Filmmakers all over the world have been inspired by Japanese movies and their most iconic historical heroes, the samurai. While movie lovers can find plenty of amazing American movies based on Japanese films and samurai, their best option remains watching one of the many brilliant and acclaimed Japanese samurai movies.
Thanks to Japanese samurai movies, cinema lovers can be transported back in time and learn about how samurai lived and fought their battles. Movie fans can watch not only serious dramas and martial arts movies, but touching romance flicks, comedies, and beautiful anime to learn about Japanese history and culture. Samurai movies tend to have highly emotional and complex stories, and, thanks to their epic duel and battle scenes, these iconic samurai stories are just as entertaining as they are thought-provoking.
7 A Boy and His Samurai
A Boy and His Samurai is a great choice for those who are looking for a feel-good and modern samurai movie and love fun comedy movies with fantasy elements. This charming movie doesn't have bloody battle scenes since it's about a samurai who wanted a different and more peaceful life and magically got transported from the Edo era to modern-day Japan.
Thanks to a young mom, Hiroko, he gets a job as a housemaid, but soon realizes that he can make delicious pastries and becomes a patissier. A Boy and His Samurai's story follows Yasube's adventures after he travels through time and finds a new job while building his relationship with Hiroko and her son Tomoya.
6 The Twilight Samurai
The Twilight Samurai is one of the most touching modern samurai movies and is a great choice for those who love movies and games set in Feudal Japan. This romantic samurai movie has great characters, and viewers will be able to learn more about what life was like during Japan's Feudal era for families and lower-ranking samurai by watching it.
The Twilight Samurai's story follows the life of a low-ranking samurai, Seibei, after his wife dies, and he's left to care for their two daughters. Soon, his old love arrives, and they rekindle their romance while trying to make do and support their families. Things get more complicated because of Seibei's strict samurai honor code which prohibits him from marrying Tomoe.
5 Harakiri
While the original Harakiri from 1962 is still considered the best version of this intense samurai mystery, those who prefer modern movies can also check out Harakiri's 2011 remake, Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai. It's a great choice for movie fans who want to learn more about the samurai honor code and how the system worked during the Edo era of Japan.
Harakiri is one of the best mystery movies with samurai and a twisty and immersive story. Its story follows an older samurai's journey as the warrior asks the Lyi clan to let him commit seppuku (suicide) at their palace. However, as they start questioning him about his true intentions, Hanshiro reveals the real and heartbreaking reason that he came to be there.
4 Sword of the Stranger
Sword of the Stranger is one of the best anime movies about Samurai thanks to its gorgeous animation, brilliant action scenes, and well-crafted characters. It's one of Bones Studio's most acclaimed anime movies that transports its viewers back in time to the Sengoku period.
Sword of the Stranger's story follows Kotaro and Nanashi's adventures as they're trying to get to a Buddhist temple so that the young boy, Kotaro, and his dog can finally be safe. The wandering samurai, Nanashi, reluctantly agrees to help the boy. While he first seems cold and uncaring, he eventually risks his life to save him from deadly Ming swordsmen.
3 Seven Samurai
Seven Samurai is a great choice for movie lovers who are looking for great action movies about samurai with brutal and visually impressive battles. This epic samurai movie is considered one of the greatest movies in cinema history and transports its viewers back to 1586 Japan.
Seven Samurai's story follows the adventures of a veteran samurai named Kambei after he is asked by a group of farmers to protect their village from bandits in exchange for food. Kambei decides to gather six other samurai to help him defeat the bandits as well as teach the villagers how to protect themselves.
2 Yojimbo
Akira Kurosawa's action-thriller samurai movie Yojimbo was inspired by Italian spaghetti westerns as well as Dashiell Hammett's detective novels. It has a twisty story as well as great characters and thought-provoking messages about how social disorder can destroy society.
Yojimbo's story follows a ronin's adventures as he arrives at a small village that's divided by two gangs. He decides to take the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake and becomes a bodyguard to one of the gang leaders so that he can skillfully turn the two rival criminals against each to start a deadly gang war.
1 Rashomon
Rashomon is Akira Kurosawa's most acclaimed samurai movie with an engaging and thought-provoking story about justice and human experiences like vanity, deception, and ego. It's also one of Kurosawa's most influential movies that inspired generations of filmmakers all over the world.
Rashomon not only has an emotional story but is also a visually beautiful movie that's a must-see for all cinema lovers. Its story is told by four different people, a bandit, a bride, a samurai's ghost, and a woodcutter as they share their perspective of the horrible event when the samurai was murdered and his bride was violated.