Kagemusha(Shadow Warrior) by Akira Kurosawa
Research Paper
Shadow Warrior by Akira Kurosawa The film “Shadow Warrior” also known as “Kagemusha” was made by Kurosawa in the year of 1980. The film recounted the actual historical event about the death of a great samurai Shingen Takeda who was known as the head of Takeda family. The film started in the year of 1573 while all samurai families competed with each other and the final goal was to unite Japan as a whole. The period was also known as Sengoku period. The story began in Shingen’s place while his younger brother, Nobukado found a thief who looked almost exactly like his brother. The safety for the head of family was top priority during Sengoku period. Therefore, the using of substitute in order to confuse enemies was a common technique used in the battle field. The substitute is called Kagemusha in Japanese. The amazing part of the story is not the using of Kagemusha but the ability of the thief to pretend the real Shingen even he has been dead for more than 2 years. Shingen’s brother and his subordinates also played big roles in hiding the news of Shingen’s death. They tricked the alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu with Kagemusha for more than 2 years. Oda Nobunaga was considered one of the smartest Lord and Tokugawa Ieyasu was the person who finally united Japan as a whole later in this period. They once suspected right after Shingen’s death but still could not find hard evidence to prove the Shingen was a Kagemusha. The ending of the movie was rather tragic and sad. While the Kagemusha fell of the Shingen’s horse, the secret was revealed. The Kagemusha was able to hide this secret from his wives and grandson and even became really closed to his grandson who was supposed to be Singen’s inheritor for the Takeda Family. Sadly, he could not hide this secret from a horse which only recognized his real master. The rumor about Kagemusha quickly spread out within the family. Later on, Shingen’s subordinates decided to hold a funeral for Shingen.
Shadow Warrior by Akira Kurosawa The film “Shadow Warrior” also known as “Kagemusha” was made by Kurosawa in the year of 1980. The film recounted the actual historical event about the death of a great samurai Shingen Takeda who was known as the head of Takeda family. The film started in the year of 1573 while all samurai families competed with each other and the final goal was to unite Japan as a whole. The period was also known as Sengoku period. The story began in Shingen’s place while his younger brother, Nobukado found a thief who looked almost exactly like his brother. The safety for the head of family was top priority during Sengoku period. Therefore, the using of substitute in order to confuse enemies was a common technique used in the battle field. The substitute is called Kagemusha in Japanese. The amazing part of the story is not the using of Kagemusha but the ability of the thief to pretend the real Shingen even he has been dead for more than 2 years. Shingen’s brother and his subordinates also played big roles in hiding the news of Shingen’s death. They tricked the alliance of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu with Kagemusha for more than 2 years. Oda Nobunaga was considered one of the smartest Lord and Tokugawa Ieyasu was the person who finally united Japan as a whole later in this period. They once suspected right after Shingen’s death but still could not find hard evidence to prove the Shingen was a Kagemusha. The ending of the movie was rather tragic and sad. While the Kagemusha fell of the Shingen’s horse, the secret was revealed. The Kagemusha was able to hide this secret from his wives and grandson and even became really closed to his grandson who was supposed to be Singen’s inheritor for the Takeda Family. Sadly, he could not hide this secret from a horse which only recognized his real master. The rumor about Kagemusha quickly spread out within the family. Later on, Shingen’s subordinates decided to hold a funeral for Shingen.
Cited: 1. Cowan, Louise The Necessity of the Classics.. Intercollegiate Review, Fall2001, Vol. 37 Issue 1, p3, 9p, 1bw 2. Malpezzi, Frances M.; Clements, William M.The Double and the Theme of Selflessness in Kagemusha.. Literature Film Quarterly, 1989, Vol. 17 Issue 3, p202, 5p 3. Manheim, Michael The Function of Battle Imagery in Kurosawa 's Histories and the Henry V Films; Literature Film Quarterly, 1994; 22 (2): 129-35. (journal article)