Japan House London is delighted to present a new film season introducing classic samurai films from the 1950s and 1960s, the genre’s golden age.

Known for their climatic chanbara (sword-fighting) scenes, these films depict the virtues of samurai code, such as justice, courage, benevolence, honour or loyalty, while simultaneously portraying the samurai’s sorrow, contradictions and ruthlessness.

The samurai film is itself part of a wider Japanese film genre: the jidaigeki (Japanese period drama). Jidaigeki films have been produced since before World War II but experienced a resurgence in post-war Japan. In this era of rapid transformation, nostalgia for earlier values such as the moral and ethical principles of bushidō (the samuari moral code) grew among the Japanese population. Works set in the Sengoku period (1467 – c. 1600) through to the late Edo period (1603–1868) form the core of the jidaigeki genre.

Samurai films have been produced by many outstanding directors such as Kurosawa Akira and gave rise to a dazzling array of star actors including Mifune Toshirō. This film season introduces works by these key figures as well as lesser known but highly regarded directors and actors in Japan.

Five films will be shown at Japan House London, with screenings on one Sunday afternoon of each month and one weekday evening.

• Sunday 15 and Wednesday 25 February 2026: Seven Samurai (1954)
• Sunday 22 and Wednesday 25 March 2026: Harakiri (1962)
• Sunday 12 and Wednesday 22 April 2026: The Loyal 47 Ronin (1958)
• Sunday 10 and Wednesday 27 May 2026: The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
• Sunday 14 and Wednesday 24 June 2026: Three Outlaw Samurai (1964)
  

The films and screening dates are subject to change due to circumstances.

Booking opens for each title approximately two weeks in advance of the first screening.

The screenings are in Japanese with English subtitles.