Summary
A hotheaded youth in 1880s Meiji Japan apprentices to judo master Shōgorō Yano, trading brute jujutsu bravado for discipline and humility. As Sanshirō matures, he proves judo’s spirit against old-guard challengers-including a deadly duel-while falling for his vanquished opponent’s daughter. Based on the novel by Tsuneo Tomita, son of Tomita Tsunejirō, the earliest disciple of judo.
Good for
- Family movie night
- Friends night
- Kids
Where to watch
Fingerprint
At a glance
Critics vs audiences
Critics like it more than audiences (+14)
Critics 80Audiences 66GoodWatch 73
Tomatometer80%
IMDb6.7
Letterboxd · 14 K ratings3.4/5
Audience score65%
Running time
1 h 37 min
Shorter than most dramas, −12 min on the typical 109
typical 10997Half of all dramas run 98–125 min.
Reach
Streams in 131 countries
+121Released
1943
March 25, 1943
83 years ago
Genre
DramaLanguage
Japanese
Original language
Made in
- Japan
Rated
No age rating yet.
Yes: its content advisories are violence, and the viewing guide lists it for kids.
What's in it
- ViolenceModerate
- Gore, disturbing imagesLittle or none
- Frightening scenesLittle or none
- Sex, nudityLittle or none
- Dark themesMild
In white: what the content advisories name. Levels from the title analysis.
Viewing guide
AdultsFamily Movie NightFriends NightIntergenerationalKidsPublic Viewing SafeSolo WatchTeensComfort WatchDrop-in FriendlyPure Escapism
and 9 more18 people
- Denjirō ŌkōchiShogoro Yano
- Susumu FujitaSanshiro Sugata
- Yukiko TodorokiSayo Murai
- Ryūnosuke TsukigataGennosuke Higaki
- Takashi ShimuraHansuke Murai, Sayo's father
- Ranko HanaiOsumi Kodana
- SASugisaku AoyamaTsunetami Iimura
- Ichirō SugaiPolice Chief Mishima
- Yoshio KosugiMaster Saburo Kodama
Kokuten KōdōBuddhist Priest- MSMichisaburō SegawaWada
Akitake KōnoYoshima Dan
Sōji KiyokawaYujiro Toda- KMKunio MitaKohei Tsuzaki
- ANAkira NakamuraToranosuki Niiseki
- ESEisaburo SakauchiNemoto
- KYKo YamamuroTorakichi
Ichirō RyūzakiMonma's pupil (uncredited)
Directing · 2
- Akira Kurosawa Director, Screenplay, Editor
- Seki Nakamura Assistant Director
Writing · 1
- Tsuneo Tomita Novel
Production · 1
- Keiji Matsuzaki Producer
Camera · 1
- Akira Mimura Director of Photography
Editing · 1
- Toshio Goto Editor
Sound · 2
- Seiichi Suzuki Original Music Composer
- Tomohisa Higuchi Sound
Art · 1
- Masao Tozuka Art Direction
Lighting · 1
- Masaki Ônuma Lighting Technician
Tropes
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Watch order
The Sanshiro Sugata series
Film 1 of 2 · then Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two
- Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
GoodWatch score 73You're here
- Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945)
GoodWatch score 53Film 2
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