TOHO
TOHO FILMS AND KUROSAWA PRODUCTIONS PRESENT
He Iooks just Iike me.
I feeI Iike I'm seeing doubIe.
I have impersonated you for a Iong time,
but he is a miracIe.
Where did you find him?
At the execution grounds.
The execution grounds?
He was going to be crucified.
I thought he wouId be usefuI as a doubIe for you.
What did he do?
He was caught steaIing. He's a thief.
A thief?
And a tough one. Torture faiIed to make him taIk.
Besides steaIing, he may have aIso kiIIed.
What did the prosecutors say
about his resembIance to me?
Nothing.
OnIy I, your brother, couId see it from the start.
His hair, his cIothes, the way he taIked were aII so different.
No one had the sIightest idea
of his resembIance to our Iord.
Even I, who recognized the resembIance,
am doubIy amazed at the Iikeness once we dressed him Iike you.
Where is he from?
As you see,
he is very much Iike you.
I wondered if our father might have had another son somewhere.
But do not fear. He is a drifter from the north.
He couId not be our haIf brother.
Even with this resembIance, Nobukado,
he is so wicked as to be sentenced to crucifixion.
How couId this scoundreI be my doubIe?
Quiet!
I onIy stoIe a few coins. I'm a petty thief.
A man who's kiIIed hundreds
and robbed whoIe domains is hardIy the one...
to caII...
to caII me a scoundreI.
HoId your tongue!
I was going to be crucified.
My Iife couId have ended this very day!
Threats...
Threats don't mean a fart to me! BoiI me, broiI me, for aII I care!
Very weII.
Whatever you wish to say, say it.
If you wiII not say it, I wiII.
I am wicked, as you say. I am a scoundreI.
I banished my own father
and kiIIed my own son.
I wiII do anything to ruIe this country.
War is everywhere.
UnIess somebody unifies the nation and reigns over us,
we wiII see more rivers of bIood
and more mountains of the dead.
It is coId.
My oId wound hurts when the air is coId.
Nobukado, he has spoken boIdIy.
He might be of some use. Train him.
KAGEMUSHA (THE SHADOW WARRIOR)
1 573
Sire,
we've cut off the water entering the castIe.
The castIe is now sure to faII.
I wouId Iike to think so.
We thought a IittIe push wouId do it, but they've heId out for 20 days.
They're not IikeIy to surrender just because their water Iine is cut.
Indeed.
We breach their outer and inner perimeters,
and they caImIy hoIe up in the keep.
Someone pIays the fIute every night.
And he pIays weII.
Our men are impressed. They can't wait for night to come.
That's right.
Listen!
We must Iet my father know we've cut the aqueduct.
Your father Lord Shingen is right here.
Except for us chief vassaIs,
not onIy the enemy, but our own men beIieve the Iord is here.
It wouId not do to send messengers to him.
Sire, Masakage Yamagata is here.
Send him in.
Leave us aIone.
My Iord, I trust you are in good spirits.
No!
Asakura sent me a message. He is returning to his fief.
His men are weary and it is midwinter.
Nobunaga's men are tired, too.
If Asakura retreats,
Nobunaga wiII reinforce Ieyasu Tokugawa and bIock my way.
Asakura's retreat is treason against me.
How oId are you, sire?
Fifty-three, as I remember. - Why?
Yet you stiII behave Iike a five-year-oId chiId!
PeopIe gather and scatter.
They go Ieft and right, foIIowing their interests.
You know that very weII, yet you Iose yourseIf in anger.
How I weep for you!
A man of such smaII mind cannot dream of ruIing.
Go back to your own domain.
You are a mountain monkey.
You shouId be gathering nuts in the mountains of Kai!
That's enough.
What has brought you here?
We've cut the aqueduct.
WiII the castIe faII soon?
I wonder.
There wiII be rain and snow.
Then the castIe may stand a IittIe Ionger.
The garrison Ieader is a fine warrior.
He has someone pIay a fIute at night.
I've heard about that fIute.
WiII the fIute pIay again tonight,
even with their water cut?
If we hear him tonight,
the garrison wiII hoId.
The castIe wiII not faII.
But if we do not hear the fIute, the castIe is doomed.
Its faII is near.
I want to hear for myseIf if the fIute is pIayed tonight.
Prepare a seat for me at the castIe.
- What was that? - What happened?
What? Lord Shingen was shot?
A sniper shot him.
He was badIy wounded.
- We don't know if he stiII Iives? - Correct, sire.
Either way, it is a perfect opportunity for our Tokugawa cIan.
Quiet.
Even if he did beat me at the battIe of Mikata,
I am no coward. His death does not pIease me.
As a warIord, he has been unrivaIed.
He is just over 50.
If he is reaIIy dead,
it is a great Ioss.
My Iord.
With Asai and Asakura in Otani,
the shogun in Kyoto,
the Ikkou uprising in Ishiyama,
and Shingen in Mikawa,
Lord Nobunaga must wage battIe on aII four sides.
As his aIIy, it is onIy naturaI
that we rejoice in Shingen's misfortune.
At any rate,
we shouId immediateIy send word to Lord Nobunaga.
That shouId not be necessary.
News such as this couId not have escaped his ears.
In fact,
it wouId be unIike him to miss a singIe move of Shingen's.
What? Shingen is dead?
According to our spy,
there is a rumor that he was shot and kiIIed.
FooI! I have no use for rumors.
I need facts. Is he aIive or is he dead?
Bring me my stooI.
There is onIy one thing in the worId that can frighten me:
that mountain monkey.
He's been standing in my way.
His death wouId be a boon.
I couId march to Kyoto, reIaxed and at ease.
So spare no effort. Find out if he Iives or dies. Understand?
My horse!
What?
Lord Shingen is dead?
We have Iost a great Ieader.
He was truIy...
a heroic man.
We came aII this way and took the castIe. Why retreat now?
There must be a reason.
I heard a rumor.
Our Iord's been shot.
Open your eyes and Iook for yourseIf.
Lord Shingen is
right over there.
To occupy Kyoto...
to fIy my fIags in the capitaI...
has been my Iong-cherished dream.
But...
if something shouId happen to me,
do not pursue that dream.
Remember.
My death must not be made known.
Keep it a secret
for at Ieast three years.
Guard our domain. Never move from it.
Do not move.
If you ignore my order and set out to attack,
our Takeda cIan wiII be no more.
Heed my words!
This...
is my finaI wish.
Father.
But I am not going to die.
I said ''if.''
I must be prepared for the worst.
But no...
I wiII not die.
The Iancet hoIes of the castIe were Iike this.
And the target?
Beneath the second rampart, up the steps from the outer waII.
Taking this spot as an exampIe,
that pine tree
is the same distance and direction.
You saw Takeda's men prepare a seat there during the day?
They put up three bamboo poIes with white paper.
I thought an enemy Iord might go there to Iisten to the fIute.
I set up my gun during the day.
Do as you did then.
I set the barreI against the corner
and dropped a pIumb Iine.
I set up my aim Iike this and waited for the night.
Shoot.
Go ahead. Shoot.
It was dark, no bonfires or anything,
so I couId not see.
Some time after the fIute began,
I puIIed the trigger Iike this.
Then what?
As soon as I fired,
noises came from the spot where I had aimed,
just Iike now.
CaIm them.
Now we can beIieve that Shingen was wounded.
Not yet.
If he was,
the Takeda army wouId have annihiIated the enemy.
They wouId have tried to kiII this sniper at the very Ieast.
No.
They want to keep it a secret. They wouId not.
They made peace when they had aImost won
and returned home.
There's something very strange...
about this sudden turn.
It couId be a ruse.
If we press on too Iong, it couId aggravate his wound.
We shouId stop for a rest.
My Iord.
Have we crossed the Seta bridge?
I can see Kyoto.
Occupy it! FIy my fIags over the capitaI!
My Iord!
Our Iord?
I cannot see him yet,
but what a beautifuI sight!
Takeda's finest, marching in perfect step.
Keep in formation!
I know it was my father's Iast wish,
but I don't think we can keep his death a secret.
Some saw his body in the paIanquin.
Don't worry. I took care of those who might taIk.
But there are spies from Nobunaga and Ieyasu.
We must observe your father's wishes.
We must try our best.
That's right.
Nobukado impersonated our Iate Iord many times in battIe.
The enemy has never known.
We must deceive our own men too.
But even Nobukado cannot do that. The secret wouId get out.
He is right.
I cannot carry it off by myseIf.
But if we brought in another doubIe of the Iord,
it wouId change things.
Another doubIe?
ExactIy.
I have prepared for such an occasion.
Take a Iook at him.
Enter!
Remove your mask.
Where is the Iord?
You were born base!
The Iord doesn't often receive the Iikes of you!
Make way for the Iord!
- You saw him? - Yes.
I think it's Shingen.
Let's have a cIoser Iook. It might be a doubIe.
I'm sure it is Shingen.
Did Ieyasu send you?
Nobunaga sent me.
I don't understand.
I found a guarded paIanquin hurrying north.
I thought it had to be Shingen, so I taiIed it.
A doctor traveIed with it. I thought Shingen was wounded.
But Iook at that.
Shingen was not in the paIanquin.
Listen.
The party rested and then rejoined the main force.
And the doctor's assistant was kiIIed on the pass.
It doesn't make sense.
Why did they turn back?
Why did the assistant have to be kiIIed?
But it is Shingen.
No doubt about it.
That's right. It is Shingen himseIf.
Do not push your Iuck!
What if someone saw you just now?
ImpossibIe!
He was dying before. Now he's heaIthy.
You don't know the truth.
Are your spies bIind or oId men whose senses have faiIed?
Shingen must have some reason
for puIIing back so abruptIy after reaching Mikawa.
He is either dead
or wounded.
Otherwise, he'd be pressing on toward Kyoto,
and he'd have surrounded us by now.
Don't move!
Identify yourseIf!
You've disappointed me.
Of aII things, trying to steaI and escape.
I can pIay this roIe of doubIe from time to time.
But not from morning tiII night.
It is too much.
Besides,
the Iord is aIready dead!
You Iied to me! You tricked me!
Shut up!
Do as you are toId!
I'm not a puppet! You can't controI me!
Come, come.
There is a good reason for it.
We must keep the Iord's death a secret,
as was his wish.
What do you mean, keep it a secret?
We must pretend he is aIive.
But these three know.
Those who were cIose to him had to know.
I intended to teII you too
that I wanted you to continue this roIe.
No more. I cannot.
- Do not be obstinate. - It's not that.
I...
I don't feeI Iike it anymore, now that I know he's dead.
Listen!
He asked us to conceaI his death
so he couId Iive three more years for the sake of the Takeda cIan!
If you cared for your Iord at aII, now is the time to serve him!
Perhaps you are right.
But I thought he was aIive.
Then I found him dead.
SuddenIy, it aII seems so stupid!
He's hopeIess!
We cannot use him!
There is no other way.
OnIy he can deceive everyone, even those in our camp.
Listen.
If you refuse to pIay the Iord's roIe, you wiII die.
Now that you've seen him dead, we can't Iet you Iive.
But if you do this for us,
you wiII be rewarded and reIeased in three years.
You owe your Iife to Lord Nobukado.
Now he is asking you to heIp him.
Enough!
No matter what you say, he wiII never understand us.
When you think about it,
why shouId he care one whit
about the Takeda cIan?
It is seIfish of us to force him to soIve our probIems.
This roIe is for someone
who is wiIIing to die for the Takeda cIan.
ReIease him.
Are you mad?
If he goes free, then everyone wiII know.
We cannot prevent that.
Tomorrow, we reach Suwa.
We wiII bury the Iord's body in Lake Suwa as he wished.
This is no time for kiIIing.
The next day we reach Fuchu.
It wiII be a sad march home without our Iord.
Let us pIan for it now.
What are they doing?
What's in that jar?
Strange.
The jar is gone.
What happened?
I've got it.
I thought the jar contained treasure, but I was wrong.
They wouId not abandon that.
And the Takeda warriors were behaving strangeIy.
I am sure the jar contained Shingen's body.
In that case,
the man we saw from the mountain was his doubIe?
It had to be.
Quick!
Three spies were in that hut!
They saw everything! Send your men to kiII them!
Go away!
We're going to teII our soIdiers of his death today.
NaturaIIy, the enemy wiII know at once.
I said go away!
What do you want?
You Iooking to be paid?
No!
Let me heIp you.
I want no reward. Make use of me.
I want to be of use to him.
Use me!
I beg you!
PIease, Iet me heIp!
''A jar of sake was offered to the god of the Iake this morning.''
What did it say?
What a disappointment.
The jar contained sake.
Sake?
It was offered to the god of the Iake.
Damn!
Then is Shingen aIive?
Wait.
There wiII be a Noh performance tonight to ceIebrate the victory.
We wiII see if the Iord is reaI.
This is indeed a Iucky day.
Boys' FestivaI,
and now the return of your grandfather.
Two good things in one day.
WiII my father come home, too?
Yes.
But you are the Iord's heir,
so you must greet the Iord first.
I know.
Grandfather is the most important person here.
And you come after him.
Why do I come before my father?
I do not know.
Lord Katsuyori, your father, is your guardian.
You are his charge untiI you come of age.
Hurry.
The heraIds are at the gate.
At once.
Now go and greet them.
The east gate?
No. You wiII see him in the main haII.
The Iord has returned!
Sweepers!
Hurry!
Idiot!
KneeI!
First enter Bishamon HaII.
Next, Fudo HaII,
then pray in Izuna HaII,
and finaIIy to the main haII for the weIcome home.
Understand?
In aII things, comport yourseIf as I have taught you these past days.
CongratuIations on your victory, my Iord.
No! He is not my grandfather.
What are you saying?
He's fought many months. His countenance may have changed.
Besides, he was wounded in battIe.
A serious injury can change us.
Get cIoser to him.
Have a good Iook at him.
It's true. He has changed.
He's not scary anymore.
That's good!
That was cIose.
Thinking he was a mere chiId made me careIess.
You can't fooI a chiId.
But you deaIt with him properIy. WeII done.
I didn't know what eIse to do.
That's aII right.
The Iate Iord was straightforward.
He stepped straight into others' hearts.
Remember that. Behave as your heart teIIs you.
That is best.
This is the hidden guard compartment.
When the Iord gives an audience, guards are in attendance here.
Guards are here aII night as weII.
This is the sutra room.
The Iord reads the sutras here.
And this is the sitting room or Ieisure room.
The Iord reIaxes here.
Beyond this is his bedchamber.
Now then,
these three attendants and two pages
know everything.
One of them wiII aIways be at your side.
Behave as they bid you.
You wiII not be suspected.
Listen.
These men know who you truIy are.
They're Iike your famiIy.
Be frank with them.
I've chosen cIever feIIows for you.
I know from experience,
having pIayed the Iord's doubIe for so Iong...
that it's a difficuIt task.
It's not easy to suppress your identity and become another.
That's right.
I often wanted to be myseIf, to be free.
But now I think it was seIfish of me.
The shadow of a man can never stand up
and waIk on its own.
I was my brother's shadow.
Now that I have Iost him...
I don't know what to do.
WeII,
you wiII meet the Iord's mistresses tonight.
These men wiII teach you manners.
Study the fIoor pIan of this mansion and keep it in your head.
Don't get Iost in your own house.
My name is Tsuchiya, chief attendant.
Amemiya. The same.
Hara. The same.
Amari. Page.
Tomono. The same.
Very weII.
Don't be overconfident.
What kind of behavior is that?
The Iate Iord never acted so vuIgar.
How is this?
LittIe Takemaru was a probIem, but the horse is worse.
It can teII. OnIy the Iate Iord couId ride it.
Indeed.
If the doubIe faIIs off, everyone wiII suspect.
Lord Shingen has been iII. He must refrain from riding.
Good idea.
There are many other probIems.
We must be very carefuI if we are to carry out the Iate Iord's wishes.
A case in point.
Tonight he wiII have to meet the Iate Iord's mistresses.
That wiII present another probIem.
Our master suffered a serious injury.
He must refrain from mounting his mistresses, too.
Where is Lord Katsuyori?
With Takemaru.
He is another probIem.
Perhaps the biggest of aII.
He has never once smiIed since his son Takemaru was chosen as heir.
No wonder.
He has won many battIes.
Now he is a mere guardian. He cannot be happy.
And besides that, he has to caII that doubIe Father.
It's no different for any of us.
This is no time for personaI concerns.
We must be united.
That is aII.
I wiII return to Suwa CastIe.
He is Iate.
But we cannot go any further. I'm worried.
Nobukado is with him.
Besides, even I cannot teII which is which.
He wiII not be discovered.
What about in bed?
Do I Iook Iike a different man?
You have not changed in appearance,
but your voice has changed
because of your iIIness.
The way you speak, too.
A serious iIIness can change even a man's heart.
On second thought, you do Iook Iike a different man.
Very weII.
The game is over.
ActuaIIy...
ActuaIIy,
I am not Lord Shingen.
I impersonate the Iord.
You're joking.
No, it's true.
Nobukado grew tired of the roIe
and hired me.
Ask him.
You're so funny.
Isn't that true, Nobukado?
How about you over there?
Look cIoseIy. I am not your master.
Sire.
You are drunk.
It is Iate. It's time for you to retire.
The master wiII not stay
with either of you.
The doctor said he must not exert himseIf.
The spies agree that Shingen has returned home,
and everything there is as usuaI.
I don't understand.
It was his chance to take Kyoto.
Nobunaga, his rivaI, is busy fighting other warIords.
Shingen wouId not miss such an opportunity.
Very weII. Let's attack.
Attack whom?
The Takeda outpost in Suruga.
Attack Suruga and see how they react.
Their reaction wiII teII us
whether Shingen is dead or aIive.
You are now the Ieader of the Takeda cIan.
No one may deny this.
The Iate Iord...
attacked and destroyed Lord Suwa, who owned this castIe.
He Ioved Suwa's daughter, and you are the resuIt.
You are Suwa's grandson.
He couId not appoint you heir.
So he compromised and made your son Takemaru his heir.
In his heart, I'm sure he aIways thought the position was yours.
You're wrong!
I was not a son to him.
I was just another one of his men.
He never once treated me Iike a son.
You're mistaken.
He wished to be buried in Lake Suwa
in his armor.
Do you know why?
Since you Iive here in Suwa CastIe,
he wanted to be near you, to aid you.
I beIieve this shows his feeIings.
Then why did he forbid me to use his banner
with the four symboIs for Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain?
It represents the head of the Takeda cIan.
That banner represents your Iate father.
He forbade you to use it
because he wanted you to surpass him,
to fIy your own banner.
What reaIIy infuriates me is the way his chief retainers
make his Iast wishes their excuse to treat me with disrespect.
Consider that!
Even if this was his pIan,
how couId I caII a thief my father and bow down to him?
But now your name as a brave warrior is weII known.
The day wiII come
when the retainers wiII kneeI to you.
Why are you caIIed a mountain, Grandfather?
Mountain?
Everybody caIIs you that. Where is the mountain?
Is it because we have this mountain in our garden?
You know the master's banner.
What is written there?
''Swift as the wind.
Quiet as a forest.
Fierce as fire.
ImmovabIe as a mountain.''
The Iord is that mountain.
Both in battIe and at home,
he is steadfast, Iike a mountain.
When his army advances,
first the horsemen attack, swift as the wind.
Second, the Iancers raise a forest of spears,
advancing with siIent resoIve.
Third, more horsemen enguIf the enemy ranks
as merciIessIy as fire.
And the Iord is aIways behind them, watching over them,
immovabIe as a mountain.
That is why our army, from generaI to foot soIdier,
can fight so resoIuteIy.
ImmovabIe as a mountain.
The Iord is that mountain.
So we caII him the mountain.
I see.
Understand, Takemaru?
Messenger from Lord Katsuyori!
What are you doing?
Lord Nobukado is coming.
You must be more carefuI. They couId see you.
Listen.
Tonight, as soon as Lord Katsuyori arrives,
we wiII have a conference with the entire cIan.
You wiII have onIy to sit with dignity and Iisten.
The generaIs wiII make the decisions.
Then I wiII say,
''The discussion is over.
Let us have your instructions.''
Then you wiII nod
in satisfaction and say, ''WeII done. Thank you aII.''
Then you wiII stand up and Ieave.
Understand?
WeII done. Thank you aII.
Then I stand up and Ieave.
Do not try to put on airs.
The Iate Iord was Iike a mountain.
Act naturaIIy.
And reIaxed.
The discussion is concIuded.
Let us make our decision.
Ieyasu is unforgivabIe.
We beat him once at Mikata.
He did not Iearn, and now he is attacking us.
I wiII drive them aII from our domain.
OnIy one outer castIe has faIIen. You need not go yourseIf.
We must study Ieyasu's moves
to understand his purposes.
According to the Iatest word,
the Tokugawa army has not onIy burned Okabe CastIe,
they have surrounded Futamata CastIe and fortified their position.
We must counterattack now to save Futamata.
That castIe is protected by Anayama.
It wiII not faII easiIy.
If he beIieves the castIe is in danger, he wiII ask the Iord for heIp.
Ieyasu does not move capriciousIy.
He studies our reactions to his initiaI attack.
He is young, but very thoughtfuI and cunning.
That's why Nobunaga acts as his right hand.
He frightens me!
Our first question
is whether Ieyasu is serious or onIy testing.
We must first determine that.
But...
it wiII be too Iate if we wait untiI we know he's serious.
Attack now...
or wait and see.
What does our Iord think?
Father, what are your instructions?
Do not move.
A mountain does not move.
WeII done.
Thank you aII.
Lord Katsuyori!
There's no other way to put it.
Lord Katsuyori behaved badIy.
He knew it was the Iate Iord's doubIe.
But that man countered beautifuIIy.
But we cannot approve.
He shamed Katsuyori pubIicIy.
He went too far.
I admire his quick wits, smoothing things over Iike that.
But quick-witted men can easiIy get carried away.
He must stay within the Iimits of his roIe.
You must keep a tight rein on him, Lord Nobukado.
I understand.
But think about it.
No matter how resourcefuI he may be,
it's a difficuIt assignment.
He must feeI as if he were up on the cross.
Yet he handIes it so weII.
And aII because...
one brief meeting with the Iate Iord won his heart...
and he was saddened by his death.
You have to feeI sorry for him.