Samurai Films

INTRODUCTION

Imagine a mountain top, with long grass undulating in the unrelenting wind. Two figures come into view, a few short paces away from each other. Their firm stance conveys pride, determination and a strange sort of calm. In a flurry of motion, one of the men draws his sword, quickly followed by the other. With a flash of blades, and a mist of blood, it is over. One man walks away, the other doesn’t. Who are these men? How did they get to the point where violence was the only way to settle their dispute? And why did they both seem unafraid to die? Welcome to the world of the samurai film.

Samurai films come in many flavours: there are the basic action movies, beautiful in their brutal simplicity, the meaningful and moving tales of the individual’s struggle to survive, and the expansive, epic films that tell tales of famous personalities. In short, there’s something to please every fan of genre cinema. Within the pages of this book you’ll find everything you need to begin or continue an interest in this highly entertaining and unique genre. There’s basic information on the samurai and their world, details on the major directors and stars, and reviews of some of the finest films in the genre.

Every film reviewed here is easily available. This is a rule I’ve stuck to fervently while writing this book. It meant excluding some great films, such as Hideo Gosha’s Tenchu, but if you can’t easily see them I’ve decided not to extensively review them. There are few things I find more frustrating than buying a book about a genre, and discovering that most of the films reviewed have not been available for many years. At the time of writing, all but four of the films reviewed in this book are available on DVD from Amazon.com. These four films – Three Outlaw Samurai, Bandits vs. Samurai Squadron, Hunter in the Dark and Samurai Saga – can be purchased from importers, and are not at all hard to find.

So, happy viewing… Many excellent films await you.

A NOTE ON JAPANESE NAMES

In Japanese, it is the family name that comes first when an individual’s name is included in any form of text. This is the opposite of the convention in English, where the family name comes second. For example, in English my name is written Roland Thorne, but in traditional Japanese I might be referred to as Thorne Roland. To avoid confusion for those with only a limited knowledge of the Japanese language (a category I certainly fall into) I have chosen to follow the English convention in this book. As you explore the samurai film genre, you will probably notice that some books, articles and sub-titles on some of the films follow the Japanese convention.

WHO WERE THE SAMURAI?

Put simply, the samurai were a warrior class, forming the armies of feudal leaders during Japan’s many civil wars between the 10th and 15th centuries, and during the relatively peaceful Tokugawa period (1603-1868). They wore distinctive armour and fought with weapons and styles unique to Japan.

There are many aspects of the samurai’s life which constantly crop up in samurai films, and these may confuse those unfamiliar with them. What follows is a summary of the main issues of samurai life, which are commonly referenced in the films, as well as a brief summary of the historical periods in which the films are usually set.

CULTURED WARRIORS

The importance of the samurai in Japan’s early civil wars gradually led to them becoming an important social class, the more powerful samurai becoming daimyo, feudal lords ruling a clan, and the warriors and peasants beneath him. Many of these daimyo began to study the fine arts, in what has been described by many scholars as an attempt to legitimise their rule over the uneducated peasants. Most of these daimyo insisted their samurai do the same, so the samurai became a highly educated warrior class, not only skilled at warfare, but also at arts such as painting, sculpture, calligraphy, poetry, and traditional dance and theatre. This created in the samurai an interesting contradiction: a man who could write a beautiful haiku one day, and strike his enemy down the next. Of course, to the samurai, there was no contradiction; both poetry and swordsmanship were considered arts, and there was beauty to be found in both.

THE DAISHO

The daisho were the two swords carried by the samurai, usually a katana (long sword) and a wakazashi (short sword). In the Tokugawa period there was actually a law which stated only samurai were allowed to carry both a short and long blade. These swords were immensely important to the samurai; they symbolised his position in the warrior class, and were described by many as the very soul of the warrior. Even a samurai in the most desperate of situations would be loath to give up his swords.

BUSHIDO

Focused on honour and obedience, the code of bushido has done much to colour how we view the samurai, specifically giving rise to the myth of all samurai being morally outstanding individuals obsessed with honour. The underlying principles of the bushido code are loyalty and obedience; the ideal samurai puts the wishes of his daimyo and clan above his own, and is prepared to die for them. Also important to bushido is a sense of honour, something which was tied closely to each samurai’s reputation.

However, the historical reality is far from the ideal. Any close examination of how the samurai conducted themselves in times of war reveals that the vast majority followed the bushido code only when it suited them. In truth, the samurai were much like many other warrior classes which have arisen throughout history. They strove to be the best at warfare they possibly could, and placed more importance on victory than on honour.

Both the mythical bushido samurai and his more brutal historical counterpart, have been the subject of many Japanese films. Regardless of his mythic status, the samurai always makes a compelling protagonist.

SEPPUKU AND HARA-KIRI

Part of the bushido code focused on ritual suicide, known as seppuku, or, more crudely, as hara-kiri. A samurai could be ordered by his daimyo to commit seppuku in punishment for some wrongdoing, or may have chosen to do so in the hope of absolving himself of some personal shame. Seppuku could also be used as a form of protest, a signed letter outlining the samurai’s grievance. A death through seppuku was considered much more honourable than being killed by enemies, so if a battle was completely hopeless, a samurai might consider seppuku. The actual ritual involved making a long deep cut across the stomach. When this was done an assistant would complete the process by swiftly beheading the samurai, putting an end to his suffering.

RONIN

The term ronin literally means wave man, suggesting an individual adrift on the ocean, his future decided by the uncaring waves and currents. Ronin were masterless samurai, and there were many ways a samurai could end up unemployed. He may have displeased his daimyo, and been dismissed from his service. When daimyo were defeated in battle, and their lands taken by another, their samurai were usually left unemployed. It was also possible to be born a ronin. The strict class system of feudal Japan made it difficult for the ronin to fit into society; no longer able to fulfil the role he was born to, the ronin was also often too proud to give up his swords and become a farmer or merchant. Some lucky ronin were able to find employment with other daimyo. Others became bandits, or bodyguards and teachers to wealthy members of the lower classes. Many suffered dire poverty, unable to afford food and lodgings. The Tokugawa period produced many ronin. With the Tokugawa government regularly dissolving clans which displeased them, many samurai were left homeless and unemployed, forced to wander the roads.

Ronin in samurai films are typically portrayed as much more effective individuals than samurai in service. In many ways the two are polar opposites of each other: the employed samurai well dressed and cultured, the ronin unkempt and rude. However, the ronin’s tougher lifestyle has often equipped him with a much more cunning and creative mind. A common plot in samurai films is that of a ronin using his abilities to help employed samurai overcome difficulties they aren’t equipped to handle themselves (see Sanjuro and Kill!). The ronin, with his much freer lifestyle, is often used to show the shortcomings of the employed samurai’s life of mindless obedience. Sometimes ronin characters are even used to illustrate the moral deficiencies in this code. The best examples of this are the films of Masaki Kobayashi, in which there is a stark contrast between compassionate ronin and uncaring samurai.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Most samurai films take place in either the Sengoku or Tokugawa periods of Japanese history. The Sengoku period (1478–1603) was a time of chaos for Japan; rival daimyo (lords in charge of a clan and an army) battled to control the nation, and these constant wars meant that nobody’s safety was guaranteed. Samurai films set in this era often focus on actual historical events, as is the case with Samurai Banners and Kagemusha, and as a result tend to feature large-scale battles in all their splendour.

In stark contrast to this is the Tokugawa period (1603–1868). A daimyo named Ieyasu Tokugawa emerged from the Sengoku period victorious, and through various means was able to control the daimyo, preventing any challenges to his position as Shogun (military dictator in charge of Japan). This time of stability and peace became known as the Tokugawa period, and would last for the next 267 years, as Ieyasu’s descendants continued his rule. Ieyasu’s methods for maintaining peace in Japan involved establishing a regime of strict laws, with harsh penalties for disobedience. Japan’s already stringent class system became law, and travel was restricted through the use of passes and carefully guarded checkpoints. The daimyo were kept in line through the very clever tactic of having them spend every second year in Edo (Ieyasu’s new capital of Japan, later to become Tokyo), with their immediate families forced to live there permanently. This prevented the daimyo from planning elaborate campaigns or mustering troops in their territory, and the fact that the Tokugawa had easy access to their families ensured their obedience. Also, the Tokugawa showed no qualms about using their power to completely disband clans which failed to obey them, and this constant threat also served to ensure the loyalty of the daimyo.

The majority of samurai films are set in the Tokugawa period. Some involve clans that try to avoid destruction at the hands of the oppressive Tokugawa, and others present the Tokugawa in a more positive way, as brave men doing whatever it takes to preserve the peace. However, most of the films set in the Tokugawa period focus on the lives of individuals, in contrast to films set in the Sengoku period, which are often concerned with the epic histories of daimyo and their clans. One common theme is the plight of the samurai in a time of peace; what does one skilled at warfare do, when there are no wars? Many films set in the Tokugawa period describe the exploits of wandering ronin (masterless samurai), whose numbers were greatly increased during this time.

WHAT MAKES A SAMURAI FILM?

The term ‘samurai film’ is an invention of American film critics, and is rarely used in Japan. The Japanese prefer to group their films into two main genres, jidaigeki (which very roughly translates as ‘period drama’) and gendaigeki (films with a contemporary setting). Within these two genres are a huge selection of sub-genres, creating what is perhaps the most detailed cinema genre classification system in the world.

The jidaigeki films are often concerned with a very specific time in Japan’s history, the Tokugawa era (1603-1868), which was a time of relative peace for Japan after centuries