Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersIndependent Spirit AwardsWomen's History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Battle of the Japan Sea

Original title: Nihonkai daikaisen
  • 1969
  • G
  • 2h 8m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
247
YOUR RATING
Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
DramaHistoryWar

Japan and Russia clash in what comes to be known as the Russo-Japanese War. An attempt by the Japanese fleet and army to take Port Arthur fails, and a Russian fleet bears down on the Sea of ... Read allJapan and Russia clash in what comes to be known as the Russo-Japanese War. An attempt by the Japanese fleet and army to take Port Arthur fails, and a Russian fleet bears down on the Sea of Japan.Japan and Russia clash in what comes to be known as the Russo-Japanese War. An attempt by the Japanese fleet and army to take Port Arthur fails, and a Russian fleet bears down on the Sea of Japan.

  • Director
    • Seiji Maruyama
  • Writer
    • Toshio Yasumi
  • Stars
    • Toshirô Mifune
    • Tatsuya Nakadai
    • Yûzô Kayama
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    247
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Seiji Maruyama
    • Writer
      • Toshio Yasumi
    • Stars
      • Toshirô Mifune
      • Tatsuya Nakadai
      • Yûzô Kayama
    • 6User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    Ralph Jesser in Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
    Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Toshirô Mifune
    Toshirô Mifune
    • Admiral Heihachiro Togo
    Tatsuya Nakadai
    Tatsuya Nakadai
    • Major Genjiro Akashi
    Yûzô Kayama
    Yûzô Kayama
    • Cmdr. Hirose
    Chishû Ryû
    Chishû Ryû
    • General Maresuke Nogi
    Susumu Fujita
    • Uemura
    Mitsuko Kusabue
    • Mrs. Togo
    Ryutaro Tatsumi
    • General Gonbei Yamamoto
    Hakuô Matsumoto
    • The Emperor
    • (as Kôshirô Matsumoto)
    Toshio Kurosawa
    • Pfc. Maeyama
    Yôko Tsukasa
    Yôko Tsukasa
    Akira Kubo
    Akira Kubo
    • Matsui
    Makoto Satô
    Makoto Satô
    • Gunnery Chief of Security
    Akihiko Hirata
    Akihiko Hirata
    • Staff Officer Tsunoda
    Yoshio Tsuchiya
    Yoshio Tsuchiya
    • Staff Officer Akiyama
    Kenji Sahara
    Kenji Sahara
    • Sub-Chief
    Yoshifumi Tajima
    Yoshifumi Tajima
    • Ijichi
    Hiroshi Koizumi
    Hiroshi Koizumi
    • Kurino
    Jun Tazaki
    Jun Tazaki
    • Shimaji Hashiguchi
    • Director
      • Seiji Maruyama
    • Writer
      • Toshio Yasumi
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Battle of Port Arthur
    6.6
    The Battle of Port Arthur
    Goyokin
    7.6
    Goyokin
    The Sword of Doom
    7.9
    The Sword of Doom
    Japan's Longest Day
    7.8
    Japan's Longest Day
    Hunter in the Dark
    6.9
    Hunter in the Dark
    Battle of Okinawa
    7.0
    Battle of Okinawa
    Taiheiyô kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka
    7.3
    Taiheiyô kiseki no sakusen: Kisuka
    The Battle of Neretva
    7.0
    The Battle of Neretva
    Zero faita dai kûsen
    6.4
    Zero faita dai kûsen
    Kill!
    7.4
    Kill!
    Attack Squadron!
    6.5
    Attack Squadron!
    Dokuritsu gurentai nishi-e
    6.9
    Dokuritsu gurentai nishi-e

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This was special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya's final film.
    • Goofs
      During a tracking shot across the crew of the Mikhasa as they fire their cannons out at the Russian fleet while the ship desperately maneuvers to avoid the barrage, a stationary striped pole can be seen sticking out of the water through one of the portholes.
    • Soundtracks
      Sen Yuu
      Traditional Japanese Military Song

      Performed by Male Chorus

      Public Domain

    User reviews6

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    Too much narration. Too much nationalism.
    The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) is an interesting subject for a variety of reasons. In terms of naval history, it was a game-changer, a period of transition that saw the modernization of the battle equipment, and worked as a prelude for World War I. In terms of the end result it was also interesting, as the underdog Japan won it, causing widespread rebellion within the Russian Empire. Since the Japanese of the 1960's could not really make films that glorified their country's more recent military history, it was logical for them to return to the days of Togo Heihachiro, the country's great naval hero.

    Maruyama Seiji directed a number of war films during his career, and by 1969 he had also directed some that included Mifune Toshiro, who leads an all-star cast as Togo. Like many Japanese war films, including "Japan's Longest Day" (Nihon no ichiban nagai hi, 1967), this film tries to paint a half-documentary assessment of the events in the war, by featuring a variety of characters in different locations, and a narrator to explain away the rest. Whereas the solution worked for that picture, it becomes an annoyance in this one. The narrator is present far too often, and the film fails to follow the classic rule of "show, don't tell". This film tells you, and through that it may put you to sleep. The changing location and different characters did help to see the bigger picture of the war, but also affected the character development. There isn't any. These characters aren't deep, they are cardboard-copies of historical persons, who are treated respectfully, but not portrayed as interesting individuals. Then again individualism wasn't really Japan's thing at the time.

    This film is informative, and the contextualization is thorough. Yet the way its told is also a bit too nationalistic for my blood. Japan is told to have started the war, because Russia tightened their grip on Manchuria, but Japan's own colonial interests are left unmentioned. Also whereas the Japanese films about World War II are nearly always anti-war, you can hardly say the same about this, though people are shown to die.

    Though the historical subject fascinates me, I found this film to be a bore. I love the actors, but not one of them is bringing their A-game to this production. Mifune is one-sided as Togo, Nakadai's adventures in the Swedish embassy felt like filler, it's not right to have the peaceful Ryu Chishu as a military officer, and many of the less famous actors had very little character traits. All in all, I would read a good historical book instead.
    helpful•0
    0
    • topitimo-829-270459
    • Mar 2, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 28, 1970 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Bitka za Port Artur
    • Production company
      • Toho Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 8 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Battle of the Japan Sea (1969)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Battle of the Japan Sea (1969) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.