Chambara films are part of the Japanese period drama genre known as Jidaigeki. The Jidaigeki genre encompasses works across various media, including films, manga, and video games. Chambara films were revolutionary for Japanese cinema. Although the genre dates back to the 1920s, the Chambara films produced after World War II presented the concept of the samurai in a more realistic way, free from cultural stereotypes. The films imbued samurai with greater depth of character and moved away from dramatized portrayals of their lives, adopting a harsher style. Although Chambara films highlight the samurai’s warrior traits, the ability to refrain from fighting is emphasized just as much as the ability to fight. The best-known examples of the Chambara subgenre were created by Akira Kurosawa.