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Episode 582 – The Men of Chivalry, Part 2
This week: we take a look at postwar samurai film/jidaigeki in order to understand better the trajectory of the most influential genre in the history of Japanese film. Why did jidaigeki, a staple of pre-1945 film, storm back with a vengeance to the big screen after the end of World War II? What makes post-1945 samurai films distinctive or unique? And what about their relationship to another archetype of international film: the American Western?
Sources
Desser, David. “Toward a Structural Analysis of the Postwar Samurai Film” in Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History. Eds. Arthur Noletti, Jr. and David Desser
Anderson, Joseph and Donald Ritchie. The Japanese Film: Art and Industry, Expanded Edition.
Galbraith, Stuart. The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune.
Images
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9898" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pictakashi-shimura-in-seven-samurai-1954-300x231.webp" alt="" width="300" height="231" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pictakashi-shimura-in-seven-samurai-1954-300x231.webp 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pictakashi-shimura-in-seven-samurai-1954.webp 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />One of my favorite shots from The Seven Samurai. The noble heroes go into battle even as the rain draws attention to the doomed and tragic nature of their fight.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9901" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/MV5BMGQ3ZjM0ODEtNTRhYS00NTE3LTg0OGEtOTRkNDQ2MzhjYWFlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_-211x300.jpg" alt="" width="211" height="300" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/MV5BMGQ3ZjM0ODEtNTRhYS00NTE3LTg0OGEtOTRkNDQ2MzhjYWFlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_-211x300.jpg 211w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/MV5BMGQ3ZjM0ODEtNTRhYS00NTE3LTg0OGEtOTRkNDQ2MzhjYWFlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg 680w" sizes="(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px" />The poster for Inagaki’s 1962 Bandits on the Wind, another classic of nostalgic samurai drama.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9905" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-300x169.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b.jpeg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />This still is from Seppuku/Hara-kiri, a classic anti-feudal jidaigeki. You can really see how the way it’s shot serves to change the relationship between the main character and the wider scene.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9903" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000-300x169.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000-768x432.jpg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />A still from Joiuchi/Samurai Rebellion. You can really see the depth of field stuff at play here.
<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-9904" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/images.jpeg" alt="" width="259" height="194" />Pictured: Mifune as Musashi in Inagaki’s Samurai trilogy, too focused on mastering his swordsmanship for petty concerns like women hitting on him.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9902" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/samurai18-300x233.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/samurai18-300x233.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/samurai18.jpg 552w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The climactic battle for one of the three Samurai films–Musashi’s famous duel at Ganryujima.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9900" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/yojimbo-3-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/yojimbo-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/yojimbo-3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/yojimbo-3.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Yojimbo embodies chanbara as a genre in many ways–most notably in the relationship between the antagonist (Tetsuya Nakadai, left) and protagonist (Mifune Toshiro, right).
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9899" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-300x125.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="125" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-300x125.jpeg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-1024x428.jpeg 1024w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-768x321.jpeg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-1536x641.jpeg 1536w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-2048x855.jpeg 2048w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-1600x668.jpeg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Lone Wolf and Cub would have some points to make about feudalism, but THERE’S NO TIME THOSE NINJA LADIES ARE ATTACKING THAT BABY CART
And people say these movies aren’t art
And people say these movies aren’t art
View all episodes
By This week: we take a look at postwar samurai film/jidaigeki in order to understand better the trajectory of the most influential genre in the history of Japanese film. Why did jidaigeki, a staple of pre-1945 film, storm back with a vengeance to the big screen after the end of World War II? What makes post-1945 samurai films distinctive or unique? And what about their relationship to another archetype of international film: the American Western?
Sources
Desser, David. “Toward a Structural Analysis of the Postwar Samurai Film” in Reframing Japanese Cinema: Authorship, Genre, History. Eds. Arthur Noletti, Jr. and David Desser
Anderson, Joseph and Donald Ritchie. The Japanese Film: Art and Industry, Expanded Edition.
Galbraith, Stuart. The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune.
Images
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9898" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pictakashi-shimura-in-seven-samurai-1954-300x231.webp" alt="" width="300" height="231" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pictakashi-shimura-in-seven-samurai-1954-300x231.webp 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pictakashi-shimura-in-seven-samurai-1954.webp 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />One of my favorite shots from The Seven Samurai. The noble heroes go into battle even as the rain draws attention to the doomed and tragic nature of their fight.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9901" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/MV5BMGQ3ZjM0ODEtNTRhYS00NTE3LTg0OGEtOTRkNDQ2MzhjYWFlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_-211x300.jpg" alt="" width="211" height="300" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/MV5BMGQ3ZjM0ODEtNTRhYS00NTE3LTg0OGEtOTRkNDQ2MzhjYWFlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_-211x300.jpg 211w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/MV5BMGQ3ZjM0ODEtNTRhYS00NTE3LTg0OGEtOTRkNDQ2MzhjYWFlXkEyXkFqcGc@._V1_.jpg 680w" sizes="(max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px" />The poster for Inagaki’s 1962 Bandits on the Wind, another classic of nostalgic samurai drama.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9905" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-300x169.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/a638d127c48bff2e519815ce9507962b.jpeg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />This still is from Seppuku/Hara-kiri, a classic anti-feudal jidaigeki. You can really see how the way it’s shot serves to change the relationship between the main character and the wider scene.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9903" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000-300x169.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000-768x432.jpg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harakiri-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />A still from Joiuchi/Samurai Rebellion. You can really see the depth of field stuff at play here.
<img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-9904" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/images.jpeg" alt="" width="259" height="194" />Pictured: Mifune as Musashi in Inagaki’s Samurai trilogy, too focused on mastering his swordsmanship for petty concerns like women hitting on him.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9902" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/samurai18-300x233.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="233" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/samurai18-300x233.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/samurai18.jpg 552w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />The climactic battle for one of the three Samurai films–Musashi’s famous duel at Ganryujima.
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9900" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/yojimbo-3-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/yojimbo-3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/yojimbo-3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/yojimbo-3.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Yojimbo embodies chanbara as a genre in many ways–most notably in the relationship between the antagonist (Tetsuya Nakadai, left) and protagonist (Mifune Toshiro, right).
<img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-9899" data-tf-not-load src="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-300x125.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="125" srcset="https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-300x125.jpeg 300w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-1024x428.jpeg 1024w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-768x321.jpeg 768w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-1536x641.jpeg 1536w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-2048x855.jpeg 2048w, https://isaacmeyer.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lone_Wolf_and_Cub_-_Baby_Cart_at_the_River_Styx-1600x668.jpeg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Lone Wolf and Cub would have some points to make about feudalism, but THERE’S NO TIME THOSE NINJA LADIES ARE ATTACKING THAT BABY CART
And people say these movies aren’t art
And people say these movies aren’t art