The 47 Ronin (1941)

In 1701, Lord Takuminokami Asano has a feud with Lord Kira and he tries to kill Kira in the corridors of the Shogun's palace. The Shogun sentences Lord Asano to commit suppuku and deprives ... See full summary »

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Kenichiro Hara (screenplay), Seika Mayama (play)

Stars:

Chôjûrô Kawarasaki, Yoshizaburo Arashi, Utaemon Ichikawa

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chôjûrô Kawarasaki	...	Kuranosuke Ooishi
Kan'emon Nakamura	...	Sukeimon Tomimori
Kunitarô Kawarazaki	...	Jurôzaemon Isogai
Yoshizaburo Arashi	...	Lord Takuminokami Asano
Chôemon Bandô	...	Sôzaemon Hara
Sukezô Sukedakaya	...	Chûemon Yoshida
Kikunojo Segawa	...	Gengo Ootaka
Shotaro Ichikawa	...	Yahei Horibe
Enji Ichikawa	...	Tadashichi Takebayashi
Kikunosuke Ichikawa	...	Gengoemon Kataoka
Shinzô Yamazaki	...	Seimon Ooishi
Sensho Ichikawa	...	Matsunosuke Ooishi
Shoji Ichikawa	...	Magoemon Seo
Iwagoro Ichikawa	...	Fujiemon Hayamizu
Shinzaburo Ichikawa	...	Matanosuke Ushioda

Storyline

In 1701, Lord Takuminokami Asano has a feud with Lord Kira and he tries to kill Kira in the corridors of the Shogun's palace. The Shogun sentences Lord Asano to commit suppuku and deprives the palace and lands from his clan, but does not punish Lord Kira. Lord Asano's vassals leave the land and his samurais become ronin and want to seek revenge against the dishonor of their Lord. But their leader Kuranosuke Oishi asks the Shogun to restore the Asano clan with his brother Daigaku Asano. One year later, the Shogun refuses his request and Oishi and forty-six ronin revenge their Lord.

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Plot Keywords:

ronin | samurai | dishonor | corruption | revenge | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

March 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The 47 Ronin

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shôchiku Eiga

Technical Specs

Runtime:

241 min 222 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original play "Genroku Chushingura" is probably the most well researched, historically accurate account of the famous Ako Vendetta that happened in 1702. Though the film was partially supported by the Ministry of Information to promote the idea of loyalty to the Japanese population just before entering WW II, it is interesting that the original play was written for the communism-oriented collective Kabuki troops 'Zenshinza', and most of the original cast members also played the same roles in the film version.

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Goofs

From ~1:40 to ~1:44 an appropriate dialog sequence occurs starting with three men walking a path with one saying "Counselor, the decision has come" and ending with "we need have no fear." That same sequence is duplicated at ~2:22 to ~2:26 with the additional dialog at the end "I want you two to return to Edo at once and inform our brothers there that I will be arriving shortly." This duplicate is out of sequence with the story.

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Connections

Version of Dai Chûshingura (1957)

User Reviews

We've seen more simplistic and bombastic propaganda, to be sure

Yes, the pace is slow, yes the movie is long; especially to our eyes used to modern (?) movie-making of the recent years that knows only two rhythms, ultra-fast and ultra-ultra-fast. Yet the story of those 47 ronins, at least for those of us patient enough to enter it, to let themselves flow into it, is all in all very interesting and says a lot about 18th-century Japan. This movie is remarkably well constructed and acted and while the rhythm is slow, it is also implacable : the good side of having a slow rhythm is that you can eventually accelerate, something that ultra-fast doesn't allow.

But most of all, I notice this : for a film that was supposed to take place into a war-propaganda effort, I do find this tribute to the traditional virtues of the Japanese warrior to be remarkably sober in tone and almost completely devoid of any rhetoric. So, I am not at all surprised to learn that it was a commercial insuccess when it was released in 1941 Japan : for the spirit and inspiration of 'The 47 Ronins' are much too elevated to fit the ultranationalist hysteria of the times.