Cruel Tale of Bushido: Legendary Samurai Saga Gets Blu-ray Debut

Article Summary

• Cruel Tale of Bushido makes its Blu-ray debut, restored in 4K by Toei and released by Eureka Entertainment.
• Directed by Tadashi Imai, this Golden Bear-winning samurai epic explores the dark side of bushido tradition.
• Kinnosuke Nakamura stars in seven roles, tracing 350 years of family sacrifice and Japanese samurai code.
• Limited edition includes new artwork, a collector’s booklet, video essays, interviews, and revised subtitles.

Eureka Entertainment is set to release Cruel Tale of Bushido, the ambitious, multi-generational epic from Golden Bear-winning director Tadashi Imai. Presented from a breathtaking 4K restoration by Toei, the semilegendary film makes its Blu-ray debut as part of the Masters of Cinema Series, arriving in North America on March 24th, 2026. This strictly limited edition of 2,000 copies per territory is housed in an O-card slipcase and includes a collector's booklet. Cruel Tale of Bushido won the Golden Bear Award at the 1963 Berlin Film Festival for its uncompromising deconstruction of the concept of bushido.

Best known for dramas such as Until We Meet Again and An Inlet of Muddy Water, the Japanese filmmaker Tadashi Imai also directed Revenge, a highly accomplished and brutal jidaigeki picture. These two sensibilities come together in the film that might just stand as Imai's masterpiece: Cruel Tale of Bushido.

Kinnosuke Nakamura (Miyamoto Musashi) stars in multiple roles, playing seven generations of men belonging to the same family. In the modern day, salaryman Likura is devastated by his wife's attempted suicide. To distract himself, he begins working through his recently discovered family records. As he traces his personal history across 350 years, he discovers tale after tale of men who have suffered, debased themselves, and made untold sacrifices in the name of bushido, or the moral code of the samurai.

Cruel Tale of Bushido Limited Edition Blu-Ray Special Features

• Limited edition of 2,000 copies
• Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Tony Stella
• Limited edition collector's booklet featuring new writing by Japanese cinema expert Hayley Scanlon
• 1080p HD presentation from a 4K restoration by Toei
• Original Japanese mono audio
• Optional DTS-HD MA 5,1 audio
• Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release
• Telling a Cruel Tale – new interview with film critic Tony Rayns
• Years of Honour – new video essay on Cruel Tale of Bushido and Japanese history by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of Japan
• Trailer
  * All extras subject to change