时代剧是指以日本历史（所指的是1868年明治维新之前）为背景的日本戏剧、电影和电视剧，主要叙述日本历史事件和人物，展现当时武士、农民、工匠、町人的生活。时代剧电影有时也被称为剑剧（因为以日本刀、剑术比并为主要内容而得此名，有时也成为西方观众对时代剧的代称）。多数时代剧以日本战国时代、江户时代为故事背景，但也有剧作把背景设置在更早的时代，例如《地狱变》就以平安时代后期为背景。

时代剧的人物形象、风俗习惯、台词、情节等有一定体制，但与真正史实相比，时代剧多被大胆地、小说化地改编、加工过，主角的观点也被改成与现代正义感的定义一致，这是为了让现代的观众易于接受。

Jidaigeki(時代劇) is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular setting. Jidaigeki show the lives of the samurai, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants of their time. Jidaigeki films are sometimes referred to as chambara movies, a word meaning "sword fight", though chambara is more accurately a subgenre of jidaigeki. Jidaigeki rely on an established set of dramatic conventions including the use of makeup, language, catchphrases, and plotlines.