# List of works by Akira Kurosawa
**Akira Kurosawa** (黒澤明, 1910–1998) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter whose recorded creative work spans directed features, screenplays for other directors, unfilmed scripts, and source material for Japanese and foreign remakes, from his 1943 debut *Sanshiro Sugata* to *Madadayo* (1993)[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372). He directed 30 films in his lifetime[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372), received an honorary Academy Award in 1990 at age 80, presented by [George Lucas](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-lucas) and [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)[2](https://www.nippon.com/ja/japan-topics/b07225/), and adapted literature from Japanese, Russian, and Western traditions throughout his career[3](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kenkyuart/24/0/24_19/_pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Directed features | 30 films over his lifetime, from *Sanshiro Sugata* (1943) to *Madadayo* (1993)[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372); one academic survey counts 31 feature films[3](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kenkyuart/24/0/24_19/_pdf) |
| Breakthrough | *Rashomon* (1950) won the Golden Lion at the 1951 Venice Film Festival, the first Japanese film to win a major award at a western festival[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa) |
| Signature works | *Ikiru* (1952), *Seven Samurai* (1954), *Throne of Blood* (1957), *Yojimbo* (1961), *High and Low* (1963)[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) |
| Literary sources | Adaptations of Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Gorky, Ed McBain, and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, among others[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa) • [5](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/person.aspx?person_id=92720) |
| Honorary Oscar | 1990, at age 80, presented by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg[2](https://www.nippon.com/ja/japan-topics/b07225/) |
| Posthumous credits | Screenplays and stories filmed after his death, including *After the Rain* (2000), *The Sea Watches* (2002), and *Ikiru* remake *LIVING* (2023)[6](https://eiga.com/person/29023/movie/) |
## Directorial features
Kurosawa joined P.C.L. (the precursor of Toho) as an assistant director in 1936, trained under directors including Kajiro Yamamoto, and debuted as a director with *Sanshiro Sugata* (1943), based on [Tsuneo Tomita](https://www.edgepedia.org/tsuneo-tomita)'s novel about the rivalry between judo and jujitsu[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) • [7](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/678-ak-100-25-films-by-akira-kurosawa). He established himself after the war with *[Drunken Angel](https://www.edgepedia.org/drunken-angel)* (1948) and *[Stray Dog](https://www.edgepedia.org/stray-dog-film)* (1949), which examined the harsh realities of postwar life[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372).
The table below lists the directorial features documented in the sources cited here; it is not the complete 30-film canon.
| Year | Japanese title | English title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | 姿三四郎 | Sanshiro Sugata | Debut; based on Tsuneo Tomita's novel[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) • [7](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/678-ak-100-25-films-by-akira-kurosawa) |
| 1944 | — | The Most Beautiful | Listed among his available films[8](https://films.criterionchannel.com/) |
| 1945 | 續姿三四郎 | Sanshiro Sugata Part Two | Drama[9](https://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/director/akira-kurosawa/) |
| 1945 | 虎の尾を踏む男達 | [The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-men-who-tread-on-the-tigers-tail) | Toho; 58 minutes, black and white[10](https://eiga.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E9%BB%92%E6%BE%A4%E6%98%8E) |
| 1946 | わが青春に悔なし | [No Regrets for Our Youth](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-regrets-for-our-youth) | Toho, 110 minutes; his first film after the war, with Setsuko Hara as the only female protagonist in his body of work[11](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/co-organizing/yusyueiga/yusyueiga2021_program/) • [7](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/678-ak-100-25-films-by-akira-kurosawa) |
| 1947 | 素晴らしき日曜日 | One Wonderful Sunday | An examination of the harsh realities of postwar Japan[7](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/678-ak-100-25-films-by-akira-kurosawa) |
| 1948 | 醉いどれ天使 | Drunken Angel | Toho, 98 minutes; first place in Kinema Junpo's 1948 critics' poll[11](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/co-organizing/yusyueiga/yusyueiga2021_program/) |
| 1949 | 静かなる決闘 | The Quiet Duel | Drama[9](https://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/director/akira-kurosawa/) |
| 1949 | 野良犬 | Stray Dog | Postwar police thriller[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) |
| 1950 | 羅生門 | Rashomon | Daiei, 88 minutes; Golden Lion at Venice 1951[11](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/co-organizing/yusyueiga/yusyueiga2021_program/) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa) |
| 1951 | 白痴 | The Idiot | Dostoyevsky adaptation[9](https://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/director/akira-kurosawa/) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa) |
| 1952 | 生きる | Ikiru | A dying civil servant searches for meaning[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa) |
| 1954 | 七人の侍 | Seven Samurai | 207 minutes; the most expensive Japanese production of its day[12](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/akira-kurosawa-10-essential-films) |
| 1955 | 生きものの記録 | I Live in Fear | [1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) |
| 1957 | 蜘蛛巣城 | Throne of Blood | Recasts *Macbeth* as a Japanese warlord[13](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/collection/akira-kurosawa) |
| 1957 | どん底 | The Lower Depths | Gorky adaptation[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) • [4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa) |
| 1958 | 隠し砦の三悪人 | The Hidden Fortress | A key inspiration for George Lucas' *Star Wars*[13](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/collection/akira-kurosawa) |
| 1960 | 悪い奴ほどよく眠る | The Bad Sleep Well | The first film made by Kurosawa's own production company; a tale of corporate corruption[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) • [13](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/collection/akira-kurosawa) |
| 1961 | 用心棒 | Yojimbo | Famously remade as *A Fistful of Dollars*[13](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/collection/akira-kurosawa) |
| 1962 | 椿三十郎 | Sanjuro | JFDB dates it 1961; Toho's copyright line reads ©1962[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) • [14](https://www.tohoeiga.jp/eng/movie.html) |
| 1963 | 天国と地獄 | High and Low | Toho–Kurosawa Production, 143 minutes; second place in Kinema Junpo's 1963 poll[11](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/co-organizing/yusyueiga/yusyueiga2021_program/) |
| 1965 | 赤ひげ | [Red Beard](https://www.edgepedia.org/red-beard-1965-film) | [1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) |
| 1970 | どですかでん | Dodes'ka-den | His first film in color, 144 minutes, set in a Tokyo slum[15](https://adrc-asso.org/sites/default/files/adrc/ged/plaquette_kurosawa.pdf) |
| 1975 | デルス・ウザーラ | Dersu Uzala | Foreign-funded production[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) |
| 1985 | 乱 | Ran | 162 minutes; foreign capital[16](https://filmhubmidlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Japan-2021-Funding-Guidelines.pdf) • [1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) |
| 1990 | 夢 | Akira Kurosawa's Dreams | Omnibus film built from dreams Kurosawa himself had seen[17](https://www.criterion.com/shop/browse/list?director=kurosawa-akira) • [18](https://secure.eiga.com/movie/30817/) |
| 1993 | まあだだよ | Madadayo | Final directed feature[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) |
In his later years Kurosawa directed large-scale productions funded by foreign capital, including *Dersu Uzala* (1975) and *Ran* (1985)[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372). He continued working to the end of his life: after a fall at his regular Kyoto screenplay-writing inn left him with multiple fractures and three years in a wheelchair, he died in 1998 at age 88, still drawing storyboards for planned projects such as *Ame agaru* and *Umi wa miteita*[2](https://www.nippon.com/ja/japan-topics/b07225/).
## Screenwriting and other credits
**Kurosawa as screenwriter.** Kurosawa wrote scenarios from early in his career; a magazine script titled *Shizuka nari* dates to 1942, and the National Film Archive of Japan's 2022 exhibition "Akira Kurosawa, Screenwriter" traced the genesis and revision of scripts including *Seven Samurai*, scripts he supplied to other directors, and newly discovered unfilmed screenplays[19](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/akirakurosawascreenwriter2022/). His major films were typically co-written: the shared scripts of *[The Hidden Fortress](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hidden-fortress)* by Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni, Ryuzo Kikushima, and Shinobu Hashimoto were described by screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara as the "Kurosawa task force"[20](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/NFAJ-Annual-Report_2022-2.pdf). He also edited every cut of his films himself[21](https://www.coronasha.co.jp/np/data/tachiyomi/978-4-339-02794-5.pdf).
**Unfilmed and abandoned work.** The 2022 exhibition showed the previously unlocated Japanese-preparation draft of *Tora! Tora! Tora!* from Kurosawa's version (1967) and the first public display of the final script for the television drama *Glass Shoes* (1971)[19](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/akirakurosawascreenwriter2022/). The [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) catalog credits Kurosawa under "history" for *Tora! Tora! Tora!* (1970) and *Visions of Eight* (1973)[22](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/8004).
**Hollywood and foreign credits.** AFI lists Kurosawa as author of the source material for *The Magnificent Seven* (1960) and *The Outrage* (1964), both derived from his films, and as the writer of the screenplay on which *[Runaway Train](https://www.edgepedia.org/runaway-train-film)* (1985) was based; *Last Man Standing* (1996) carries an author credit for him[22](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/8004). Eiga.com likewise lists a 原作 (original story) credit for the 1997 Japanese release of *Last Man Standing*[6](https://eiga.com/person/29023/movie/).
**Posthumous productions.** Scripts and stories Kurosawa left behind were filmed after his death: *After the Rain* (2000, adaptation and title calligraphy), *Dora-heita* (2000, adaptation), *The Sea Watches* (2002, adaptation), a 2007 remake of *Sanjuro* (screenplay), *Hidden Fortress: The Last Princess* (2008, original story), and *LIVING* (2023, original story, an English-language remake of *Ikiru* scripted by [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://www.edgepedia.org/kazuo-ishiguro))[6](https://eiga.com/person/29023/movie/) • [23](https://jfdb.jp/person/1372).
## Literary adaptations
A comparative study that analyzed all of Kurosawa's features describes him as adapting literary works across Japanese, Russian, and Western traditions and reworking them for postwar Japanese society and international audiences[3](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kenkyuart/24/0/24_19/_pdf). Documented examples include:
- **Ryūnosuke Akutagawa**: *Rashomon* adapts Akutagawa's "In a Grove" (藪の中), presenting four contradictory testimonies about a robbery-murder[5](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/person.aspx?person_id=92720).
- **Fyodor Dostoyevsky**: *[The Idiot](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-idiot-1951-film)* (1951)[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa).
- **Maxim Gorky**: *The Lower Depths* (1957)[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa).
- **Shakespeare**: *Throne of Blood* (1957) recasts *Macbeth* as a Japanese warlord[13](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/collection/akira-kurosawa), and *Ran* (1985) reworks *King Lear*, a pairing summarized in the headline of his New York Times obituary, "A Career in Film, From Judo to Lear"[24](https://shinsengumi-archives.github.io/samuraihistory/data/files/10_PDF_Files/9_kurosawa.pdf).
- **Ed McBain**: *High and Low* (1963)[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa).
The [National Film Archive](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-archive) exhibition adds that Kurosawa drew inspiration not only from Dostoyevsky, Shakespeare, and Shugoro Yamamoto, the authors most often discussed, but also from Balzac and many other literary works; an early film project proposal based on Balzac survives from around 1947[19](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/akirakurosawascreenwriter2022/).
## Remakes and international influence
Several Kurosawa films received English-language remakes, and the Hollywood generation that followed him venerated his work: in the 1980s and 1990s, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg helped Kurosawa find funding when he could no longer raise it in Japan[4](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa). *The Hidden Fortress* was a key inspiration for *Star Wars*, and *Yojimbo* was famously remade as *A Fistful of Dollars*[13](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/collection/akira-kurosawa). *Seven Samurai*, at 207 minutes the most expensive Japanese production of its day, established hallmarks that recur through his work: on-location shooting tied to landscape and weather, meticulous recreation of period sets and weaponry, and battle sequences shot with multiple camera setups[12](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/akira-kurosawa-10-essential-films).
## Counting the filmography
Reference sources differ on the total. The Japan Film Database, the Cinematek retrospective catalog, and a poster collection covering "all 30 films directed by Akira Kurosawa" each give 30 directed features[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) • [25](https://cinematek.eu/ftp/print-pr/CINEMATEK-2022-09_10_11.pdf) • [26](https://www.twovirgins.jp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/202509%E3%80%90TWO-VIRGINS%E3%80%91RIGHTS-CATALOG_english.pdf), while a 2024 peer-reviewed study of his literary sources states that the author watched and analyzed all 31 of Kurosawa's feature films[3](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kenkyuart/24/0/24_19/_pdf). The discrepancy reflects what is counted as a feature: the Québec repertoire, for instance, lists 31 films by the director[9](https://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/director/akira-kurosawa/). Individual titles also carry different dates in different records; JFDB dates *Dodes'ka-den* 1971 while the French retrospective and Toho's copyright line give 1970[23](https://jfdb.jp/person/1372) • [15](https://adrc-asso.org/sites/default/files/adrc/ged/plaquette_kurosawa.pdf) • [14](https://www.tohoeiga.jp/eng/movie.html), and *Sanjuro* is dated 1961 by JFDB and 1962 by Toho[1](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372) • [14](https://www.tohoeiga.jp/eng/movie.html). Both totals are reported here rather than resolved, since each reflects a defensible counting rule applied by a credible cataloguing body.
## References
1. [KUROSAWA Akira (黒澤明), Japan Film Database](https://jfdb.jp/en/person/1372)
2. [黒澤明：世界の映画界に多大なる影響を与えた巨匠, Nippon.com](https://www.nippon.com/ja/japan-topics/b07225/)
3. [黒澤明作品の文学的根源, 芸術研究 (2024)](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/kenkyuart/24/0/24_19/_pdf)
4. [Where to begin with Akira Kurosawa, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/where-begin-with-akira-kurosawa)
5. [黒澤明 略歴・フィルモグラフィー, KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/person.aspx?person_id=92720)
6. [黒澤明：関連作品（映画）, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/person/29023/movie/)
7. [AK 100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa, The Criterion Collection](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/678-ak-100-25-films-by-akira-kurosawa)
8. [The Criterion Channel, all films](https://films.criterionchannel.com/)
9. [Réalisateur: Akira Kurosawa, Répertoire des films classés (Québec)](https://repertoire.cinema.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/director/akira-kurosawa/)
10. [黒澤明, 映画ペディア (Fandom)](https://eiga.fandom.com/ja/wiki/%E9%BB%92%E6%BE%A4%E6%98%8E)
11. [令和3年度プログラム一覧, 国立映画アーカイブ](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/co-organizing/yusyueiga/yusyueiga2021_program/)
12. [Akira Kurosawa: 10 essential films, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/akira-kurosawa-10-essential-films)
13. [Akira Kurosawa collection, BFI Player](https://player.bfi.org.uk/subscription/collection/akira-kurosawa)
14. [FILMS by AKIRA KUROSAWA, TOHO Pictures](https://www.tohoeiga.jp/eng/movie.html)
15. [Rétrospective Akira Kurosawa, ADRC / Les Films du Camélia](https://adrc-asso.org/sites/default/files/adrc/ged/plaquette_kurosawa.pdf)
16. [Japan 2021 Funding Guidelines, Film Hub Midlands / BFI](https://filmhubmidlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Japan-2021-Funding-Guidelines.pdf)
17. [Akira Kurosawa films on Disc and Streaming, The Criterion Collection](https://www.criterion.com/shop/browse/list?director=kurosawa-akira)
18. [夢：作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://secure.eiga.com/movie/30817/)
19. [脚本家 黒澤明 (Akira Kurosawa, Screenwriter), 国立映画アーカイブ](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/exhibition/akirakurosawascreenwriter2022/)
20. [NFAJ Annual Report 2022, 国立映画アーカイブ](https://www.nfaj.go.jp/wp-content/uploads/NFAJ-Annual-Report_2022-2.pdf)
21. [クリエイターのための映像表現技法, コロナ社](https://www.coronasha.co.jp/np/data/tachiyomi/978-4-339-02794-5.pdf)
22. [Akira Kurosawa, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/8004)
23. [黒澤明, Japan Film Database (Japanese)](https://jfdb.jp/person/1372)
24. [Akira Kurosawa, Film Director, Is Dead at 88, The New York Times](https://shinsengumi-archives.github.io/samuraihistory/data/files/10_PDF_Files/9_kurosawa.pdf)
25. [Akira Kurosawa, CINEMATEK programme (2022)](https://cinematek.eu/ftp/print-pr/CINEMATEK-2022-09_10_11.pdf)
26. [AKIRA KUROSAWA Film Poster Collection, Two Virgins rights catalog](https://www.twovirgins.jp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/202509%E3%80%90TWO-VIRGINS%E3%80%91RIGHTS-CATALOG_english.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › National and regional cinemas by year › Thematic and subject film lists › Lists of films featuring recurring people, characters, and collaborations*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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