03-19-2025, 09:56 PM
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
Took the plunge and committed to rewatching these. I remember seeing the whole trilogy in one sitting at the New Varsity theater in Palo Alto as a teen. And I remembered this film relatively well. There’s a lot of crying. Takezo (Musashi’s birth name) is unruly and gets in trouble a lot, then cries at his fate. Otsu just cries a lot. She’s a cryer.
This creation tale always bothered me because Musashi claimed he won his first 2 duels when he was a teen in Go Rin No Sho, plus by many accounts, his father was an acclaimed martial artist. This film shows Musashi as estranged from his family, hoping to gain fame by enlisting, and ended up on the wrong side of the infamous battle of Sekigahara. I can’t get over the discrepancy.
Takuan redeems a lot of this for me as I feel he is characterized well. I remember liking his character long before I learned he was a real Buddhist and the inspiration for a distinctive pickle that bears his namesake. My folks called it ‘stink pickle’ in Hawaiian Pidgin, which wasn’t a selling point growing up. It took me years to acquire a taste for takuan, but now when I eat them, it’s akin to meditating over a koan.
I see why cf liked this one the best. It shows the most dramatic character growth and gives Mifune full range to showcase his violent acting style. For me, it doesnt come together until the very end, as Musashi is neatly dressed and ready to begin his sword quest.
And the final scene where he ditches Otsu still gets me. How long did it take her to pack? She only packs a tiny cache of stuff, tied in a big bandana. But it seems like it took her hours.
I’m tasked to do some Shaolin research next so I probably won’t get to part 2 for a while…
Seen on Criterion.
Took the plunge and committed to rewatching these. I remember seeing the whole trilogy in one sitting at the New Varsity theater in Palo Alto as a teen. And I remembered this film relatively well. There’s a lot of crying. Takezo (Musashi’s birth name) is unruly and gets in trouble a lot, then cries at his fate. Otsu just cries a lot. She’s a cryer.
This creation tale always bothered me because Musashi claimed he won his first 2 duels when he was a teen in Go Rin No Sho, plus by many accounts, his father was an acclaimed martial artist. This film shows Musashi as estranged from his family, hoping to gain fame by enlisting, and ended up on the wrong side of the infamous battle of Sekigahara. I can’t get over the discrepancy.
Takuan redeems a lot of this for me as I feel he is characterized well. I remember liking his character long before I learned he was a real Buddhist and the inspiration for a distinctive pickle that bears his namesake. My folks called it ‘stink pickle’ in Hawaiian Pidgin, which wasn’t a selling point growing up. It took me years to acquire a taste for takuan, but now when I eat them, it’s akin to meditating over a koan.
I see why cf liked this one the best. It shows the most dramatic character growth and gives Mifune full range to showcase his violent acting style. For me, it doesnt come together until the very end, as Musashi is neatly dressed and ready to begin his sword quest.
And the final scene where he ditches Otsu still gets me. How long did it take her to pack? She only packs a tiny cache of stuff, tied in a big bandana. But it seems like it took her hours.
I’m tasked to do some Shaolin research next so I probably won’t get to part 2 for a while…
Seen on Criterion.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse