is a 1945 Japanese

action drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

written and directed by

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

. It is based on the novel by Tsuneo Tomita, son of

Tomita Tsunejirō , born , was the earliest disciple of judo. His name appears in the first line of the enrollment book of the Kōdōkan. . Tomita, together with Saigō Shirō, became the first in the history of judo to be awarded the rank of Shodan by the foun ...

, the earliest disciple of

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

. It was filmed in early 1945 in Japan towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Unlike the original '' Sugata Sanshiro'', the sequel is in part considered a

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

. It is believed by some to be the earliest known film

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

whose title is simply the original title followed by a number, predating the likes of '' French Connection II'' (1975) by decades, although possibly mistaken as the added

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

(''Zoku'') is not a numeral but simply means "''Continuation''" or "''Sequel''" sort of in the style of ''

Another Thin Man ''Another Thin Man'' is a 1939 American detective film directed by W. S. Van Dyke, the third of six in the ''Thin Man'' series. It again stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles and is based on Dashiell Hammett's Continen ...

'' or ''

The Invisible Man Returns ''The Invisible Man Returns'' is a 1940 American horror science fiction film directed by Joe May. The film stars Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey and John Sutton. The film is a sequel to the 1933 film ''The Invisible Man'', and the sec ...

''.

Plot

In the 1880s, a martial arts student continues his quest to become a

master, from that discipline's founder. Eventually, he learns enough to demonstrate his skill in a boxing match between American and Japanese fighters at the end of the movie. The whole movie is actually about the rivalry between karate and judo martial artists, and Sanshiro's struggle to do what is right. On one side there is the morally right thing to do, and on the other the rules in the dojo. Eventually he decides to break all of the rules, leave the dojo, fight the American boxer and, also, the karate masters. He wins both fights and at the end of the movie smiles while washing his face, finally able to sleep and finally be happy.

Cast

Denjirō Ōkōchi was a Japanese people, Japanese film actor best known for starring roles in jidaigeki directed by leading Japanese filmmakers. Early life and family Ōkōchi was born Masuo Ōbe on February 5, 1898, in Ōkōchi, Iwaya (present-day Ōkōchi, Buz ...

- Shogoro Yano *

Susumu Fujita Susumu Fujita () (8 January 1912 – 23 March 1991) was a Japanese film and television actor. He played the lead role in Akira Kurosawa's first feature, '' Sanshiro Sugata'', and appeared in other Kurosawa films including ''The Men Who Tread O ...

- Sanshiro Sugata *

Ryūnosuke Tsukigata was a Japanese actor known especially for his work in jidaigeki in film and television. His real name was Kiyoto Monden. Career Born in Miyagi Prefecture, Tsukigata entered the actor's school at Nikkatsu in 1920, but earned his first starring ro ...

- Gennosuke Higaki *

Akitake Kōno was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1943 to 1973. Career Kōno started acting with the Zenshinza theater troupe before joining the Toho studio in 1942. Mostly a character actor, he appeared in films by directors ...

- Genzaburo Higaki *

Yukiko Todoroki Yukiko Todoroki ( ''Todoroki Yukiko''; September 11, 1917 – May 11, 1967) was a Japanese actress. Her real name was Tsuruko Nishiyama. She participated in the Takarazuka Revue. At Takarazuka, she was known not by her real name, but by the stage ...

- Sayo *Soji Kiyokawa - Yujiro Toda * Masayuki Mori - Yoshima Dan *

Seiji Miyaguchi was a Japanese actor who appeared in films of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, Tadashi Imai and many others. He succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 71. Distinctions One of Kurosawa's iconic '' Seven Samurai'', Miyaguchi won the 19 ...

- Kohei Tsuzaki *Ko Ishida - Daisuburo Hidarimonji *Kazu Hikari - Kihei Sekine *

Kokuten Kōdō , real name Tanigawa Saichirō (谷川佐市郎), was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1923 to 1959. Career Kōdō first began acting on the stage in 1901 in shinpa dramas. He joined the Teikine studio in 1923, ...

- Buddhist Priest Saiduchi *

Ichiro Sugai was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1930 and 1971. Sugai often worked with Kaneto Shindo, Kenji Mizoguchi and Kōzaburō Yoshimura. Selected filmography * ''The Water Magician'' (1933) * '' Spring on Leper's Islan ...

- Yoshizo Fubuki *Osman Yusuf - American Sailor *Roy James - William Lister

Critical reviews

In his review of the original ''Sanshiro Sugata'' for ''

Bright Lights Film Journal ''Bright Lights Film Journal'' is an online popular-academic film magazine, based in Oakland, California, United States. It is edited and published by Gary Morris. Originally a print publication established in 1974, it was discontinued in 1980 to ...

'', Brian Libby noted that the film is "less propaganda-oriented" than its sequel. In the original film, "fighting is but a vehicle for a larger spiritual quest" whereas the sequel "promotes Japanese judo's superiority to Western boxing", setting a different tone. Christian Blauvelt, writing a review for ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'', agreed that the film is somewhat tainted by noticeable propaganda. Sanshiro's victory against the American boxer "is taken as a sign of Japanese physical, moral, and spiritual superiority". He also noted that "Sanshiro comes to the aid of defenseless Japanese who are being beaten up by a drunken American sailor". Historian David Conrad has contextualized the film as a "crude bit of wish-fulfillment" during the last weeks of World War II when Japan's leaders "moved the war's frontlines to the only place it could still be won: the realm of fantasy."David A. Conrad (2022). ''Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan''. McFarland & Co. Christian Blauvelt however saw merit in the film as illustrated in the battle against the brothers of Gennosuke Higaki, the original film's villain: "Their battle takes place on a snow-covered hillside and matches the natural beauty of the first film's windstorm finale. In his years apprenticing at P.C.L. hoto Chemical Laboratories, which later became Toho Kurosawa had become exposed to the films of

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

, many of which played in Japan, before the foreign-film embargo that accompanied Japan's declaration of war on the United States in 1941. Like Ford, Kurosawa would emphasize the place of landscape in his films, often pairing his characters' emotional turmoil with the Elements. The rain in ''

One Wonderful Sunday is a 1947 Cinema of Japan, Japanese film co-written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. It was made during the allied occupation of Japan and shows some of the challenges of life in early post-war Tokyo. The film is notable in the Kurosawa canon as ...

'', ''

Rashomon is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori (actor), Masayuki Mori, and ...

'', or ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire seven ...

'', the beating sun in '' Stray Dog'', the sinkhole in ''

Drunken Angel is a 1948 Japanese ''yakuza'' film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is notable for being the first of sixteen film collaborations between director Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune. Plot Sanada (Takashi Shimura) is an alcoholic doctor (the tit ...

'', the snowfall in ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69. The title is an ...

'', the wind in ''

Dersu Uzala Dersu Uzala (russian: Дерсу Узала; 1849–1908) was a Nanai trapper and hunter. He worked as a guide for Vladimir Arsenyev who immortalized him in his 1923 book '' Dersu Uzala''. The book was adapted into two feature films, with the ve ...

'', and the crashing waves of ''

Kagemusha is a 1980 jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate the dying ''daimyō'' Takeda Shingen to dissuade opposing lords fr ...

'' would express some emotional anguish of the characters and, as a kind of cinematic synecdoche, society as a whole."

Home media

The film was released in 2010 as part of a 4 DVD box set of Kurosawa's early films under the following designation: *''Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa''.

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

References

External links

* * *
Sanshiro Sugata PartII
' at the

Japanese Movie Database The , more commonly known as simply JMDb, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database but lists only those films initially released in Japan. Y. ...

{{Akira Kurosawa 1945 films Films directed by Akira Kurosawa Toho films Japanese black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Akira Kurosawa Japanese action adventure films 1940s action adventure films Films set in 1887 Films set in Yokohama