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Tell us how you got involved in movies and sword fighting
When I was in the 5th grade
my grandfather took me to Otsu
to the famous Seta no Karahashi Bridge
and right there on the bridge
a movie crew was filming a scene
The actors were sword fighting -- slashing and falling to the ground
and someone was choreographing the action
I thought, 'That's what I want to do '
The word ' chanbara '
comes from the sound of clashing swords
' chan, chan, bara, bara'
Put them together and it's 'Chanbara'
The stories come from
the 1 4th to 1 9th century
Japan s feudal period
The era of the samurai
In these films, the leading man must be strong
and respectful
But a strong and respectful hero can't win the girl
It's a tradition from the old days
Romance is awkward
in a traditional Japanese setting
But the audience wants romance
So it's a quandary
There are many different themes
There's samurai versus samurai
The revenge drama
And there s...
samurai versus the townspeople
There's the family feud films
about power struggles between clans
But they all have one thing in common
sword fighting
During the Edo period
there were many ronin -- poor, unemployed
They were samurai
But they weren't connected to a clan
They were wandering, homeless ronin
Life was hard in feudal times with the rigid class system
Young moviegoers related to these stories
The old stories
about poor, outcast ronin
struck a chord
The samurai represents
the refinement of the self, a way of living
How the samurai lives and the way he dies is a beautiful thing
Sacrificing oneself to help others
over all else
Of course
the enemy has the power
and the numbers
But when someone stands up to that
Whether it's Chanbara or a Western
You have to root for that
The ronin acts out his frustration and rage
knowing that in the end
it's hopeless
He knows that death is inevitable
He fights for his own sense of justice
I feel
that's what heroism is
At the time, I was starting middle school
Everything was about indoctrinating us towards militarism
The Emperor was considered a god
We were called ' Shoukokumin'
Little Citizens
The Children of the Emperor
And we must be ready to die for him
That's what we were taught
My father was born and raised in China
in a place called Qingdao
and grew up in a city called Dalian
He reminisced about those days
always adding that we d never understand
He was beaten by his superiors
They struck him again and again with the soles of their leather shoes
All he could do was clench his teeth
My father always had that forceful voice
and his superiors didn't like it
They thought he was too cocky
for a young, inexperienced soldier
Japan didn't have much left
Towards the end of the war
boys who hadn't even reached puberty
were drafted into the military
And with minimal training
they were sent into combat
It was my fathers job to train them
The night before the boys were sent off
on their suicide missions
my father would treat them to sukiyaki for the last time
The next day, they d say, ' Sergeant Mifune, off I go! '
My father told them
' All right, off you go!'
' But you don't have to say, Banzai!' for the Emperor'
Instead
' Just say goodbye to your mother'
' That's all you need to do '
It was his compassion that made him rebellious
I have no experience with war
But listening to his stories
I knew he went through a lot
when I saw him crying
War never brings any good to the people
Especially in Japan
The people were oppressed
We were hungry
There was no food
Money had no value
So we used clothing
We sold whatever clothes we had
Men sold their suits
Women sold their fancy kimono
and exchanged them for food
It was a miserable time
We lost the war
And we were left with emptiness
When the war ended
he received one and a half yen and a blanket
He cut up the blanket with scissors
and sewed it with thread
And, by himself, he made this coat
He also made these trousers
Everyday was a struggle to survive, but...
How do I put this?
Still, there was a vitality
People were ready for something
We had freedom of speech
We were ready to get back to living
Unlike now, there weren't many kinds of entertainment
The movies were one of the few things we had
We were uplifted by the movies
They inspired us to think about how to live
They had a huge impact on us
He wasn't interested in becoming an actor
I never imagined
that I could act
in front of people
He applied for a job as a camera assistant
I saw the ad lor the ' New Face ' competition in the newspaper
Somehow his resume was sent over there
I challenged myself to see if I could do it
Suddenly he was on the path to becoming an actor
Though I was sure I wouldn't be selected
I was fortunate to get into the movie industry
But there was no one like Mifune
How do I say this?
He had a big presence, didn't he?
' Rashomon ' was filmed in 1950
the same year I was born
Honestly, when I saw ' Rashomon ' I thought
' What? '
He was so different from what we expected in a period film
So gruff
He's not an actor
who blends into the background
You feel him
energizing everything around him
I think
he studied his part thoroughly
But in front of the camera
when they yelled ' Action! '
he forgot everything
and just went for it
During the war
Kurosawa made films supporting the war
and he regretted it
Japanese people tend to follow their leaders
and obey orders
Kurosawa vowed that he would never again
be the kind of person who bows to authority
He wanted to create characters
who spoke their minds
who rebelled
So when he found Toshiro Mifune
he found an actor who could pull it off
I know you re going to have my neck
I have nothing to hide
When Kurosawa saw Mifune
he instinctively knew
Mifune had something unique
something that other movie actors
just didn't have
And that unique quality was
the ability
to express anger or joy
physically
' Seven Samurai ' was my movie debut
Toho called me in
to see Mr. Kurosawa
Mr. Kurosawa, unlike his image
was smiling
I expected him to be scary
but he was smiling like a monk
He told me
' In the months before we shoot
' Takashi Shimura and
' Toshiro Mifune
' The three of you
' must hang out together
' Go to the movies together, eat together'
Those were his orders
So Shimura became my uncle
and Mifune became my brother
And he still is
The Kurosawa people were looking for actors
Especially ones who could do fight scenes
Kurosawa came over
and he went down the line
He said, 'Can you guys fight?'
We said, 'Yes, we can fight'
Typical actors response
Say anything to get the part
I said, 'l m ready to fight, anytime '
They did a test of us getting killed
Kurosawa said to me
' What are you doing?'
I made it look flashy, the same way I did in other films
He said, 'Nakajima, come here! '
' This is not just another samurai film '
' It has to feel real'
' Okay'
Kurosawa was tough to work for
One thing was sure
If you didn't do what he said, you were out
If you did exactly as he asked
you were okay
Bastards
Kurosawa never gave acting instructions to Mifune
When it came time to shoot
Mifune had thoroughly researched
how a farmer-turned-samurai
might behave in that'situation
People have no idea how hard he worked
He was always thinking about his character
and how to add humor to it
He had a great sense of humor
First in line, step forward!
I'm talking to you!
I said you!
What was Mifune like?
If I had to describe him in one word
Perseverance
He was a man of perseverance
Even as I grumbled and complained about various things
he just waited quietly
In the beginning, Toshiro Mifune didn't want to be an actor
Those days, the reality was that many people
became actors just to survive
I think that was Mifune s situation
But if he was going to do it
he was going to do it right
He wasn't going to embarrass himself as a man
He had a lot of pride
so he worked that much harder
And through that process, he evolved as a human being
Kikuchiyo, what are you doing?
One sword is not enough!
It was my first adult role
So I didn't know what to expect
I was pretty nervous
Otsu, forgive me
Musashi and Otsu
are shy and awkward with each other
But I think
there s great love between them
Love takes a different shape
For Japanese, I think
It's more reserved
We don't show it outwardly so much
He didn't say much
But he wasn't stuck up or anything
He took his work seriously
Here I am
What do you want?
Why don't you just behead me?
You shame me this way! And you call yourself a priest?
You treat a samurai this way? Idiot!
You re very spirited
Damn you!
In the morning, he was always on time for make-up
He arrived 1 5 minutes early
to the sound stage for filming
I thought to myself
That's how I need to be
Choose wisely or else!
Well, which should I choose?
Too many
Wash these sticks
A true samurai
even if he was really hungry, he wouldn't show it
He...
must live with dignity
I was ecstatic!
My chance to be in a Kurosawa film!
I wanted any role, even the smallest part
As long as I got it
Kurosawa knows a lot about Noh theater
So...
Mifune s make-up
is based on a Noh theater mask
of a ferocious warrior
Even more wonderful
was Lady Macbeth
played by Isuzu Yamada
The make-up for her character
is also inspired by a Noh mask
I played a samurai who guards the shogun
There are three of us
I was Samurai 1
It's a small role
But even with small roles
each one of us was treated
as if we were the main characters
I'm on guard duty
and we're given alcohol
So I'm a bit wobbly
That's when Mifune comes at me
He stabs me
That was the end of my scene
But Mr. Kurosawa liked the way I died
Return to your posts!
That's an order!
The shocking thing about that scene was
they didn't have insurance
And what's more, they used real arrows
and the archers were college students
The arrows were going everywhere
The archers weren't good shots
Who killed our great lord?
They told me to shoot
I was there, but I said
' No way!'
Why did he do such a dangerous scene?
With no insurance?
I think it was from the war, his loyalty
He felt
an obligation to Kurosawa
He owed his success to Kurosawa
He was a poor soldier
who became a movie star
That was Kurosawa s doing
and Mifune felt indebted to him
Mifune just...
persevered
He did so many tough things without complaint
Well, that's how Kurosawa's films were
Other films and other directors
might have friendly sets
where the director and actors
create a warm, family atmosphere
Kurosawa's sets were definitely not like that
Everything was tightly run
Stressful. intense ,
You hear the word ' perfectionist'
For Kurosawa, that's expected
To make a great film
everything matters
When I worked with Mr. Mifune
the film industry was intense
We worked non-stop
We were in the studio 350 days out of 365
When we got lunch
everyone took off for the restaurant
Except Mr. Mifune and me
We stayed behind
Then we ran up
to the hair and make-up room
where we played Blackjack
We had lunch delivered
by the local restaurant
Mr. Mifune always ordered
ramen
For me
that was the real Mifune
He loved to play cards
cussing, 'Damn you, bastard!'
Then he went back to the set
and he was a noble samurai again
We. the Toho movie actors ,
We worked all year round
at full throttle
We all did
Most of the Mifune films
are about men
They didn't know what to do with women
For me to get a good part
I had to go to Shochiku Studios
Toho wasn't big on roles for women
Most Toho movies
directed by Kurosawa and starring Mifune
are about men
'Yojimbo ' was Kurosawa s attempt at doing something fun
He wanted to do something everyone would enjoy
In his other films
he took political themes
or philosophical ideas
and injected them into the story
With 'Yojimbo ' he just wanted to entertain
They were both in their prime
So it was exciting
Don't take us for fools
See this tattoo?
I wasn't in prison for nothing
I'm a wanted man They can't wait to crucify me
Me too
They want my head
Not to brag, but I've committed every crime in the book
So you won't mind if I kill you?
What!
Kill us if you can
It might hurt
Yakuza don't fear swords
There's no cure for idiots
' Yojimbo '
is Mifune at his best
Mentally and physically, as an actor
It all came together
Get your husband and run!
Mifune was very considerate
When we were standing around, waiting on the sound stage
he'd bring us chairs and say
' Hey, sit down '
in that gruff manner
When we were on location
and the food at the inn was
Well...
It wasn't very good
He'd throw some garlic in a pan
then some meat and vegetables
He'd stir fry it up
' Here, eat this, ' he d say
Mifune was
like the ocean
The ocean is boundless
But, sometimes, very turbulent
He was quite dashing
vibrant and refreshing
I never saw it in person
but I suspect he kept a lot inside
And it had to come out somehow
In Kurosawa's films, I always played the stoic characters
Diligent, not sexy at all
Mifune was strong
So strict and disciplined with himself
But if you hold everything inside
it builds up over time
So when night came and the sake started to flow...
He had to let loose
So many times I had to save his butt
Yeah, Mifune was a heavy drinker
We'd go to Shibuya and he picked fights with gangsters
It didn't happen everyday
But when he drank it was usually sake or whiskey
And dinner wasn't over
until he finished the bottle
When he got drunk, he took his sword out
and he'd swing it around wildly
And whenever that happened
I was very scared
He'd get drunk and drive by Kurosawa s house
in his convertible
He'd yell ' Damn you!'
And we'd say 'Qh no'
The big factor was the wind
They had big airplane propellers
On top of that, for the big scene
he told the actors
' Keep your eyes wide open! '
You can't keep your eyes open in a wind storm
In ' Red Beard, ' I'm one of the attackers
My first move
is to run at him
Then he throws me over
and while I'm down
he beats up three or four more people
Then I come back for more
I was trying desperately
not to mess up the take
This is terrible Such violence is bad
Doctors shouldn't do such things
All of the characters have something off balance in their lives
that they live with somehow
My character is sick
and Mr. Kayama is trying to give me medicine
But I refuse to take it
So the doctor comes and says, ' Let me try'
The scene establishes Dr. Akahige's humanity
I didn't know how to do the scene
He fooled me
and pulled me through it
the way he stayed in character as Dr. Akahige
It felt like all of the actors
were breathing the same air
Everything came naturally
Do you want me to yell?
Fine, but I'm still staying
Who says so?
You taught me the road to take
On the movie set
our made-up world and the real world
became one
And we owed it to Mr. Mifune
He led the way
Kurosawa was getting older
and was moving away from stories with samurai heroes
At the same time, Mifune was getting older
so it was becoming harder for him
to play tough guys
That was part of it, but I'm not really sure what happened
I believe they had more to achieve together
It was the end of an era for all of us
I don't know exactly what happened
They went their separate ways
Mifune got busy
working on films overseas
Then time passed and
they never talked about it
But Mifune stayed loyal to Kurosawa through it all
He always wanted to work with Kurosawa again
I was the publicist
for Mifune Productions
The one time he shared something personal
was during the scandal
The words he said to me
have stayed in my memory
' They'll never understand what I'm feeling'
' Whatever I say, they won't hear me '
Actually, they never got divorced
To the very end
my mother refused to sign
the divorce papers
and it turned into a scandal
On the movies
I would go over
the fight scene with him
I'd say, 'You move here
' Then you kill 15 guys '
He'd say
' You want me to kill 15 guys at once?'
' Yes, please, ' I'd say
He had those glaring eyes
He held his sword tightly
clenched his teeth
and moved towards you
It was intimidating
facing him
It wasn't slow and graceful, it was BAM!
No one else
had that power and intensity
One day, he said we had to start doing television
I remember the indescribable pain in the room
He was playing ' Toshiro Mifune '
Being 'Mifune, the movie star,' instead of acting
When we were young
we worked together many times
Mifune and me
I wish we could've gone on to play older couples together
if he had stayed healthy
In the last years of his life
he wasn't able to remember his lines
So we made a ' cheat sheet' with his lines
written out in big letters
I would stand next to the camera and hold the cards
so he could read his lines
I guess it was Alzheimer's disease
His son Shiro took good care of him
Around that time, my father...
started to spend most of his time alone
Then my wife and I started to look after him
I bet he's still playing a samurai
Really, you know
He left us too early
There was no one like him then
Or now
I was really sad
I'm still sad
My father was also in poor health
When Mifune died, my father wasn't able to leave the house
They were comrades
We were part of the golden age of Japanese cinema together
When I look back at each and every film
I couldn't have made them without you
You gave so much of yourself
Thank you, my friend
For one last time
over a bottle of sake
I wish I could've told you all this
Goodbye, my friend
I'll see you soon