Jidai geki movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant jidai geki movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out jidai geki, serious, stylized, realistic, captivating and tense films and TV shows about / with samurai, samurai sword, heroes, medieval, katana, martial arts, vengeance, rivalry, edo period and ninja plots mostly in Drama, Action and History genres shot in Japan, USA, UK and other countries.
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TOP 10 movies tagged as jidai geki: Harakiri (1962), Samurai Rebellion (1967), The Twilight Samurai (2002), Kagemusha (1980), Shogun's Ninja (1980), Kwaidan (1964), Illusion of Blood (1965), Sanjuro (1962), Ran (1985), When the Last Sword is Drawn (2002).
Best films
New films
List of jidai geki movies
89K
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 133 min.
Story:
Peace in 17th-century Japan causes the Shogunate's breakup of warrior clans, throwing thousands of samurai out of work and into poverty. An honorable end to such fate under the samurai code is ritual suicide, or hara-kiri.
Style:
black and white, philosophical, jidai geki, melancholic, captivating ...
Plot:
samurai, suicide, poverty, revenge, seppuku, duel, japanese culture, tragedy, life & death, courage, sword fight, society ...
Time:
17th century, year 1962
Place:
japan, asia, east asia, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
tense, emotional, stylized, black and white, jidai geki ...
Plot:
samurai, father son relationship, feudal japan, rebellion, revenge, medieval, forced marriage, martial arts, violence, vengeance, kidnapping, family relations ...
Time:
18th century, year 1967, 70s
Place:
japan, asia, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the ...
Style:
sincere, jidai geki, talky, touching, lyrical ...
Plot:
samurai, poverty, feudal japan, sword fight, asian history, friendship, love story, tragedy, character study, samurai era, visceral, assassination ...
Time:
19th century, 2000s, y2k, 1800s, year 2002
Place:
japan, east asia, asia, tokyo
Is relevant?
41K
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 162 min.
Story:
When a warlord dies, a peasant thief is called upon to impersonate him, in order to protect his clan from appearing weak and vulnerable. But he finds himself haunted by the warlord’s spirit as well as his own ambitions.
Style:
costume drama, cerebral, visually stunning, jidai geki, bleak ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
samurai, medieval, japanese history, battles, martial arts, warrior, warlord, doppelganger, death, emperor, samurai sword, feudal japan ...
Time:
16th century, medieval times, year 1980, 18th century
Place:
japan, east asia, asia, tokyo, india
Is relevant?
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
In the middle of the 16th century, Hideyoshi, a power hungry warlord sets out to destroy the Momochi clan. He sends his war commander in search of the clan's hidden gold only to find that two daggers are the key to the hiding place of the ...
Style:
jidai geki, serious, realistic, exciting, suspenseful ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
ninja, martial arts, samurai sword, ninja master, revenge, shogun, karate, kung fu, ancient, clan, master warrior, warlord ...
Time:
16th century
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
23K
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 183 min.
Story:
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his ...
Style:
anthology, disturbing, suspense, scary, bleak ...
Plot:
samurai, ghost, supernatural, supernatural horror, marriage, folk horror, macabre, japanese mythology, naval battle, promise, visceral, snow ...
Time:
19th century, 17th century, 13th century, 11th century, 12th century ...
Place:
japan, asia, kyoto japan, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.
Style:
creepy, classic horror, atmospheric, psychological horror, jidai geki ...
Plot:
samurai, vengeance, ghost, revenge, haunting, supernatural, murder, guilt, tragedy, feudal japan, blood, obsession ...
Place:
japan
Is relevant?
44K
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of ...
Style:
black and white, atmospheric, tense, witty, stylized ...
Plot:
samurai, sword fight, corruption, rescue, betrayal, medieval, martial arts, police investigation, culture clash, visceral, transformation, small town ...
Time:
19th century, year 1962, future, 1800s
Place:
japan, asia, tokyo, india
Is relevant?
150K
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 160 min.
Story:
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how their new-found power will corrupt them.
Style:
visually stunning, visually appealing, breathtaking, cerebral, atmospheric ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
samurai, feudal japan, greed, betrayal, shakespeare, vengeance, asian history, nihilism, medieval, castle, politics, insanity ...
Time:
medieval times, middle ages, year 1985, 20th century, 16th century
Place:
japan, bolivia, east asia, asia, tokyo ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 143 min.
Story:
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support ...
Style:
atmospheric, captivating, realistic, bleak, serious ...
Plot:
samurai, japanese history, sword fight, tragic hero, human spirit, life is a bitch, political unrest, duel, emperor, martial arts, unfulfillment, hopes ...
Time:
19th century
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 154 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
epic, breathtaking, exciting, captivating, period piece ...
Audience:
manly, girls' night, adult
Plot:
samurai, sword fight, battles, war, courage, japanese history, warrior, pride and honor, self discovery, human spirit, honor, loyalty ...
Time:
19th century, middle ages, victorian era, year 2003, 1800s ...
Place:
japan, asia, africa, san francisco, pacific ocean ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his ...
Style:
serious, stylized, sentimental, jidai geki, romantic ...
Plot:
samurai, martial arts, medieval, politics, feudal japan, caste system, asian history, love and romance, vengeance, family life, samurai sword, edo period ...
Time:
19th century, 1860s
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
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Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan, UK
Duration: 141 min.
Story:
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
Style:
unusual plot structure, intense, suspense, harsh, tense ...
Plot:
samurai, sword fight, samurai sword, warrior, medieval, seppuku, swords and armor, assassin, shogun, swordsman, battles, revenge ...
Time:
19th century, year 2010, 2010s, 1840s, 1800s ...
Place:
japan, east asia, asia, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, UK
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
An tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
Style:
tense, serious, bleak, realistic, emotional ...
Plot:
samurai, feudal japan, medieval, revenge, hara kiri, vengeance, society, life is a bitch, loss of son, down on your luck, rivalry, samurai sword ...
Time:
middle ages, 17th century
Place:
japan, asia, seattle
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 124 min.
Story:
A guilt-haunted samurai warrior attempts to stop a massacre taking place.
Style:
tense, captivating, realistic, serious, jidai geki ...
Plot:
asian history, martial arts, medieval, samurai sword, winter, ninja, tokugawa shogunate, japanese history, fight, clan, exploitation, kung fu ...
Time:
19th century, year 1969, 17th century
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopathic samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
Style:
black and white, visual, cerebral, tense, stylized ...
Plot:
samurai, martial arts, ninja, medieval, samurai sword, violent, fencing, swordplay, vengeance, kung fu, japanese history, master warrior ...
Time:
19th century, 1800s, year 1966
Place:
japan, east asia, asia, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 207 min.
Story:
The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. The ...
Style:
epic, bleak, harsh, atmospheric, serious ...
Plot:
samurai, vengeance, medieval, seppuku, brutality, justice, battles, martial arts, courage, redemption, society, righting the wronged ...
Time:
18th century, middle ages, medieval times, 19th century
Place:
japan, asia, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
Style:
psychological, serious, jidai geki, romantic, poignant ...
Plot:
blind character, samurai, medieval, hopes, social differences, asian history, blindness, vengeance, society, rivalry, political unrest, master warrior ...
Time:
year 2006
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
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Genre: Drama
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
A group of travelers is stranded in a small country inn when the river floods during heavy rains. As the bad weather continues, tensions rise amongst the travelers trapped at the inn. Ihei Misawa is a ronin, a samurai without a master, whose skills ...
Style:
spiritual, jidai geki, captivating, serious, atmospheric ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
samurai, rain, river, medieval, asian history, samurai sword, edo period, katana, husband wife relationship, myth, swordplay, revolution ...
Time:
year 1999, 18th century
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure
Country: Japan
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.
Style:
epic, jidai geki, captivating, exciting, realistic ...
Plot:
samurai, martial arts, samurai sword, medieval, ninja, fight, exploitation, kung fu master, swordplay, assassin, edo period, violent content ...
Time:
19th century
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
A talented but troubled Edo Period swordsman, Kanemi Sanzawmon. Three years earlier, Kanemi killed a woman, Renko, the corrupt mistress of the powerful daimyo Tabu Ukyou. Unexpectedly, Kanemi received a lenient sentence for his crime and is allowed ...
Style:
captivating, suspenseful, atmospheric, tense, exciting ...
Plot:
samurai, master warrior, medieval, loyalty, betrayal, intrigue, rivalry, haunted by the past, under the surface, asian history, edo period, death of wife ...
Place:
japan
Is relevant?
140
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
TV show
Story:
Orphaned when he was not yet ten, Musashi grows up skilled in the martial arts. During the Battle of Sekigahara, he fights on the side of the losing Toyotomi forces, but eludes the enemy as they hunt down the vanquished soldiers. He then spends ...
Style:
tense, disturbing, captivating, epic, philosophical ...
Plot:
martial arts, rivalry, feudal japan, duel, master warrior, battles, life is a bitch, orphan, discipline, honor, coming of age, adaptation ...
Place:
japan
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure, History
Country: Japan, UK
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
The American imperialists are at the door and intruding on Japan. To assess and train his troops the lord of the land announces a marathon through the land crisscrossing shores, forests and the mountain. The shogunate in Edo was not approving and ...
Style:
captivating, tense, exciting, bloody, suspense ...
Plot:
samurai, swordsman, japanese history, edo period, marathon, american imperialism, sword fight, contest, katana, betrayal, murder, samurai era ...
Time:
1850s, 19th century
Place:
asia, japan
Is relevant?
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Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
Nomi Kanjuro (Takaaki Nomi) is a master less samurai on the run after throwing away his sword for good. He has with him his headstrong 9-year-old daughter Tae (Sea Kumada). A bounty is soon placed on Nomi Kanjuro and 3 assassins go after the score. ...
Style:
touching, feel good, sentimental, semi serious, jidai geki ...
Plot:
samurai, hopes, obsessive quest, captivity, one last chance, human spirit, escapades, goofy hero, heroes, youth, redemption, parents and children ...
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 135 min.
Story:
Set in Hokkaido, Japan in the 1880s. Jubei Kamata (Ken Watanabe), who is on the side of the Edo shogunate government, kills many people. His name is infamous in Kyoto. When the battle at Goryoukaku is about to be finished, Jubei disappears. 10 years ...
Style:
psychological, captivating, atmospheric, period piece, crime drama ...
Plot:
samurai, hopes, bounty hunter, tough heroes, vengeance, human nature, one last job, redemption, aging, isolation, cowboy, fight ...
Time:
19th century
Place:
japan, hokkaido
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 150 min.
Story:
In the year 1600, a battle determines the future ruler for Japan and the beginning of the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate.
Style:
exciting, suspenseful, thought provoking, tense, sentimental ...
Plot:
shogun, japanese history, female ninja, medieval, ninja, betrayal, employer employee relationship, death sentence, employer, murder, slavery, japanese girl ...
Time:
medieval times, 17th century
Place:
japan
Is relevant?
179K
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 128 min.
Story:
Based on the original 1941 movie from Japan, and from ancient Japan’s most enduring tale, the epic 3D fantasy-adventure 47 Ronin is born. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 ...
Style:
epic, exciting, stylized, fairy tale, suspenseful ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
samurai, martial arts, ronin, revenge, battles, medieval, shogun, beast, half breed, sword and sorcery, samurai sword, heroes ...
Time:
middle ages, 18th century, year 2013, 2010s
Place:
japan, asia, ancient china, tokyo
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Successful and married with children, paper-mill owner Jihei knows better than to contradict the strict social and moral codes of 18th-century Japan. But when he meets the lovely courtesan Koharu, he becomes a man obsessed. Koharu returns his love, ...
Style:
surreal, mind bending, romantic, psychedelic, spiritual ...
Plot:
impossible love, female nudity, passion, doomed love, samurai sword, street walker, nude girl, call girl, sex, existentialism, prostitution, love letter ...
Time:
year 1969, 18th century
Place:
japan, asia, osaka japan
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 165 min.
Story:
Feudal Japan, 1543 to 1562. Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife ...
Style:
serious, realistic, captivating, stylized, jidai geki
Plot:
samurai, power relations, politics, military, state affairs, betrayal, dishonesty, heroes, master warrior, fall in love, medieval, samurai sword ...
Time:
16th century, medieval times
Place:
japan, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Crime
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
A new magistrate in the town of Horisoto—widely reputed to be the most lawless township in Japan, uses guile and his opponents' own misperceptions and prejudices to defeat his enemies and uproot corruption.
Style:
captivating, exciting, serious, biting, realistic ...
Plot:
samurai, rivalry, gang, society, social differences, clan, samurai sword, edo period, dishonesty, hopes, legal action, criminal heroes ...
Place:
japan
Is relevant?
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