Best Japanese history movies
Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch history films from Japan, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
Inu-Oh (2022)
Inu-Oh (2022)
A cursed dancer and a blind musician — both ostracized by society — become business partners and inseparable friends as their larger-than-life concerts propel them to stardom in 14th century Japan.
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)
The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)
Kaji is sent to the Japanese army labeled Red and is mistreated by the vets. Along his assignment, Kaji witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against the recruit Obara. He also sees his friend Shinjô Ittôhei defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)
After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his dear wife and his old life, Kaji faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his fellow men sneak behind enemy lines.
Fukushima 50 (2020)
Fukushima 50 (2020)
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi facility in Japan risk their lives and stay at the nuclear power plant to prevent total destruction after the region is devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
Samurai Rebellion (1967)
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped away from her husband by the lord. The husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to get her back.
ICHI (2008)
ICHI (2008)
Ichi 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.
Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell (1974)
Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell (1974)
In the sixth and final film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, the final conflict between Ogami Itto and the Yagyu clan is carried out.
Giovanni's Island (2014)
Giovanni's Island (2014)
In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.
When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2003)
When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2003)
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.
Yamato (2005)
Yamato (2005)
Directed by Junya Sato and based on a book by Jun Henmi, "Yamato" has a framing story set in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato. The film was never released in the United States, where reviewers who have seen it have compared the military epic to "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan."
Sakuran (2006)
Mumon: The Land of Stealth (2017)
Mumon: The Land of Stealth (2017)
Raised suckling poison arrows among the sparring Iga ninja factions, Mumon is a carefree 16th-century mercenary. When the ninja council makes a power play to defeat the young Nobukatsu Oda struggling to step into his father’s warlord shoes as they expand rule across the country, Mumon jumps into the fray to satisfy his new bride Okuni’s demand that he make good on his promises of wealth. Yet Mumon soon finds what is worth fighting for beyond money or nation.
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
Over more than a decade, the daughter of a Kyoto Imperial University professor comes of age as she witnesses her father fired for opposing the rise of fascism in Japan and becomes involved with two of his students.
Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
Zatoichi is sworn to protect the life of a young girl and without any real allies finds himself in the middle of a bloody turf war.
Black Rain (1989)
Black Rain (1989)
Shigematsu Shizuma, who lives with his family in a village near Fukuyama, was in Hiroshima with his wife and niece just after the devastating atomic bombing, a tragedy that cruelly took the lives of thousands of people and forever marked the harsh existence of the survivors.
Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet (2011)
Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet (2011)
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) was the Japanese Naval commander who was given the order to attack Pearl Harbour, an order he was duty bound to obey which went against his own personal beliefs. While this infamous attack is a low point in Japanese and US history it wouldn’t have happened if the Japanese government had listened to Yamamoto in 1939 and searched for a more peaceful way to end their war campaign, proving his many ominous presages of the outcomes of the attack to come true.
Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot Wandering; Agateram (2020)
Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot Wandering; Agateram (2020)
The wandering knight, Bedivere, reaches the end of his journey. It is A.D. 1273 in Jerusalem. The Holy Land has been transformed into a massive desert and its people have been forced out of their homes as three major powers wage war with each other in this wasteland. The Knights of the Round Table come together to protect the Holy City and their Lion King. With the whole of his kingdom summoned into a strange land, Ozymandias, the Sun King, quietly plots against the tyranny of this bizarre realm. The mountain people, protectors of those who were stripped of their land, await their chance at rebellion. In order to fulfill his mission, Bedivere heads for the Holy City where the Lion King rules. There he meets humanity’s final Master, Ritsuka Fujimaru, who has come to Jerusalem, accompanied by his Demi-Servant, Mash Kyrielight, in their quest to restore human history.
Sekigahara (2017)
Sekigahara (2017)
The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.
The 47 Ronin (1941)
The 47 Ronin (1941)
In 1701, Lord Takuminokami Asano has a feud with Lord Kira and he tries to kill Kira in the corridors of the Shogun's palace. The Shogun sentences Lord Asano to commit suppuku and deprives the palace and lands from his clan, but does not punish Lord Kira. Lord Asano's vassals leave the land and his samurais become ronin and want to seek revenge against the dishonor of their Lord. But their leader Kuranosuke Oishi asks the Shogun to restore the Asano clan with his brother Daigaku Asano. One year later, the Shogun refuses his request and Oishi and forty-six ronin revenge their Lord.
Comedy (2002)
Comedy (2002)
During Ireland's War of Independence, a five-year-old girl sets out to save her village from the English army by trying to enlist the help of the rumored Black Swordsman, who only takes books of a certain genre as payment.
Hetalia: Axis Powers: Paint It, White! (2010)
Hetalia: Axis Powers: Paint It, White! (2010)
The Pictorians have arrived from deep in space. They also have dangly glow-balls on their heads, which is kinda cool, but still. The freaky aliens are using use their crazy rainbow-beam-thingy to paint everything on Earth the same color: white! See, now the title of the movie makes more sense, right? Anyway, if the Pictorians are to be stopped, the Allied guys and the Axis boys - plus some new characters, too - must set aside their differences, unite against their common foe, and hopefully get together for a sweaty workout to make sure they're super-ready to save the world!
Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress (2012)
Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress (2012)
Hamaji, a young huntress from the mountains, stumbles into the middle of a shogun’s vendetta against a group of human-dog hybrids, the Fusé. Rumors of Fusé murdering innocent people in the bustling city of Edo have sparked a bounty for their heads. Along with her brother, Hamaji joins the hunt for this dangerous quarry, but after accidentally befriending one of them, Hamaji is torn between two worlds: her life as a self-reliant huntress, and the young woman her new friend has helped her to uncover.
Hana (2006)
Hana (2006)
In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.
Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)
Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)
In a slum in Edo Japan, a ronin hopes that his deceased father's former master will hire him while a disgraced hairdresser attempts to regain his pride by kidnapping the daughter of a wealthy pawnbroker, who is set to be married.
Buddha: The Great Departure (2011)
Buddha: The Great Departure (2011)
Prince Siddhartha is heir to the Shakya kingdom, which is constantly at war with the more powerful Kosala kingdom. His father tries to raise as him as a warrior leader and to shield him from the miseries of the world. Meeting the young outcast girl Migaila, Siddhartha experiences love for the first time but also witnesses the suffering that afflicts humankind. Meanwhile, in Kosala, Chapra rises through the military, despite his lowly origins, to become a hero and general of the army. A final showdown between the two kingdoms forces Siddhartha to re-evaluate the path he is following.
Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm Of The Round Table: Camelot Paladin; Agateram (2021)
Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm Of The Round Table: Camelot Paladin; Agateram (2021)
Part two of Fate/Grand Order: Shinsei Entaku Ryouiki Camelot - Wandering; Agateram; an adaptation of the the Sixth Holy Grail War, The Sacred Round Table Realm Camelot Singularity of Fate/Grand Order.
Chûshingura (1962)
Chûshingura (1962)
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.