1
Shichinin no samurai aka Seven Samurai (1954)
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Director Akira Kurosawa
Writer Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
Cast Toshira Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima
Plot Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, and he gathers six other samurai to join him.
2
Rashomon (1950)
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Director Akira Kurosawa
Writer Ryanosuke Akutagawa, Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto
Cast Toshira Mifune, Machiko Kya, Masayuki Mori
Plot The 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.
3
Seppuku aka Harakiri (1962)
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Director Masaki Kobayashi
Writer Yasuhiko Takiguchi, Shinobu Hashimoto
Cast Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita
Plot When 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.
4
Ikiru (1952)
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Director Akira Kurosawa
Writer Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
Cast Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Shin'ichi Himori
Plot A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
5
Kakushi-toride no san-akunin aka The Hidden Fortress (1958)
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Director Akira Kurosawa
Writer Ryaza Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto
Cast Toshira Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki
Plot Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
6
Kumonosu-jo aka Throne of Blood (1957)
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Director Akira Kurosawa
Writer Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto, Ryaza Kikushima
Cast Toshira Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Isuzu Yamada
Plot A war-hardened general, egged on by his ambitious wife, works to fulfill a prophecy that he would become lord of Spider's Web Castle.
7
Joi-uchi: Hairyo tsuma shimatsu aka Samurai Rebellion (1967)
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Director Masaki Kobayashi
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto, Yasuhiko Takiguchi
Cast Toshira Mifune, Yako Tsukasa, Ga Kata
Plot The 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.
8
Dai-bosatsu toge aka The Sword of Doom (1966)
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Director Kihachi Okamoto
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto, Kaizan Nakazato
Cast Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Yaza Kayama
Plot Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
9
Ikimono no kiroku aka I Live in Fear (1955)
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Director Akira Kurosawa
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto, Fumio Hayasaka, Akira Kurosawa
Cast Toshira Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki
Plot An aging Japanese industrialist becomes so fearful of nuclear war that it begins to take a toll on his life and family.
10
Dodesukaden aka Dodes'ka-den (1970)
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Director Akira Kurosawa
Writer Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Shinobu Hashimoto
Cast Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Toshiyuki Tonomura
Plot Various tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.
11
Samurai aka Samurai Assassin (1965)
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Director Kihachi Okamoto
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto, Jiromasa Gunji
Cast Toshira Mifune, Keiju Kobayashi, Michiyo Aratama
Plot When a samurai clan attempting to assassinate a feudal lord begin to suspect a traitor, they start an investigation on a ronin who is helping their cause.
12
The Magnificent Seven (2016)
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Director Antoine Fuqua
Writer Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
Cast Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke
Plot Seven gunmen from a variety of backgrounds are brought together by a vengeful young widow to protect her town from the private army of a destructive industrialist.
13
Living (2022)
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Director Oliver Hermanus
Writer Kazuo Ishiguro, Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto
Cast Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp
Plot In 1950s London, a humorless bureaucrat decides to take time off work to experience life after receiving a grim diagnosis.
14
Nihon no ichiban nagai hi aka Japan's Longest Day (1967)
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Director Kihachi Okamoto
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto, Saichi aya
Cast Seiji Miyaguchi, Rokka Toura, Chisha Rya
Plot A dramatization of the 24-hour period in which the Japanese government was deadlocked over the decision to accept or reject the Allies' demand for an unconditional surrender following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
15
Hitokiri (1969)
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Director Hideo Gosha
Writer Ryatara Shiba, Shinobu Hashimoto
Cast Shintara Katsu, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yukio Mishima
Plot A destitute ronin allies himself with an established clan, but its ruthless leader tries to turn him into a mindless killer.
16
Adauchi aka Revenge (1964)
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Director Tadashi Imai
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto
Cast Kinnosuke Nakamura, Tetsura Tanba, Yoshiko Mita
Plot After killing a high-ranking officer in an illegal duel, a low-ranking samurai is declared insane and challenged to a fixed duel by the vengeful clan to which his dead opponent belonged to.
17
Furin kazan aka Samurai Banners (1969)
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Director Hiroshi Inagaki
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto, Yasushi Inoue, Takeo Kunihiro
Cast Toshira Mifune, Yoshiko Sakuma, Kinnosuke Nakamura
Plot A shrewd 16th Century samurai helps a daimyo expand his realm.
18
Suna no utsuwa aka The Castle of Sand (1974)
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Director Yoshitara Nomura
Writer Seicha Matsumoto, Shinobu Hashimoto, Yaji Yamada
Cast Tetsura Tanba, Ga Kata, Kensaku Morita
Plot Detectives investigate the murder of an old man found in a Tokyo rail yard.
19
Zero no shoten aka Zero Focus (1961)
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Director Yoshitara Nomura
Writer Shinobu Hashimoto, Seicha Matsumoto, Yaji Yamada
Cast Yoshiko Kuga, Hizuru Takachiho, Ineko Arima
Plot Teiko's new husband disappears on a business trip. She discovers a pair of mysterious postcards hidden away in a book that may be clues to his fate.
