Japan Throne of Blood ranks #2 among 31 Japan films released between 1956–1958.
Synopsis
蜘蛛巣城
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
Audience Engagement
726 audience reviews — more than 96% of Japan films in our index.
Review volume (96th percentile) outruns trending popularity (78th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Throne of Blood. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From TOHO
Drama + History in Japan
82 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Drama and History genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Throne of Blood itself).
The 1956–1958 Japan Window
Among 31 Japan films we catalog from this window, Throne of Blood places #2 — near the top of its class.
The 1950s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1950s in Japan, 76 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Throne of Blood premiered alongside 9 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 9 other Japan films in 1957.
The 94th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Throne of Blood, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- prophecy · 4
- betrayal · 28
- feudal japan · 26
- ambition · 7
- castle · 6
- feudal lord · 6
- japan · 454
- based on novel or book · 288
- samurai · 128
- ghost · 84
- jidaigeki · 61
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #640 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (86th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is +1.0 points above the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Drama productions specifically: #266 of 1,933 (top 14%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | TOHO |
| Runtime | 1h 48m |
| Release Date | January 15, 1957 |
| IMDb | tt0050613 |