The Best Japanese Martial Arts Movies

Summary

Japanese martial arts films often feature sword masters and historical settings with elements of fantasy or mythology.
Popular adaptations include manga, anime, and historical fiction stories involving real people and places.
Iconic films like Seven Samurai continue to influence contemporary filmmaking with themes of honor and protection in feudal Japan.

Japanese martial arts have a long and sophisticated history that has inspired books, paintings, plays, and manga. When movies became popular in the 20th century, Japanese filmmakers naturally turned to stories of the samurai, ninjas, karate masters, and other forms of martial arts as the subjects or backstories of their work.

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By Ahmad Rafiq

Most of the films about Japanese martial arts are medieval period pieces featuring sword masters, but there's also another twist involved. Sometimes the backstory includes some fantasy and mythology, others are adaptations of popular manga or anime shows, and others are historical fiction that involve real people and places.

6 Sanshiro Sugata

IMDb Rating: 6.7

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Denjirō Ōkōchi, Susumu Fujita, Yukiko Todoroki, Takashi Shimura
Distributed By: Toho Company Ltd.
Release Date: March 25, 1943

The hero of this story is the title character, Sanshiro Sugata, who is studying the Japanese martial art of Judo. He's based on a real person named Saigō Shirō who was one of the earliest students of Judo and eventually developed the present ranking system.

Sanshiro Sugata is the directorial debut from Akira Kurosawa, and viewers can recognize his signature style when it comes to his use of martial arts and historical settings. The film is set in 1883 and makes use of the changing times to explain Sanshiro's rise from obscure childish urchin to small-town hero who gets the girl.

5 Blade Of The Immortal

IMDb Rating: 6.7

Directed By: Takashi Miike
Starring: Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi
Distributed By: Warner Bros. Pictures, HanWay Films, Arrow Films
Release Date: April 29, 2017

A recent example of a live-action adaptation of a popular manga series, which has also been made into an anime series and a novel, Blade of the Immortal is a mix of martial arts, medieval period drama, and dark fantasy. The main character, Manji, is a ronin who is cursed with immortality by a Buddhist nun after he commits a crime that causes the deaths of 100 of his fellow samurai.

Manji can only break his curse by killing 1000 evil men, and until then, the only thing that can damage or kill him is a special kind of poison. Other dark fantasy elements included in this unique martial arts movie are the sacred bloodworms that heal Manji's wounds, even severed limbs, to ensure that he doesn't die before his time.

4 The 47 Ronin

IMDb Rating: 7.2

Directed By: Kenji Mizoguchi
Starring: Chōjuro Kawarasaki, Kanemon Nakamura, Kunitarō Kawarazaki
Distributed By: Shochiku Kinema Kenkyu-jo
Release Date: December 1, 1941

The legend of the 47 Ronin is based on a historic incident that took place in 18th-century Japan, and there are a variety of novels, comics, and movies based on the event. This movie is based on an old stage play, so it still has some extra drama, as opposed to others that take a creative view, like the American dark-fantasy version starring Keanu Reeves from 2013.

This version of The 47 Ronin is an epic account of the incident that spans two movies, the second of which was released a year after the first. It wasn't a box office success, and critics deemed it too heavy-handed, but in modern times, critics and audiences alike would appreciate the level of gravitas and detail in the story.

3 Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

IMDb Rating: 7.5

Directed By: Keishi Ōtomo
Starring: Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei, Yūsuke Iseya, Munetaka Aoki
Distributed By: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: September 13, 2014

The live-action trilogy of Rurouni Kenshin movies was well-received by fans of both the classic anime specifically, and martial arts movies in general, and the third and final entry seems to be the fan favorite of the bunch. Like the manga and anime on which the film is based, it's a mix of historical fact and dramatic fiction, and includes some real figures from Japan's past next to the fictional characters.

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By Oluwatokiloba Folami

The title character of this long-running series, and the massive franchise that goes along with it, isn't just an average Ronin; he carries a unique "backward" sword blade that is designed to injure or hinder but never kill. This movie, which begins almost immediately after part two ends, follows his journey to a final confrontation with antagonist Shishio Makoto and his minions.

2 13 Assassins

IMDb Rating: 7.5

Directed By: Takashi Miike
Starring: Michihiko Umezawa, Minami Ichikawa, Tôichirô Shiraishi, Kazuomi Suzaki
Distributed By: Toho, Artificial Eye
Release Date: September 25, 2010

A remake of a movie of the same title that was released in 1963, this version of 13 Assassins also takes place in the Edo Period; specifically, the year 1844. These assassins were all samurai except for one, a fighter and hunter, and they were recruited by Sir Doi Toshitsura, the shogun's justice minister, to take care of a certain serious political problem.

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By Kristy Ambrose

A local lord named Matsudaira Naritsugu is a psychotic criminal, who rapes and murders both nobles and peasants alike, and if his actions continue unchecked, it could start a civil war. However, he's related to the Shogun, who refuses to do anything about his behavior, and the only solution appears to be an assassination, hence the recruitment of the titular 13 assassins to do the job.

1 Seven Samurai

IMDb Rating: 8.6

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Isao Kimura
Distributed By: Toho
Release Date: April 26, 1954

This is not only a great martial arts movie, but one of the best and most iconic movies of all time, and its influence is still felt in contemporary filmmaking. Seven Samurai takes place in the Sengoku period of Japan, in the year 1586 when peasants and farmers had few or no rights and lived at the mercy of either the local lord or marauding bandits.

The village in this story is plagued by the latter, and they scrape together what meager resources they have to hire a motley crew of samurai for protection. The samurai they find also teach the villagers some self-defense, along with how to make simple weapons like bamboo spears and build extra fortifications like a moat and a wall. The final battle is a mix of victory and defeat, with some of the heroes falling in battle, but the village is ultimately saved.