Movies like Miyamoto Musashi (1973)
The best movies like Miyamoto Musashi (1973) are Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) and Zatoichi (2003). If Miyamoto Musashi hooked you with its drama and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSeven Samurai (1954)8.5/10 from 4,460 votes
- NewestJigen Daisuke (2023)Released 2023
- In JapaneseSamurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)Also in Japanese
Samurai 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChûshingura (1962)
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKamui (2009)
A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKilling (2018)
In mid-19th century Edo period, a masterless rōnin named Mokunoshin Tsuzuki resides in a peaceful village among those he helps. However, as the prevalent peace and tranquility are sure to be replaced by war and conflict across the land, the swordsman feels restlessness creeping upon him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJigen Daisuke (2023)
Feeling unhappy with his gun, Jigen is looking for the world’s best gunsmith. He finally finds out that Chiharu, who runs a watch shop, is the person he’s been seeking. Then, Jigen meets Oto, who comes to Chiharu’s shop looking for a gun. Jigen finds out about Oto's secrets and the mysterious organization that’s after her. After Oto is kidnapped, Jigen gets into a desperate battle to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood on the Sun (1945)
Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like this13 Assassins (2010)
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNew Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends (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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAssassination (1964)
In 1863, when American warships approach Japan, an enigmatic ronin becomes an important figure in a complex game of power between the Shogunate and the empire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrazy Samurai Musashi (2020)
In 1604, Miyamoto Musashi attacked the Yoshioka family at their dojo and defeated master Seijūrō and his younger brother Denshichirō in two duels. To save their reputation, the Yoshioka family decides to fight back with all 100 family members and hire an additional 300 samurai. Now Musashi sets out to defeat all 400 enemies in his most famous battle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972)
Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaboo (1999)
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 on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamurai X: The Motion Picture (1997)
The war against the Tokugawa Shogunate ended years ago. But there are some who are not happy with the outcome. Shigure Takimi watched his friends and family get slashed down in the name of freedom and prosperity. Now he and a band of desparate rebels have sworn to settle one final score. Only one man stands in their way: Rurouni Kenshin. Will the former assassin take up his sword to fight again? When Shigure discovers Kenshin's true identity and his fight becomes a personal vendetta, the young hero will have no choice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1952)
A fugitive lord and his six retainers disguise themselves as monks to bluff their way through a hostile checkpoint.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeven Samurai (1954)
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Journalists Ichiro Sakai and Junko cover the wreckage of a typhoon when an enormous egg is found and claimed by greedy entrepreneurs. Mothra's fairies arrive and are aided by the journalists in a plea for its return. As their requests are denied, Godzilla arises near Nagoya and the people of Infant Island must decide if they are willing to answer Japan's own pleas for help.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrutal Tales of Chivalry 6 (1969)
This is the sixth film in the Brutal Tales of Chivalry series
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die (1972)
The ninth and final film in the Contemporary Tales of Chivalry series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBull's Eye of Love (1958)
Young Lord Genjiro, who abandoned his castle to live as a commoner in Edo, returns home to restore peace amidst disruption over an inheritance dispute. Warned by a fortune-teller that he would die by the sword, the young lord must courageously battle 30 or 40 men who attack without warning. Meanwhile, his love affair with Kocho, a singer who is also a skilled archer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Aderyn Papur... and Pigs Might Fly (1984)
A boy living in underdeveloped Welsh village hopes for a better time of his homeland when seeing the two Japaneese businessmen with the apparent intentions to build a factory there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
The advertising director of Pacific Pharmaceuticals, frustrated with the low ratings of their sponsored TV program, seeks a more sensationalist approach. He orders his staff to Faro Island to capture King Kong for exploitation. As Godzilla re-emerges, a media frenzy generates with Pacific looking to capitalize off of the ultimate battle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBonobono (1993)
The first theatrical release, titled Bonobono, opened in theaters on 1993-11-13. The film has since been broadcast on domestic television in Japan, including on broadcast satellite channels such as NHK BS-2. The film has been released on VHS and DVD in Japan, including in a "no cut" edition.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Miyamoto Musashi and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Miyamoto Musashi?
The closest matches to Miyamoto Musashi are Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) and Zatoichi (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Miyamoto Musashi?
Start with Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), the closest match to Miyamoto Musashi.
What is the highest-rated movie like Miyamoto Musashi?
Seven Samurai (1954), rated 8.5/10 by 4,460 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Miyamoto Musashi?
Jigen Daisuke (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Miyamoto Musashi?
Yes: Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954), Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) and Zatoichi (2003).
How are movies similar to Miyamoto Musashi chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Miyamoto Musashi, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.