Movies about Japan

Movies about Japan
List of the best movies about Japan, selected by visitors to our site: Memoirs of a Geisha, Silence, Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins, Lost Girls & Love Hotels, Leonie, Silk, The Last Samurai, 13 Assassins, Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, 47 Ronin.

In the top there are new films of 2021, a plot description and trailers for films that have already been released.

Genre
Country
Markimdb: 7.4
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryUSA, Japan, France
Duration02:25
CharactersCinderella, Geisha, Orphans
PlotPassion, Relationship, Jealousy, Rivalry
PlaceJapan, Asia
StyleTo cry, Atmospheric, Fascinating, Serious

A sweeping romantic epic set in Japan in the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genredrama, history
CountryUSA, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, Italy
Duration02:19
CharactersPriests
PlotTime travel, Loneliness, Religious, Fear
PlaceJapan, Asia
StyleBy books, Philosophical, Atmospheric, Fascinating, Tense

Two Jesuit priests travel to seventeenth century Japan which has, under the Tokugawa shogunate, banned Catholicism and almost all foreign contact.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genreaction, melodrama, drama
CountryJapan
Duration02:14
CharactersSamurai, Rabbits, Heroes, Military, Soldier
PlotMartial Arts, Cheating
PlaceJapan, Mansions, Office, Asia
Time19th century
StyleExciting, Serious, For men

Former legendary assassin Kenshin Himura has now become a wandering samurai. Offering aid & protecting those in need as atonement for his past deeds. During this time Kenshin Himura comes across and aides Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei). Her father opened the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, a kendo school located in Tokyo and Kaoru is now an instructor there. Kaoru then invites Kenshin to stay at her dojo. Their relationship develops further, but Kenshin is still haunted by his violent past...

Markimdb: 4.6
Genredrama
CountryUSA, Japan
CharactersFamily
StyleTwisted plot, Soulful, Explicit scenes

Searching for escape in Tokyo's back alleys, a haunted English teacher explores love and lust with a dashing Yakuza, as their tumultuous affair takes her on a journey through the city's dive bars and three-hour love hotels.

Markimdb: 6
Genredrama, biography
CountryFrance, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Belgium, USA, Japan, Netherlands
PlotOn real events
PlaceJapan

In the lush tradition of the glorious films of Merchant and Ivory, comes the true life story of Leonie Gilmour (Emily Mortimer), whose life crossed continents, wars and cultures, embodied with courage and passion in search of art and freedom. A tender and inspiring story of a remarkable woman who nurtures the amazing artistic talent of her son who has only one way to succeed and one person to guide him, as he grows into the world renown artist, Isamu Noguchi.

Markimdb: 5.9
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryCanada, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, USA
Duration01:47
CharactersTerminally ill
PlaceVillage, Parallel worlds, Japan, France, Asia
Time19th century
StyleRomantic, To cry, Touching, Serious

Based on the best-selling novel by Alessandro Baricco, this visually stunning film tells the story of a French trader who finds unexpected love far away from home.

Markimdb: 7.7
Genreaction, drama
CountryUSA, New Zealand, Japan
Duration02:34
CharactersSamurai, Military, Warriors
PlotWar, Martial Arts, Friendship, Sword Battles, Self-sacrifice
PlaceJapan
StyleExciting, Fascinating, Epic, Serious

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.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genreaction, drama, adventure
CountryJapan, United Kingdom
Duration02:21
CharactersSamurai, Warriors
PlotMartial Arts, Martial Arts, Power
PlaceJapan

A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genredrama, military, biography, history
CountryJapan
Duration02:20
CharactersMilitary, Soldier
PlotWar, On real events, Aviation, Death
PlaceAircraft, Ships, Warships, Japan, Pearl Harbor
TimeWorld War II

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.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genreaction, fantasy, drama
CountryUSA, United Kingdom, Japan, Hungary
Duration01:59
CharactersWitch, Samurai, Heroes
PlotAdventure, Martial Arts, Chase, Sword Battles, Rivalry
PlaceJapan, Asia
StyleExciting, Epic, Serious, Numbers in the title

Based on the original 1941 movie from Japan, and from ancient Japan’s most enduring tale, the epic 3D fantasy-adventure 47 Ronin is born. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genreaction, melodrama, drama, military, history
CountryUSA
Duration03:03
CharactersMilitary, Friends, Soldier, Pilots
PlotLove, War, Survival, Death, Love triangle
PlaceAircraft, Ocean, England, Warships, Japan
TimeWorld War II
StyleExciting, To cry, Patriotic, Long

The lifelong friendship between Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker is put to the ultimate test when the two ace fighter pilots become entangled in a love triangle with beautiful Naval nurse Evelyn Johnson. But the rivalry between the friends-turned-foes is immediately put on hold when they find themselves at the center of Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Markimdb: 5.6
Genrefantastic, thriller, drama
CountryJapan
Duration02:15
CharactersHeroes
PlotTsunami
PlaceOcean, Japan, Asia
StyleExciting, By books, Fascinating, Serious, Disturbing

In the aftermath of a major earthquake, scientists predict that Japan will sink into the sea. As further disasters follow, politicians plead with other countries to take refugees, while scientists struggle to save Japan itself.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genreaction, thriller, comedy, drama, crime
CountryJapan
Duration01:56
CharactersSamurai, Blind
PlotMartial Arts, Martial Arts
PlaceJapan

ZatĂ´ichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master swordsman gifted with a lightning-fast draw and breathtaking precision. While wandering, ZatĂ´ichi discovers a remote mountain village at the mercy of Ginzo, a ruthless gang-leader. Ginzo disposes of anyone who gets in his way, especially after hiring the mighty samurai ronin, Hattori, as a bodyguard. After a raucous night of gambling in town, ZatĂ´ichi encounters a pair of geishas--as dangerous as they are beautiful--who've come to avenge their parents' murder. As the paths of these and other colorful characters intertwine, Ginzo's henchmen are soon after ZatĂ´ichi. With his legendary cane sword at his side, the stage is set for a riveting showdown.

Markimdb: 6
Genreaction, thriller, melodrama, crime
CountryUSA, Germany, Japan
Duration01:44
CharactersHeroes, Criminals
PlotRacing, Cars, Friendship, Rivalry
PlaceJapan, Asia
StyleExciting, Serious

In order to avoid a jail sentence, Sean Boswell heads to Tokyo to live with his military father. In a low-rent section of the city, Shaun gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing

Markimdb: 5.9
Genrethriller, melodrama, crime, detective
CountryUnited Kingdom, Japan, USA
CharactersPhotographers, Friends, Girlfriends
PlotInvestigation, Love triangle, Moving, Female friendship
PlaceJapan
StyleExciting, Atmospheric, Tense, Depressive

Tokyo, Japan, 1989. Lucy Fly, a foreigner who works as a translator, begins a passionate relationship with Teiji, a mysterious man obsessed with photography.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genreaction, thriller, comedy, drama, crime
CountryFrance, Japan
Duration01:34
CharactersTeens, Samurai, Hired assassins
PlotAdventure, Investigation, Inheritance, Birthday, Shopping
PlaceJapan
StyleExciting, For men

Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.

Markimdb: 8.1
Genreaction, melodrama, drama, history
CountryJapan
Duration02:09
CharactersSamurai, Poor
PlotMartial Arts, Martial Arts, Sword Battles
PlaceJapan
Time19th century
StyleAction

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

Markimdb: 8.8
Genrefantastic, action, thriller, drama, detective
CountryUSA, United Kingdom
Duration02:28
CharactersHackers, Spy, Scammers
PlotAdventure, Puzzles, Skirmishes, Fight, Virtual Reality
PlaceParallel worlds
StyleInteresting, Popular, Exciting, Psychological problems, Action

Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genredrama
CountryJapan, France, Germany
Duration01:41
CharactersDogs, Teens, Cooks, Disabled people, Birds
PlotFriendship, Death, Water, Inheritance, Happiness
PlaceNature, Trains, Japan, Moon
TimeSummer
StyleSoulful, By books, Philosophical, Makes me think, Touching

Sentaro runs a small bakery that serves dorayaki pastries filled with sweet red bean paste (“an”). When an old lady, Tokue, offers to help in the kitchen he reluctantly accepts. She will soon prove to have magic in her hands…

Markimdb: 6.7
Genreaction, drama, history
CountryJapan
Duration02:08
CharactersSamurai, Heroes
PlotWar, Martial Arts, Betrayal, Treasures, Rivalry
PlaceJapan, Asia
StyleExciting, Fascinating, Epic, Serious, For men

Follow the infamous ninja bandit named Ishikawa Goemon (Yosuke Eguchi) in an epic story. One night while looting treasure from Nanban (Southern Barbarians), Goemon finds a mysterious box hidden inside a secret grave. A forgotten relic from the past containing untold powers.

Markimdb: 6.9
Genredrama, military, history
CountryJapan
PlaceJapan, USA
TimeWorld War II

The Americans are swiftly closing on Okinawa, an island just south of the Japanese mainland. The Imperial command sends top generals and several army divisions to defend it at all costs. The mission quickly degenerates as vital resources and troops are diverted to other islands. After a civilian evacuation ends in tragedy most of non-combatants are forced to remain on the island. Many convert to soldier status. Tokyo sends mixed messages that squander time and resources, as when they order the defenders to build an airstrip for aircraft that never come. The truth soon becomes obvious: the high command decides that the island cannot be held and effectively abandons the Okinawan defenders. When the Americans land many troops are deployed in the wrong places. As the slaughter mounts, a suicidal attitude takes hold. Okinawa becomes a death trap, for civilian volunteers and non-combatants as well.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genrecomedy, drama
CountryJapan
Duration02:01
CharactersChildrens, Thieves, Orphans, Good people
PlotTravel
PlaceJapan, Asia
TimeSummer
StyleFancy, Touching

Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genreaction, drama, military, history
CountryJapan
CharactersHorses, Samurai, Spy, Ninja, Slaves
PlotOn real events, Slavery
PlaceJapan
StyleExciting, Action, To cry, Fascinating, Makes me think

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.

Markimdb: 6.9
Genrefantastic, comedy, adventure, family
CountryUSA
Duration01:30
CharactersDogs, Aliens, Heroes, Family
PlotTime travel, Adventure, UFO, Artificial Intelligence
PlaceSpace
StyleFor children, Exciting, Touching, Serious

This 1986 Disney adventure tells the story of 12-year-old David who lives with his family in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. When he awakens from being accidentally knocked out in the forest near his home, he finds that eight years have passed. His family is overjoyed to have him back, but just as perplexed as he is by the fact that he hasn't aged. When a NASA scientist discovers a UFO nearby, David gets the chance to unravel the mystery and recover the life he lost.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genredrama
CountryJapan, United Kingdom
Duration02:08
CharactersSamurai

An tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genredocumentary
CountryUSA, West Germany
PlaceJapan, Asia
StyleAtmospheric

German director Wim Wenders made this documentary in which he tries to explore the Tokyo that was depicted in the films of Yasujiro Ozu. When Wenders visits Tokyo for the first time, he finds a very different city, one with a booming fascination with technology that often clashes with the traditional elements of Japanese culture. Wenders also interviews Ozu's cinematographer, Yuharu Atsuta, and Chishu Ryu, an actor who frequently collaborated with Ozu.

Duration03:22
CharactersSamurai, Heroes
PlotMartial Arts, Martial Arts, Fear
PlaceVillage, Japan
Time16th century
StyleEpic, Serious

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food. A giant battle occurs when 40 bandits attack the village.

Markimdb: 7
Genreaction, drama, adventure, military
CountryJapan
CharactersSamurai
PlotWar, Adventure
PlaceJapan
Time16th century
StyleExciting

Warlords Kagetora and Takeda each wish to prevent the other from gaining hegemony in feudal Japan. The two samurai leaders pursue one another across the countryside, engaging in massive battles of cavalry and infantry. Younger and less brutal, Kagetora must find the strength to be as brutal as his opponent, but at what cost?

Duration01:28
CharactersSamurai
PlaceJapan
StyleBlack and White

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

Markimdb: 8
Genredrama, biography
CountryUSA, Japan
Duration02:01
CharactersGay, Writers, Friends, Emperors
PlotOn real events, Obsession, Friendship, Hostage, Uprising
PlaceJapan
StyleAtmospheric, Fancy, Serious

A fictional account of the life of Japanese author Yukio Mishima told in four parts. The first three parts relate events in three of his novels: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Kyoko's House, and Runaway Horses. The last part depicts the events of 25th November 1970.





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