Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)

Depicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.

Director:

Hiroshi Inagaki

Writers:

Hideji Hôjô (play), Hiroshi Inagaki

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Mariko Okada, Rentarô Mikuni

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Musashi Miyamoto (Takezo)
Rentarô Mikuni	...	Honiden Matahachi
Kurôemon Onoe	...	Takuan Osho
Kaoru Yachigusa	...	Otsu
Mariko Okada	...	Akemi
Mitsuko Mito	...	Oko, Matahachi's wife
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Osugi, Matahachi's mother
Akihiko Hirata	...	Seijuro Yoshioka
Kusuo Abe	...	Temma Tsujikaze
Eitarô Ozawa	...	Terumasa Ikeda (as Sakae Ozawa)
Akira Tani	...	Kawarano-Gonroku
Seijirô Onda	...	Chief Official
Fumindo Matsuo	...	Petty Official
Masanobu Ôkubo	...	Petty Official
Takuzô Kumagai	...	Villager

Storyline

Depicts the early life of the legendary warrior Musashi Miyamoto; his years as an aspiring warrior, an outlaw and finally a true samurai.

---

Plot Keywords:

japanese history | fiance | village | glory seeker | glory | 

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Drama | History | Romance

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film depicts the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, which marked the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate and a new age of peace and prosperity for Japan. The Tokogawa clan would be the final Shogunate to rule Japan, during the Edo period of 1603 to 1868, lasting 265 years. While Japan had an Emperor during this time, the Shoguns were the real rulers of the country for almost 700 years.

---

Quotes

Musashi Miyamoto (Takezo): Why are you here?
Takuan Osho: To capture you.
[Takezo gives Takuan and Otsu a look of betrayal]
Takuan Osho: If you surrender to a Buddhist priest, consideration shall be given to you.
Musashi Miyamoto (Takezo): Never!
Takuan Osho: My boy, do you think you can win?
Musashi Miyamoto (Takezo): [stoutly] Yes.
Takuan Osho: Are you trying to defeat yourself, too?
Musashi Miyamoto (Takezo): I don't mind dying in a good fight. But before I die, I will have some blood!
Takuan Osho: What about your relatives? They're prisoners on your account.
[...]

---

Connections

Followed by Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)

User Reviews

This review is for at least the first two films of the Samurai Trilogy, and for the third installment unless my opinion of that is different

The Samurai Trilogy is a very good work, very well worth watching. No, they aren't as great as Kurosawa's samurai masterpieces, The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, or Sanjuro, but they are no much less worthy. My only major complaint is that they were filmed in color, which is a lot less good looking and elegant than the black and white of the Kurosawa films. In some scenes, especially those at night, it is very difficult to determine which character is which.

The Samurai Trilogy excels in several aspects. First and foremost, Toshiro Mifune may be the single best actor who ever lived. Sure, he was typecast, but he was great in his roles. There is a huge difference in his acting jobs in these films and Rashomon or The Seven Samurai or Yojimbo and Sanjuro. His character here is very complex. The second reason to watch is for the great secondary characters. They are all quite complex. There will be characters you'll love and long for, and other characters whom you will hope will be killed by Toshiro. These secondary characters are extraordinarily complex at times. Third, watch it for the novelistic unfoldings of the story. Well, it should be novelistic, since all three films were based on a single novel. Don't worry about the three movies repeating in any way. Also, it is a good idea to watch all three in a row (I watched the first two tonight, and plan to watch the third one tomorrow night; hey, it's late!). The story is constantly developing, and you don't want to forget anything. I give each segment of the samurai trilogy a solid 8/10 (unless the third installment is particularly great or awful; i will most likely post a comment for that film by itself).

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

18 November 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Musashi Miyamoto

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1