Kimiyoshi Yasuda was a Japanese film director from the 1930s to 1970s. He directed six films about Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman. He signed with Nikkatsu Kyoto studio as an assistant director and started working as an assistant director under Sadao Yamanaka and Hiroshi Inagaki etc.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 15, 1911
- July 26, 1983 (aged 72)
- Tokyo, Japan
- Director, also writer
- 10 on MovieCove · 77 credits in all
What are Kimiyoshi Yasuda's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Power.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
A split, not a type: Light 0 · Serious 6 · Dark 3
Grounded 2 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 5 · Intense 4
Steady 2 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 5 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 1
Casual 4 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 0
Resolved 9 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet6
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Kimiyoshi Yasuda's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (6).
Subscription and free streaming for Kimiyoshi Yasuda's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
77 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page.
Japanese Ghost Story Masterpiece Theater: The Ghost of Kasane Swamp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Japanese Masterpiece Ghost Story Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Hanshichi Torimonocho (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Priest of Darkness (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Mute Samurai(1973)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Zatoichi's Conspiracy(1973)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Kogarashi Monjiro (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Ghost of Kasane Swamp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Second Generation Young Boss (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Lefty Fencer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Sworn Brothers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Sequel: Secret Report From A Women's Prison (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Sleepy Eyes of Death 11: In the Spider's Lair (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
The Hoodlum Priest (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Bad Reputation: The Notorious Man of Legend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Tokyo Gambler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Zatoichi's Cane Sword(1967)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
殺人者 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Daimajin(1966)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
New Tengu from Mount Kurama (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Sleepy Eyes of Death 6: Sword of Satan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Adventures of Zatoichi(1964)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Sleepy Eyes of Death 3: Full Circle Killing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Zatoichi on the Road(1963)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Kumoemon to sono tsuma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Ame no Kudan-zaka (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
すっとび仁義 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
晴小袖 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Ghost Story: Depth of Kasane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
お嬢さん三度笠 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Hana no yukyo-den (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Megitsune Buro (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Hanatarō Jumon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
Akado Suzunosuke vs. the One-Legged Devil (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Akado Suzunosuke and the Vacuum Slash of the Asuka School (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Akado Suzunosuke Destroys the Devil Mask Gang (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Fighting Letter for 29 People (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Haha shirayuki (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
The Seven Changes of a Paper Crane Continued (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
The Seven Changes of a Paper Crane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Tsukiyo no aho dori (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Ninjutsu senshuken jiai (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Ninjutsu musha shūgyō (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Shirai Gonpachi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Shin Shokoku Monogatari: Otena no To Part 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Shin Shokoku Monogatari: Otena no To Part 1 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
The Dancer and Two Warriors (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
The Young Lord (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
The Young Swordsman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Date sōdō: Haha goten (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
関八州勢揃い (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Maiko monogatari (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Kai nusumadara kumo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Zoku suna-e jubaku: Yukijorō (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Suna-e jubaku (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Hiren tsubaki (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Haha no hitomi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1953)
Sado Island Elegy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
Furisode kyōjo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
Izayoi kaidō (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Jōen no hatoba (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
The Red Key (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Tetsuro no dankon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Komusō yashiki (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Pirate Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
Condor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
The Elephant Who Waited (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
Haha koiboshi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
The Man Who Laughs Last (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
That Night's Adventure (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1948)
Ouma wa nanajū nanaman seki (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
Miyamoto musashi Ichijōji kettō (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1942)
Shunjû ittôryû (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1939)
Career shape
A full career of 77 titles from 1939 to 1979.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Kimiyoshi Yasuda's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 82nd percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up7
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 10 titles divides audiences: 9 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser9
- Broadly Agreed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 74/100 and the pacing 52/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Kimiyoshi Yasuda work with?
People who share at least 2 of Kimiyoshi Yasuda's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Shintarō Katsu shares the most, 7.
Directors
- Yoshiyuki KurodaShared titles: Mute Samurai (1973), Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969)See all 2 shared titles with Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Writers
- Kan ShimozawaShared titles: Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973), Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971), Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968), Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967), Adventures of Zatoichi (1964), Zatoichi on the Road (1963)See all 6 shared titles with Kan Shimozawa
- Tetsurô YoshidaShared titles: Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969), Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968), Daimajin (1966)See all 3 shared titles with Tetsurô Yoshida
- Shôzaburô AsaiShared titles: Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969), Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)See all 2 shared titles with Shôzaburô Asai
Actors
- Shintarō KatsuShared titles: Mute Samurai (1973), Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973), Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971), Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968), Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967), Adventures of Zatoichi (1964), Zatoichi on the Road (1963)See all 7 shared titles with Shintarō Katsu
- Miwa TakadaShared titles: Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968), Daimajin (1966), Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)See all 3 shared titles with Miwa Takada
- Ryûtarô GomiShared titles: Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968), Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967), Daimajin (1966)See all 3 shared titles with Ryûtarô Gomi
- Goro KumonShared titles: Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973), Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Goro Kumon
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Akira IfukubeShared titles: Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973), Daimajin (1966), Zatoichi on the Road (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Akira Ifukube
- Toshio TaniguchiShared titles: Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971), Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969), Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967)See all 3 shared titles with Toshio Taniguchi
- Kanji SuganumaShared titles: Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968), Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968), Zatoichi on the Road (1963)See all 3 shared titles with Kanji Suganuma
- Chikashi MakiuraShared titles: Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973), Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Chikashi Makiura
Producers
- Masaichi NagataShared titles: Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969), Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968), Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968), Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967), Daimajin (1966)See all 5 shared titles with Masaichi Nagata
- Ikuo KuboderaShared titles: Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973), Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968), Zatoichi's Cane Sword (1967)See all 3 shared titles with Ikuo Kubodera
- John LedfordShared titles: Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969), Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968)See all 2 shared titles with John Ledford
- Yahiro YamatoShared titles: Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts (1969), Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968)See all 2 shared titles with Yahiro Yamato