The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945)

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

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Nobumitsu Kanze (play), Akira Kurosawa

Stars:

Denjirô Ôkôchi, Susumu Fujita, Ken'ichi Enomoto

Cast

Cast overview:
Denjirô Ôkôchi	...	Benkei
Susumu Fujita	...	Saemon 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:

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

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Taglines:

BANNED for 8 years in Japan!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is based on both the Noh play "Ataka" and the Kabuki play "The Subscription List", both being taken from historical folklore.

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Connections

Featured in Great Performances: Kurosawa (2000)

User Reviews

Early Kurosawa is very enjoyable

I have watched this several times and enjoyed each viewing. It's a very early Kurosawa, apparently done on a shoestring of a budget. However, we can already see Kurosawa's talents in pacing and setting up shots. Kenichi Enomoto as the porter appears out of place at first with his over the top mannerisms and broad comedy, but he fits into the story and breaks up the slower pace of some of the scenes. For Kurosawa and samurai fans, I think this will be more than just a curiosity. This has an early appearance of Masayuki Mori (the murdered husband in Roshomon) and a fairly early appearance of Takashi Shimura (leader of the seven samurai). I recommend this for the usual suspects.

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