Iori joins his master, Musashi as they venture into the rural countryside to live off the land and help local farmers fend off bandits after the swordsman postpones the inevitable duel with Kojiro.
In the final chapter of the acclaimed Musashi Miyamoto trilogy, director Hiroshi Inagaki combines the final events of this famous story with a touch of romantic embellishment to create a hurried, yet enjoyable conclusion.
A monk challenges Musashi to combat after Iori, his young pupil draws attention to his master during an open martial arts competition. The intervention of an elder monk spares Musashi from harming the overzealous man. The two then stay at a nearby inn while Musashi takes his sword to be sharpened by a master bladesmith. While there, he is invited by a court official of the Shogun to apply for a position as the Shogun’s official sword master, a highly enviable position for any samurai.
In a arrogant display of skill, Kojiro leaves his mark after killing three members of a local sword school. Musashi takes their bodies to the school’s aging teacher whose pride keeps him from openly admitting that they were his students since they were defeated. Shocked and angered by this heartless display of indifference, Musashi postpones a duel with Kojiro whom he meets soon after and takes up residence on a farm with Iori and another older student. Ignoring the advise of a Buddhist monk, Otsu travels alone to see Musashi but is discovered by bandits who plague the area. After escaping with Iori’s help, she joins Musashi on his farm, although he remains distant, fearing what she must think of him after he made a sexual advance the last time they met.
Troubles mount when Akemi also decides to see Musashi once more. Also traveling alone, she ends up taken by the bandits who turn out to be former associates of her mother. She is instructed to tell Musashi and the villagers that the bandits have been captured. Once she does, the villagers decide to celebrate despite Musashi’s disbelief and the bandits attack while their guard is down. With Musashi’s leadership, the townsfolk manage to defeat the bandits, but not before Akemi is killed attempting to save Otsu.
The time finally arrives for the great duel between Kojiro and Musashi which is to be held on the beach of a small island, away from the eyes of the anxious townsfolk. Having previously discarded Akemi, who had always remained loyal to Musashi, Kojiro became the Shogun’s swordmaster, a worldly position Musashi purposely discarded in favor of enlightenment. As the time of their duel approaches, Kojiro awaits his foe with his unusually long samurai sword ready for action. Musashi meets Otsu one last time before the duel. While being transported to the island, he fashions a long wooden sword from an oar. Having narrowly defeated Kojiro, Musashi sheds a tear for his fallen opponent declaring him the greatest swordsman he will ever fight.
What is most striking about this story is the ending. Musashi lives in an era when the feudal wars of Japan are over. The once powerful samurai class would soon fall prey to the tradesmen and the commerce they would propagate. This was the last time that men would be able to find honor through combat and whether Musashi weeps for the loss of his fallen foe, for the futility of worldly gain, or for the passing of an era is uncertain. Of course, the real Musashi may never have been so noble, yet the closing scene is no less effective.
To contain the rest of the original story in under a two hour running time, the filmmakers condensed several of Musashi’s adventures into one. While fans of the book may be a little miffed, it works quite well. Unfortunately several aspects are trivialized such as the young boy’s important father/son relationship with Musashi. Also, its not made very clear as to why Musashi runs off to clear land and begin farming for a year aside from one reference to his dislike for such work as a younger man. The worst aspect of this film’s version of the story is the whole rivalry between Otsu and Akemi and their relationship to Musashi. Its already been well established that Musashi doesn’t really know how to relate to these women and their suicidal devotion to him is overplayed. Director Inagaki determinedly ties up all the loose ends, but the more rambling nature of this last film makes for a less cohesive narrative.
The final fight is well done and both Mifune and Tsuruta play their roles marvelously, despite a few distracting artificial backdrops. This film has less action overall though and the center bogs down in relational drama. Now taking all three films into account, this is a great story that has a bit of everything from action to romance and subtle humor. The production values are generally high with great cinematography, costumes, and music. The original story by Eiji Yoshikawa is outstanding and this is the best film adaptation you’ll likely ever see.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
jidai geki • Miyamoto Musashi • samurai • Samurai 3: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956) • Samurai Trilogy • Toshiro Mifune
