Ken (1964)

Director:

Kenji Misumi

Writers:

Kazuro Funabashi (screenplay), Yukio Mishima (novel)

Stars:

Raizô Ichikawa, Yûsuke Kawazu, Hisaya Morishige

Cast

Cast overview:
Raizô Ichikawa	...	Jiro Kokubun
Yûsuke Kawazu	...	Kagawa
Hisaya Morishige	...	Mibu
Akio Hasegawa	...	Mibu
Noriko Sengoku	...	Kiuchi
Keiju Kobayashi	...	Eri Itami
Yuka Konno	...	Shigeko Fujishiro
Junko Kozakura	...	Sanae Mibu
Yoshio Inaba	...	Seiichiro Kokubun
Rieko Sumi	...	Hiroko Kokubun
Kuniichi Takami

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

14 March 1964 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Le sabre

Filming Locations:

Izu Peninsula, Shizuoka, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Quotes

Mibu: We come to life, we die... It's a perpetual renewal. How boring
Jiro Kokubun: Did you come up with that? Or did you read it in a book
Mibu: No, I just came up with it.
Jiro Kokubun: Don't think about the future, you are still young.
Mibu: But I have hope
Jiro Kokubun: Me too, but I dislike triviality.
Mibu: Triviality? Is thinking about the future trivial?
Jiro Kokubun: Yes.
Mibu: So what is your goal in life then?
Jiro Kokubun: Satisfaction of the present. The sword, and nothing else. I only think about victory at the national championship. Everything else is futile. Do you understand?
[...]

User Reviews

A pure hearted soul in world that's corrupt

The movie is set in a Kendo club at university and has, as it's primary conflicts , the struggles between Kawaza and Kokubun, Kokubun and the world; there are two subplots involving a novice Kendo player and Kokubun; and a woman and Kokubun.

Kokubun represents Japans innocence, its virtue, its purity, its purpose (his name means "a part of the country). He is unknowingly engaged in a battle to be the leader of the kendo club with an equally talented rival, Kazawa, who lacks Kokubu's focus and self possession.

Kendo is the epitome of the traditional Japanese spirit; pay attention to how Western "things" are presented and juxtaposed to traditional values (I'm thinking of a gun, a café, and a dance scene) and compare how the characters are different in the city versus at the temple.

It's a subtle story. Kazawa is unable to discipline himself and Kokubun is unwilling to bend himself to the future or the "ways of the world". How will it play out? Watch it and see: it's a fine film where kendo is a metaphor and the story is chance to think on something more.