Kagemusha (1980)

A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Masato Ide, Akira Kurosawa

Stars:

Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha
Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Nobukado Takeda
Ken'ichi Hagiwara	...	Katsuyori Takeda
Jinpachi Nezu	...	Sohachiro Tsuchiya
Hideji Ôtaki	...	Masakage Yamagata
Daisuke Ryû	...	Nobunaga Oda
Masayuki Yui	...	Ieyasu Tokugawa
Kaori Momoi	...	Otsuyanokata
Mitsuko Baishô	...	Oyunokata
Hideo Murota	...	Nobufusa Baba
Takayuki Shiho	...	Masatoyo Naito
Kôji Shimizu	...	Katsusuke Atobe
Noboru Shimizu	...	Masatane Hara
Sen Yamamoto	...	Nobushige Oyamada
Shuhei Sugimori	...	Masanobu Kosaka

Storyline

When a powerful warlord in medieval Japan dies, a poor thief recruited to impersonate him finds difficulty living up to his role and clashes with the spirit of the warlord during turbulent times in the kingdom.

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Plot Keywords:

double | japan | warrior | samurai | one word title | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

10 October 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kagemusha

Filming Locations:

Iga Ueno Castle - 106, Uenomarunouchi, Iga City, Mie Prefecture, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kurosawa Production Co., Toho Company, Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 160 min (International Cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby 4-Track Stereo (Japan theatrical release)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie set in during the Sengoku Period of Japanese history. Also known as the Warring States Period, it went from around the mid 16th Century (1500s) to the beginning of the 17th Century (1600s). It was a period of constant political turmoil, social rebellion and military war. It eventually resulted in the creation of the Tokugawa Shogunate which unified regional politics and gave political stability to Japan.

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Goofs

In the scene where Oda Nobunaga dances the Atsumori. His kimono bears the Mon (insignia) of his (then) retainer Toyotomi Hideyoshi. There's no reason indicated for why he'd do that.

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Quotes

Nobukado Takeda: I know it is difficult. I was for a long time the lord's double. It was torture. It is not easy to suppress yourself to become another. Often I wanted to be myself and free. But now I think this was selfish of me. The shadow of a man can never desert that man. I was my brother's shadow. Now that I have lost him, it is as though I am nothing.

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Connections

Referenced in Fear, Panic & Censorship (2000)

User Reviews

A Long, But Fantastic, Film.

Akira Kurosawa's "Kagemusha" (1980) is one of those tremendously long films that somehow never drags. The plot is about a petty thief who is about to be crucified but is saved by a Japanese warlord called Lord Shingen because of his amazing resemblance to him and is used as a double. When the Lord is killed, and because of a plan laid by Shingen before he died, the so-call "Shadow Warrior" must impersonate the Lord for three years. Aided by this clever plot, Kurosawa shows us Japanese court ritual, with help by a brilliant performance by Tatsuya Nakadai, gives a fascinating picture of fifteenth century Japan. This a fabulous movie, with a particularly moving ending, that shows just how great Akira Kurosawa is.