is a 1967 Japanese

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

directed by

Masaki Kobayashi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, best known for the epic trilogy '' The Human Condition'' (1959–1961), the samurai films '' Harakiri'' (1962) and '' Samurai Rebellion'' (1967), and the horror anthology '' Kwaidan'' (1964). ''Sen ...

. The film is based on a short story of the same name by Yasuhiko Takiguchi. Its screenplay was written by Shinobu Hashimoto. Film historian

Donald Richie Donald Richie (April 17, 1924 – February 19, 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also ...

suggests an approximate translation for its original Japanese title: ''Rebellion: Receive the Wife''.

Plot

In 1725, during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, Isaburo Sasahara (

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. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...

) is a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

of the ''

daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to ...

'' of the Aizu clan, Masakata Matsudaira. Isaburo is one of the most skilled swordsmen in the land, whose main rival is his good friend Tatewaki Asano (

Tatsuya Nakadai is a Japanese film actor. He was featured in 11 films directed by Masaki Kobayashi, including '' The Human Condition'' trilogy, wherein he starred as the lead character Kaji, plus '' Harakiri'', '' Samurai Rebellion'' and '' Kwaidan''. Nakada ...

). Isaburo is in a loveless marriage with a shrew of a woman. One day, one of the ''daimyo'''s advisors orders Isaburo's elder son Yogoro ( Go Kato) to marry the ''daimyo'''s ex-

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...

, Ichi ( Yoko Tsukasa), even though she is the mother to one of the ''daimyo'''s sons. With much trepidation, the family agrees. Ichi and Yogoro fall in love, marry, and give birth to a daughter, Tomi. However, the ''daimyo'''s primary heir dies, and he orders Ichi to rejoin his household to care for their son and heir. The family refuses, but Ichi is coerced to return by Isaburo's younger son, as otherwise her husband and father-in-law will be ordered to commit

seppuku , also known as , is a form of Japanese ritualistic suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honor, but was also practiced by other Japanese people during the Shōwa era (particularly officers near ...

for their insolence and insubordination. Isaburo counters that he will comply only if the heads of the ''daimyo'' and his two primary advisors are brought to him first. Isaburo sends his younger son and wife away and dismisses his household servants. The ''daimyo'''s steward, accompanied by a platoon of 20

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

, brings Ichi to the Sasahara house and tries to force her at spear point to renounce her marriage to Yogoro and join the daimyo's household. The ''daimyo'' also offers to commute Isaburo and Yogoro's sentences to life confinement in a shrine outside his castle. Instead of abandoning her husband and rejoining the ''daimyo'', she throws herself onto a spear. Yogoro goes to her side and is killed with her in his arms. Enraged, Isaburo kills the steward's entire party, leaving the steward for last as he attempts to flee. Burying the dead couple, Isaburo now decides to take his case to the

shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

accompanied by Tomi. Tatewaki, who is guarding the gate, cannot permit Isaburo to pass, and a climactic duel follows with his good friend. Isaburo is the victor, but assassins hidden nearby cut Isaburo down with

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

fire. As Isaburo dies, Tomi's

wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeding, breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, if she is unable to nurse the child herself sufficiently or chooses not to do so. Wet-nursed children may be known a ...

comforts the baby.

Cast

as Isaburo Sasahara * Yoko Tsukasa as Ichi Sasahara * Go Kato as Yogoro Sasahara *

as Tatewaki Asano * Shigeru Koyama as Geki Takahashi * Masao Mishima as Sanzaemon Yanase * Isao Yamagata as Shobei Tsuchiya * Tatsuyoshi Ehara as Bunzo Sasahara * Etsuko Ichihara as Kiku * Tatsuo Matsumura as Masakata Matsudaira * Takamaru Sasaki as Kenmotsu Sasahara *

Jun Hamamura was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1938 and 1995. Selected filmography * ''Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and Nor ...

as Hyoemon Shiomi

Music

The music was composed by

Tōru Takemitsu was a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu was admired for the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre. He is known for combining elements of oriental and occidental phil ...

, and is performed almost exclusively on

traditional Japanese instruments Traditional Japanese musical instruments, known as in Japanese, are musical instruments used in the traditional folk music of Japan. They comprise a range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. Percussion instruments *; also spelled – ...

, including ''

shakuhachi A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

'', ''

biwa The is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime durin ...

'', and ''

taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...

''.

Release

''Samurai Rebellion'' received a roadshow release in Japan on 27 May 1967 where it was distributed by

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

. The film received a wide theatrical release in Japan on 3 June 1967 and was released by Toho International in December 1967, with English-subtitles and a 120-minute running time. It has been released to home video as ''Samurai Rebellion''.

Awards

''Samurai Rebellion'' received awards in Japan. ''

Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

'' recognized it for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (alongside ''

Japan's Longest Day is a 1967 Japanese epic film, epic war film directed by Kihachi Okamoto. The subject of the majority of the movie is the period between noon on August 14, 1945, and noon on August 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito's decision to surrender to the ...

''). ''

Mainichi Film Concours The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by ''Mainichi Shimbun'' (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of t ...

'' awarded it as Best Film of the year. Along with '' China is Near'', it won the FIPRESCI Prize at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

Other adaptations

A TV movie remake starring Masakazu Tamura as Isaburo Sasahara and

Yukie Nakama is a Japanese actress, singer and former idol. Biography She was born in Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan, into a fisherman's family, the youngest of five siblings. At the start of her career she was a gravure idol and singer (her debut single "Moonli ...

as Ichi Sasahara aired on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

in 2013. The screenplay was written by Shinobu Hashimoto. * Naoto Ogata as Yoichiro Sasahara *

Masahiko Tsugawa , born Masahiko Katō (加藤雅彦 ''Katō Masahiko''; January 2, 1940 – August 4, 2018) was a Japanese actor and director. Career Tsugawa was born January 2, 1940, in Kyoto, Japan. After acting as a child, he made his major debut at 16 in t ...

as Kenmotsu Sasahara *

Ren Osugi , born was a Japanese actor. For his work in ''Cure'', '' Hana-bi'' and other films, Osugi was given the Best Supporting Actor award at the 1999 Yokohama Film Festival. He often worked alongside Takeshi Kitano and Susumu Terajima. In the DVD com ...

as Masakata Matsudaira * Takashi Sasano as Shobei Tanimura *

Meiko Kaji is a Japanese actress and singer. Since the 1960s, she has appeared in over 100 film and television roles, most prominently in the 1970s with her most famous roles as outlaw characters, best known for her performances in the film series '' Stra ...

as Suga Sasahara * Ken Matsudaira as Tatewaki Asano

References

Sources

External links

* '' Samurai Rebellion'' on

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

* * * {{Navboxes , title = Awards , list = {{Sutherland Trophy {{Mainichi Film Award for Best Film {{Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film 1967 films Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners Films directed by Masaki Kobayashi Japanese epic films 1960s Japanese-language films Jidaigeki films 1960s samurai films Toho films Films with screenplays by Shinobu Hashimoto Films produced by Toshiro Mifune Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Films scored by Toru Takemitsu Films set in castles 1960s Japanese films