The Last Swordsman

Nov 2, 1974

1h 32m

★ 5.7

Overview

Personal tale of Okita Soji who fights to survive in a world without pity in the merciless era of the downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Genres

Action

Drama

Production Companies

Toho Pictures

The Last Swordsman Trailers

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Cast

Okita Soji

Masao Kusakari

Ochisa

Kyoko Maya

Shino Ikenami

Kiyokawa Hachiro

Shigeru Kōyama

Taiji Tonoyama

Murakami Shungoro

Ichiro Araki

Serizawa Kamo

Hōsei Komatsu

Yamanami Keisuke

Jiro Kawarazaki

Nagakura Shinpachi

Toshiyuki Nishida

Harada Sanosuke

Shōji Ōki

Todo Heisuke

Kazunaga Tsuji

Inoue Genzaburo

Naoyuki Asahina

Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.

7.7

The Sword of Doom

Feb 25, 1966

Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.

7.0

A Naive History of the Bakumatsu Era

Jul 6, 1991

In the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, there was a cute warrior, Souji Okita, who belonged to the armed police of the shogunate in Kyoto. Very few knew that Souji was not a boy, but a woman. Souji loved the vice-leader of the armed police, Toshizou Hijikata. Souji suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis and coughed up blood during a battle. Toshizou helped her but said that he did not care for the girl with a smell of blood. Souji had a real talent for swordsmanship and no one but Ryouma Sakamoto could compete with her. Ryouma was a liberal intellectual and tried to carry out a revolution without blood. However, the bloody Meiji Restoration broke out and Souji killed Ryouma who lost his dream. Because a friendship had sprung up between Toshizou and Ryouma, Toshizou got angry and slashed at Souji with a sword. Unwillingly, she unsheathed her sword and thought that she might get love if she was killed by the man she loved.

7.7

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning

Jun 4, 2021

Before he was a protector, Kenshin was a fearsome assassin known as Battosai. But when he meets gentle Tomoe Yukishiro, a beautiful young woman who carries a huge burden in her heart, his life will change forever.

6.8

Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor

Dec 5, 1969

Near the end of the nineteenth century, as the balance of power shifts from Shogunate towards the Emperor, Japan restlessly awaits the dawning of a new age. But not all are content...The Shinsengumi, a small army of samurai, farmers and peasants, band together to do battle against the tide of history. Their leader, Isami Kondo is a man who rises from farmer to fighter to head the fierce Shinsengumi brigade. Using a stern hand and a heart of gold, he rallies his men in defense of the tottering Shogunate. But bloodshed and treachery lurk around every corner.

7.0

新選組!! 土方歳三最期の一日

Jan 3, 2006

Follows the final days of the shogunate and Shinsengumi's Vice-Comander Hijikata Toshizo along with his fellow anti-imperialist group.

0.0

The Shogun’s Guard, Shinsengumi

Jul 13, 1958

The Shinsengumi is a special unit of ronin commissioned by the Tokugawa shogunate to counter anti-shogunate activities in Kyoto. A sinister plot to overthrow the shogun is set in motion and Kondo Isami and his fellow samurai must answer the call and expose those behind it.

7.2

The Ambitious

Feb 14, 1970

The story of Ryoma Sakamoto, considered to be the architect behind the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was considered an outlaw by his own clan, hunted by his government, and was despised by supporters of the Shogun as well as the Loyalists for desiring the opening of Japan to the West in order to learn its technology, in the hopes of one day defeating the West with a modern army and navy.

6.5

Shinsengumi Chronicles

Jan 3, 1963

As winds of change sweep Japan, an honest man joins the Shinsengumi out of admiration for its leader, and because he wants to live and die as a samurai. However, as his involvement grows, reality and idealism come into deadly conflict.

7.5

Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins

Aug 25, 2012

In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.

6.8

Cruel Story of the Shogunate's Downfall

Dec 12, 1964

A headstrong young man seeks to join the Shinsengumi, but while his determination impresses his superiors, questions begin to arise as to his true identity and intentions.

7.6

Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno

Aug 1, 2014

Kenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left for dead. He survived, and is now in Kyoto, plotting with his gathered warriors to overthrow the new government. Against Kaoru's wishes, Kenshin reluctantly agrees to go to Kyoto and help keep his country from falling back into civil war.

7.7

Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends

Sep 13, 2014

Shishio sets sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the government. In order to stop him, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.

7.0

Bakumatsu Aibou-den

Jan 3, 2022

A single bullet cuts through Kyoto in the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate right before the restoration of imperial rule. Who plotted to assassinate Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who is about to become the last shogun of Japan? Was it the faction wanting to overthrow him or the rebels within the shogunate? Mutual enemies Sakamoto Ryoma, the wandering samurai, and Hijikata Toshizo, a deputy leader of the Shinsengumi and vassal of the Tokugawa clan, receive a secret order to track down the culprit. They are given a mere two days.

6.6

Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai

Oct 15, 2021

Set in the 19th century, "Moeyo Ken" follows the life of Toshizo Hijikata. He was the vice-commander of the Shinsengumi and fought against the Meiji Restoration.

7.0

Restoration Fire

Oct 14, 1961

Megastar Kataoka Chiezo is Vice-commander Hijikata Toshizo of the Shinsengumi in this realistic tale of Japan’s inner battles that led to the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate. Excellent performances and extremely good swordplay highlight this glimpse into the heart and soul of Japanese history. Although known as “Razor Blade” Hijikata, the vice-commander is a man of deep conviction with a little-known sense of humanity. Starting after the famed Ikedaya Incident, in which they saved Kyoto from Choshu’s plot to burn the city to ashes, they work hard to change the public’s view of them as merciless killers to their true mission of protecting the shogun. This is an extraordinary tale of blood and guts! From the pen of award winning author Shotaro Ikenami (Bandit Vs. Samurai, Hunter in the Dark, Misumi's The Last Samurai)

5.2

The Shogun’s Guard: Valor in Turbulence

Jul 10, 1960

The stormy tale of the Shinsengumi is told from its birth by master filmmaker Sasaki Yasushi, with an all-star cast based on the original story by Shirai Kyoji. The battles between the royalists and Shogunate supporters come to a fever pitch during the Gion Festival as the exclusionists plot to burn Kyoto and kidnap the Emperor. From its earliest beginnings as a group of ronin brought from Edo to protect the Shogun when he is in Kyoto to see His Imperial Highness, the group had to face difficulties both from within and without. Commander Serizawa Kamo's corrupt practices threaten the group's very existence, as they try to recover from the bad reputation he left them with. Their redemption comes when they learn of Katsura Kogoro plans to gather men at Kyoto's Ikedaya Inn for his attack on the city. Along with Hijikata Toshizo and Okita Soji, Kondo leads the group in an attempt to save Japan from the rebels.