Movies like New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
The best movies like New Tale of Zatoichi (1963) are Three Outlaw Samurai (1964), The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). If New Tale of Zatoichi hooked you with its action and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSamurai Rebellion (1967)8.2/10 from 283 votes
- NewestThe Hidden Blade (2004)Released 2004
- In JapaneseThree Outlaw Samurai (1964)Also in Japanese
- Same seriesThe Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman
Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai Rebellion (1967)
The mother of a feudal lord's only heir is kidnapped by the lord. Her husband and his samurai father must decide whether to accept the unjust decision, or risk death to rescue her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai Wolf (1966)
This is the story of a vagrant samurai – the solitary, savage and scrupulous Kiba – who arrives at a village to defend a beautiful, blind woman against a sinister plot. Her assailants then send against him another samurai, named Sana, who is without scruples. The fight between them will become personal, for the honor and love of the blind woman.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967)
Zatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Zatoichi proceeds to win 8 ryo in a rigged gambling game. Of course, the local gangsters attempt to kill him, and the adventure begins. It turns out a blacksmith named Senzo examines Zatoichi's cane sword, and discovers it to be forged by his old mentor. Senzo discovers the sword is at the end of its usefulness and will break when it is used next.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRonin-gai (1990)
Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attempt to regain their honor by defending a brothel from a hostile militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHanzo the Razor: Who's Got the Gold? (1974)
Hanzo extracts a confession from a ghost using his assaulting methods, foils thieves, connects with Heisuke Takei a friend from his youth, offers protection to a forward-thinking physician Genan Sugino who has defamed his ruler, discovers a pleasure ring of young wives and a blind music teacher, and cuckolds a corrupt official under his very nose.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
Zatoichi is sworn to protect the life of a young girl and without any real allies finds himself in the middle of a bloody turf war.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHanzo the Razor: The Snare (1973)
Against the backdrop of the Edo treasury devaluing currency and driving many into poverty, Hanzo Itami enforces the law without regard to status. He shows inadequate respect to the treasurer, who wants him dead.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
The Sword of Doom (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.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi Challenged (1967)
Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a local boss to create illegal pornography to pay off his gambling debts. Ichi makes it his mission to save the man and reunite the family, even though it brings him into conflict with a samurai he sort of befriended on his way to the town.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSanjuro (1962)
In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisZatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966)
Zatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi and the Chest of Gold (1964)
Ichi travels to the village of Itakura to pay his respects at the grave of Kichizo, a man he killed two years ago. When some tax money is stolen while in transit to the governor he is accused and sets out to find the money and clear his name.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school's followers.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like this13 Assassins (1963)
A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972)
Official Shogunate executioner Ogami Itto has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Samurai (1974)
The film follows the story of Sugi Toranosuke, a ronin, who returns to his home town of Edo many years after his attempted suicide as a sickly child. Rescued and adopted by a master swordsman, he has grown into a master swordsman and a very kind gentleman. The time is around 1868 the year that the nails were finally put into the coffin containing the feudal system that nurtured and sustained the samurai. Sugi is confused and unsure about what is happening but his teacher wants him out of the chaos of the multiple power struggles between the various clans.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)
Zatoichi comes upon a dying man who asks him to give a bag of money to "Taichi". Zatoichi has no idea who this is but when he comes upon a small town harassed by gangsters, he finds that "Taichi" was the man's young son. Along his travels he also met a blind monk who makes Zatoichi question his murderous lifestyle. In trying to help the town, Zatoichi kills some gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He must make a choice of whether to use non-violence and set a good example, or violence and set the boy on the wrong path in life.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)
Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with dice is turning.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi (2003)
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBloody Spear at Mount Fuji (1955)
Tragicomic road movie set during the Edo period. It follows a samurai, his two servants – including spear-carrier Genpachi – and the various people they meet on their journey, including a policeman in pursuit of a thief, a young child and a woman who is to be sold into prostitution.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & adventure
Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another young woman who is trying to help her brother, who has murdered someone at about the same time and place as the missing man was last seen.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell (1974)
With most of his family already dead at Ogami Itto's hands, Retsudo launches one final plot to destroy him, and when that fails, unleashes the fury of every remaining member of the Yagyu clan.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi and the Doomed Man (1965)
Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant to get involved, because he knows how often such involvement has led to trouble in the past. But events conspire to thrust him repeatedly into involvement, and gradually he comes to believe in the man's innocence and determines to free him.
Why it matches: Same series: Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYojimbo (1961)
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Hidden Blade (2004)
Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like New Tale of Zatoichi?
The closest matches to New Tale of Zatoichi are Three Outlaw Samurai (1964), The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after New Tale of Zatoichi?
People who watched New Tale of Zatoichi most often go on to Three Outlaw Samurai (1964), Samurai Rebellion (1967) and Samurai Wolf (1966).
What is the highest-rated movie like New Tale of Zatoichi?
Samurai Rebellion (1967), rated 8.2/10 by 283 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like New Tale of Zatoichi?
The Hidden Blade (2004) is the most recent release on this list.
Is New Tale of Zatoichi part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman, which includes The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962), The Tale of Zatoichi (1962), Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967) and Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963).
Are there Japanese movies like New Tale of Zatoichi?
Yes: Three Outlaw Samurai (1964), The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962) and Samurai Rebellion (1967).
How are movies similar to New Tale of Zatoichi chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside New Tale of Zatoichi, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.