With Toei Kyoto (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)
1. Big Time Gambling Boss (1968)
95 min | Crime, Thriller
Tokyo, 1934. The boss of the clan that controls gambling agonizes and some of his followers propose to Nakai to take his place, but he refuses the offer and suggests they choose Matsuda, who is in prison.
Director: Kôsaku Yamashita | Stars: Kôji Tsuruta, Tomisaburô Wakayama, Hiroshi Nawa, Nobuo Kaneko
Votes: 207
2. Love, Thy Name Be Sorrow (1962)
109 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
In the reign of the Emperor Suzaku (930- 946 A.D.), various mishaps happen after a strange white rainbow in appearance in the sky over Kyoto. The Emperor orders a famous astronomer, ... See full summary »
Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Hashizô Ôkawa, Michiko Saga, Ryûnosuke Tsukigata, Shinji Amano
Votes: 340
3. The Fall of Ako Castle (1978)
159 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Shin'ichi Chiba, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Tsunehiko Watase, Masaomi Kondô
Votes: 469
4. Kabamaru the Ninja (1983)
96 min | Comedy
Kabamaru is a young boy raised and trained by his grandfather as a ninja. After the sudden death of his grandfather, he starts living with Mai, his grandfather's mistress, who is a school ... See full summary »
Director: Norifumi Suzuki | Stars: Shin'ichi Chiba, Strong Kongô, Hikaru Kurosaki, Hiroyuki Sanada
Votes: 291
5. Lake of Tears (1966)
130 min | Drama, Romance
Director: Tomotaka Tasaka | Stars: Yoshiko Sakuma, Katsuo Nakamura, Ganjirô Nakamura, Hisano Yamaoka
Votes: 32
6. Tokugawa Matrilineage (1968)
90 min | Drama
A tragic love story involving the 5th Shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty and a woman who became one of his concubines.
Director: Teruo Ishii | Stars: Masako Arisawa, Kemi Ichiboshi, Mari Iwai, Yukie Kagawa
Votes: 89
7. Sennen no koi - Hikaru Genji monogatari (2001)
143 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based on the ancient Japanese Tale of Genji. This film is set in 900AD and tells the story of a famous female writer of the time, Murasaki Shikibu. Her story begins from the death of her ... See full summary »
Director: Tonkô Horikawa | Stars: Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yûki Amami, Tôru Kazama, Morio Kazama
Votes: 170
8. Female Ninja Magic (1964)
87 min | Action, Drama
In Osaka during the Edo period, ruler Sanada Yukimura was in losing position. Fearing Toyotomi's blood descendants would end, he impregnates one Shinano female ninja with the seed of Toyotomi in hopes of continuing the bloodline.
Director: Sadao Nakajima | Stars: Mari Yoshimura, Yumiko Nogawa, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Sanae Nakahara
Votes: 28
9. Onsen mimizu geisha (1971)
89 min
Many persons visit the hot springs resort to try out Reiko's famous vagina with quivering walls, "the sensation of worms wiggling about"... that won her her nickname (Mimizu = earthworm).
Director: Norifumi Suzuki | Stars: Reiko Ike, Yasuko Matsui, Miki Sugimoto, Mitsuko Aoi
Votes: 43
10. Miyamoto Musashi (1984–1985)
60 min | Drama
Stars: Kôji Yakusho, Hidekazu Nagae, Tetsurô Tanba, Kimiko Ikegami
Votes: 18
11. Ghost Ship Part 2 (1957)
85 min
Director: Sadatsugu Matsuda | Stars: Yaoei Akechi, Hideo Azuma, Tokumaro Dan, Kensaku Hara
Votes: 8
12. Revenge (1964)
Not Rated | 104 min | Action, Drama
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.
Director: Tadashi Imai | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Tetsurô Tanba, Yoshiko Mita, Takahiro Tamura
Votes: 341
13. Hero of the Red Light District (1960)
109 min | Action, Fantasy
A successful textile industrialist from the provinces, beloved by his employees for his kindness, cannot find a wife because of a disfiguring birthmark on his face. Even the courtesans in ... See full summary »
Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Chiezô Kataoka, Yaeko Mizutani, Isao Kimura, Akiko Santô
Votes: 292
14. Twisted Sex (1971)
Documentary
A look at sex in Japan, that covers underground gay life, transvestites, sex change operations, tattoos, and S&M.
Director: Sadao Nakajima | Star: Oniroku Dan
15. Kotaro, an Audacious Karate Boy (1984)
102 min | Action
Lewd, long-haired karate kid Kotaro Shindo spends his days causing amok at the prestigious Tsurugamine Academy, until the Disciplinary Committee decides enough is enough, and puts a bounty on his luscious locks.
Director: Norifumi Suzuki | Stars: Shin'ichi Chiba, Mari Chihara, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Hikaru Kurosaki
Votes: 27
16. Amadera maruhi monogatari (1968)
89 min | Drama
Third film in the Maruhi series. Focuses on the life of Buddhist nuns during the Edo Period.Junko Fuji in leading role for the first time.
Director: Sadao Nakajima | Stars: Sumiko Fuji, Masahiko Tsugawa, Ôohara Reiko, Masako Araki
17. The Outcast (2022)
119 min | Drama, Romance
The tale of a member of the persecuted burakumin community desperately trying to protect his identity so that he can live a normal life as a teacher.
Director: Kazuo Maeda | Stars: Shôtarô Mamiya, Anna Ishii, Yûma Yamoto, Hidekazu Mashima
Votes: 7
18. Hibotan bakuto: Oryû sanjô (1970)
100 min | Action, Crime
Oryu searches for a blind girl she left behind but gets involved in a Yakuza turf war.
Director: Tai Katô | Stars: Sumiko Fuji, Tomisaburô Wakayama, Kanjûrô Arashi, Akira Shioji
Votes: 129
19. A Chaos of Flowers (1988)
139 min | Drama
Poet Akiko Yosano is a poor woman with many children, she composes while doing the housework. Her passion flows towards Takeo Arishima, a noted novelist.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Sayuri Yoshinaga, Keiko Matsuzaka, Ken Ogata, Kimiko Ikegami
Votes: 85
20. Duel of Blood and Sand (1963)
Not Rated | 91 min
A ronin comes to a village and tries to organize a defense against bandits. At the same time 4 samurai are hunting him.
Director: Sadatsugu Matsuda | Stars: Chôjûrô Kawarasaki, Jûshirô Konoe, Satomi Oka, Ryûtarô Ôtomo
Votes: 48
21. Gray Sunset (1985)
122 min | Drama
Grandfather Fuyukichi Takano, a former university professor, gets fired from his museum job when he is affected by Alzheimer's disease, but his affliction serves to deepen family ties.
Director: Shun'ya Itô | Stars: Yukiyo Toake, Minoru Chiaki, Teruhiko Saigô, Yumiko Nogawa
Votes: 31
22. Three Yakuza (1965)
120 min | Action, Drama
This anthology tells three separate stories, all about yakuza (Japan's gangsters) in the feudal period. In the first, Sentaro, a roaming yakuza, seeks sanctuary with a gang which then asks ... See full summary »
Director: Tadashi Sawashima | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Tatsuya Nakadai, Hiroki Matsukata, Hiroko Sakuramachi
Votes: 45
23. Souls in the Moonlight III (1959)
106 min | Drama
Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Ushio Akashi, Noriko Aoba, Hideo Ayuba, Chiyonosuke Azuma
Votes: 54
24. Nihon no Don: Kanketsuhen (1978)
131 min | Crime, Drama
The eastern and western factions of the Yakuza battle to control Japan.
Director: Sadao Nakajima | Stars: Shin Saburi, Toshirô Mifune, Chiezô Kataoka, Bunta Sugawara
Votes: 40
25. The Seburi Story (1985)
125 min | Drama
The culturally isolated, nomadic Seburi people of western Japan are the subject of this tragedy about a few of the community's members who especially experience difficulties as modern Japan... See full summary »
Director: Sadao Nakajima | Stars: Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Yumiko Fujita, Michiko Kohno, Takashi Naitô
Votes: 31
26. Akô rôshi (1961)
151 min | Action, Drama
A famous story of the 47 loyal samurai. When Lord Asano is unjustly executed, his loyal retainers strike back for revenge.
Director: Sadatsugu Matsuda | Stars: Kusuo Abe, Kyôko Aoyama, Chiyonosuke Azuma, Shinobu Chihara
Votes: 33
27. Dasso yugi (1976)
93 min | Action, Crime
Sonny Chiba is a master prison breaker.
Director: Kôsaku Yamashita | Stars: Shin'ichi Chiba, Haruko Wanibuchi, Eitarô Ozawa, Gorô Tarumi
Votes: 29
28. Kura (1995)
130 min | Drama
In spite of a longstanding tradition forbidding women from working in a sake brewery, Retsu, a young blind woman, challenges herself to overcome her disability in order to save her family's sake business.
Director: Yasuo Furuhata | Stars: Yûko Asano, Sae Isshiki, Yui Natsukawa, Hidetoshi Nishijima
Votes: 26
29. Succession (1992)
119 min | Drama
A stockbroker turned yakuza has been ordered to ask the boss of another yakuza outfit to be the substitute emcee of a succession ceremony - the passing of the baton from the older to the younger yakuza generation.
Director: Kazuki Ômori | Stars: Hiroyuki Sanada, Ken Ogata, Yûko Kotegawa, Tatsuo Umemiya
Votes: 23
30. Ah kaiten tokubetsu kogetikai (1968)
104 min | Drama, War
Action drama about "human torpedoes" used during the Second World War.
Director: Shigehiro Ozawa | Stars: Kôji Tsuruta, Hiroki Matsukata, Jûzô Itami, Tatsuo Umemiya
Votes: 27
31. Hibotan bakuto: Oinochi itadaki masu (1971)
93 min | Crime, Drama
Oryu meets villagers whose crops and livelihoods are being damaged by air pollution from a local factory.
Director: Tai Katô | Stars: Sumiko Fuji, Kôji Tsuruta, Katsutoshi Akiyama, Kanjûrô Arashi
Votes: 85
32. Conquest (1982)
142 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director: Sadao Nakajima | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Bunta Sugawara, Tomisaburô Wakayama
Votes: 41
33. In Search of Mother (1962)
83 min | Action, Drama
The protagonist Chujiro, who possesses many attractive qualities, is a victim of unkind circumstances: his mother abandoned him as a child, so he had no choice but to live outside society. ... See full summary »
Director: Tai Katô | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Hiroki Matsukata, Michiyo Kogure, Keiko Okawa
Votes: 87
34. The Master Spearman (1960)
99 min | Drama, History, Romance
Kurando is a retired samurai. Granted a last-second reprieve from the obligation to commit Harakiri, he decides to settle down and marry one of two kabuki actresses who helped him enjoy what he thought would be his final days.
Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Chikage Awashima, Hiromi Hanazono, Kensaku Hara, Ryôsuke Kagawa
Votes: 40
35. Yakuza Ladies: Blood Ties (1995)
114 min | Action, Drama
Director: Ikuo Sekimoto | Stars: Shima Iwashita, Akira Akasaka, Tomoko Mariya, Sawa Suzuki
Votes: 16
36. Seki no yatappe (1963)
89 min | Action
Director: Kôsaku Yamashita | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Isao Kimura, Yukiyo Toake, Kaneko Iwasaki
Votes: 29
37. Âa dôki no sakura (1967)
107 min | War
Two friends are drafted to the army and eventually becomes kamikaze pilots.
Director: Sadao Nakajima | Stars: Hiroki Matsukata, Shin'ichi Chiba, Isao Natsuyagi, Keizô Kanie
Votes: 26
38. Ghost Ship Part 1 (1957)
82 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
Jiromaru (Kinnosuke Nakamura) investigates the dark "Ghost Ship" in search of his father. Meanwhile, Princess Yuki (Yumiko Hasegawa) and Chacha (Eiko Maruyama) are kidnapped by pirates, so ... See full summary »
Director: Sadatsugu Matsuda | Stars: Ryûtarô Aoyagi, Iwao Daimaru, Kensaku Hara, Kensaku Haruji
Votes: 21
39. Bakumatsu zankoku monogatari (1964)
99 min | Action, Drama
A headstrong young man seeks to join the Shinsengumi, but as his determination impresses his superiors, questions begin to arise as to his true identity and intentions.
Director: Tai Katô | Stars: Sumiko Fuji, Chôichirô Kawarasaki, Isao Kimura, Takeya Nakamura
Votes: 105
40. Sekkusu dokyumento: Poruno no shojo (1973)
71 min | Documentary
Director: Sadao Nakajima
Votes: 7
41. Toseinin (1967)
89 min | Crime
Alhough Saeki is an expert director of this kind of ninkyô film, and he lenses almost the entire picture on evocative locations - as opposed to Toei's usual setbound films from the period,
Director: Kiyoshi Saeki | Stars: Tatsuo Umemiya, Kazuko Ichikawa, Shin'ya Saitô, Michitarô Mizushima
42. Souls in the Moonlight II (1958)
105 min | Drama
Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Kusuo Abe, Harue Akagi, Chiyonosuke Azuma, Kin'nosuke Fujiki
Votes: 55
43. Sanada fûunroku (1963)
100 min | Comedy, Fantasy, History
Osaka in the early 1600s, aftermath of the historical Battle of Sekigahara; a group of orphan children are wandering through the battlefield scavenging for armour when they encounter a ... See full summary »
Director: Tai Katô | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Misako Watanabe, Wataru Ômae, Fujio Tokita
Votes: 43
44. Irezumi (1965)
Crime, Drama
Director: Tadashi Sawashima | Stars: Kôji Tsuruta, Minoru Ôki, Chôichirô Kawarasaki, Yôko Minamida
45. Shafu yukyoden - kenka tatsu (1964)
100 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Richshaw man Tatsu has wandered to Osaka from Tokyo. He has quarrels with Kimiyakko, a geisha, and throws her into the river. But later, he falls in love with her. Yasaburo, the oyabun of ... See full summary »
Director: Tai Katô | Stars: Ryôhei Uchida, Jûshirô Konoe, Hiroko Sakuramachi, Meichô Soganoya
Votes: 55
46. Kisaragi musô ken (1962)
93 min | Action
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.
Director: Yasushi Sasaki | Stars: Kazuo Akatsuki, Kyôko Aoyama, Utanosuke Arashi, Masaharu Arikawa
Votes: 18
47. Okoma: The Orphan Gambler (1971)
90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Director: Shigehiro Ozawa | Stars: Sumiko Fuji, Kôji Tsuruta, Gannosuke Ashiya, Michiyo Kogure
Votes: 28
48. Chûji tabi nikki: Aizome dôchû (1952)
102 min
Director: Yasushi Sasaki | Stars: Chiezô Kataoka, Yukiko Todoroki, Hideo Hongô, Yasushi Obata
49. Tokugawa ichizoku no houkai (1980)
139 min | Drama, History, War
Director: Kôsaku Yamashita | Stars: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Hiroki Matsukata, Mikijirô Hira, Isao Bitô
50. A Savage Beast Goes Mad (1976)
78 min | Drama, Action, Crime
After failing a bank robbery two thieves hijack a bus, midst chaos and pandemonium the police try to stop it.
Director: Sadao Nakajima | Stars: Tsunehiko Watase, Jun Hoshino, Takuzô Kawatani, Ryûji Katagiri
Votes: 50