Samurai’s Bushido in Cinema
iView Author: Ram V (Bangalore, India)
Email: Shrey.dna [at]gmail[dot]com
Samurai’s Bushido in cinema
I have no enemy; I make Incautiousness my Enemy.
I have no armour; I make Benevolence my Armour.
I have no castle; I make Immovable Mind my Castle.
I have no sword; I make No Mind my Sword.
- The Samurai Creed
The Dawn of the Samurai
Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Shchinin No Samurai’ opened up a whole new world to the cinema audiences across the globe, one that of the Samurai. Years later when we look behind us at the body of work created based on this warrior class from Japan, we are awe-struck at the cinematic vibgyor spun in time. Seven colors of rainbow, Seven the Samurai and Seven their principle. Was Seven chosen by design, one would never know, as the great master Kurosawa never revealed his secret, in the movie though, he just offers strategic reasons for Seven. But on closely examining the characters of his masterpiece, they seem to represent primarily one each of the Seven Principle of the Bushido (Samurai Code of Conduct)
1. Gi: the right decision, taken with equanimity, the right attitude, the truth. When we must die, we must die. Rectitude.
Kambei Shimada, the leader, wise, in control , brings together the group. He commands respect without demanding it , he says when Katsushiro desires to be his student ‘You’re overestimating me. Listen, I’m not a man with any special skill, but I’ve had plenty of experience in battles; losing battles, all of them. In short, that’s all I am.’
2. Yu: bravery tinged with heroism.
Kyuzo – When the whole team is worried about ‘How many?’ bandits are they up against, Kyuzo, silent and brooding, stands up for the task, walks in the dark night and returns back with a gun and also the count of their enemy band. The non-fuzzy brave and highly courageous
3. Jin: universal love, benevolence toward mankind; compassion.
Heihachi Hayashida – The jester of the team, he ensures good humor in the environment. He is compassionate towards the villagers and their plight.
4. Rei: right action–a most essential quality, courtesy.
Gorobei Katayama – The second in command, upright and steadfast, Gorobei, is specific and a liaison for Kambei to rest of the team and the village.
5. Makoto: utter sincerity; truthfulness.
Kikuchiyo – A samurai by action , not by birth, the fiery kikuchiyo speaks truth that tears through the ears of the villagers, while being extremely sincere to the cause, as he waves the Seven flag to up the morale of the team.
ó. Melyo: honor and glory.
Katsushirō Okamoto – The Aristocratic young blood , who is in seek of glory, finds a master in Kambei. He lives and fights for honor and glory.
7. Chugo: devotion, loyalty.
Shichiroji – The kinsman of Kambei, reunites with him for this mission. His unquestioning devotion and loyalty towards the leader Kambei and the group is evident throughout the potrayal
Thus , Kurosawa, deftly placed interwoven strains of the seven principles, well hidden into his characters. As Samurais they had to possess all seven, and they did, however each one of them exemplified in a particular trait. Another gift of this masterpiece to the world cinema, was Toshiro Mifune. Young, filled with hithero unseen explosive energy, he set the screens on fire. Mifune went on to play Samurai again several times in his illustrious career.
The Samurai Trilogy, by Hiroshi Inagaki (1954, imdb) was a technicolor extravaganza, in which Mifune reprised the role of Musashi Miyamoto all through out. The series is an extremely enjoyable ride, from the making of a Samurai, through his various exploits and finally renunciation, after duelling with Kojiro Sasaki, a highly skilled and extremely composed opponent.
The Fiery Noon and Long Afternoons
Kurosawa, in his Jida-Geiki ( Historical War Films), always sought the Samurai route, and none but Toshiro Mifune fitted the bill. The tragic ‘Throne of Blood’ or adventure ride ‘Golden Fortress’ (the inspiration for Star Wars) , or the Ronin (Samurai without a Master) affairs, ‘Yojimbo’ and ‘Sanjuro’, cemented Mifune as the Samurai synecdoche. ‘Yojimbo’ and ‘Throne of Blood’ were noteworthy for powerful performance by Mifune, who by now not only erupted but also consumed the whole screen with his histrionic volcano.
Hara-Kiri is the ritual suicide, that a Samurai practices, in order to retain honor, and avoid being killed by opponents. Masaki Kobayashi ’s ‘Hara-Kiri’ (1962,imdb) explores the various facets of this ritual, the social structure of 17th century Japan, along with delving deep into the mindset of Samurais as they put it to practice. ‘Hara Kiri’ traces the life of a Samurai who is ordered not to perform the ritual for social reasons. Kobayashi followed it up with the Samurai tale with a twist of the third kind, a horror samurai flick ‘Kwaidan’ (1964, imdb) one of whose stories, ‘Black Hair’ is that of a Samurai who forsakes his wife for a rich woman, only to return back later to his first wife, who is now a bit different.
Kobayashi then teamed up with Mifune to bring out perhaps the most rebellious Samurai film till age, which represented Isaburo, stand up against his Lord’s atrocities, turning Ronin. ‘Samurai Rebellion’ (1967,imdb) is a treat to watch. The poignant images and explosive performances, along with sociopolitical statements make it a very important movie to deal with the glorified Samurai clan’s dark underbelly. Mifune, however, continued his Samurai fervor in films like ‘Samurai Assassin’ (1965,imdb) and ‘Samurai Banners’ (1969,imdb)
Samurai went shopping, to Paris buys out as Jean Pierre Melville’s ‘Le Samourai’ ( 1967, imdb) followed the paths of the Hitman ‘Frank Costello’ who very Samurai-like used mind and body to perfection in his assignment. This mostly silent masterpiece is a gem not be missed.
Blind Swordsman ‘Zatoichi’ and Swordswoman ‘Oichi’ made their presence felt in ‘Zatoichi On the Road’ (1963, imdb) and Watch Out, Crimson Bat (1969, imdb) respectively. They made several reappearances again, especially Zatoichi who lives amongst us even today with Shintaro Katsu’s compassionate version Zatoichi (1989 ,imdb) or Takeshi Kitano’s romanticized bloody version ‘Zatoichi’ (2003, imdb). hen it was the turn of the one-eyed Samurai ‘Yagyu Jubei’ who walked around with an eye-patch and a swift sword. Sonny Chiba reprised this role twice in ‘Shogun’s Samurai’ (1978,imdb ) and Samurai Reincarnation (1981, imdb). But these were nothing more than juvenile entertainment for blood thirsty audience who watched the underdogs beat , or rather cut the pulp out of wrong doers.
The Twilight of the Samurai
Akira got back into action, without Mifune though, in Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior , 1980, imdb) and Ran ( 1985, imdb). This time around, it was not petty Samurais and Ronin tales that where of the master’s muse, he instead chose to intricately decipher the life of Samurai lords, infusing his pet themes of greed, redemption and integrity in between, both these are extremely satisfying viewing experience. The long fixed camera opening shot of Kagemusha, is perhaps a bold cinematic move, only a master Samurai like Kurosawa could attempt.
Samurai went shopping to Hollywood, not a light one though, Jim Jamursch’s ‘Ghost Dog: The way of the Samurai’ (1999,imdb) featured exquisite performance from Forest Whitaker who lives by the ‘Bushido’ was the first to fall prey to this contagious genre. This was followed by a Studio biggie, Edward Zwick’s ‘The Last Samurai’ (2003, imdb), which dealt with the last years of the Samurai era in Meiji’s Japan.
The Japanese Filmdom got interested in the transition of the Samurai clan to a classless society during the Meiji era. Yoji Yamada was one filmmaker who, himself on the twilight of his long career, explored the social tension, apprehension and turbulence of a disturbing period to the Samurai clan, with his ‘Twilight Samurai’ ( 2002, imdb). A gem among movies, this extremely casual film, deals with highly complex issues with such eloquence, that literally leaves you spell bound. Excellent potrayal by the lead actor lend support to an enormously gifted directorial talent. He followed up this special work with ‘The Hidden Blade’ (2004, imdb) and ‘Love and Honor’ (2006, imdb) making it one Samurai trilogy that is irresistible.
I bid adieu with a clip from ‘Twilight Samurai’ where ‘Sebei’, the petty samurai, turns up to duel with a wooden stick against the vicious ‘Toda’.
I have no sword; I make No Mind my Sword.
References and recommended reads:-
amazon link
wikipedia link
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excellent …a well researched and referenced article ,the need of the hour in PFC.
Thanks Vineet..