|[[Eiji Yoshikawa]]}}"},"starring":{"wt":"{{plainlist|* [[Toshiro Mifune]]\n* [[RentarōMikuni]]\n* Kuroemon Onoe}}"},"narrator":{"wt":""},"music":{"wt":"[[Ikuma Dan]]{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=104}}"},"cinematography":{"wt":"Jun Yasumoto{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=104}}"},"editing":{"wt":""},"studio":{"wt":"[[Toho]]{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=104}}"},"distributor":{"wt":"Toho"},"released":{"wt":"{{Film date|df=yes|1954|9|26|Japan}}"},"runtime":{"wt":"93 minutes{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=104}}"},"country":{"wt":"Japan"},"language":{"wt":"Japanese"},"budget":{"wt":""},"gross":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBg">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}
Musashi Miyamoto | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Hiroshi Inagaki |
Screenplay by |
|
Based on | Musashi , [2] by Eiji Yoshikawa |
Produced by | Kazuo Takimura [1] |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Jun Yasumoto [1] |
Music by | Ikuma Dan [1] |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes [1] |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Musashi Miyamoto (Japanese: 宮本武蔵, Hepburn: Miyamoto Musashi) is a 1954 Japanese film directed and co-written by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune. The film is the first film of Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy of historical adventures. [3] [2]
The film is adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi , [2] originally released as a serial in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun , between 1935 and 1939. The novel is loosely based on the life of the famous Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.
The film was followed by Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955) and Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956).
The film won a Special/Honorary Award at the 1955 Academy Awards for outstanding foreign language film.
Following the battle of Sekigahara, Takezo (Toshiro Mifune) and his friend Matahachi (Rentarō Mikuni) find themselves on the losing side. Instead of the grand victory and glory Takezo had anticipated, he finds himself a hunted fugitive, having to assist a severely injured Matahachi. The pair seek shelter with a widow and her daughter who unknown to them are connected to local brigands. The brigands soon show up and ask for tribute from what the women have stripped off dead samurai, and Takezo has to fight them off. Both women attempt to seduce Takezo but are rejected. The widow then tells Matahachi that Takezo tried to assault her and convinces him to escort her and her daughter to Kyoto. Matahachi agrees even though he loves (and is betrothed to) Otsu (Kaoru Yachigusa), a woman from his village.
Takezo thinks his friend Matahachi has deserted him, and he makes his way home - on the way breaking through a roadblock, injuring several of the local lord's men manning it - and returns to his village. He tells Matahachi's family that he is still alive but will not reveal why Matahachi has not returned. Matahachi's mother does not believe him, and sets a trap for his capture, but he escapes and she is arrested for treason along with many members of her clan. There is a village-wide search for Takezo, organized by the lord. Even after using his relatives as bait, the villagers cannot catch Takezo.
Otsu, meanwhile, gets a letter signed by the widow Oko saying that Matahachi has gone off with her and to forget him, which leaves her devastated. Matahachi's mother, however, continues to insist that Otsu is her daughter-in-law and must live with her.
Takezo is finally captured by the Buddhist priest Takuan Sōhō, who tells the lord that he must be allowed to use his own methods to control him. The priest believes that he can straighten Takezo out, but Takezo again escapes with Otsu's help. Otsu now understands that Takezo was trying to shield her from the knowledge that Matahachi had abandoned her, and begs him to let her travel with him. They flee together but are soon tracked down. Otsu is captured, but Takezo fights his way out. Takezo learns that Otsu has been taken to Himeji Castle and breaks in to rescue her, but is once more tracked down by the priest Takuan. He is tricked and locked in a room in the castle for three years, told to study the ways of the samurai to earn his release while Otsu safely waits for him in a hiding place chosen by Takuan.
The end of the film shows Takezo being released and granted his samurai name 'Musashi Miyamoto'. He then leaves to search for enlightenment, leaving two messages for Otsu: "Soon I will be back" and "Forgive me".
The film begins in the year 1600 with Tokugawa Ieyasu's victory in the battle of Sekigahara, which cleared the path to the Shōgunate for Tokugawa Ieyasu; however, it took three more years to consolidate the position of power over the other clans. The historical Miyamoto Musashi is believed to have fought in this battle.
Director Hiroshi Inagaki had done a serial on Musashi Miyamoto in 1941 but prints of it were apparently destroyed due to its feudalistic theme. [4] He also directed Kanketsu Sasaki Kojirô: Ganryû-jima ketto (1951), which had Mifune as Miyamoto. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto was the second Toho film production in color and the first in the Eastman Color process. [5]
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto was released in Japan on 26 September 1954 where it was distributed by Toho. [1] It was distributed theatrically in the United States as Samurai (The Legend of Musashi) by Fine Art Films with English-subtitles and English narration on 19 November 1955. [1] [5]
The film was released to home video in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment as Samurai Musashi Miyamoto. [6]
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto received widespread critical acclaim upon its release in 1954 and has continued to be highly regarded in the decades since. The film was a commercial success in Japan and gained recognition internationally, solidifying its status as a classic of Japanese cinema. It won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1955, further cementing its critical and commercial acclaim. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews, with an average score of 8.7/10. [7]
Miyamoto Musashi, born Shinmen Takezō, also known as Miyamoto Bennosuke and by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, strategist, artist, and writer who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels. Musashi is considered a kensei of Japan. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū, or Nito Ichi-ryū, style of swordsmanship, and in his final years authored The Book of Five Rings and Dokkōdō.
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. A leading figure in the Japanese film industry, he often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his physical presence and commanding screen presence.
Vagabond is a Japanese epic martial arts manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It portrays a fictionalized account of the life of Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto, based on Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning since September 1998, with its chapters collected in 37 tankōbon volumes by July 2014. Viz Media licensed the series for English release in North America and has published the 37 volumes by April 2015. The series has been on indefinite hiatus since May 2015.
Takuan Sōhō was a Japanese Buddhist prelate during the Sengoku and early Edo Periods of Japanese history. He was a major figure in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. Noted for his calligraphy, poetry, tea ceremony, he is also popularly credited with the invention of the takuan pickled radish.
Hiroshi Inagaki was a Japanese filmmaker who worked on over 100 films in a career spanning over five decades. He is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed filmmakers in the history of Japanese cinema, having directed several jidaigeki epics such as the 1954 Academy Award-winning film Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, and its two sequels.
The Samurai Trilogy is a film trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune as Musashi Miyamoto and Kōji Tsuruta as Kojirō Sasaki. The films are based on Musashi, a novel by Eiji Yoshikawa about the famous duelist and author of The Book of Five Rings.
Samurai Assassin is a 1965 Japanese film directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Toshiro Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto, Yūnosuke Itō, and Michiyo Aratama. It is set in 1860, immediately before the Meiji Restoration changed Japanese society forever by doing away with the castes in society and reducing the position of the samurai class.
This is a list of fictional depictions of Miyamoto Musashi, a 17th-century Japanese swordsman.
Duel at Ichijoji Temple is a 1955 Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki starring Toshiro Mifune. Shot in Eastmancolor, it is the second film of Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy.
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island is a 1956 Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshirō Mifune. Shot in Eastmancolor, it is the third and final film of Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy.
Musashi, also listed as Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era, is a Japanese epic novel written by Eiji Yoshikawa, about the life and deeds of legendary Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.
Kaoru Yachigusa was a Japanese actress from Osaka Prefecture. From 1947 to 1957, she was a member of the Takarazuka Revue. After leaving the revue, she was active in film, television, and narration.
Yorozuya Kinnosuke (萬屋錦之介) was a Japanese kabuki actor. Born Kin'ichi Ogawa, son of kabuki actor Nakamura Tokizō III, he entered kabuki and became the first in the kabuki tradition to take the name Nakamura Kinnosuke. He took on his guild name (yagō) Yorozuya as his surname in 1971.
Samurai Banners is a Japanese samurai drama film released in 1969. It was directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and is based on the novel Furin kazan by Yasushi Inoue.
Yūko Kotegawa is a Japanese actress from the city of Ōita.
Life of an Expert Swordsman is a 1959 samurai film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune. Its story is an adaptation of the 1897 Edmond Rostand play Cyrano de Bergerac, and its basic plot faithfully follows that of the play. The film was released in the English-speaking world with the title Samurai Saga.
Machibuse is a 1970 Japanese drama film directed by Hiroshi Inagaki.
Ganryu is a 1999 side-scrolling hack and slash action-platform arcade video game developed and originally published by Visco Corporation exclusively for the Neo Geo MVS. It is loosely based upon the battle of Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi on Ganryū-jima island against Sasaki Kojirō, who is also known as Sasaki Ganryū, hence the reasons for the abbreviated name of the game. In the game, players assume the role of either Musashi or Suzume on a journey to defeat a resurrected Kojirō and his legion of evil ninjas and monsters terrorizing Kyoto. A sequel, titled Ganryu 2: Hakuma Kojiro, was developed Storybird Studio and published by Just for Games and PixelHeart. It was released in April 2022 to generally mixed reception.
Musashi Miyamoto, born Shinmen Takezo, is the protagonist of Takehiko Inoue's manga series Vagabond. Seeking strength from a young age, Takezo involves himself in several battles, regardless of danger. After meeting the monk Takuan, Takezo is renamed Musashi Miyamoto and starts a new life to become invincible. Now, as an adult, Musashi faces new enemies and obtains fame through his wandering in Japan. While the manga never reached its ending, Inoue wrote pages in the form of an exhibition that depict the last days of an elder Musashi.