man forces himself onto a sword and dies

Kakizaki Yuji’s period film is not like the jidaigeki films we are used to. While it deals with themes of seppuku, duty, and loyalty to one’s masters and the shogun, we see very little in terms of action. Instead, the film focuses on the inner thoughts and struggles of the protagonist—who is ordered to perform a ritual suicide—his wife, and their entire household, all leading up to the final moment.

A man is tasked with assisting in the ritual suicide of a samurai who won't die without condemning the corrupt powers that be.

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

The daughter of a Daimyo, one forced to commit harakiri to secure her a future to choose her own destiny, falls in love with and marries a European officer. The officer returns to Europe but promises to come back for her and his new child, but when he comes back to Japan, he brings his European wife.

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.