covered: 1595-1600] We last saw ninja Ishikawa Goemon, as 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!

Set against the backdrop of the Great Fire of Edo, this story depicts the conflict between the town fire brigades and the daimyo’s fire brigades.

The first film in the 2 part series about Ryuzen, a renegade martial-arts priest who, in addition to breaking all the commandments against sex and gambling, opens his own gambling den in direct defiance of the local yakuza boss. Exciting action and a twisty plot this movie breaks new barriers in Japanese cinema. Katsu Shintaro is superb in one of his better non-Zato Ichi roles as he fights off the advances of a love-lorn woman and risks his life to defeat the powerful gambling boss who has a stranglehold on the town.

A fierce battle between a vicious train criminal and a police officer.

In Edo-period Japan, Shingo is born the son of an assassin who was executed for murdering her lord’s concubine. Decades later, his adoptive family is massacred for keeping the secret. Armed with an unbeatable swordfighting technique, Shingo embarks on the path of the masterless samurai in search of vengeance and a path beyond his own ignominious origins.

Nemuri 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?

[Period covered: 1637-1651] This is one of the most complicated plots of any of the Shinobi no Mono films! This film tells the 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. Before he dies, “Mist” Saizo tells his children Saisuke, and Yuri that they are not really brother and sister. She, in fact, is the daughter of the late lord Sanada Yukimura, and must be saved from the shogun’s forces. In the chess match of spy versus spy, can Saisuke defeat the shogun’s chief strategist, Matsudaira Izunokami at his own game? Showing many exciting ninja tactics, it is not to be missed.

Wandering samurai Nemuri Kyoshiro (Raizô Ichikawa) finds a bulls-eye on his back after befriending the shogunate's tightfisted financial adviser, Asahina, who's earned the wrath of the shogun's self-indulgent daughter for cutting off her allowance. The enraged princess promptly hatches a scheme to have Asahina bumped off -- along with his protector, Kyoshiro. Shiho Fujimura also stars in this installment of the enormously popular film series.

A scientist successfully creates an invisibility serum, only to be kidnapped by a gang of thugs who wish to use the formula to rob a priceless jewel.

As winds of change sweep Japan, an honest man joins the Shinsengumi out of admiration for its leader, and because he wants to live and die as a samurai. However, as his involvement grows, reality and idealism come into deadly conflict.

A former soldier, reduced to working at a restaurant post-war, becomes a contract killer for the yakuza gangs he's in contact with.

After a broken heart, the woman lives a lonely life in a dormitory, while the man is now a popular singer at the height of his fame.