Reflections on “Seven
Samurai”
Directed by Akira
Kurosawa
Written by Akira
Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni
Starring Takashi Shimura,
Toshiro Mifune et al.
These
notes are based on the 190 minute BFI DVD presentation.
A video presentation of this material is available here.
“Seven Samurai” is
frequently referred to as the film against which all action films that have
followed it should be judged. With its carefully calculated combination of
exciting yet emotionally engaging action scenes, exploration and development of
character and a storyline that appeals to the heart and mind, “Seven Samurai”
was successful not just in its own right but it established a form of template
for numerous ensemble cast adventure films in the 1960s, 70s and beyond.
As I settled to watch
this action/adventure film for the first time in some twenty years, it struck
me that a key element that spans the film and informs the character development
so essential to its success is the code by which these samurai live.
Although by tradition
social movement between castes and classes was impossible, during the Sengoku
period (our film takes place in 1586) there was some loosening of samurai
culture and some born in other castes could make a name for themselves as
warriors, thus becoming de facto
samurai. However, a true samurai was not just a warrior but was one who aspired
to live by a code, a code that set them apart, the code of Bushido, and this same
code seems to underpin the very structure of “Seven Samurai”.
After a little research,
I found Inazo Nitobe’s list of eight principles of Bushido – justice, honour,
benevolence, courage, manners, honesty, self-discipline and loyalty. The
closeness in number between the eight values of Bushido and the seven samurai
(on top of which you might include the farmers they defend) was quite
irresistible to me and as I watched the film I tried to identify connections
between the two.
Eventually, I reached the
conclusion that although our seven display nearly all the virtues, six samurai
seem to lack at least one of the virtues and the seventh allows one of them to
take precedence over the others. In the course of defending the village, each
will have the opportunity to embrace that which is lacking or consider that
which overwhelms him, and we witness the resultant changes in the individual
and benefits for the group. The farmers provide the cause for which our seven
fight but they also learn to defend themselves and in so doing embrace the
qualities personified by our seven.
Our seven are in fact
Ronin (or masterless) and so lack the element of loyalty. Loyalty to one to
whom you owe a debt (usually a member of the Shogunate) seems to have
overridden all other principles of the samurai code and thus led to the
committing of many crimes against common humanity in the name of extending
one’s master’s influence and power.
When Kikuchiyo uncovers
weaponry stolen from defeated and murdered samurai, the farmers are accused of
being underhand, cunning and murderous. However, Kikuchiyo defends them, saying
they have been made this way by the samurai themselves and their own acts of
theft, rape and murder all done through blind loyalty to their Shogun masters
who ruled by force and only exercised humanity on a whim or if it served their
own purpose. The remaining six samurai are stunned and shamed as they are
forced to face the injustice of samurai acts and recognise they have behaved in
much the same way as the very bandits they have been hired to confront.
Although they had collectively found purpose in defending the farmers against
marauding bandits, they are now united in a cause for justice (while perhaps righting
their own injustices) and this may well be seen as filling the gap left by
their loss of loyalty to a master.
In a way, losing loyalty
has allowed them to follow a different path based on other virtues such as
justice, benevolence and honour. And then there is the possibility of a
new-found loyalty they develop toward one another.
Although this change
affects all seven, it is perhaps best personified by Gorobei who initially gets
involved in the scheme purely because of Kambei. He pays little heed to the
whys and wherefores of the venture – he shows faith in and devotion or loyalty
to Kambei alone, but he goes on to discover the value of fighting for fairness,
helps plan the defence of the village and even loses his life while fighting
for a cause rather than for a potentially unscrupulous individual to whom he
felt he owed a debt.
In the case of Shichiroji,
there may be some doubt about his sense of honour. He is an old friend and
former lieutenant of Kambei whom Kambei thought lost. When asked how he escaped
in a previous conflict, Shichiroji replies that he hid in a ditch as the castle
collapsed around him. This may reflect a perfectly sensible and practical
attitude toward survival but this, along with the fact he fails to answer
Kambei’s next question about whether he is ready for another fight, rather
suggests we are being led to doubt the importance Shichiroji attaches to
honour.
However, emboldened and
heartened by the cause for which they are fighting and perhaps the unity of
spirit in the group, Shichiroji makes no attempt to conceal himself when the
going gets tough and he dies making a spirited defence of the village.
Heichachi, the spirited
and enthusiastic woodcutter, suggests in a conversation that one can’t be
expected to kill all one’s enemies and if one is outnumbered by 20 or 30
bandits, it is perfectly reasonable to run away. Once again, this may be viewed
as a survival reflex but I think we are being invited to doubt Heichachi’s
courage in the face of adversity.
Once again, however,
strength due to belief in a cause, combined with unity of spirit, enable a
potential weakness to be overcome and allow Heichachi to willingly participate
in a raid on the bandit encampment where the bandits greatly outnumber our
heroes. He dies but has proved himself worthy of the term samurai and the code
they follow.
Kyuzo, the stone-faced
swordsman who initially turns down Kambei’s invitation to join them because he
simply wants to perfect his skill rather than kill, may be viewed as lacking
the virtue of benevolence. It appears that martial skills are everything to
him, to the point where he kills a man to prove his mastery (though he was
severely provoked and threatened by the man he eventually killed), and so the
others are surprised when he joins them, and he offers no explanation for his
change of heart.
Yet, after seeing Katsushiro share his rice with Shino and
offer to find food for other hungry villagers, it is Kyuzo who offers to do
without his own share of rice in order to help the villagers and he later
volunteers to enter the enemy camp in order to retrieve one of their guns.
Clearly then, Kyuzo has been influenced by the company and purpose of his
fellow samurai and has gained the virtue of benevolence, benefitting both the
villagers and his comrades in arms.
Katsushiro is the
youngest of the group and he displays many of the principles of the samurai
code but he lacks self-discipline. On a number of occasions, he is directed or
advised by Kambei and the others as his enthusiasm and willingness to take
action may not be the best option. It is, however, in a matter of the heart which
overflows into social politics and the mixing of castes that Katsushiro reveals
his lack of self-discipline. Katsushiro and Shino yield to temptation and fear
to make love shortly before the final battle. This causes considerable social
strife among the conservative farmers who think of this as an act of dishonour
and social disgrace. Katsushiro learns to put aside his guilt and personal
feelings for Shino to make a valuable contribution to the final battle,
displaying discipline while fighting for justice.
It should be noted that
Shichiroji (already associated with honour) points out that it is, perhaps,
preferable that Shino should have been “dishonoured” (so to speak) by a samurai
than by a bandit, inviting Manzo (Shino’s father) to keep events and his
attitude to honour in proportion. It should also be noted that at the end of
the film it is unclear whether Katsushiro will pursue his association with his
new-found friends or a relationship with Shino. Perhaps he will value love more
highly than a career as a samurai.
Kikuchiyo is perhaps the
most interesting, engaging and entertaining of the samurai. He is also the one
with the most complex background and the one least likely to qualify as a
samurai.
When Kikuchiyo witnesses
Kambei’s actions at the start of the film, he is clearly deeply impressed and,
making something of a noisy fuss, he runs up to Kambei, presumably in an
attempt to engage in a friendly conversation or perhaps even to suggest
accompanying him. However, Kikuchiyo doesn’t have the verbal skills to put into
words his feelings and he is even angered when Katsushiro expresses himself
eloquently, doubtless expressing the very sentiments he himself would have
liked to communicate. Reacting badly and with some anger and frustration, he
incites distrust and caution in Kambei and Katsushiro. Kikuchiyo appears to be
lacking in the virtue of manners. He finds it difficult to judge the feelings
and reactions of others and he has some difficulty communicating his own
feelings.
On top of this, Kikuchiyo
lacks another virtue – that of honesty. He makes quite a fuss of the scroll he
carries, a scroll that validates his family claims and background, but which
the others quickly and easily disprove. Interestingly, it is shortly after this
truth has emerged that he finds acceptance among the others as he also angrily
reveals the truth about the farmers’ attitudes, the guilt of the samurai in
creating these attitudes and his own farming background.
His deep-felt and
long-harboured bitterness and resentment concerning the treatment of peasants
by Shogun and samurai alike feed an eloquent and perfectly reasoned speech
after which the samurai are shamed into seeking justice and Kikuchiyo can
rightfully take his place among them. Honesty has thus led to greater
compassion and clarification of purpose and motivation among the seven. It has
also given Kikuchiyo greater confidence in terms of self-belief and
occasionally abrasive communication as he combines training the farmers with
entertainment and compassion, showing a genuine understanding and regard for
their situation. He has thus gained the two virtues he lacked and this benefits
the group as a whole.
Kambei may be viewed as
the virtual embodiment of samurai principles though he himself points out he is
a Ronin. When freed from subjective loyalty to an individual, Kambei is able to
recognise and commit to objective justice. His actions and manner near the
start of the film suggest he possesses all the values of Bushido and his
benevolence in taking on the farmers’ cause, combined with lack of loyalty to a
master, lead him to a reinforced adherence to justice, if only as compensation
for injustices he is forced to recognise by Kikuchiyo.
At the end, with four of
their number dead and Katsushiro tempted to join Shino in village life, Kambei
concludes that they have in fact lost once again. With their land, the farmers
are the victors and not the samurai who defended them. The cause may have been
won, but the combatants have gained little or lost everything. The farmers have
retained their physical legacy of eternal land (representing growth and
development) and have undoubtedly gained in spiritual strength through their
collaboration with the seven, while the defenders must content themselves with
the knowledge they have preserved the intangible but elemental values by which
they live.
My thanks for taking the
time to read this page. I hope you found it of some value.
Stuart Fernie
I can be contacted at stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk
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