• 宮本武蔵完結編 決闘巌流島 (Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island)

1/31/25 (Fri)

The final film (1956) in Inagaki’s Musashi trilogy (here are Parts 1 and 2) is by far the most straightforward, disposing of most pointless subplots as the story builds relentlessly from the start to the climactic duel with Sasaki Kojiro. The island, known in the film by its old moniker Funajima, was later renamed after Kojiro’s Ganryu fighting school due to the fame of the real-life battle in 1612. The trilogy thus stops at the midpoint in the career of the 28-year-old Musashi, who remained active as a warrior, artist, and author (most notably The Book of Five Rings) until his death in 1645.

The film opens with Sasaki showing off to Akemi his patented “swallow cut” (cutting a swallow in half in midflight), which she finds cruel. He reiterates his desire to take on Miyamoto in a one-on-one battle. Meanwhile, we get a glimpse of the enlightened Musashi early on, as he reluctantly and successfully takes on a boastful priest in a jousting session while refraining humbly from humiliating the man before the crowd.

Sasaki is then shown in a similar situation but boastfully fights his opponent with a wooden pole rather than a sword. He unintentionally cripples the man, which he regrets for having gone too far. He then learns that he is up for the same position under the Shogun’s teacher as Miyamoto.

Miyamoto discovers four men lying dead in the streets, all killed by a single blow to the head. A posting in the town states that the killer was none other than Sasaki. When Miyamoto tries to return the bodies to their sword school, the master denies that such losers could be his students. Miyamoto takes it upon himself to bury them, then turns down the job offer and goes to live as a farmer in a small village, leaving Sasaki to take the position. Sasaki wants to duel immediately, but Miyamoto has him put the date off for one year.

The village is under constant threat of bandits, which Miyamoto helps them defend in a scene inevitably recalling The Seven Samurai (I almost expected Mifune’s fellow samurai Shimura Takashi and Chiaki Minoru, who play minor roles here, to pitch in). Otsu, whose memory has haunted Miyamoto throughout, shows up looking for him, emotional as ever. They lead an apparently contented life plowing the fields.

Then Akemi shows up. The bandits, who have laid low since their encounter with Miyamoto, have approached her for help in overtaking the village. Still in love with the warrior, she approaches him but is rejected. She then has a catfight with Otsu – complete with hatchets – over their mutual lover. They unknowingly knock over a candle and start a fire, which the bandits take as a signal to attack. The brawl that ensues leads to substantial destruction and the death of key characters, but Miyamoto survives.

Sasaki, meanwhile, lives in gilded splendor in his vaunted position. While he seems to have everything, he remains fixated on the duel. And that day finally comes. Miyamoto arranges to meet him by boat on the island. Otsu begs him not to go, but he tells her a wife should see a samurai off with a smile, implying an out-of-nowhere deepening of their relationship.

Miyamoto plots to arrive with the setting sun at his back. Sasaki is waiting at the shore, and the battle commences immediately. The confrontation is not a simple fierce exchange of swords but an extraordinarily tense standoff as each seeks to get the best position. When the blows come, they come quickly and decisively. Miyamoto steps back with blood trickling from his forehead like the dead bodies he found earlier. Sasaki stands, smiling that he has landed a blow, then collapses from the fatal wound that he has received from Miyamoto. As Miyamoto returns by boat, he cries for the fallen man, calling Sasaki the best samurai he ever faced.

This is easily the best of the three films, not least the exciting chambara scenes. The film felt less episodic this time and moved clearly and forcefully to its powerful final scene. I’m still not quite clear why Sasaki was so determined to kill a man that he had never met; some ego thing, I guess (“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the greatest samurai of all?”). Nevertheless, once the confrontation is established, the direction of the film is set, and everything moves toward that end.

The cinematography, handled by a different cameraman, is notably better than the other two entries. Both the exteriors and sets look real with less of the fake coloring used before, and the costumes remain perfect. The editing was also less abrupt. The film dropped unnecessary characters like Matahachi with no explanation, though it did add one companion for Miyamoto who seemed mainly there for unneeded comic relief. Otsu remained a major irritant with all that whining, but Akemi’s motives are much better established here, her evil balanced out by her unselfish sacrifice for Otsu – finally a subplot that truly added to the story.

While it obviously helps to know the background, Part 3 is perfectly understandable on its own terms. This is the film that should have won the Oscar. It makes the best case for the trilogy’s high reputation. Maybe three films wasn’t enough time to develop the story; Uchida Tomu’s version runs to five films. In any case, Inagaki redeemed himself considerably with this final installment. I’m glad I stuck it out.