Harakiri (1962) Seppuku (original title)

Director:

Masaki Kobayashi

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay)
Yasuhiko Takiguchi (novel) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 August 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

An elder ronin samurai arrives at a feudal lord's home and requests an honorable place to commit suicide. But when the ronin inquires about a younger samurai who arrived before him things take an unexpected turn.

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Hara Kiri | Ronin | Suicide | Poverty

Awards:

8 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Hanshiro Tsugumo
Akira Ishihama	...	Motome Chijiiwa
Shima Iwashita	...	Miho Tsugumo
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Hikokuro Omodaka
Masao Mishima	...	Tango Inaba
Ichirô Nakatani	...	Hayato Yazaki
Kei Satô	...	Masakazu
Yoshio Inaba	...	Jinai Chijiiwa
Hisashi Igawa	...	Retainer
Tôru Takeuchi	...	Retainer
Yoshirô Aoki	...	Umenosuke Kawabe
Tatsuo Matsumura
Akiji Kobayashi
Kôichi Hayashi
Ryûtarô Gomi		(as Katsuo Gomi)
Jô Azumi	...	Ichiro Shimmen
Nakajirô Tomita
Shichisaburô Amatsu	...	Retainer
Kenzô Tanaka
Shin Nakahara
Tsuneo Ikeda
Minoru Miyagi
Takaaki Kadota
Ichirô Yamamoto
Gen Takasugi
Satoshi Nishida
Tetsurô Komiyama
Shûichirô Narita
Noboru Kasuga
Shinpachi Kura
Kenji Hayashi
Shôtarô Hayashi
Shimezô Kataoka
Fumiya Ozawa
Kônosuke Takemoto
Rentarô Mikuni	...	Kageyu Saito

Directed by
Masaki Kobayashi

Writing credits
Shinobu Hashimoto		(screenplay)
Yasuhiko Takiguchi		(novel "Ibun rônin ki")
Yasuhiko Takiguchi

Produced by
Tatsuo Hosoya	....	producer
Gin'ichi Kishimoto	....	assistant producer
Makoto Naitô	....	development producer
Tsugio Saitô	....	assistant producer

Original Music by
Tôru Takemitsu

Cinematography by
Yoshio Miyajima

Film Editing by
Hisashi Sagara

Art Direction by
Junpei Oosumi
Shigemasa Toda

Set Decoration by
Zenichi Tajiri

Costume Design by
Mitsuzô Ueda

Makeup Department
Gyôuemon Kimura	....	key hair stylist
Yoshiko Kimura	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kôji Niwa	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Shigeru Fujita	....	assistant sound
Hideo Nishizaki	....	sound

Stunts
Hideki Kato	....	fight choreographer

Camera and Electrical Department
Shôjirô Kamohara	....	gaffer
Takao Ohara	....	still photographer
Tamotsu Okutani	....	assistant camera
Shigeyuki Sekine	....	assistant photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Chôkan Kawamura	....	costume researcher
Shigenosuke Sumida	....	costume researcher

Editorial Department
Junpei Segashira	....	assistant editor
Sofu Teshigahara	....	titles

Other crew
Kaneshige Inokuma	....	historical researcher
Ryôzô Nakamura	....	equipment

Production Companies

• Shôchiku Eiga

Distributors

• Shôchiku Eiga (1962) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Signal International (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Criterion Collection, The (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Japanski Sinemaskop (1964) (Yugoslavia) (theatrical)
• Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (1965) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Tempo Films (1963) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2011) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Raro Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD) (with Sanbiki no samurai)

Also Known As:

"Seppuku" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:X | France:U | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:15 (DVD rating) | USA:Not Rated | Germany:16 (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (cut version)

Company:

Shôchiku Eiga

Trivia:

Seppuku and harakiri (the US working title) both mean to commit ritual suicide in Japanese. However, seppuku is the formal term, derived from the kanji characters for "hara" (belly) and "kiri" (cut); harakiri is the cruder, less polite term for this act.

Quotes:

Hanshiro Tsugumo:The greatest delicacies taste of nothing when one dines alone.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Through the Mist (2009)

This is the best character study & Samurai movie ever made.

I have seen this movie numerous times (at least 10, probably many more), and enjoy it each time. The first couple of times I saw it was right after it came out. It did not have sub-titles, and as my Japanese is not very good, I made some assumptions about the characters, relationships, the plot,etc. When I saw it with sub-titles, I was surprised at how few incorrect assumptions I had made. That I made so few errors is no credit to me, but rather to how well the plot, character development, character relationships, and the overall movie were done.

The movie is not limited to feudal Japan, for it transcends this era. It has lessons, for those who look for this in art. For instance, just one example occurs to me now: It underscores the need for a person to stand on principle, and to maintain their honor, ethics, and dignity, even when those who are the political leaders have long since lost theirs. However for purely entertainment value, the realism, suspense, art, and action could not be better. Words fail to express how this film captivates and entertains. Few films can equal this one. It is a "must see."