
80 minutes
3/25/1943
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.

Denjirō Ōkōchi
as Shogoro Yano

Susumu Fujita
as Sanshiro Sugata

Yukiko Todoroki
as Sayo Murai

Ryūnosuke Tsukigata
as Gennosuke Higaki

Takashi Shimura
as Hansuke Murai, Sayo's father

Ranko Hanai
as Osumi Kodana
Sugisaku Aoyama
as Tsunetami Iimura

Ichirō Sugai
as Police Chief Mishima

Yoshio Kosugi
as Master Saburo Kodama

Kokuten Kōdō
as Buddhist Priest
Michisaburō Segawa
as Wada
Akitake Kōno
as Yoshima Dan

Sōji Kiyokawa
as Yujiro Toda
Kunio Mita
as Kohei Tsuzaki
Akira Nakamura
as Toranosuki Niiseki
Eisaburo Sakauchi
as Nemoto
Ko Yamamuro
as Torakichi

Ichirō Ryūzaki
as Monma's pupil (uncredited)