🏷 Discover The Best Jidaigeki Movies & TV Shows To Watch Today

23 titles with this tag

Unveiling the Timeless World of Jidaigeki: Top Movies and TV Shows

Get ready to immerse yourself in the enchanting realm of feudal Japan, where honor, loyalty, and sacrifice define the lives of its people. Jidaigeki, a genre of Japanese historical drama, has captivated audiences worldwide with its rich storytelling, stunning cinematography, and memorable characters. From epic samurai battles to poignant love stories, we'll guide you through the best movies and TV shows that showcase the essence of jidaigeki.

Dororo
Cast
Rio Suzuki Rio Suzuki
Hiroki Suzuki Hiroki Suzuki
Naoya Uchida Naoya Uchida
Akio Otsuka Akio Otsuka
8.5 1.3K votes
Genre: Action, Animation
Country: Japan
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 24
Audience: TV-MA
Story:  During the Warring States period, the young thief Dororo encounters Hyakkimaru, a strange, sightless boy who wields fearsome prosthetics in place of his missing limbs. Parts of Hyakkimaru’s body were traded to a group of 12 demons by his father in exchange for power, but thanks to a kindly medicine man, Hyakkimaru survived his horrifying ordeal. Now he roams the land in search of his missing body, and together he and Dororo will fight to survive in an unforgiving, demon-plagued world.
Plot:  swordplay, samurai, mythology, supernatural, remake, gore, swordsman, curse, ...
Place:  japan
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Seven Samurai
Cast
Toshiru014d Mifune Toshiru014d Mifune
Takashi Shimura Takashi Shimura
Yoshio Inaba Yoshio Inaba
Seiji Miyaguchi Seiji Miyaguchi
8.4 4.3K votes
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 207 min.
Audience: NR
Story:  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.
Style:  violent
Plot:  martial arts, samurai, sword, peasant, village, looting, rice, fencing, ...
Time:  16th century
Place:  japan
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Harakiri
Cast
Tatsuya Nakadai Tatsuya Nakadai
Akira Ishihama Akira Ishihama
Shima Iwashita Shima Iwashita
Tetsuro Tamba Tetsuro Tamba
8.4 1.2K votes
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 135 min.
Audience: NR
Story:  Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
Style:  philosophical
Plot:  suicide, samurai, asia, flashback, revenge, poverty, black and white, seppuku, ...
Time:  17th century
Place:  japan
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Shōgun
Cast
Hiroyuki Sanada Hiroyuki Sanada
Cosmo Jarvis Cosmo Jarvis
Anna Sawai Anna Sawai
Tadanobu Asano Tadanobu Asano
8.4 1.8K votes
Genre: Drama, War
Country: United States of America
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 10
Audience: TV-MA
Story:  In Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war, Lord Yoshii Toranaga is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.
Plot:  civil war, based on novel or book, samurai, interpreter, miniseries, fish out of water, jidaigeki, historical drama, ...
Time:  17th century
Place:  japan
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Red Beard
8.2 410 votes
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 185 min.
Story:  Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.
Plot:  uniform, career, small town, brothel, heal, lunatic asylum, rural area, clinic, ...
Place:  japan
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Yojimbo
Cast
Toshiru014d Mifune Toshiru014d Mifune
Tatsuya Nakadai Tatsuya Nakadai
Yu014dko Tsukasa Yu014dko Tsukasa
Isuzu Yamada Isuzu Yamada
8.1 1.7K votes
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min.
Audience: NR
Story:  A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Plot:  samurai, swordplay, gambling, sword, bodyguard, black and white, fighting, period drama, ...
Time:  19th century
Place:  japan
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Rashomon
Cast
Toshiru014d Mifune Toshiru014d Mifune
Machiko Kyu014d Machiko Kyu014d
Takashi Shimura Takashi Shimura
Masayuki Mori Masayuki Mori
8.0 2.5K votes
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 88 min.
Audience: NR
Story:  Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
Style:  philosophical
Plot:  dying and death, samurai, rape, court case, court, truth, rain, woodcutter, ...
Place:  japan
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Ugetsu
Cast
Machiko Kyu014d Machiko Kyu014d
Mitsuko Mito Mitsuko Mito
Kinuyo Tanaka Kinuyo Tanaka
Masayuki Mori Masayuki Mori
8.0 642 votes
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min.
Audience: NR
Story:  In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.
Plot:  samurai, based on novel or book, greed, bigamy, tragedy, rural area, black and white, ghost, ...
Time:  16th century
Place:  japan
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Ran
Cast
Tatsuya Nakadai Tatsuya Nakadai
Akira Terao Akira Terao
Jinpachi Nezu Jinpachi Nezu
Daisuke Ryu016b Daisuke Ryu016b
8.0 1.8K votes
Genre: Action, Drama, History
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 160 min.
Audience: R
Story:  Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Plot:  assassination, kingdom, gun, greed, castle, siege, heir to the throne, revenge, ...
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The Hidden Fortress
Cast
Toshiru014d Mifune Toshiru014d Mifune
Minoru Chiaki Minoru Chiaki
Kamatari Fujiwara Kamatari Fujiwara
Misa Uehara Misa Uehara
8.0 713 votes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 139 min.
Audience: PG
Story:  In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.
Plot:  male friendship, border crossing, jidaigeki, sengoku period, feudal japan, mountain fortress
Time:  16th century
Place:  japan
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Sanjuro
Cast
Toshiru014d Mifune Toshiru014d Mifune
Tatsuya Nakadai Tatsuya Nakadai
Keiju Kobayashi Keiju Kobayashi
Yu016bzu014d Kayama Yu016bzu014d Kayama
7.9 727 votes
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min.
Audience: NR
Story:  In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.
Plot:  samurai, corruption, temple, fighter, black and white, jidaigeki, edo period, feudal japan, ...
Place:  japan
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Throne of Blood
Cast
Toshiru014d Mifune Toshiru014d Mifune
Isuzu Yamada Isuzu Yamada
Takashi Shimura Takashi Shimura
Akira Kubo Akira Kubo
7.9 991 votes
Genre: Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 108 min.
Audience: 12
Story:  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.
Plot:  samurai, based on novel or book, prophecy, castle, siege, ambition, betrayal, black and white, ...
Place:  japan
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Last Samurai Standing
7.8 240 votes
Genre: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 6
Audience: TV-MA
Story:  In the early Meiji era, Shujiro, once known as an undefeated samurai, decides to participate in a deadly survival game to save his family and villagers.
Plot:  based on novel or book, samurai, jidaigeki, meiji period, history, battle royale, period piece, adaptation, ...
Time:  19th century
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The Sword of Doom
Cast
Tatsuya Nakadai Tatsuya Nakadai
Yu016bzu014d Kayama Yu016bzu014d Kayama
Michiyo Aratama Michiyo Aratama
Yu014dko Naitu014d Yu014dko Naitu014d
7.7 265 votes
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min.
Audience: NR
Story:  Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.
Plot:  martial arts, samurai, based on novel or book, swordplay, murder, jidaigeki, edo period, shinsengumi, ...
Time:  19th century
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Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends
7.7 568 votes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 135 min.
Audience: R
Story:  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.
Plot:  samurai, katana, based on manga, jidaigeki, shinsengumi, meiji period, bakumatsu, ishin shishi
Place:  japan
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Rurouni Kenshin: The Final
Cast
Takeru Satoh Takeru Satoh
Emi Takei Emi Takei
Mackenyu Mackenyu
Munetaka Aoki Munetaka Aoki
7.7 551 votes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 138 min.
Audience: PG-13
Story:  In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.
Plot:  martial arts, samurai, sword, revenge, murder, chambara, based on manga, killer, ...
Place:  japan
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Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning
Cast
Takeru Satoh Takeru Satoh
Kasumi Arimura Kasumi Arimura
Issey Takahashi Issey Takahashi
Nijiro Murakami Nijiro Murakami
7.7 550 votes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 138 min.
Audience: R
Story:  Before he was a protector, Kenshin was a fearsome assassin known as Battosai. But when he meets gentle Tomoe Yukishiro, a beautiful young woman who carries a huge burden in her heart, his life will change forever.
Plot:  samurai, civil war, redemption, revenge, based on manga, samurai sword, jidaigeki, tragic romance, ...
Place:  japan
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Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno
7.6 659 votes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 138 min.
Audience: PG-13
Story:  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.
Plot:  samurai, katana, based on manga, kyoto, japan, jidaigeki, shinsengumi, meiji period, ...
Time:  19th century
Place:  japan
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Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins
Cast
Takeru Satoh Takeru Satoh
Emi Takei Emi Takei
Koji Kikkawa Koji Kikkawa
Yu Aoi Yu Aoi
7.5 923 votes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 134 min.
Audience: PG-13
Story:  In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.
Plot:  assassin, samurai, based on manga, jidaigeki, shinsengumi, meiji period, bakumatsu, amused, ...
Time:  19th century
Place:  japan
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13 Assassins
Cast
Koji Yakusho Koji Yakusho
Takayuki Yamada Takayuki Yamada
Yu016bsuke Iseya Yu016bsuke Iseya
Goro Inagaki Goro Inagaki
7.3 1.3K votes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan, United Kingdom
Duration: 141 min.
Audience: R
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.
Plot:  suicide, mission, assassin, samurai, immortality, swordsman, massacre, battle, ...
Time:  19th century
Place:  japan
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