Shogun’s Samurai – also known as The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy – is one of Kinji Fukasaku’s most revered forays into the chanbara or samurai genre: a twisting tale of political intrigue and bloody betrayal starring Kinnosuke Yorozuya (The Fall of Ako Castle), Hiroki Matsukata (Battles Without Honor and Humanity) and the incomparable Shinichi “Sonny” Chiba (The Street Fighter) in its lead roles.

During the Edo period, shogun Hidetada Tokugawa is killed, poisoned by an unknown assailant. In the aftermath of his death, a vicious power struggle breaks out between his two sons Tadanaga (Teruhiko Saigo) and Iemitsu (Matsukata), who is suspected of having arranged his father’s murder.

As the conflict between the two brothers intensifies and their father’s former allies are forced to choose sides, samurai Munenori Yagyu (Yorozuya) and his own sons Jubei (Chiba) and Munefuyu (Kentaro Kudo) become embroiled in the conflict until it reaches its bitter end.

Featuring Chiba’s first portrayal of the legendary samurai Jubei Mitsuyoshi Yagyu (a character he would later return to in Fukasaku’s Samurai Reincarnation), Shogun’s Samurai stands with The Fall of Ako Castle as one of its director’s finest and most accomplished samurai epics.