Shinobu Hashimoto

A poor samurai with no prospects gets in an argument with a high ranking officer which ends in a duel; the officer's younger brother seeks revenge by planning an ornate public duel.

A clan lord orders an aging swordsman to have his son marry the lord's mistress, but reverses his decision after the young couple falls in love.

Follows the daily lives of a group of people barely scraping by in a slum on the outskirts of Tokyo. As desperate as their circumstances may seem, each of them, including the homeless father and son who dream of a home; the young woman hiding from the abuse she receives from her uncle; and a young boy who dreams of being a trolley conductor, find reasons to carry on.

A young Japanese businessman dying of cancer wants to give something back to society before his death, so he decides to build a playground for children.

This epic masterpiece is about a group of 16th century samurai who are hired to defend a small Japanese village that finds itself annually raided by an army of bandits who steal the meager crops harvested by the peasants. Tired of relinquishing their food supply but woefully inept in combat skills, the villagers decide to hire a band of samurai to protect them. In addition to the primary conflict between the villagers and the bandits, much of the...