The rugged, steely-eyed Tatsuya Nakadai is a former samurai on a mission to stop a massacre in GOYOKIN, from writer-director Hideo Goshi, helmer of chambara classics THREE OUTLAW SAMURAI and HITOKIRI. The film is a slow-boiling samurai drama with a simple plot that succeeds through meticulous film craft from all quarters including deft direction, excellent visuals from DP Kozo Okazaki, a commanding performance from Nakadai, and an iconic score from the Ennio Morricone of Japanese cinema, Masaru Sato.

Haunted by guilt and a strong sense of justice, former samurai Magobei Wakizaka (Tatsuya Nakadai) returns home from self exile to a small, impoverished domain in 19th century Japan to stop Rokugo Tatewaki (Tetsuro Tamba), his brother-in-law and childhood friend, from committing a second massacre on the inhabitants of a fishing village. The crime is intended to cover up the theft of “goyokin,” a shipment of gold bars heading to the Bakufu in Edo by boat. To stop his former associates, Magobei strikes an alliance with an undercover Bakufu agent (Kinnosuke Nakamura) and a female con artist (Ruriko Asaoka) who is also the sole survivor of the first massacre.

Toho’s GOYOKIN unravels like YOJIMBO. Structurally, it’s similar in how the hero’s path gradually leads him ever closer to an inevitable confrontation as a small cast of side characters become foils and friends along the way. There are several moments where Magobei becomes vulnerable and struggles to regain even footing with his enemies. There is even a measure of dark comedy, although it’s not as pervasive as it was in YOJIMBO, largely because Magobei is a far more outwardly intense and brooding individual than Sanjuro was.

It’s worth noting that Nakadai was the gun-totting villain in YOJIMBO but later came into his own as a sword-slinging screen hero in the ’60s.

Goshi goes to great lengths to methodically set up what is essentially a very simple scenario. Despite affection for his brother-in-law, Magobei is determined not to let Rokugo kill more innocent people for the purpose of saving the domain. This taps into the theme of the film, a theme very common to many samurai films sets during the Tokugawa’s final years. The Shogunate is greedily plundering the country as regional samurai resort to unethical measures to shore up their own weakening domains and common people suffer abuses of power. In short, the loss of honor and relevance in a time of relative peace and economic upheaval spells the end of the warrior caste in Japan. In accepting this early on, Magobei becomes the vengeful conscience of the samurai, a warrior who turns his back on what his fellow samurai have come to represent and ultimately must turn on his own kind in order to preserve his honor, and perhaps what honor remains of the samurai.

The film is not an action movie in the stylized way that ZATOICHI or LONE WOLF AND CUB are, although it features familiar elements of chambara films of the era along with several distinctive fight sequences courtesy of choreographer Kentaro Yuasa. Its focus is more on the dramatic build up to a poignant finale as Magobei struggles to stop Rokugo’s plans to sink the goyokin ship. He ultimately finds himself besieged by Rokugo’s men in his final approach. Magobei fights a desperate battle before taking on Rokugo himself who specializes in the use of throwing knives.

This added element of knife throwing provides one of several memorable spins on the classic samurai duel in the film’s final showdown. Another is the winter setting of a snow-covered field and the subsequent effects of the cold on the hands of both combatants who both find nature to be a common enemy. To top it off, Goshi juxtaposes this fight with masked taiko drummers performing just within earshot in a performance Magobei likens to “a funeral for us samurai.”

What sets this film apart from others in the genre is Goshi’s masterful eye for presentation. What could have been a routine samurai tale in other hands becomes a work of art under Goshi’s direction. As with other masters including Akira Kurosawa and Yoji Yamada, Goshi relishes the details in every scene. He also relies on moody atmosphere to accentuate the horror of killing. The first massacre has come to be known as the “Kamiakushi,” with superstitious locals only aware that an entire village vanished over night. Goshi taps into elements of Hitchcockian suspense to reveal the horror of this discovery, which is accompanied by haunting music from Sato. This undercurrent of fear and apprehension continues to weave its way through the story as Magobei draws closer to challenging his former comrades. The fascinating conclusion is that ultimately the once dominate samurai have the most to fear in this transitional time because they’re resorting to petty theft just to hold on to their waning power. It’s a bold statement painted with equally bold imagery by one of the genre best filmmakers.

At its worst, GOYOKIN drags at times and occasionally falls too far back on genre convention and convenient happenstances. The script itself is very conventional and will offer no surprises to veteran chambara viewers. For instance, there is a scene where Magobei is tied up and left for dead, which of course predictably gives him the opportunity to escape. The film also relies on a lot of exposition which also tends to slow the pace. Goshi has Magobei striking a sometimes awkward balance between being the typical super swordsman and being more vulnerable and reliant on help. Despite all of this, the film has much to offer in the way of imagery, brooding atmosphere, a moderate amount of finely choreographed combat, and a satisfying build up to a masterfully presented duel.

GOYOKIN is available on DVD with Japanese audio and English subtitles on Media Blasters’ Tokyo Shock label.

Related Topics

chambara, Goyokin (1969), Hideo Goshi, jidai geki, ronin, samurai, swordplay, Tatsuya Nakadai, Tetsuro Tamba, Tokugawa