The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945)
"Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi" (original title)

A Japanese general and his men disguise themselves as monks in order to pass an enemy border patrol.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Anonymous (plays), Akira Kurosawa,

Stars:

Denjirô Ôkôchi, Susumu Fujita, Ken'ichi Enomoto

Cast

Cast overview:
Denjirô Ôkôchi	...	Benkei
Susumu Fujita	...	Togashi
Ken'ichi Enomoto	...	Porter
Masayuki Mori	...	Kamei
Takashi Shimura	...	Kataoka
Akitake Kôno	...	Ise
Yoshio Kosugi	...	Suruga
Hanshirô Iwai	...	Yoshitsune (as Shubo Nishina)
Dekao Yokoo	...	Hidachibo
Yasuo Hisamatsu	...	Kajiwara's Messenger
Sôji Kiyokawa	...	Togashi's Messenger

Storyline

In 1185, the Heike family fights against the Minamoto family. After a bloody naval battle in the Pacific Ocean, Yoshitsune Minamoto defeats the enemy and the survivals commit suicide. When the triumphant Yoshitsune arrives in Kyoto, his brother, the Shogun Yoritomo, is lured and orders his men to arrest Yoshitsune. However, Yoshitsune escapes with six loyal samurais led by Benkei and they head to the country of his only friend Idehira Fukiwara. Nearby the border, after crossing the forest disguised as monks, their smiley conveyor Suruga discloses that they are Yoshitsune and the six samurais and advises that the fearful Kagiwara and his soldiers are waiting for them in the border to arrest them. Yoshitsune disguises as a carrier and Benkei has to convince Kagiwara that they are six monks traveling to collect donation to build a large temple in Kyoto.

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Plot Keywords:

kabuki | japan | 1180s | 12th century | royalty | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

28 February 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because this film was made late in the war during many bombing raids, most of the female staff and actresses had been evacuated out of Tokyo, leaving almost none at Toho, and thus why there are no women in the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Seven Samurai: Origins and Influences (2006)

User Reviews

beautiful and funny.

If you like beautiful Japanese landscapes, the culture of ancient japan and damn funny faces, watch that movie.

This movie belongs to my all time favorites. Made me feel like a time travel to ancient japan. The actors are extraordinary, you believe them when they talk and you can laugh about them enough. A porter which plays the role of the clown in the movie has tragic moments too, he wants to help the samurais out, but they don't take him serious. Every scene is brilliantly acted and deserves more views than once. I watched it over and over again. Maybe because it was my first Akira Kurosawa movie.

Thank you.