Best movies & TV Shows like Priest of Darkness

Assassination begins with the events of 1853 when "four black ships" anchored at Edo Bay, sparking civil unrest and the major political manoeuvring that saw the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. At a time when assassination had become a disturbing political tool, Shinoda's film follows Hachiro Kiyokawa, an ambitious, masterless samurai whose allegiances drift dangerously between the Shogunate and the Emperor.

Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu. The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine.

Set during the declining years of the Tokugawa shogunate, Shadow Hunters details the questionably noble exploits of three ronin who act as "Shadow Hunters". These three ronin are not your normal ornery ruffians who are looking for a drink, a broad and someone to jab a sword into, but are in fact former samurai who, rather than follow their destroyed fiefs and murdered masters into death via seppuku, have dedicated their combined sword prowess to stopping the government from raping its daimyos for valuable resources.

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

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.

The story takes place in feudal Japan, when any commerce with the rest of the world was strictly prohibited. An idealist suddenly appears in an isolated inn (the one that the title refers to), the head-quarters of a group of smugglers, with stolen money intended to ransom his loved one who is forced to work in a brothel.

A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.

Japan, 1860. The men of the Mito clan, victims of the Ansei purge, anxiously prowl around the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle with the intention of assassinating Naosuke Ii of Hikone, tairō of the Tokugawa shogunate and responsible for their misfortune.

A shogun's eldest son must do whatever it takes to survive a series of attempts on his life. He receives much-needed aid from seven warriors who are led by a strong leader.

This horror tale relates the consequences of a Japanese legend which tells of a man who has to betray his wife in order to achieve power.

This is a film about a real person. Sanada Yukimura fought a war against Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Nemuri Kyoshiro, a youthful and cynical ronin with unparalleled skill, is approached by both sides in a game of corruption, ambition, and double crosses. The leader of the Kaga clan, who thinks he has killed his smuggling partner, fears that the shogunate will discover his illegal activities. He learns of evidence that will prove his guilt. Meanwhile, his partner is not dead, and, assisted by a master of Shorenji boxing, is looking for revenge and for his loot. The Kaga leader sends the beautiful Chisa to enlist Nemuri's aid. The unexpected happens: the hard-bitten Nemuri falls in love. Can he protect her, topple the criminals, and avoid the boxer's deadly skill?

Second part of the series where sex magic skills of female and Iga ninjas clash over enourmous treasure of the Toyotomi family, discovered in connection with the plot to overthrow the shogunate.

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.

Nemuri Kyoshiro discovers a conspiracy centering around a band of disgruntled samurai wanting to avenge the death of their sensei, a political reformer that pushed for better provisions for the lower classes until he was assassinated by Shogunate agents. Their plot, to set fire to the oil refineries of two rich merchants and unleash a raging inferno that will hopefully burn down the Edo Castle.

1732, in the era of Yoshimune Tokugawa. West Japan suffers from a severe famine. Three years after wards, it appeared as though calm had been restored to the domain, but there is word that Jyuzo Matsumiya, the sword fighting instructor sent by the shogunate, is taking some suspicious actions.

When master swordsman Mikogami Genshiro of the Ono fencing school returns to find that his ailing sensei has been murdered in the dead of night, he must find the culprit and exact revenge. His return sets off a series of violent incidents and incites a high ranked female skilled in sword to test his mettle after he unwittingly offends her. The ever delightful Misora Hibari co-stars with the great Tsuruta Koji in this exciting tale set in the earliest days of the Tokugawa shogunate. Lots of exciting swordfights highlight this entertaining motion picture!

The story concerns the efforts of seven master swordsman who join together to protect the new inexperienced Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune from the evil plans of the Owari Clan's corrupt Lord. It's a colorful bunch, a drunk samurai, a master thief, a sword instructor and a Lord who is disguised as a ronin since it is an executable offense for a lord to wander outside of their domain without permission. As the Chief Magistrate becomes suspicious of the Owari plot to send men to Kodenmacho Prison to start a riot he begins to investigate the rumors. He soon calls upon the Lord of Mikazuki Castle and the Shogun's best friend to help thwart the evil ambitions and battle the rouge swordsman hired by the Owari Clan.

A tragic love story involving the 5th Shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty and a woman who became one of his concubines.

In central Tokyo, a young man, Sosuke, aspires to be a manga artist. His current work is about a battle between a hunter and a Japanese wolf. He can’t draw the extinct wolf well and struggles to develop the story. One winter’s day, Sosuke finds an animal’s skull while digging foundations at a construction site and takes it home. Is it a Japanese wolf’s skull?

Mito Domain Samurai Seki Tetsunosuke must pay the consequences for his role in the assassination of Great Elder Ii Naosuke. Based on true events.

During the reign of the 11th Shogun, a series of supernatural incidents occur every night in the Edo Castle. A beautiful inspector appears with thunder and lightning to suck people’s blood and kill them. The examiner’s true identity is Amakusa Shiro, a young samurai from the Amakusa clan that was destroyed by the harsh Christian persecution of the Shogunate. Shirō sold his soul to the devil and became an evil spirit. After 160 years since destruction of Amakusa, his revenge to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate begins.

Set in Kyoto in the last days of the Edo Period, the bloody conflict continues between local feudal domains, which aim to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the Shogun's police and city patrol. Tajuro Kiyokawa, once the master of the sword but now a depraved samurai who left his domain putting aside his past ambition, barely makes ends meet. Toyo, a woman who runs a tavern next door, feels affection for Tajuro who guards her place against nasty customers, but he never realizes Toyo's feelings.

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.

As the end approaches for Japan’s age of military rule, the Tokugawa shogunate brings together a squad of ruthless assassins to defend its representatives in Kyoto. These men were known as the Shinsengumi. Formidable swordsmen with unswerving dedication to their cause, the Shinsengumi think nothing of slashing down their enemies…but what happens when the enemy is the undead?

The story takes place in the year 1614. Two ninja clans, Tsubagakure of the Iga and Manjidani of Kouga, battle each other to determine which grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu will become the next shogun. The deadly competition between 10 elite ninja from each clan unleashes a centuries-old hatred that threatens to destroy all hope for peace between them.

Yoshitsune is a Japanese television drama series originally broadcast between 9 January and 11 December 2005, with a three-part special compilation being aired from 24 December to 25 December 2005. The 44th Taiga Drama, the original work is by Miyao Tomiko, screenplay by Kaneko Narito and starring Hideaki Takizawa.

The story takes place in Japan in the early 21st century, in an alternate reality where the Tokugawa Shogunate has remained in power. In this reality, student councils are tasked with oppressing schools. Yagyuu Muneakira is a high school student who rebels against his student council with the help of girls who've had the names of famous samurai heroes passed on to them.

Set in the Ryukyu Kingdom during the latter days of the Tokugawa shogunate, a woman takes the guise of a Eunuch to pass a government examination. She eventually becomes a government official still in the disguise of a man.

Ogami Itto is a master swordsman who holds a position of high power in the Tokugawa Shogunate. Highly trusted by the Shogun, he serves as the official decapitator, assisting lords and samurai who have been ordered by the Shogun to commit seppuku. One day, Itto’s wife and members of his household are brutally murdered by a clan seeking to avenge their lord’s execution, which had been carried out by Itto. In the wake of the attack, two items are left in Itto’s home: his unhurt infant son, Daigoro, and a symbol meant to signify Itto’s betrayal of the Shogun. Disgraced by the false symbol, Itto is labeled a traitor and forced to forfeit his position. He becomes a ronin, wandering the country with his son, searching for the men who killed his wife, seeking to clear his name and avenge her death.

It takes place at the time of the Shogunate rule with Shogun Hidetada and who will succeed Hidetada. A struggle for power between the family and the daimyos. Historically the Yagyu's have always been close to the Shogunate, and helped...

A story of Yagyu Jubei, master swordsman from the well-known Yagyu-Shinkage school in the Edo period. Even decades after the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, many were framing plots to topple Tokugawa's political system. The master of Yagyu-Shinkage school, Yagyu Munemori who serves the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu is commissioned to keep an eye on Daimyo lords all around Japan. Munemori's eldest son, Jubei starts a stealthy trip to fight against those who engage in secret maneuvers. Enjoy sword fighting actions between Jubei and his rivals.

Continuing the tradition of the Yojimbo movies, Mifune Toshiro stars as Toge Kujuro, a wandering ronin searching for his own fame and happiness. With a sense of justice, he travels the countryside, with his motley collection of outcasts - a pistol-carrying ronin, a two-bit con artist and woman seeking revenge, following close behind, unwittingly righting wrongs and protecting the common man.

After a devastating natural disaster, the Kanto region in Japan is now a wasteland of lawlessness, where the weak are playthings of the strong. Ruled with an iron fist by the Slum King, the people of Kanto have no hope left to them, living at the whims of raiders and bandits. In this hellish world, there is only one man with the power to stand up for the powerless, and his name alone strikes terror into evil hearts -- Violence Jack! Whether he’s saving women from sex camps, protecting the models of Zone C from those who covet their beauty, or exterminating a biker gang bent on destruction; if you oppress the weak, the only thing you can look forward to is a swift death from Jack’s knife!

The drama centers on Ashikaga Takauji's rise to power, overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate and eventually establishing the Ashikaga shogunate.

Tsukishima Yui and 5 other girls were summoned into the Edo period by a mysterious stones and each one of them had a power to protect people from evil and yui's power were ''words'' her hope-giving kind words.

The series follows the adventures of Sabu, a young Edo bakufu investigator traveling with the blind master swordsman Ichi. In their travels, they assist the common people in solving mysteries and righting wrongs (usually committed by bandits or corrupt officials). Sabu is engaged to Midori, the daughter of his boss, who works as a police officer for the Tokugawa shogunate.

Saigo Takamori, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, was born to a poor, low-ranking samurai family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture). His simple honesty caught the attention of its charismatic feudal lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. Nariakira’s assertion that the love of people is what will enrich and strengthen the nation captivated Saigo who took on Nariakira’s secret mission and eventually became a key person for Satsuma. Not a portrait of him survives today and much of his life is a mystery. He is a man who was twice exiled and thrice married. He overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate with exceptional bravery and action. Although he accomplished the restoration, he lost his life in a fight with the new Meiji government.

The 41st NHK Taiga Drama is Toshiie to Matsu. During the turbulent Warring States Era, one man's life and career intertwined with the three great generals of Japanese history-Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. With political savvy and the support of his fiercely loyal wife, Maeda Toshiie rose to second in power in the shogunate and built up a fiefdom that encompassed Echizen, Noto and Kaga.

The drama tells the story of the Sanada family. Originally serving the Takeda Clan they ruled the northern district of Shinano. The story begins right after the death of Takeda Shingen, continues through the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu who founded the Tokugawa shogunate and covers roughly the period 1580-1610.

Starting out in Edo, as Kyoshiro travels west toward Kyoto, he encounters some of the most dangerous obstacles in his career. Signs that the Tokugawa shogunate was vulnerable began to appear during the reign of 12th Shogun Ieyoshi. The Satsuma and the 13 Western non-Tokugawa lords began to act in suspicious ways. Minister Takebe, under orders from shogunate councilor Mizuno, attempted to quash this unrest. Nemuri Kyoshiro, a loner headed west, unwittingly becomes involved in the struggle.

The story chronicles the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

After spending 20 years searching for the object of his vengeance, Sekiya Kanbei discovers he is now a ronin. Inui Sanshiro was the head of a clan until his son succeeded him, or so he says. Genmu claims to have once been a ninja. These three elderly men join forces to travel the Japanese countryside together. Along the way, they encounter situations that bring out the "warrior" in each of them, and soon they are fighting the corruption and injustices that plague the common people.

A wildly unusual story set in the earliest days of the Meiji era. The story centers around a gathering place called The Mermaid Saloon, where scantily clad pearl divers put on a show while two residents of the inn upstairs...

Due to the long war, the Muromachi shogunate gradually declined. The world has entered the secret realm of mountains and seas during the Warring States Period, which advocated blood debt and blood repayment. Deep in the dense forest of the Kingdom of Nori, there is a gun group with the Yatagarasu as its military flag and emblem. They work as mercenaries and gallop on the battlefield, and their name is "Zahe Zhong". The person who inherited the title of leader of the Zahe clan was named Sun Yi, and he was a young man who drifted here from a foreign country. On the other side, Saburo, who was the first to notice the aggressive intentions of European powers, was running around to protect Japan. The two people who had nothing in common first became connected due to the attack of foreign invaders. How will this group of men in the Warring States Period implement their beliefs and justice. Their story officially begins——!

Following the ascension to power of Taira no Kiyomori, the Minamoto clan is exiled. Minamoto no Yoritomo meets Masako, the sister of Hōjō Yoshitoki and later marries her. Following this marriage, the gears of Yoshitoki's destiny begin to turn.

Ten years have passed since the end of Bakumatsu, an era of war that saw the uprising of citizens against the Tokugawa shogunate. The revolutionaries wanted to create a time of peace, and a thriving country free from oppression. The new age of Meiji has come, but peace has not yet been achieved. Swords are banned but people are still murdered in the streets. Orphans of war veterans are left with nowhere to go, while the government seems content to just line their pockets with money.

The 37th NHK Taiga Drama is Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The series focuses on the life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th and final ruler of the Tokugawa period. Born the seventh son of Lord Nariaki of Mito, Yoshinobu is named shogun when he is just 29 years old. With a wisdom and vision beyond his years, he tries to prolong the life of this 200-year-old dynasty which began with Ieyasu. However, he is unable to forestall the winds of revolution as clans in Choshu, Satsuma and Tosa, with the help of the Imperial Court, clamor for change.

Matsudaira Tadateru (Shin'ichi Chiba) the sixth son of Tokugawa Ieyasu that was stripped of his title and began life under an assumed name in the Red Light district of Edo. He solves crimes, heals the sick, saves the Geisha from evil Samurai and along the way he teams up with Yagyu Jubei (a role played numerous times by Chiba himself). Awesome Samurai Action.

Zankuro Matsudaira (Ken Watanabe) is a low-grade vassal of the Tokugawa Shogun, forced to moonlight as a bodyguard and executioner to make ends meet. He also has a drinking problem, an overeating mother, and a propensity to protect the oppressed, all of which eat into his finances. His confident mother Masajo (Kyoko Kishida) is the descendant of a famous family of shogunate retainers and a mistress of the pen and sword, who regards her son as a failure.