Japan Synopsis
風林火山
Kansuke Yamamoto is a samurai who dreams of a country united, peaceful from sea to sea. He enters the service of Takeda, the lord of Kai domain. He convinces Takeda to kill the lord of neighboring Suwa and take his wife as a concubine. He then convinces the widow, Princess Yu, to accept this arrangement and to bear Takeda a son. He pledges them his life. He then spends years using treachery, poetic sensibility, military and political strategy to expand Takeda's realm, advance the claim of Yu's son as the heir, and prepare for an ultimate battle with the forces of Echigo. Has Kansuke overreached? Are his dreams, blinded by love, too big?
The 1968–1970 Japan Window
65 Japan films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. Samurai Banners sits at position #8.
Other Titles From TOHO
The 1960s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1960s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Samurai Banners premiered. 202 total titles in this decade from Japan.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #1,303 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (72nd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.6 points above the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Action productions specifically: #570 of 1,714 (top 33%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | TOHO, Mifune Productions |
| Runtime | 2h 45m |
| Release Date | March 1, 1969 |
| IMDb | tt0064353 |