Menu
© 2026 The Couch Critic
Browse 35 movies from Toei Studios Kyoto
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.
Sep 2010
Set in war-torn 15th century Kyoto, on the eve of the Onin War, the movie centers on a band of outlaws led by Hyoe, a scoundrel whose lethal sword skills place him at the tip of the spear in a deadly uprising against the corrupt Shogunate and its army, led by former friend-turned-archrival Doken.
Jan 2025
Two historical incidents that deepened the friendship between Japan and Turkey are connected in this story of friendship and compassion: In the night of 16 September 1890 the Turkish frigate Ertuğrul is caught up in a typhoon and sinks off the Japanese coast. Risking their own lives, local villagers are able to rescue 69 Turkish sailors. Although being very poor and having hardly to eat, the villagers share what little they have with strangers from a country 9,000 kilometers away. 95 years later, during the Iran-Iraq War, more than 300 Japanese are stranded in Tehran. In the morning of 19 March 1985 a Turkish Airlines aircraft takes off for Tehran to evacuate the Japanese. But the remaining Turks at Tehran Mehrabad Airport still need to be convinced that they won't be able to board their own country's rescue flight.
Dec 2015
Oda Nobunaga and Nōhime were originally married to mend a hostile relationship between neighbouring regions. Unfortunately, they were like oil and water, making for a somewhat unhappy marriage. When Oda's enemy, Imagawa Yoshimoto, attacks Owari with his vast army, Oda is devastated by the overwhelming gap in military strength. However, Nohime encourages him not to despair, and the pair draw up a tactical plan that will allow them to overcome the odds.
Jan 2023
Japan around 1860: popular courtesan Asagiri will be freed soon from her service, yet she cannot imagine any other existence. Until one day at a local festival, Asagiri meets the young artisan Hanjiro by chance – an encounter that changes her destiny. With a strong performance by leading actress Yumi ADACHI and exquisite camerawork and production design, A COURTESAN WITH FLOWERED SKIN succeeds in recalling the golden age of Japanese erotic film.
Nov 2014
The second in Norio Nanjo’s “Secret” series. The former secret phantom Sanzo (Hiroki Matsukata) and Yume no Gosuke (Ashiya Gannosuke), who escaped after clashing with their superiors, travel to the castle town of Kurume in Kyushu.
Feb 1982
A Japanese geologist discovers that dinosaurs still exist in caves beneath the surface of a volcanic lake.
Apr 1977
In January 1810 in Edo, Kikunosuke, the 17-year-old-son of a murdered samurai, takes revenge on his father's murderer, Sakubai, who was his father's former retainer. Kikunosuke gloriously defeats the swaggering Sakubai in single combat in front of a theater, witnessed by a huge audience that had just finished watching a production of 47 Ronin. With Sakubai's severed head, Kikunosuke has achieved his revenge and ensured that his family won't be exiled. 18 months later, a ronin named Soichiro Kase from Kikunosuke's domain arrives at the theater. While he seems silly and smooth-talking, he's very keen on finding out more about the incident and Kikunosuke's time working at the theater. The theater's staff – the barker Ippachi, the swordsmanship teacher Sagara, the costumer Hotaru, the craftsman Kyuzo, and the playwright Kinji – are apprehensive and suspicious at his digging. However, not everything is as it seems.
Feb 2026
Mito Domain Samurai Seki Tetsunosuke must pay the consequences for his role in the assassination of Great Elder Ii Naosuke. Based on true events.
Oct 2010
A samurai who gets hit by lightning wakes up to find himself on a film set in the present day and starts to work as an extra on samurai films.
Aug 2024
At the strong insistence of his father, Ushimatsu Segawa conceals his origins from a “buraku” area of low-class “untouchables,” leaving his hometown to serve as an elementary school teacher where he excels and is loved by his students. But he constantly struggles with the secret of his low-birth status and is disturbed by all of the discrimination levelled upon his class. It prevents him from pursuing a romance with Shiho, whom he meets at the temple where he resides, but who descends from a samurai family.
Jul 2022
In 1868, a battle between new government forces and shogunate forces are about to take place in Edo. Katsu Kaishu wants to avoid useless bloodshed and sends a peace envoy to Takamori Saigō, but Katsu Kaishu is unable to get a response from Takamori Saigō. One day, Katsu Kaishu meets high school teacher Mikako and her student Masaya who is captivated by the shogunate. Mikako and her student Masaya tells Katsu Kaishu that they are from the future. Katsu Kaishu takes care of Mikako and her student Masaya, while Mikako hopes to go back to the future where she came from.
Jul 2014
With the promise made to their deceased father in his heart, the older brother, Toshiki, has continued to protect his younger sister, Fumiko. Now that Fumiko is getting married, the burden he carried should have finally been lifted, but a long-buried "secret" of Fumiko has resurfaced.
Apr 2025
Blue-eyed ronin Nemuri Kyōshirō is ordered to eliminate assassins targeting a senior official. A rosary links the plot to hidden Christians, drawing him into rival power struggles—and multiple factions trying to kill him.
Mar 2026
In Kyoto, Mayuko (Haruka Ayase) stands at a crossroad in her life. She's thinking about marriage with her boyfriend Kyoichi (Hiroyuki Hirayama). By an accidental opportunity, Mayuko stays at Honnouji Hotel. There, she meets historical figure Nobunaga Oda (Shinichi Tsutsumi) who is attempting to unify Japan.
Jan 2017
The main character, Baian Fujieda, is a dark hero who has two faces: one as a skilled acupuncturist who saves lives, and the other as a criminal who buries evil that cannot be kept alive for the sake of others. Popular writer Shotaro Ikenami's historical novel series of the same title, on which the film "BAIAN The Assassin, M.D." is based, is a blockbuster bestseller with a total of over 6 million copies in print and has been made into a timeless entertainment film many times in Japan. Many famous actors have played the role of Baian, including Ken Watanabe. The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of Shotaro Ikenami's birth. In the anniversary year of 2023, a new "BAIAN The Assassin, M.D." is born.
Apr 2023
Sen no Rikyu (Ebizo Ichikawa) is the son of a fish shop owner. Sen no Rikyu then studies tea and eventually becomes one of the primary influences upon the Japanese tea ceremony. With his elegant esthetics, Sen no Rikyu is favored by the most powerful man in Japan Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Nao Omori) and becomes one of his closest advisors. Due to conflicts, Toyotomi Hideyoshi then orders Sen no Rikyu to commit seppuku (suicide). Director Mitsutoshi Tanaka's adaptation of Kenichi Yamamoto's award-winning novel of the same name received the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the 37th Montréal World Film Festival, the Best Director Award at the 2014 Osaka Cinema Festival, the 30th Fumiko Yamaji Cultural Award and the 37th Japan Academy Film Prize in nine categories, including Best Art Direction, Excellent Film and Excellent Actor.
Sep 2013
A young Japanese boy's life is changed when his sister returns to the small island, full of eccentric characters, where he lives.
Apr 2003
The anti-gangster law has been very bad for business, but one yakuza boss is running his syndicate like a ruthless conglomerate -- and thriving.
Jun 1993
World disasters wake up prehistoric beasts at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
Jan 1978