Twilight Samurai

original title たそがれ清兵衛

At the start of the film, the main character, Iguchi Seibei, becomes a widower as his wife dies from tuberculosis, a common illness at the time. His samurai colleagues give him the condescending nickname "Tasogare Seibei," or "Twilight Seibei," because when it gets dark in the evening, he disappears to look after his senile elderly mother and two young daughters, Kayano and Ito, instead of going out with the others.

Things change when Seibei's childhood friend and the sister of one of his samurai friends, Tomoe, returns to town. Recently divorced from an abusive husband, she quickly bonds with Seibei's children. When her former husband returns in search of her, Seibei defends her honor in a duel, beating the husband, Koda, with only a bokuto (wooden practice sword) even when Koda battled with a steel sword. However, when Tomoe's brother, Iinima Michinojo, asks Seibei to marry her, Seibei refuses, citing his low standing and how he doesn't want her to live in poverty.

The final turning point in the film happens when Seibei's clan, having heard of his prowess with a sword, wants him to kill a former samurai retainer, Yogo Zen'emon, who refused to commit seppuku after acting against the interests of the clan. Seibei is also promised a rise in standing for this service. He is reluctant at first, but has no choice but to agree to do the task. Seibei's kodachi (short sword) fighting style is matched up against Zen'emon's ittōryū (single long sword) swordsmanship in an intense duel indoors. In the end, Seibei kills Zen'emon and finally gets to marry Tomoe.

In a brief epilogue, his younger daughter explains that their happiness was not to last: he died three years later in the Boshin War, Japan's last civil war.