Samurai Assassin

{{Infobox film

| name = Samurai Assassin

| image = Samurai Assassin 1965.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| native_name =

| director = Kihachi Okamoto

| producer = {{plainlist|*Tomoyuki Tanaka

Reiji Miwa{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}}}}

| screenplay = Shinobu Hashimoto

| based_on = {{based on|Samurai Japan|Jiromasa Gunji}}

| starring = {{plainlist|*Toshiro Mifune

| music = Masaru Sato{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}}

| cinematography = Hiroshi Murai{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}}

| editing = Yoshitami Kuroiwa{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}}

| production_companies = {{plainlist|*Toho

Mifune Productions{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}}}}

| distributor = Toho

| released = {{film date|1965|1|3|Japan}}

| runtime = 121 minutes{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}}

| country = Japan

| language =

| budget =

| gross =

}}

{{nihongo|Samurai Assassin|侍|Samurai}} is a 1965 Japanese film directed by Kihachi Okamoto and starring Toshiro Mifune, Koshiro Matsumoto, Yūnosuke Itō, and Michiyo Aratama.{{cite web|url=https://www.japanese-cinema-db.jp/Details?id=9928|title=侍|publisher=Agency for Cultural Affairs 映画情報システム|access-date=2 November 2019}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://sp.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=21547&key_search=%E4%BE%8D|title=侍|publisher=Kinema Junpo|access-date=27 December 2020}}

Plot summary

The film tells the story of Niiro Tsurichiyo (Mifune) as the illegitimate son of a powerful nobleman, and the way of his life that made him a swordfighter but also a social outcast. He joins forces with the multiple clans against the Lord of Hikone, Sir Ii Kamonnokami Naosuke. Ii is the right hand of the shogunate and brought upon himself the wrath of the Satsuma, Mito, and Choshuu provinces after making an unpopular choice for the appointment of the 14th shogunate. Many critics arose after the controversial appointment, and Ii initiated the Ansei Purge to quiet critics of his choices. This, in turn, led to an assassination plot hatched by the three provinces in order to remove Ii from his position of power. The shoguns also weeding out Ii's spies from the plot. The film is based on a novel, which in turn was inspired by the historical Sakuradamon incident, in which the feudal lord Ii Naosuke was assassinated outside the Sakurada Gate of Edo Castle.

Cast

Toshiro Mifune - Tsuruchiyo Niiro
Keiju Kobayashi - Einosuke Kurihara
Michiyo Aratama - Okiku / Kikuhime
Yūnosuke Itō - Kenmotsu Hoshino
Eijirō Tōno - Masagoro Kisoya
Tatsuyoshi Ehara - Ichigoro Hayama
Tadao Nakamaru - Shigezo Inada
Kaoru Yachigusa - Mitsu
Haruko Sugimura - Tsuru
Nami Tamura - Yae
Shiro Otsuji - Kaname Kojima
Toshio Kurosawa - Itamura Katsunoshin
Yoshio Inaba - Keijiro Sumita
Akihiko Hirata - Sohei Masui
Hideyo Amamoto - Matazaburo Hagiwara
Takashi Shimura - Narihisa Ichijō
Matsumoto Kōshirō VIII - Ii Naosuke

Production

Samurai Assassin was a production of both Toho and Mifune Productions.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}} It is based on the book Samurai Japan by Jiromasa Gunji.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}}

Release

Samurai Assassin was released in Japan on January 3, 1965.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}} The film was released in the United States on March 18, 1965 where it was distributed by Toho International.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}} The film's title was apparently changed from Samurai to Samurai Assassin in the United States to avoid confusion with Hiroshi Inagaki's film Samurai (Miyamoto Musashi) from 1954.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=216}}

Reception

In a contemporary review, "Robe." of Variety declared that samurai film was not "superb" but "very good", noting that Toshiro Mifune and "the entire cast, particularly the men, give excellent portrayals" and that Hiroshi Murai's "crisp black and white photography is more effective in the outdoor, dead-of-winter panoramas and fight scenes"{{cite book|title=Variety's Film Reviews 1964-1967|volume=11|publisher=R. R. Bowker|isbn=0-8352-2790-1|year=1983|at=There are no page numbers in this book. This entry is found under the header "March 17, 1965"}}

Footnotes

=References=

{{cite book |last=Galbraith IV |first=Stuart |title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography |publisher=Scarecrow Press |date=2008 |isbn=978-1461673743 |authorlink=Stuart Galbraith IV}}