Samurai Fiction (1998)

A noble young samurai searches for a thief who has stolen a precious treasure and killed one of his clansmen and meets an older samurai who tries to deter him from the violence of revenge.

Director:

Hiroyuki Nakano

Writers:

Hiroyuki Nakano, Hiroshi Saitô

Stars:

Morio Kazama, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Tomoyasu Hotei

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morio Kazama	...	Hanbei Mizoguchi
Mitsuru Fukikoshi	...	Heishiro Inukai
Tomoyasu Hotei	...	Rannosuke Kazamatsuri
Tamaki Ogawa	...	Koharu Mizoguchi
Mari Natsuki	...	Okatsu
Taketoshi Naitô	...	Kanzen Inukai (as Taketoshi Naitoh)
Kei Tani	...	Kagemaru
Fumiya Fujii	...	Ryunosuke Kuzumi
Naoyuki Fujii	...	Shintarô Suzuki
Ken Ohsawa	...	Tadasuke Kurosawa (as Ken Osawa)
Hiroshi Kanbe	...	Gosuke
Ryôichi Yuki	...	Ninja Hayabusa
Akiko Monô	...	Ninja Akakage
Taro Maruse	...	Sakyounosuke Kajii
Ramo Nakajima	...	Denbei Kimura

Storyline

Three centuries ago, a precious sword has been stolen by Kazamatsuri -- the sword, which historic and symbolic value is priceless for the clan (Shogun Tokugawa donated it to clan 80 years before that, at the same time that he established them as the local rulers). Lord's counselor's young son Heishiro goes to retrieve the sword himself to protect the clan from the shame or possible demise. He is accompanied with two friends, Shintaro and Tadasuke, and followed by the ninjas of the clan. After Kazamatsuri wounds Heishiro and kills one of his friends, the young aristocrat still wants revenge more than sword itself, but meanwhile have to recover from his wounds, in the small forest house of a lonely samurai and his daughter. At the same time, Kamazatsuri stays in nearby town in the entertainment center run by Okatsu and falls into her. The older samurai tries to dissuade Heishiro from fighting with Kamazatsuri, but is himself gradually drawn into the conflict.

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Plot Keywords:

samurai | sword | revenge | thief | ninja | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

Peacedelic Studio, Inc.

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 August 1998 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Samurai Fiction

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sword that is stolen in this film was borrowed from the estate of 'Toshiro Mifune'. It was one of his personal swords.

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Quotes

Kanzen Inukai: Kagemaru!
[Kagemaru drops down from a hatch in the ceiling]
Kagemaru: Hai!
Kanzen Inukai: You don't have to enter through the ceiling, you know.
Kagemaru: I'm sorry, but as an old ninja, I don't really know how to enter from anywhere else.

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Connections

Followed by Stereo Future (2001)

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Soundtracks

Swanee River
Written by Stephen Foster (as Foster)
Performed by Utaroku Miyakoya and Titi Matsumura
Taken from the album "Kyuukyoku No Nokogiri Ensou"

User Reviews

Japanese humor and derision

This is a well presented movie with very interesting camera work and music.

In late 17th century, a samurai is wrongly accused to be stealing the clan's treasured sword, and has no choice but to kill the accuser on the spot and flee with the sword.

The son of a clan's high official pursues him with 3 friends, to the dismay of his father who sends ninjas to protect them, knowing their swordsmanship is far from being good.

This story uses the traditional Japanese principles of irremediable fate, where the characters are drawn towards actions because of the pressure of duty, sense of righteousness and pride. This contrasts with the American good-vs-bad approach to storytelling.

A lot of subtle Japanese humor with situational comedy, silliness and awkward personalities that you'll appreciate more if you learn Japanese stereotypical behaviors or understand some of their social culture.