Asian Drama

Drama series depicts the life of Ieyasu Tokugawa (January 31, 1543 - June 1, 1616).

Takechiyo (later becomes Tokugawa Ieyasu) was born as the son of a poor and powerless daimyo. Takechiyo lost his father during a war. He grew up lonely and away from his mother. Takechiyo didn't have a clue about what his future would hold. He then has a dramatic meeting with young Oda Nobunaga.

A poor samurai in the Edo era finds himself receiving the latest electrical appliances from the modern world one day.

Toshizo Hijikata, the “Baragaki'” of Bushu Tama, heads to Kyoto with Isami Kondo, Souji Okita, and other comrades, with the dream of becoming a samurai in his heart. Under the auspices of the Tokugawa Shogunate, he formed the Shinsengumi, with Kamo Serizawa as its chief, to protect the city.

As vice-commander, Hijikata leads the organization with unparalleled skill and strict laws, and the Shinsengumi shows all-around success in suppressing the anti-shogunate forces. Hijikata had a fateful encounter with Oyuki and was attracted to each other, but the tide of the times is tilting towards overthrowing the curtain. The unknown love and battle of the men who burned their lives with swords now open the curtain.

Adapted from the novel "Moeyo Ken" by Ryotaro Shiba.

In the turbulent last days of the Edo period, Kawai Tsugunosuke, a Japanese samurai serving the Makino clan of Nagaoka, dreamt of independence from the restraints of vassalship. Despite his progressive views and his desire for his estate to remain neutral during the Boshin Civil War, he was bound by loyalty and duty to the clan and was compelled to choose sides.

Adapted from the novel "Toge: Saigo no Samurai" (峠 最後のサムライ) by Shiba Ryotaro (司馬遼太郎).

Shibusawa Eiichi was born in 1840 to a farmer’s family. He grew up helping his family with work, which was to manufacture and sell indigo production and also silk farming. He left his hometown at the age of 23 and began working for the government. He later traveled to Paris and learned about banking. Upon his return to Japan, he helped build up the first modern bank in Japan. He eventually became a founder or supporter to about 500 companies and was involved with about 600 public services, including education for women.

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Set in the fictional Unasaka domain, the story involves a samurai who's obligated to follow an order that could destroy his relationship with his own younger sister.

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Kano Sozaburo. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.

Akado Suzunosuke is a swordsman from the Edo period who accidentally ends up in the Reiwa era. Will he defeat the demons led by the silver-haired demon here too? And how will our swordsman live in the modern era?

In the year 1716 a mysterious epidemic stickens men in the country of Japan, dropping the population of men to 1/4th of its prior state. With the drastic reduction of men, the gender roles have become reversed in Japan. Woman become the dominant members of society and males are sought out for the ability to produce childre

A team of Touken Danshi, swords brought to life as a gang of talented but dysfunctional young men, travel back in time to stop an enemy force seeking to change history as we know it. Their mission: to ensure the events of Honno-ji proceed and Oda Nobunaga dies.

Based on the popular video game "Tōken Ranbu Online".

Everyone’s favorite grumpy samurai and cute white cat are back! Once feared as “Madara the Devil,” master swordsman Kyutaro Madarame returns home from Edo a lowly ronin, living with his mother-in-law. When she tells him of an opportunity to work as sword instructor for the Tosa Domain on the island of Shikoku, he reluctantly sets off on a journey with his feline companion Tamanojo. Soon, Kyutaro encounters more than he bargained for. When a ninja heads them off he should know things are not what they seem.

In the year 1791, Aisaka Sojiro is a samurai and also a popular shunga (erotic art) painter. But, he is banned for corrupting public morality with his drawings. He is arrested and is about to be executed. At that time, Sojiro finds himself in the present day. He meets manga writer Miyagami, who becomes his teacher while he works as his assistant. Sojiro soon meets a woman and he falls in love with her at first sight.

Students, including Aoi Nishino, take part in class and sports activity at a prestigious high school. Aoi Nishino is a member of the school's archery club. He practices archery studiously and doesn't socialize much with the other students. His childhood friend Haruka Seno is also a member of the archery club, but she worries about Aoi Nishino. One day, thunder strikes the school grounds. After that, the ordinary lives of the students changes drastically. Many samurai descend on the school grounds. It appears that the entire school has traveled back in time to the Sengoku period. Making things worse, they realize that they are in the time right before the Battle of Okehazama takes place.

Based on manga series "Gunjyo Senki" by Masaki Kasahara.

Before Himura Kenshin met Kaoru, he was a fearsome assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai. "Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning" tells the story of a young Kenshin who became the number one assassin for the Ishin Shishi (which later became the "Meiji era") who fought against the Shogunate during the last days of the Tokugawa era, and how he got his famous "X" mark on his left cheek.

In the early days of Himura Kenshin as Hitokiri Battousai, he one day met Yukishiro Tomoe, a beautiful young woman who looks serene but always carry a sad face. Battousai and Tomoe fell in love with each other but little did he know, Tomoe carries a huge burden in her heart which would change the life of Himura Kenshin forever.

Adapted from the the anime series "Rurouni Kenshin" (るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚-), which in turn is based on the manga series "Rurouni Kenshin" (るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚) by Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Junoshin Kake (Gou Ayano) is a ronin. To get hired by the Kurokaze Han, he lies and tells them that a religious group is trying to destroy them. He gets hired by the Kurokaze Han, but they learn that Junoshin Kake lied. Junoshin Kake is given the death sentence and he must think of an escape plan.

Saigo Takamori, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, was born to a poor, low-ranking samurai family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture). His simple honesty caught the attention of its charismatic feudal lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. Nariakira’s assertion that the love of people is what will enrich and strengthen the nation captivated Saigo who took on Nariakira’s secret mission and eventually became a key person for Satsuma. Not a portrait of him survives today and much of his life is a mystery. He is a man who was twice exiled and thrice married. He overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate with exceptional bravery and action. Although he accomplished the restoration, he lost his life in a fight with the new Meiji government.

Based on the novel "Sego Don" by Hayashi Mariko.

In an era where aliens have invaded and taken over feudal Tokyo, a young samurai finds work however he can.

The film revolves around two men, Mutoh and Ikegami, who are fierce enemies who feel nothing but hatred for one another. However, Ikegami unexpectedly falls in love with Mutoh’s daughter, aspiring actress Mitsuko.

Mutoh wants to celebrate the release of his wife Shizue from prison by giving their daughter her debut, so he decides to produce his own movie specifically to that end.

Soon, a movie buff named Koji is hired to direct after being mistaken for a filmmaker and an actual indie film director named Hirata is recruited to help.

Complicating matters even further, Ikegami soon injects himself into the chaos of his hated rival’s production.

Ichi (Haruka Ayase) is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick. One day, members of the notorious Ban-ki gang surround Ichi and prepare to rape her. A passerby then comes to defense of Ichi. The man’s name is Toma Fujihira (Takao Osawa) and although he seems terrified of the men, he still attempts to stand up for the seemingly defenseless blind woman. Once the Ban-ki members draw their swords on Toma Fujihira, Ichi now comes to the defense of the shaking man. After unleashing her blade, she methodically kills all of her attackers. Ichi and Toma Fujihara then travel the countryside together developing a friendship that hints at romantic interests between the pair. When the couple arrive in the next town they are then confronted by other Ban-ki gang members who attempt to exact revenge on Ichi.

Muto (Jun Kunimura) and Ikegami (Shinichi Tsutsumi) are two gangsters who hate each other, but Ikegami is in love with Muto's actress daughter Michiko (Fumi Nikaido). Meanwhile, Muto attempts to make his wife Shizue's (Tomochika) dream come true which is to have their daughter appear in a movie.

Koji (Gen Hoshino), who is just a passerby, is mistaken for a movie director. Koji then requests to independent film director Hirata (Hiroki Hasegawa) to cast Michiko as the leading actress in his film. Their situation soon goes completely wrong.

1. Screenplay for "Why Don't You Play in Hell?" was first written by Sion Sono 15 years ago as an action film.

Nomi plays a samurai named Kanjuro who decided to give up his sword after a certain incident. He wanders aimlessly with his daughter (Kumada Sea), but because he abandoned his position as a samurai without permission, a price is put on his head and they're eventually captured. However, a notoriously eccentric feudal lord offers Kanjuro a unique opportunity to earn a full acquittal.

Following the collapse of his clan, unemployed samurai Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the manor of Lord Iyi, begging to commit ritual suicide on his property. Iyi's clansmen, believing the desperate ronin is merely angling for charity, try to force him to eviscerate himself—but they have underestimated his honor and his past. Winner of the 1963 Cannes Film Festival's Special Jury Prize, Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri is a scathing denouncement of feudal authority and hypocrisy. Part Review from Film Reference http://www.filmreference.com/Films-Se-Sno/Seppuku.html The recurrent image in Seppuku is of Tsugumo in his black robes (having refused the white ones appropriate to the ritual suicide), seated cross-legged on the white harakiri mat in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by the massed spears of the Iyi warriors, and speaking in calm, unhurried tones. Around this image of charged stillness, the action of the film proceeds through visual compositions of intense lyrical beauty: most notably in the duel between Tsugumo and Omadaka, finest of the Iyi swordsmen, breathtakingly staged as a formal ballet of stylized, sweeping gestures amid long wind-tossed grass. Kobayashi's coolly reticent camera perfectly matches the rhythms of his studied narrative, supported by Toru Takemitsu's evocative score and, in the central role, a performance of epic stature from Tatsuya Nakadai. My Opinion In my opinion this film is a masterpiece and equally as good as any Kurosawa film. I really cant praise this film enough, if you only see one Japanese classic by a master director try this one.

16 years after the fateful "revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin," involving samurais from the Ako domain who avenged their leader and then commited seppuku (ritual suicide), the sole survivor of that incident, Kichiemon Terasaka (Koichi Sato) traverses the country on a mission. His purpose is to find the families of the fallen samurais and spread the truth of the ronin uprising. On his way to attend the 17th Buddhist ceremony for the 47 Ronins in Kyoto at Choho Shindo's (Masato Ibu) mansion, Kichiemon unexpectedly comes across his close & long time friend Magozaemon Senoo (Koji Yakusho) - who ran away the day before the ronin uprising. Prior to his disappearance, Magozaemon had lost his wife and had no children. His only purpose at the time was to serve Kuranosuke Oishi (Nizaemon Kataoka) and he swore to die for him if necessary. Why Magozaemon disappeared is a mystery Kichiemon still doesn't know the answer too. After his disappearance, Magozaemon changed his name and hid from the world. Magozaemon gave up his position as a samurair He became a merchant who trades antiques. He lives in a remote house, hidden in a deep bamboo grove, with a beautiful girl named Kane (Nanami Sakuraba). Yu (Narumi Yasuda), who lives near Magozaemon's home, knew about them for the past 16 years. Yu adores Kane, who had no mother, and taught her etiquette, as well as reading and writing. Yu used to be the most popular courtesan in the famous Shimabara district of Kyoto. Yu eventually became a concubine of merchant Jiro Chayashiro (Yoshi Oida), who works a fabric dealer, and gained the favor of the Japan's feudal government. Now, Yu lives a quiet life. Meanwhile in Kyoto, a puppet show takes place which brings unexpected good fortune for Kane. The sole successor of the Chaya family, Shuichiro (Koji Yamamoto), comes to watch the performance and falls in love with Kane at first sight. Shuichiro doesn't know who Kane is so he asks Magozaemon to find Kane by using his position as a merchant ...

Shishio has set sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the Meiji government and return Japan to chaos, carrying Kaoru with him. In order to stop him in time, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.

Set in Edo period, Japan, a women risks her life to keep her true love. Ito (Keiko Kitagawa), daughter of a clan official, encounters Magoshiro Eguchi (Shuntaro Miyao). Magoshiro is a low ranking samurai sparks an attraction with Ito. Ito challenges Magoshiro to a sword match using bamboo sticks. Mahoshiro accepts. The pair's duel causes sparks to fly an attraction from both sides. Meanwhile, Ito faces an arranged marriage with Saisuke Katagiri (Masahiro Komoto) and Magoshiro is with Kayo (Ayumi Ito) .