‘Sanshiro Sugata’: The Tale of the Lotus and the Rival

Acclaimed filmmaker Akira Kurosawa takes us on one man’s journey of self-discovery.

Sayo Murai (Yukiko Todoroki) and Sanshiro Sugata (Susumu Fujita), in “Sanshiro Sugata.” Toho

NR | 1h 19m | Action, Adventure, Drama | 1943

By the late 1800s, Japan was changing fast. The country had moved out of the old feudal age, when samurai held power, and into the Meiji era, a period when Japan pushed hard to modernize its government, military, schools, and daily life.