Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalHispanic Heritage MonthIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Shogun's Shadow

Original title: Shôgun Iemitsu no ranshin: Gekitotsu
  • 1989
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
788
YOUR RATING
Shogun's Shadow (1989)
SamuraiActionAdventureDramaHistory

A small band of heroes goes on a journey to protect a five year old who is next in line to become the Shogun of Japan. The boy's father, the Mad Shogun, tries to remove his son from the line... Read allA small band of heroes goes on a journey to protect a five year old who is next in line to become the Shogun of Japan. The boy's father, the Mad Shogun, tries to remove his son from the line of succession by any means possible.A small band of heroes goes on a journey to protect a five year old who is next in line to become the Shogun of Japan. The boy's father, the Mad Shogun, tries to remove his son from the line of succession by any means possible.

  • Director
    • Yasuo Furuhata
  • Writers
    • Hirô Matsuda
    • Sadao Nakajima
  • Stars
    • Ken Ogata
    • Miyuki Kanô
    • Sayoko Ninomiya
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    788
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Yasuo Furuhata
    • Writers
      • Hirô Matsuda
      • Sadao Nakajima
    • Stars
      • Ken Ogata
      • Miyuki Kanô
      • Sayoko Ninomiya
    • 9User reviews
    • 11Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations total

    Photos55

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 51
    View Poster

    Top cast54

    Edit
    Ken Ogata
    Ken Ogata
    • Igo Gyobu
    Miyuki Kanô
    • Yajima no Tsubone
    Sayoko Ninomiya
    • Oman no Kata
    Takeshi Maya
    • Hotta Masatoshi
    Yûji Oda
    • Tobe Saheiji
    Toshihiro Asari
    • Sobue Iori
    Norihito Arai
    • Koori Deneemon
    Masataka Naruse
    • Domon Genzaburo
    Shôtarô Hayashi
    Masaharu Arikawa
    Kojirô Kawanami
    Yukio Miyagi
    Shunji Sasaki
    Shunji Sasaki
    Kuniomi Kitani
    Seizô Fukumoto
    Seizô Fukumoto
    Takaya Shimoyama
    Ryuji Komine
    Masao Hirakawa
    • Director
      • Yasuo Furuhata
    • Writers
      • Hirô Matsuda
      • Sadao Nakajima
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    6.9788
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    8drunkenjedi420

    Decent and Thrilling

    At first this movie is a Sword battle, it then turns into a Drama/Action movie.

    The characters are great, and the fight scenes are almost Unreal. This unrealism makes it even more exciting. Sword fighters jumping from Trees 100 feet to the ground. Intense slashing scenes coupled with nice disciplined moves.

    There are great characters in the movie and it has a real feel to it. I almost at one point felt like I was in the 1800's following in on the action.

    All in all I would say this movie is just nothing but great!
    8gvis

    A great and overlooked Samurai movie.

    When I was eagerly chasing Asian movies about 5 years back this movie never popped up for some reason. I discovered it by some rare movie website. I'm sure glad I did.

    This movie has all the ingredients for a movie of my taste: sword fights, nice scenery and a moving story.

    The story isn't too deep; a young kid is a heir to a shogun title, his older brother hates that and wants him dead. About 7 samurai take up a journey to bring the kid safely to his destination.

    Not the most compelling story, I know, but this is an action movie. The scenes and scenery are enough to keep me interested. My only problem was the cheesy hair metal song that was played during one of the battle scenes. Other than that, this movie is recommended for fans of action/adventure movies.
    7Yocke

    Cool samurai/adventure film

    This was a cool samurai/adventure film. Lots of swordplay action, and lots of other cool action scenes too. Too bad Sonny Chiba's not in it more than he is though. He plays the main villain, so we don't get to follow him as much as the team of heroes.

    The story is about a child who is the heir to become the next shogun, but the bad guys doesn't want that. They want some other kid to become the next shogun instead. Anyway, to become the next shogun the kid has to be in a certain temple at a certain time, and it's up to the good guys to get him there, and the bad guys try to stop them.

    This is pop-samurai action at its best. Go look for it.
    9jessepowell-34261

    Classic

    The action starts right away and only gets better. Story moves along well and has many great action sequences. Sony Chiba was an exception villain. Could have done better to give him more screen time but did get just enough of him. About 2/3rds into the movie an 80s rock song starts playing out of nowhere amd didn't know how to feel at first because it gave the movie a new vibe but it was awesome gave the movie and heroes an even better vibe like fight scenes from blood sport or other cult 80s classics. The movies conclusion was beautifully executed both with the fighting acting and ending. It was a great watch I highly recommend and will add to my samurai dvd collection of classics.
    9Maxibon

    One of the best samurai-movies I have seen

    This is a great movie, if you don't take it too seriously. The hero-characters are very different from each other, and their unique abilities makes them a great team. I love this movie - it's great fun to watch.

    Best Emmys Moments

    Best Emmys Moments
    Discover nominees and winners, red carpet looks, and more from the Emmys!

    More like this

    Samurai Reincarnation
    6.5
    Samurai Reincarnation
    The Fall of Ako Castle
    7.2
    The Fall of Ako Castle
    Yagyu Clan Conspiracy
    7.1
    Yagyu Clan Conspiracy
    Bodyguard Kiba 2
    6.1
    Bodyguard Kiba 2
    Yakuza Wolf: I Perform Murder
    6.6
    Yakuza Wolf: I Perform Murder
    Bodyguard Kiba
    5.3
    Bodyguard Kiba
    Sailor Suit and Machine Gun
    6.3
    Sailor Suit and Machine Gun
    Sympathy for the Underdog
    7.3
    Sympathy for the Underdog
    Samurai Wolf
    7.1
    Samurai Wolf
    Karate for Life
    6.6
    Karate for Life
    The Legend
    7.1
    The Legend
    Samurai Wolf II
    6.9
    Samurai Wolf II

    Related interests

    Toshirô Mifune, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Katô, Isao Kimura, Seiji Miyaguchi, and Takashi Shimura in Seven Samurai (1954)
    Samurai
    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Still frame
    Adventure
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Liam Neeson in Schindler's List (1993)
    History

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The story of the 2008 Star Wars film The Clone Wars was inspired by this film.
    • Alternate versions
      German VHS and TV versions were cut by several minutes to secure a FSK-18 rating. The FSK-16 rated DVD by EuroVideo is further censored. Only in 2024 was the uncut version released on Blu-ray in Germany with a FSK-18 rating.

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ12

    • How long is Shogun's Shadow?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 14, 1989 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Тень сёгуна
    • Production company
      • Toei Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 54m(114 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.