What does “samurai” conjure up for you? A virtuous Japanese warrior in immaculate armour, who’s scarily handy with a sword?

Hisyo Ishida is looking at me with undisguised disappointment. I cannot blame him. His movements are sharp where mine are clumsy. His hair is pulled into a neat topknot where mine is flapping in my ...

For many of us, our overriding image of Japan’s samurai comes from a school trip where we stood in front of a suit of armour and were told about fearless warriors, epic battles and an unbreakable code ...

Ellen Ripley, Willy Wonka, Carrie White, Superman, Darth Vader, and more make up our list of movie characters that defined the 1970s.