This is a video clip of a very cool swordfight. It’s from The Twilight Samurai directed by Yoji Yamada.
Yoji Yamada is famous as the director of the popular Otoko wa tsurai yo – It’s hard being a man – series of Tora-san movies. They are rather lightweight. So the samurai trilogy Yamada directed subsequently was a wonderful surprise.
The three movies are The Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade and Love and Honor. I recommend them – they are all really excellent movies.
The swordfight is interesting because the main character Seibei uses a short wooden sword against his opponent’s katana. A little like Miyamoto Musashi using a sword carved from an oar in his duel with Sasaki Kojiro.
Hiroyuki Sanada who plays Seibei has a background in martial arts and he is one of the few Japanese actors who looks competent when he is using a sword. He was in The Last Samurai and he is also in 47 Ronin due for release in 2013.
Niall
background articles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasogare_Seibei
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanada_Hiroyuki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoji_Yamada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otoko_wa_Tsurai_yo
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ff20021023a3.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sEdxb3I3dk
photo: The Twilight Samurai by Jonah Sng http://www.flickr.com/photos/godchased/363258873/
Jonah Sng’s photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/godchased/with/363258873/
This post is published simultaneously on the aikido site aikiweb
my columns on aikiweb http://www.aikiweb.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75&filter[1]=Niall%20Matthews
I have an essay in a charity e-book put together by some writers and photographers to raise money for victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku on 11 March 2011. It costs $9.99.
© niall matthews 2012
Hi Marcos. Kill Bill is Quentin Tarantino’s hommage to samurai movies. And manga.
Nice Kill Bill quote:
The full movie The twilight samurai in Youtube here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDrc_AW7FTM&feature=g-vrec
Yes Carina – they are great movies. Subtle and cool. In a way these movies are like the very best westerns.
to me kill bill is one of the best samurai films hands down, i was in hshoicgohl when it came out, and skipped class just to go watch it, and i loved it and it’s the reason i saw all those other samurai films. ut on the other hand, seeing it the other day, it is just a great swordsman revenge movie, it has the sagely master, the massive group battle, the one on one finale etc. perfect movie i think
Thank you Niall, yes the movies are excellent, I saw the first and the second one and agree with you. Will try to download the third one.