Movies Like Tenchu! (1969)

Tenchu! is a 1969 action, drama, history film from Hideo Gosha with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with When the Last Sword Is Drawn and Samurai Assassin.

Action Drama History

When the Last Sword Is Drawn

2003

Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.

7.5

MagicScore

Samurai Assassin

1965

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.

7.3

MagicScore

The Sword of Doom

1966

Ryunosuke, a gifted swordsman plying his trade during the turbulent final days of Shogunate rule, has no moral code and kills without remorse. It’s a way of life that leads to madness.

7.7

MagicScore

13 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.

7.3

MagicScore

Samurai Marathon

2019

When feudal lord Itakura Katsuakira decides to prepare his samurai troops for the onslaught of modernization by having them compete in a marathon, his independent-minded daughter Yuki secretly joins the race.

6.0

MagicScore

11 Rebels

2024

When the brutal Boshin War breaks out in Japan, a group of inmates on death row unite to defend a fortress against the Imperial army.

7.3

MagicScore

Harakiri

1962

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.

8.5

MagicScore

Shinsengumi: Assassins of Honor

1969

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.

6.8

MagicScore

Sanjuro

1962

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Kurosawa's tightly paced, beautifully composed "Sanjuro." In this companion piece and sequel to "Yojimbo," jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan's evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a proper samurai on its ear.

8.0

MagicScore

#10

Killing

2018

In Edo period Japan, a lone ronin lives in a village helping the farmers tend to their land. One day, a group of outlaw swordsmen enter the village.

7.2

MagicScore

#11

The Hidden Blade

2004

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.

7.4

MagicScore

#12

The Lower Depths

1957

Residents of a rundown boardinghouse in 19th-century Japan, including a mysterious old man and an aging actor, get drawn into a love triangle that turns violent. When amoral thief Sutekichi breaks off his affair with landlady Osugi to romance her younger sister, Okayo, Osugi extracts her revenge by revealing her infidelity to her jealous husband.

7.1

MagicScore

#13

A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era

1957

Saheji, a man-about-town, gets stuck at a high-class brothel when he can’t pay the bill. He makes the best of his situation by performing various tasks amidst the tumult of the end of the shogunate—but always by making sure to get a “commission” for his troubles.

7.0

MagicScore

#14

Rurouni 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.

7.6

MagicScore

#15

Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins

2012

In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.

7.5

MagicScore

#16

The Twilight Samurai

2002

Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?

7.8

MagicScore

#17

Assassination

1964

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.

7.1

MagicScore

#18

Yojimbo

1961

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

8.1

MagicScore

#19

Rurouni 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.

7.7

MagicScore

#20

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning

2021

Before he was a protector, Kenshin was a fearsome assassin known as Battosai. But when he meets gentle Tomoe Yukishiro, a beautiful young woman who carries a huge burden in her heart, his life will change forever.

7.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Tenchu!?

The top films similar to Tenchu! by MovieMagicScore are When the Last Sword Is Drawn (7.5), Samurai Assassin (7.3), The Sword of Doom (7.7). Each shares action/drama/history themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Tenchu! worth watching?

Tenchu! holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 39 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Tenchu!?

Tenchu! (1969) is a action, drama, history film directed by Hideo Gosha, starring Shintarō Katsu, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yukio Mishima.

Where can I find more recommendations like Tenchu!?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more action recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like When the Last Sword Is Drawn Movies like Samurai Assassin Movies like The Sword of Doom Movies like 13 Assassins Movies like Samurai Marathon Movies like 11 Rebels

About movies like Tenchu!

This ranked list pairs Tenchu! (1969), a action and drama and history film from Hideo Gosha, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Shintarō Katsu take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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