Kagemusha

{{Infobox film

| name = Kagemusha

| image = Kagemushatheatricalposter.jpg

| caption = Theatrical poster

| director = Akira Kurosawa

| producer = {{Unbulleted list|Akira Kurosawa|Tomoyuki Tanaka}}

| screenplay = {{Unbulleted list|Akira Kurosawa|Masato Ide}}

| starring = Tatsuya Nakadai

| music = Shin'ichirō Ikebe

| cinematography = {{Unbulleted list|Takao Saito|Shoji Ueda}}

| editing = Akira Kurosawa (uncredited){{cite book |title=The Films of Akira Kurosawa |edition=3 |last=Ritchie |first=Donald |page=238 |publisher=University of California Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-520-22037-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_7517Nl2oYC&pg=PA239}}

| studio = {{Unbulleted list|Kurosawa Production|Toho{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=322}}}}

| distributor = {{Unbulleted list|Toho {{small|(Japan)}}|20th Century-Fox {{small|(International)}}}}

| released = {{film date|1980|4|26|Japan}}

| runtime = 180 minutes

| country = {{Unbulleted list|Japan}}

| language = Japanese

| budget = {{unbulleted list|{{¥|2.3 billion|link=yes}} | {{clarify |date=January 2018 |reason=Eleven is not seven and a half.|text=({{US$|11 million|long=no|link=yes}}) or {{US$|7.5 million|long=no}}Aubrey Solomon, Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History, Scarecrow Press, 1989 p259}} or {{US$|6 million|long=no}}}}

| gross = $33 million ({{estimation}})

}}

{{nihongo|Kagemusha|影武者|4=Shadow Warrior}} is a 1980 epic jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class petty thief who is taught to impersonate the dying daimyō Takeda Shingen to dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable clan. Kagemusha is the Japanese term for a political decoy, literally meaning "shadow warrior". The film ends with the climactic 1575 Battle of Nagashino.{{cite book |last=Rayns|first=Tony|title=Talking with the Director|series=Criterion Collection|year=2006|publisher=Criterion Collection|page=13}}

Kagemusha was released to critical acclaim.{{Cite web |title=Kagemusha Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/kagemusha/?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c |access-date=2025-03-17 |website=www.metacritic.com |language=en}} The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival (tied with All That Jazz). It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and received other honours. In 2009 the film was voted at No. 59 on the list of The Greatest Japanese Films of All Time by Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo.{{cite web|url=http://mubi.com/topics/greatest-japanese-films-by-magazine-kinema-junpo-2009-version|title=Greatest Japanese films by magazine Kinema Junpo (2009 version)|access-date=2011-12-26|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711021342/http://mubi.com/topics/greatest-japanese-films-by-magazine-kinema-junpo-2009-version|archive-date=July 11, 2012|url-status=dead}}

Plot

During the Sengoku period, in 1571, Takeda Shingen, daimyō of Kai province from the Takeda clan, meets a thief his brother Nobukado has spared from crucifixion due to the thief's uncanny resemblance to Shingen. The brothers agree that he would prove useful as a double, and they decide to use the thief as a kagemusha, a political decoy. Later, while the Takeda army lays siege to a castle belonging to Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shingen is shot while listening to a flute playing in the enemy camp. He orders his forces to withdraw and, before succumbing to his wound, commands his generals to keep his death a secret for three years. Meanwhile, Shingen's rivals Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Uesugi Kenshin puzzle over the reason for Shingen's withdrawal, unaware of his death.

Nobukado presents the thief to Shingen's generals, proposing to have him impersonate Shingen full-time. Although the thief is unaware of Shingen's death initially, he eventually finds Shingen's preserved corpse in a large jar, having believed it to contain treasure. The generals then decide they cannot trust the thief and release him. Later, the jar is dropped into Lake Suwa, which spies working for the Tokugawa and Oda forces witness. Suspecting that Shingen has died, the spies go to report their observation, but the thief, having overheard the spies, returns to the Takeda forces and offers to work as a kagemusha. The Takeda clan preserves the deception by announcing that they were simply making an offering of sake to the god of the lake, and the spies are ultimately convinced by the thief's performance.

Returning home, the kagemusha convinces Shingen's retinue by imitating the late warlord's gestures and learning more about him. When the kagemusha must preside over a clan meeting, he is instructed by Nobukado to remain silent until Nobukado brings the generals to a consensus, whereupon the kagemusha will simply agree with the generals' plan and dismiss the council. However, Shingen's son Katsuyori is incensed by his father's decree of the three year subterfuge, which delays his inheritance and leadership of the clan. Katsuyori thus decides to test the kagemusha in front of the council, as the majority of the attendants are still unaware of Shingen's death. He directly asks the kagemusha what course of action should be taken, but the kagemusha is able to answer convincingly in Shingen's own manner, which further convinces the generals.

In 1573, Nobunaga mobilizes his forces to attack Azai Nagamasa, continuing his campaign in central Honshu to maintain his control of Kyoto against the growing opposition. When the Tokugawa and Oda forces launch an attack against the Takeda, Katsuyori begins a counter-offensive against the advice of his generals. The kagemusha is then forced to lead reinforcements in the Battle of Takatenjin, and he helps inspire the troops to victory. However, in a later fit of overconfidence, the kagemusha attempts to ride Shingen's notoriously temperamental horse, and falls off. When those who rush to help him see that he does not have Shingen's battle scars, he is revealed as an impostor, and is driven out in disgrace, allowing Katsuyori to take over the clan. Sensing weakness in the Takeda clan leadership, the Oda and Tokugawa forces are emboldened to begin a full-scale offensive into the Takeda homeland.

By 1575, now in full control of the Takeda army, Katsuyori leads a counter-offensive against Nobunaga in Nagashino. Although courageous in their assault, several waves of Takeda cavalry and infantry are cut down by volleys of gunfire from Oda arquebusiers deployed behind wooden stockades, effectively eliminating the Takeda army. The kagemusha, who has followed the Takeda army, desperately takes up a spear and charges toward the Oda lines before being shot himself. Mortally wounded, the kagemusha attempts to retrieve the fūrinkazan banner, which had fallen into a river, but succumbs to his wounds and is carried away by the current.

Production

File:KAGEMUSHA 2.JPG

George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola are credited at the end of the film as executive producers in the international version. This is because they persuaded 20th Century-Fox to make up a shortfall in the film's budget when the original producers, Toho Studios, could not afford to complete the film. In return, 20th Century-Fox received the international distribution rights to the film. Coppola and Kurosawa appeared together in Suntory whisky commercials to raise money for the production.Conrad, David A. (2022). Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan, 195 McFarland & Co.

Kurosawa originally cast the actor Shintaro Katsu in the title role. Katsu left the production, however, before the first day of shooting was over; in an interview for the Criterion Collection DVD, executive producer Coppola states that Katsu angered Kurosawa by arriving with his own camera crew to record Kurosawa's filmmaking methods. It is unclear whether Katsu was fired or left of his own accord, but he was replaced by Tatsuya Nakadai, a well-known actor who had appeared in a number of Kurosawa's previous films. Nakadai played both the kagemusha and the lord whom he impersonated.

Kurosawa wrote a part in Kagemusha for his longtime regular actor Takashi Shimura, and Kagemusha was the last Kurosawa film in which Shimura appeared. However, the scene in which he plays a servant who accompanies a Catholic missionary and doctor to a meeting with Shingen was cut from the foreign release of the film. The Criterion Collection DVD release of the film restored this scene as well as approximately another eighteen minutes in the film.

According to Lucas, Kurosawa used 5,000 extras for the final battle sequence, filming for a whole day, then he cut it down to 90 seconds in the final release. Many special effects, and a number of scenes that filled holes in the story, landed on the "cutting-room floor".

Cast

Tatsuya Nakadai as {{nihongo|Takeda Shingen|武田信玄}} and the {{nihongo|Kagemusha|影武者}}
Tsutomu Yamazaki as {{nihongo|Takeda Nobukado|武田信廉}}, Shingen's younger brother.
Kenichi Hagiwara as {{nihongo|Takeda Katsuyori|武田勝頼}}, Shingen's son and heir.
Jinpachi Nezu as {{nihongo|Tsuchiya Sohachiro|土屋宗八郎}}, chief bodyguard for Takeda Shingen and the Kagemusha.
Hideji Ōtaki as {{nihongo|Yamagata Masakage|山縣昌景}}, Shingen's most experienced general.
Daisuke Ryu as {{nihongo|Oda Nobunaga|織田信長}}, one of Shingen's chief rivals for control of Japan.
Masayuki Yui as {{nihongo|Tokugawa Ieyasu|徳川家康}}, Nobunaga's strongest ally.
Kaori Momoi as {{nihongo|Otsuyanokata|お津弥の方}}, one of Shingen's concubines.
Mitsuko Baisho as {{nihongo|Oyunokata|於ゆうの方}}, another one of Shingen's concubines.
Hideo Murota as {{nihongo|Baba Nobuharu|馬場信春}}, one of the chief generals in the Takeda Clan's army.
Takayuki Shiho as {{nihongo|Naitō Masatoyo|内藤昌豊}}, another important general in the Takeda Clan's army.
Kōji Shimizu (actor) as {{nihongo|Atobe Katsusuke|跡部勝資}}
Noburo Shimizu as {{nihongo|Hara Masatane|原昌胤}}
Sen Yamamoto as {{nihongo|Oyamada Nobushige|小山田信茂}}
Shuhei Sugimori as {{nihongo|Kōsaka Masanobu|高坂昌信}}
Takashi Shimura as {{nihongo|Taguchi Gyobu|田口刑部}}
Eiichi Kanakubo as {{nihongo|Uesugi Kenshin|上杉謙信}}, Shingen's other chief rival for control of Japan.
Francis Selleck as Priest
Jirō Yabuki as Equestrian
Kamatari Fujiwara as Doctor

Release

Kagemusha was released theatrically in Japan on April 26, 1980, where it was distributed by Toho.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=322}} It was released in the United States theatrically on October 6, 1980, where it was distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=322}} The theatrical version in the United States had a 162-minute running time.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=322}} It was released on home video in the United States with a 180-minute running time in 2005.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=322}}

Reception

=Box office=

Kagemusha was the number one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1980, earning {{¥|2.7 billion}} in distribution rental income.{{cite web|url=http://www.eiren.org/toukei/1980.html|title=Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin 1980-nen|publisher=Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan|language=ja|access-date=4 February 2011}} It earned {{US$|8 million|long=no}} within ten days of release at 217 Japanese theaters.{{cite news |title=Japanese TV Shows Abound in Violence |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/763557255/ |access-date=19 April 2022 |work=Abilene Reporter-News |via=Newspapers.com |date=31 May 1981 |page=31 |url-access=subscription}} The film grossed a total of {{¥|5.5 billion}} ({{US$|26 million|long=no}}) in Japanese box office gross receipts.{{cite web |title=Kagemusha |url=https://www.tohokingdom.com/movies/kagemusha.htm |website=Toho Kingdom |access-date=23 May 2020}}

Overseas, the film grossed {{US$|4 million|long=no}} in the United States{{Mojo title|kagemusha}} (equivalent to over {{US$|14 million|long=no}} adjusted for inflation in 2021){{cite web |title=Kagemusha (1980) - United States |url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=7464&view=1 |website=JP's Box-Office |access-date=18 April 2022}} from {{nowrap|1.5 million}} ticket sales.{{cite web |title=«Кагемуся: Тень воина» (Kagemusha, 1980) |url=https://www.kinopoisk.ru/film/7330/ |website=KinoPoisk |language=ru |access-date=20 March 2022}} In France, where it released on 1 October 1980, the film sold 904,627 tickets,{{cite web |title=Kagemusha (1980) |url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=7464 |website=JP's Box-Office |access-date=23 May 2020}} equivalent to an estimated gross revenue of approximately {{Currency|{{#expr:904627*2.7 round -2}}|code=Euro|linked=no}}{{cite book |chapter=Cinema market |title=Cinema, TV and radio in the EU: Statistics on audiovisual services (Data 1980-2002) |date=2003 |publisher=Office for Official Publications of the European Communities |isbn=92-894-5709-0 |issn=1725-4515 |pages=31–64 (61) |edition=2003 |chapter-url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/5648553/KS-BT-03-001-EN.PDF/3758081d-5ae4-4e21-9d78-fca7bcc68d5c#page=67 |website=Europa |access-date=23 May 2020}} ({{US$|{{To USD|2442.5|EUR|year=1980|round=yes}},000|long=no}}). This brings the film's total estimated worldwide gross revenue to approximately {{US$|{{#expr:26000000+4000000+3401000}}|long=no|1980|round=-6}}.

=Critical response=

Kagemusha has an approval rating of 89% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Epic in scope and awash with striking color, Kagemusha marks Akira Kurosawa's successful return to the samurai epic".{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kagemusha | title=Kagemusha | Rotten Tomatoes | website=Rotten Tomatoes }} Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/kagemusha?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c | title=Kagemusha Reviews | website=Metacritic }}

=Accolades=

Kagemusha won numerous honours in Japan and abroad, marking the beginning of Kurosawa's most successful decade in international awards, the 1980s.{{sfn|Wild|2014|p=165}} At the 1980 Cannes Film Festival, Kagemusha shared the Palme d'Or with All That Jazz.{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1850/year/1980.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Kagemusha |access-date=2009-05-27|work=festival-cannes.com}} At the 53rd Academy Awards, Kagemusha was nominated for Best Art Direction (Yoshirō Muraki) and Best Foreign Language Film.{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1981 |title=The 53rd Academy Awards (1981) Nominees and Winners |access-date=2013-06-08 |work=oscars.org}}{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/26895/Kagemusha/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018223628/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/26895/Kagemusha/awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-10-18 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |date=2012 |title=NY Times: Kagemusha |access-date=2008-12-31}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
scope="col"\| Award ! scope="col"\| Date of ceremony ! scope="col"\| Category ! scope="col"\| Recipient(s) ! scope="col"\| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"\| {{Abbr\|Ref(s)\|Reference(s)}}
scope="row" rowspan=2\| Academy Awards \| rowspan="2" \| March 31, 1981 \| Best Foreign Language Film \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{nom}} \| rowspan="2" \|
Best Art Direction \| Yoshirō Muraki \| {{nom}}
scope="row" rowspan=4\| British Academy Film Awards \| rowspan="4" \| March 22, 1981 \| Best Film \| Akira Kurosawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka \| {{nom}} \| rowspan="4" \| {{Cite web\|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1981/film \|title=Film in 1981 \|access-date=23 June 2017 \|publisher=British Academy of Film and Television Arts}}
Best Direction \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{won}}
Best Cinematography \| Takao Saito, Shôji Ueda \| {{nom}}
Best Costume Design \| Seiichiro Momosawa \| {{won}}
scope="row"\| Cannes Film Festival \| rowspan="1" \| May 23, 1980 \| Palme d'Or \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{won}} \| rowspan="1" \|
scope="row"\| César Awards \| rowspan="1" \| January 31, 1981 \| Best Foreign Film \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{won}} \| rowspan="1" \| {{Cite web\|url=http://www.allocine.fr/festivals/festival-128/edition-18353264/palmares/ \|title=Prix et nominations : César 1981 \|access-date=23 June 2017 \|work=AlloCiné}}
scope="row" rowspan=2\| David di Donatello \| rowspan="2" \| September 26, 1981 \| Best Foreign Director \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{won}} \| rowspan="2" \| {{Cite web\|url=http://www.daviddidonatello.it/storia/cronologia.php \|title=Cronologia Dei Premi David Di Donatello \|access-date=23 June 2017 \|work=David di Donatello}}
Best Foreign Producer \| Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas \| {{won}}
scope="row"\| Golden Globe Awards \| rowspan="1" \| January 31, 1981 \| Best Foreign Language Film \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{nom}} \| rowspan="1" \| {{Cite web\|url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/film/kagemusha-shadow-warrior \|title=Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) \|access-date=23 June 2017 \|publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association}}
scope="row" rowspan=5\| Mainichi Film Awards \| rowspan="5" \| 1980 \| Best Film \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{won}} \| rowspan="5" \| {{Cite web \|url=http://mainichi.jp/enta/cinema/mfa/etc/history/35.html \|title=35th (1980) \|date=2016 \|publisher=Mainichi Film Awards \|access-date=23 June 2017 }}
Best Director \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{won}}
Best Actor \| Tatsuya Nakadai \| {{won}}
Best Art Direction \| Yoshirô Muraki \| {{won}}
Best Music \| Shin'ichirō Ikebe \| {{won}}
scope="row"\| National Board of Review \| rowspan="1" \| January 26, 1981 \| Top Foreign Films \| Akira Kurosawa \| {{won}} \| rowspan="1" \| {{Cite web \|url=http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1980/ \|title=1980 Award Winners \|date=2016 \|publisher=National Board of Review of Motion Pictures \|access-date=2 December 2016 }}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

scope="col"| Award

! scope="col"| Date of ceremony

! scope="col"| Category

! scope="col"| Recipient(s)

! scope="col"| Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}

scope="row" rowspan=2| Academy Awards

| rowspan="2" | March 31, 1981

| Best Foreign Language Film

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{nom}}

| rowspan="2" |

Best Art Direction

| Yoshirō Muraki

| {{nom}}

scope="row" rowspan=4| British Academy Film Awards

| rowspan="4" | March 22, 1981

| Best Film

| Akira Kurosawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka

| {{nom}}

| rowspan="4" | {{Cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1981/film |title=Film in 1981 |access-date=23 June 2017 |publisher=British Academy of Film and Television Arts}}

Best Direction

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{won}}

Best Cinematography

| Takao Saito, Shôji Ueda

| {{nom}}

Best Costume Design

| Seiichiro Momosawa

| {{won}}

scope="row"| Cannes Film Festival

| rowspan="1" | May 23, 1980

| Palme d'Or

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{won}}

| rowspan="1" |

scope="row"| César Awards

| rowspan="1" | January 31, 1981

| Best Foreign Film

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{won}}

| rowspan="1" | {{Cite web|url=http://www.allocine.fr/festivals/festival-128/edition-18353264/palmares/ |title=Prix et nominations : César 1981 |access-date=23 June 2017 |work=AlloCiné}}

scope="row" rowspan=2| David di Donatello

| rowspan="2" | September 26, 1981

| Best Foreign Director

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{won}}

| rowspan="2" | {{Cite web|url=http://www.daviddidonatello.it/storia/cronologia.php |title=Cronologia Dei Premi David Di Donatello |access-date=23 June 2017 |work=David di Donatello}}

Best Foreign Producer

| Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas

| {{won}}

scope="row"| Golden Globe Awards

| rowspan="1" | January 31, 1981

| Best Foreign Language Film

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{nom}}

| rowspan="1" | {{Cite web|url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/film/kagemusha-shadow-warrior |title=Kagemusha (The Shadow Warrior) |access-date=23 June 2017 |publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association}}

scope="row" rowspan=5| Mainichi Film Awards

| rowspan="5" | 1980

| Best Film

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{won}}

| rowspan="5" | {{Cite web |url=http://mainichi.jp/enta/cinema/mfa/etc/history/35.html |title=35th (1980) |date=2016 |publisher=Mainichi Film Awards |access-date=23 June 2017 }}

Best Director

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{won}}

Best Actor

| Tatsuya Nakadai

| {{won}}

Best Art Direction

| Yoshirô Muraki

| {{won}}

Best Music

| Shin'ichirō Ikebe

| {{won}}

scope="row"| National Board of Review

| rowspan="1" | January 26, 1981

| Top Foreign Films

| Akira Kurosawa

| {{won}}

| rowspan="1" | {{Cite web |url=http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1980/ |title=1980 Award Winners |date=2016 |publisher=National Board of Review of Motion Pictures |access-date=2 December 2016 }}

In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter ranked the film 10th among 69 counted winners of the Palme d'Or to date, concluding "Set against the wars of 16th-century Japan, Kurosawa's majestic samurai epic is still awe-inspiring, not only in its historical pageantry, but for imagery that communicates complex ideas about reality, belief and meaning."{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/cannes-palme-dor-winners-ranked-891143/item/best-intentions-palme-dor-winners-891108 |title=Cannes: All the Palme d'Or Winners, Ranked |last=THR Staff |access-date=20 September 2016 |work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=10 May 2016 }}

References

=Bibliography=

{{cite book| last=Conrad|first=David A.|title=Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan|year=2022|publisher=McFarland & Co.|isbn=978-1-4766-8674-5}}
{{cite book |last=Galbraith IV |first=Stuart |title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7o8pq6G_dYC |access-date=October 29, 2013 |year=2008 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-1461673743 }}
{{cite book |last=Wild |first=Peter |title=Akira Kurosawa |year=2014 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1780233802 }}

External links

{{IMDb title|0080979}}
{{tcmdb title|id=80074}}
[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/360-kagemusha-from-painting-to-film-pageantry Kagemusha: From Painting to Film Pageantry] an essay by Peter Grilli at the Criterion Collection
[http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1980/dd001280.htm Kagemusha] {{in lang|ja}} at the Japanese Movie Database
{{Rotten Tomatoes|kagemusha}}

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Category:1980 films

Category:1980s historical films

Category:1980s war films

Category:Jidaigeki films

Category:1980s Japanese-language films

Category:Japanese epic films

Category:1980s samurai films

Category:Films directed by Akira Kurosawa