1. Samurai Fiction (SF サムライ・フィクション)
A warrior-in-training and his bumbling friends go in pursuit of a stolen sword.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
2. Lowly Ronin 2: The Spray of Blood (素浪人罷り通る 暁の死闘)
Reprising his role from the popular TV series "Koya no Suronin" , Mifune Toshiro stars in this full-length, stand-alone made for TV movie. The wandering ronin is reminiscent of his most famous role as the samurai without a name in Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" and "Sanjuro". He travels about Japan, and while he may seek happiness, violence and tragedy always cross his path. This time it is a woman carrying a young infant who he encounters on the road that leads him into a tale of violence, intrigue and a village in uproar. A great story and cool action scenes, a movie not to be missed!
3. Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (Shinobi)
Even though Gennosuke and Oboro are from rival ninja villages, they are secretly in love. At an annual conference with the Lord, it is dictated that a competition--a fight to the death--will take place between the five best shinobi from each village. Gennosuke and Oboro's love is made even more impossible when they each got picked as the leader of the five to represent their respective villages.
It has an average vote of 6.5 on TMDB.
4. Haruka - Beyond the Stream of Time 3: Endless Destiny (遙かなる時空の中で3 終わりなき運命)
The war between the Heike clan and the Genji clan continues. This time, Nozomi has to fight a powerful supernatural enemy and make a choice: protect her friends and stay by Kurou's side, or choose her first love, Masaomi, which is the leader of the Heike, and her enemy.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
5. Kisaragi Sword (きさらぎ無双剣)
The story concerns the efforts of seven master swordsman who join together to protect the new inexperienced Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune from the evil plans of the Owari Clan's corrupt Lord. It's a colorful bunch, a drunk samurai, a master thief, a sword instructor and a Lord who is disguised as a ronin since it is an executable offense for a lord to wander outside of their domain without permission. As the Chief Magistrate becomes suspicious of the Owari plot to send men to Kodenmacho Prison to start a riot he begins to investigate the rumors. He soon calls upon the Lord of Mikazuki Castle and the Shogun's best friend to help thwart the evil ambitions and battle the rouge swordsman hired by the Owari Clan.
It has an average vote of 5.5 on TMDB.
6. Samurai Warrior (戦国番長ガチザムライ)
Desperate to leave their humble origins behind, farmhands Tatsunori , Ken and Yonesuke assume the identities of Samurai warriors in order to help protect a village from the daily raids of local bandits. But the three soon find themselves out on a limb when real Samurai Jojima returns from the war and confronts them.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
7. Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康)
In turbulent 16th-century Japan, the leaders of a minor fief have their child taken from them as a political hostage. His mother and his clan endure years of tribulations until he can return.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
8. Rashomon (羅生門)
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
It has an average vote of 8.093 on TMDB.
9. The Last Samurai
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
It has an average vote of 7.6 on TMDB.
10. Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (るろうに剣心 京都大火編)
Kenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left for dead. He survived, and is now in Kyoto, plotting with his gathered warriors to overthrow the new government. Against Kaoru's wishes, Kenshin reluctantly agrees to go to Kyoto and help keep his country from falling back into civil war.
It has an average vote of 7.6 on TMDB.
11. Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends (るろうに剣心 伝説の最期編)
Shishio sets sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the government. In order to stop him, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.
It has an average vote of 7.698 on TMDB.
12. Zatoichi (座頭市)
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.
It has an average vote of 7.242 on TMDB.
13. Guitar Men: The Darkest Secret of Rock 'n Roll (Guitar Men: The Darkest Secret of Rock 'n Roll)
(Guitar Men: The Darkest Secret of Rock 'n Roll)
It has an average vote of 6.2 on TMDB.
14. Seven Samurai (七人の侍)
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
It has an average vote of 8.458 on TMDB.
15. Souls in the Moonlight II (大菩薩峠 第二部)
This is the second installment of the trilogy based on Japan’s greatest novel “The Great Bodhisattva Pass”, following the life and times of bloodthirsty samurai, Tsukue Ryunosuke. Blinded in an explosion and further injured from a fall, the master swordsman is taken in by Otoyo, a woman who falls in love with him. Under Otoyo’s dedicated care, Ryunosuke’s physical and emotional wounds seem to heal. However, deep inside, the demons that drive him to kill yearn to resurface. Meanwhile he is being pursued by Utsugi Hyoma, a young samurai seeking to avenge his brother’s death at Tsukue’s hands. Hyoma is being aided along the way by the clever thief Shichibei.
It has an average vote of 6.6 on TMDB.
16. Versus (ヴァーサス)
A group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, in The Forest of Resurrection, the 444th portal to the other side. Their troubles start when those once killed and buried in the forest come back from the dead.
It has an average vote of 6.234 on TMDB.
17. Daredevil in the Castle (大阪城物語)
During the raging war between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, the swordsman Mohei is recruited by Toyotomi to overcome the seat of power, Osaka Castle. Mohei's daredevil skills will be put to severe tests.
It has an average vote of 7.4 on TMDB.
18. Bushido (蠢動-しゅんどう-)
1732, in the era of Yoshimune Tokugawa. West Japan suffers from a severe famine. Three years after wards, it appeared as though calm had been restored to the domain, but there is word that Jyuzo Matsumiya, the sword fighting instructor sent by the shogunate, is taking some suspicious actions.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
19. Throne of Blood (蜘蛛巣城)
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
It has an average vote of 7.9 on TMDB.
20. The 47 Masterless Samurai (忠臣蔵 桜花の巻 菊花の巻)
While the story of the Ako Clan's vendetta has been told countless times, never before has there been an array of major motion picture stars to bring new life to this timeless tale. Starting with the corrup practices of Lord Kira and Yanagi-sawa, the Shogun's Secretary, which in essence led to the incident of Lord Asano's attacking Kira in the Pine Corridor of the Shogun's Palace, this is the definitive version. Asano Takumi no kami was a young lord with high scruples, who refused to join in the general corruption and bribery which ran rampant in the capital at that time. By not giving bribes, he angered Kira Kozuke no suke the elder lord in charge of protocol at the Palace. Refusing to teach the younger man, and giving him false instructions was only the beginning. Insults followed, and a man of honor had no choice but to draw his sword in anger. Forty seven masterless samurai are willing to give their lives to avenge their lord.
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
