In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Following World War II, a retired professor approaching his autumn years finds his quality of life drastically reduced in war-torn Tokyo. Denying despair, he pursues writing and celebrates his birthday with his adoring students.
A small village gets raided by bandits every harvest season. The villagers can't take it anymore, and decide to recruit samurais to defend them in exchange for rice. Will the villagers find who would defend them from the bandits?
During a downpour, a generous ronin and his supporting wife are stranded at a country inn. The ronin comes to the attention of a lord who wants to hire him as an instructor for his men, who treat the ronin with disrespect.
O-Shin is a young brothel worker who, one night, helps a young samurai escape from his pursuers. Against the warnings of her fellow workers, particularly Kikuno and the brothel's owner, O-Shin falls in love with the samurai.
George Kodama searches for Araki Genzo in Kimujuku, a town with a dark past and rival syndicates. Despite warnings to leave, he challenges the town to uncover its hidden secrets and the truth.
The story of Sanshiro Sugata, a young man who wants to learn the new art of judo. A wise teacher reveals to Sanshiro that judo is not merely a means of combat nor a demonstration of physical skill, but an art which reveals the artist to himself.
A girl believes that she is fleeing death, when she is actually running away from her only chance at life. Set to a surreal, nightmarish poem written in the nineteenth century by a homeless addict in London.
