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.

Genres

Cast

Denjirō Ōkōchi

Shogoro Yano

Susumu Fujita

Sanshiro Sugata

Yukiko Todoroki

Sayo Murai

Ryūnosuke Tsukigata

Gennosuke Higaki

Takashi Shimura

Hansuke Murai, Sayo's father

Ranko Hanai

Osumi Kodana

Ichirō Sugai

Police Chief Mishima

Yoshio Kosugi

Master Saburo Kodama

Kokuten Kōdō

Buddhist Priest

Sōji Kiyokawa

Yujiro Toda

Ichirō Ryūzaki

Monma's pupil (uncredited)