Synopsis
宮本武蔵完結編 決闘巌流島
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From TOHO
Action + Adventure in Japan
1030 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Action and Adventure genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island itself).
The 1955–1957 Japan Window
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island holds position #7 of 28 Japan films in the 1955–1957 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
#1Throne of Blood
★ 7.9 · 1957
#2The Burmese Harp
★ 7.9 · 1956
#3Floating Clouds
★ 7.8 · 1955
#4Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji
★ 7.4 · 1955
#5A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era
★ 7.4 · 1957
#6I Live in Fear
★ 7.3 · 1955
#7Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
★ 7.3 · 1956
#8Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
★ 7.2 · 1955
The 1950s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1950s in Japan, 76 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island premiered alongside 8 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 8 other Japan films in 1956.
The 85th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
87 audience reviews — more than 74% of Japan films in our index.
Review volume (74th percentile) outruns trending popularity (59th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- katana sword · 5
- miyamoto musashi · 2
- challenge · 1
- farm life · 1
- sword duel · 1
- ronin · 18
- samurai sword · 16
- bandit · 12
- samurai · 128
- biography · 75
- jidaigeki · 61
- sword fight · 56
- love triangle · 55
- village · 46
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #1,580 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (65th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +0.4 points above the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Action productions specifically: #677 of 1,714 (top 39%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | TOHO |
| Runtime | 1h 45m |
| Release Date | January 3, 1956 |
| IMDb | tt0049710 |

















