Everyone calls Miyamoto Musashi a Japanese sword saint, but I thought he was cunning! You see, in the decisive battle with Sasaki Kojiro's Iwaki Island, first let the family wait all day, and then use the afterglow of the sunset to shake people's eyes, and also smash people's swords with heavy oars soaked in seawater, which is obviously deceitful, taking advantage, illegal duels, and winning! But no way, the Japanese people just like Miyamoto Musashi.
The series of films is based on a long work by Japanese "national writer" Hideharu Yoshikawa. Director Uchida Tomon was adapted between 1961 and 1965 to complete a five-part film starring Kinnosuke Nakamura, Kō Kimura, Wakaba Irie, Chieko Nanabi, and Chiyo Kishiro.
Set against the backdrop of Japan's Sengoku period to the early Tokugawa period, the film depicts Miyamoto Musashi's tortuous journey through the world with his perseverance and strength, seeking the true meaning of "sword-Zen unity". He started with a samurai, then realized the Tao, got out of the pass, dueled in actual combat, gradually understood kendo, cultivated his body and mind, and finally became a generation of swordsmen. Specific movie stories include:
Miyamoto Musashi (1961)
Miyamoto Musashi The Duel of Banwaka (1962)
Miyamoto Musashi Nikoku Opens His Eyes (1963)
Miyamoto Musashi Ichijoji Duel (1964)
Miyamoto Musashi Duel on Iwakushima Island (1965)
This series of movies, with many large scenes rare in Japanese period dramas, the atmosphere of life and death, and the scene of fierce duels, are very impressive. In addition, as a sword and sword film, the director focuses on portraying the struggle and sublimation of the protagonist's inner world in addition to showing the dueling scene full of Zen.
As a legendary idol in Japanese history, the Miyamoto Musashi trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki in the 1950s and starring Toshiro Mifune, is well known for its detailed content and high artistic level.
In terms of achievements, it is natural that Inagaki's "trilogy" is superior, but it can be supplemented by the Uchida Toyuki version, which is described in detail in classic episodes such as the life of Miyamoto Musashi, the Battle of Sasaki Kojiro, the Seventy-Six Men of the Yoshioka School, the Duel of Iwakujima Island, and the Duel of Ichijōji Temple.
This version of Miyamoto Musashi is played by Nikunosuke Nakamura, as the best candidate for the vanity wanderer, Nakamura is naturally quite stylish in terms of sword style, and the most valuable thing is that he performs the protagonist's inner and external transformations again and again. This version of Sasaki Kojiro is played by the older generation of Japanese drama idol Ken Takakura, and it is also worth watching.