20 Films & TV Shows Set In Japan During The Middle Ages
-
Legend of the Demon Cat
Shaanxi Province 🇯🇵 Japan The 8th CenturyLove. Death. Revenge. — During the Late Tang Dynasty, a manor is invaded by a demon cat and a sense of unrest befalls the capital of Changan. A poet is charged with investigating the case and meets up with a monk. The two work together and pull apart the thread of clues to reveal a history of truths leading to the events.
-
Flower and Sword
Kyoto Prefecture The 16th CenturyIn the late 16th century, after the death of Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi takes power. The age of war is about to end, but Hideyoshi Toyotomi's rule makes life difficult for the people. Monk Senko Ikenobo is a master of flower arrangement. He prays for peace in the world and tries to give hope to the people with flower arrangement. He becomes good friends with Rikyu. Rikyu is a monk and a politician. He has the most profound influence on chanoyu. Rikyu is forced to commit hara-kiri by Hideyoshi Toyotomi’s order. Monk Senko Ikenobo challenges Hideyoshi Toyotomi.
-
Honnouji Hotel
🇯🇵 Japan The 16th Century The 2010sIn Kyoto, Mayuko (Haruka Ayase) stands at a crossroad in her life. She's thinking about marriage with her boyfriend Kyoichi (Hiroyuki Hirayama). By an accidental opportunity, Mayuko stays at Honnouji Hotel. There, she meets historical figure Nobunaga Oda (Shinichi Tsutsumi) who is attempting to unify Japan.
-
The Floating Castle
🇯🇵 Japan The 16th CenturyIn the year 1590, the mighty warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi is close to fulfilling his ambition of unifying all of Japan under his banner when he comes across unexpected resistance in the form of a floating fortress known as Oshi Castle. Narita Nagachika, a frivolous hedonistic fellow and unlikely candidate for the position of rebel general, finds himself in charge of defending the castle. His odds? An army of 500 men to combat Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army of 20,000.
-
Zen
🇨🇳 China Kyoto Prefecture The 13th CenturyIn the early 1200s, Dogen brought Chinese Zen philosophy to Japan, and established the Japanese Zen school of Buddhism. He taught that a person was capable of realizing Buddhahood within himself, by way of Zazen. Zazen is extended hours of sitting and meditating to achieve a state of “Mu” (nothingness, or empty existence).
-
Mai Mai Miracle
Yamaguchi Prefecture The 1950s The 10th CenturyIn 1955 in western Japan, nine-year-old Shinko knows she comes from a family that dates back to over a thousand years. This long genealogy and stories about it feed her daydreams: she invents an imaginary friendship with a young girl in the Japan of a thousand years ago. One day, Kiiko, a timid child from Tokyo, is transferred into Shinko's class at school. Struggling to fit in, she finds a friend in Shinko. They set off together on a magical adventure into a story from ancient history.Adapted from the Takagi Nobuko novel Mai Mai Shinko — winner of the prestigious Akutagawa Prize —, this animated feature film portrays the relationship of two children linked not only by friendship, but also by that power that transcends eras: imagination. And perhaps it might become reality?
-
Dasavatharam
Nevada 🇮🇳 India Tokyo Prefecture The 12th CenturyBio-technologist Govind K Somaiyya sets about on a precarious journey to India to retrieve a vial containing a deadly virus and prevent it from reaching the wrong hands of an ex-CIA agent and deadly assassins.
-
Ashura
🇯🇵 Japan The 16th CenturyAdapted from the successful play, the film takes place in 19th-century Japan, where a war between demons and their slayers is fought. Izumo, a kabuki actor with a demon-slaying past, meets and falls in love with Tsubaki. However, something is not right, as mysterious marks appear on her body as time progresses. At the same time, it is announced that Ashura, the queen of all demons, will be resurrected and bring destruction to the universe.
-
Story of Kikuchi Castle: Song of the Defenders
Kumamoto Prefecture The 16th Century The 7th Century The 5th CenturyKikuchi-jo Monogatari: Sakimori-tachi no Uta is a 2001 Japanese historical drama directed by Takashi Miike. It is one of three historical films included in the 2002 DVD compilation, Kumamoto Monogatari. The other two are Zuiketsu Genso: Tonkararin Yume Densetsu and Onna Kunishuu Ikki, both also directed by Miike.
-
Princess Mononoke
🇯🇵 Japan The 16th Century The 15th Century The 14th CenturyThe Fate Of The World Rests On The Courage Of One Warrior. — Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.
-
Highlander III: The Sorcerer
New York Scotland 🇯🇵 Japan 🇲🇦 Morocco The 1990s The 18th Century The 16th CenturyThroughout time they have hunted each other fulfilling the prophecy, that there can be only one. — Starts off in the 15th century, with Connor McLeod training with another immortal swordsman, the Japanese sorcerer Nakano. When an evil immortal named Kane kills the old wizard, the resulting battle leaves him buried in an underground cave. When Kane resurfaces in the 20th century to create havoc, it's up to McLeod to stop him.
-
Rikyu
Kyoto Prefecture The 16th CenturyLate in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan's most powerful warlord, unifying the country. Rikyu, through the tea ceremony and floral arrangements, tempers his lord, helping Hideyoshi focus on a single flower or be in a simple room where the shape of a cup is of most importance. But other forces fuel Hideyoshi's ambitions: the Portuguese bring a globe and guns, and he believes he can conquer Korea and China. When Rikyu raises doubts about invading China, Hideyoshi demands an apology, and Rikyu himself must find courage in the way of tea.
-
Shinran: Path to Purity
🇯🇵 Japan The 12th CenturyIn the 12th century, Buddhism was still a relatively new religion in Japan. At that time, one school (Shingon) offered extensive training in complex and very demanding practices which might eventually bring about spiritual purification and realization. Various Zen schools offered students a lengthy path, literally composed of a blank wall and unceasing meditation. Yet another school (Tendai) emphasized complex metaphysics and the study of philosophical systems. Basically, all of them were designed to cater to the few who were able to give up everything else in their lives and focus on liberation, such as scholars and noblemen. In this historical and biographical drama, this is the situation that the young Shinran (1173-1263) discovered when he began exploring Buddhism as an alternative to the violence and ceaseless civil wars that racked Japan at the time.
-
Superfantozzi
Hiroshima Prefecture England The 1940s The Middle AgesSuperfantozzi (1986) is an Italian film from 1986. It is the fifth film in the saga of the unlucky clerk Ugo Fantozzi, played by its creator, Paolo Villaggio. In this film, Fantozzi is portrayed in a surreal historical journey, from Genesis to 1980s.
-
Kagemusha
Yamanashi Prefecture The 16th CenturyAkira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
-
Black Cat Mansion
🇯🇵 Japan The 20th Century The 16th Century The 15th CenturyThe descendant of the servant of a cruel and vicious samurai returns to the town where she was born, only to find that a cat who is possessed by the spirits of those murdered by the samurai is trying to kill her.
-
Gate of Hell
🇯🇵 Japan The 12th CenturyThe most honored screen import in a decade! — Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.
-
Rashomon
Kyoto Prefecture The 8th CenturyThe husband, the wife… or the bandit? — 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.
-
Felipe de Jesús
🇯🇵 Japan The 16th CenturyBiography of the first Catholic Saint to be born in Mexico.
-
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
Ishikawa Prefecture The 12th CenturyYoshitsune Minamoto, disguised with his retinue as monks, must make do with a comical porter as their guide through hostile territory en route to safety.
