The history of samurai and their swords in films and series is rich and accompanies the entire history of the film.
Today, we'll outline the development, explain when and why the katana sword arrived in American film and name a few film and series classics that every sword fan should know.
Samurai in the first Japanese films
The old heroic tales of Japan's feudal warriors have always been part of Japanese stories and culture, even long before the advent of moving pictures in the form of films.
It is therefore not surprising that the topic has also arrived in Japanese cinema. There are countless films that re-enact historical events in Japan and depict Japanese history. Such films often tell the stories of famous samurai such as Oda Nobunaga or Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Some of these early works by Japanese filmmakers have become world-famous. For example the film The Seven Samurai from the 1950s.
The most famous actor from this period was Toshiro Mifune. He played in many classic films and embodied the roles of the samurai like no other. You can find more information about famous Japanese actors in our Article about Japanese actors.
The historical connection between the USA and Japan
There is a long-standing relationship between the USA and Japan. Historically, this has been rather negative, but in the long term it has had a positive influence on both countries, especially after the settlement of the disputes following the end of the military conflicts.
Japan had successfully cut itself off from the outside world for centuries. The first disagreement with the USA occurred in the 19th century when the USA would have liked to use the Japanese harbours for trade and as a berth for fishing.
Japan rejected this and this was followed by military intervention by the USA, which was so threatening that the entire Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown and the age of the samurai ended.
The second act took place during the Second World War. Fascist-led Japan was an ally of Nazi Germany and wanted to take its chance to avenge the above-mentioned humiliation and significantly weaken the USA. This resulted in the famous attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan.
This was followed by the first and only use of nuclear weapons against humans in the history of mankind. The USA bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki and forced Japan to surrender. The USA then occupied Japan for several years in order to keep the country under control.
Despite this catastrophic history, both nations were subsequently able to make peace and developed into partners with mutual respect. Both countries have become leading industrialised nations in the world (also with mutual support). From this perspective, it is an impressive story that is unlikely to be repeated anywhere else in the world.
The admiration for samurai in American films
With the mutual respect and exchange, interest in the history of the samurai also grew in America. Samurai swords in particular had been brought to America in large numbers as spoils of war from Japan after the Second World War and were highly respected there.
Eventually, the swords and the samurai also found their way into American cinema and American series.
In the 1980s, the American television series Shogun. It is based on a novel by James Clavell. This in turn is based on true events surrounding the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan in the 17th century. The names of the main characters were merely changed for the novel and the story was embellished somewhat.
The series was an international success and was even remade into a film and released on Disney+ in 2024. The Shogun-The new edition broke records in terms of both popularity and views for series on Disney+. Viewers' enthusiasm for the topic is still unbroken today.
After a successful time in the 1980s, samurai and katana experienced a new popularity around the turn of the millennium. With the films Last Samuraiwhich shows the end of the Tokugawa shogunate described above, and Kill Billin which katana play an important role, several films about samurai and their swords were released in 2003 and 2004.
Samurai in film and television in the recent past
Even after the huge hype around the turn of the millennium, there were still some interesting film adaptations. The film series Rurouni Kenshin received a lot of attention because of its lightning-fast and impressive fight scenes.
But the samurai sword, the katana, is also frequently used for battle scenes. It was used in the popular series Cobra Kai on Netflix, for example, a fight with samurai swords between Silver and Chozen.
A true classic - Zatoichi
The main character Zatoichi, a blind samurai with an idiosyncratic fighting style, deserves a special mention. Films about the cult figure have been released regularly since the 1960s. The last one in 2003 with the title Zatoichi - the blind samurai.
