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Harakiri (film)
Encyclopedia
Harakiri (1962
) is a Japan
ese film directed
by Masaki Kobayashi. The story takes place between 1619 and 1630 during the Edo period
and the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate
. It tells of a ronin
, Hanshiro Tsugumo, who instead of committing seppuku
(better known in the West
by the colloquial
term harakiri) after his lord was deposed, was ordered to stay alive in order to care for his daughter and grandson as well as his son-in-law, the son of another samurai
who had committed the ritual suicide.
from the lord of the house. To deter him therefrom, Kageyu Saito, counselor of the clan, tells Hanshiro a warning story wherein another ronin
, Motome Chijiiwa – formerly of the same clan as Hanshiro – had made the same request and the samurai retainer
s of the house forced him to complete the ceremony and kill himself. When Motome's sword was revealed to be a fake made of bamboo
, they insisted that he disembowel himself with it, so that Motome's death was agonizingly painful. Despite this warning, Tsugumo maintains his request to commit seppuku.
While preparing for the suicide, Hanshiro Tsugumo recounts to Saito and the retainers that his lord's house was considered a threat and toppled by the shogunate, whereupon his friend, another samurai, committed seppuku and left Tsugumo to look after his son, Motome Chijiiwa. Required to protect Chijiiwa and support his own daughter Miho, Hanshiro was unable to kill himself, and instead lived in poverty and worked menial jobs to support his family. In later years Chijiwa and Miho were married and had a son, Kingo; but continued to live in poverty. When Miho and Kingo became ill and could not afford to pay a physician
, Chijiiwa threatened seppuku at a lord's house. Soon after his seppuku, Miho and Kingo died from their illnesses.
Hanshiro then reveals that, before coming to the Iyi house, he tracked down three retainers of the house, Hikokuro Omodaka, Hayato Yazaki, and Umenosuke Kawabe, whom he blames for the deaths of his family, and disgraced them by cutting off their topknots
. Of the three, Omodaka challenged Tsugumo to a ritual duel instead of trying to ambush him; advised Tsugumo not only that Tsugumo's hovel was inconvenient for a duel but also to write an explanation of where he was going so as not to inconvenience his landlord; and continued to attack Tsugumo even after disgraced by the breaking of his sword.
When Tsugumo finishes his account, Saito angrily orders the retainers to kill him; whereupon Tsugomo kills four and wounds eight while slowly succumbing to his wounds. When a new group of retainers arrive armed with guns, Tsugumo attempts seppuku, but is shot nevertheless. Kawabe and Yazaki are ordered to commit seppuku, while Omodaka is reported to have done so already; their deaths, and the four inflicted by Tsugumo, are reported as from "illness", lest word be transmitted that the Iyi House has lost face
to a ronin.
in the flimsy pretext of honor exhibited by the daimyo
. At the time, harakiri was seen as a means to retain one's honor after a disgrace. The vanity of the feudal lord's counsellor Kageyu Saito is also shown: the outward appearance of honour is shown to be more important to him than real honour. He orders the retainers disgraced by Hanshiro Tsugumo to commit seppuku, and makes sure that those who were slain or had their topknots cut off by Hanshiro are written off as casualties to illness so that his house would not appear weak. An ironic commentary appears when Tsugumo is able to fight off a great many retainers with a sword, yet is helpless against three guns; a foreshadow of the Meiji restoration
, wherein sword-bearing samurai were defeated by the "new" Japanese military.
. It lost the Palme d'Or
to The Leopard
, but received the Special Jury Award.
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
) is a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese film directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Masaki Kobayashi. The story takes place between 1619 and 1630 during the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
and the reign of the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
. It tells of a ronin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
, Hanshiro Tsugumo, who instead of committing seppuku
Seppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
(better known in the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
by the colloquial
Colloquialism
A colloquialism is a word or phrase that is common in everyday, unconstrained conversation rather than in formal speech, academic writing, or paralinguistics. Dictionaries often display colloquial words and phrases with the abbreviation colloq. as an identifier...
term harakiri) after his lord was deposed, was ordered to stay alive in order to care for his daughter and grandson as well as his son-in-law, the son of another samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
who had committed the ritual suicide.
Plot
On May 16, 1630, Hanshiro Tsugumo arrives at the estate of the Iyi clan, looking for a suitable place to commit seppuku. At the time, it is told, it was fairly common for disgraced samurai to make the same request, or threat, in the hope of receiving almsAlms
Alms or almsgiving is a religious rite which, in general, involves giving materially to another as an act of religious virtue.It exists in a number of religions. In Philippine Regions, alms are given as charity to benefit the poor. In Buddhism, alms are given by lay people to monks and nuns to...
from the lord of the house. To deter him therefrom, Kageyu Saito, counselor of the clan, tells Hanshiro a warning story wherein another ronin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
, Motome Chijiiwa – formerly of the same clan as Hanshiro – had made the same request and the samurai retainer
Retainer
Retainer may refer to:* Retainer , a person, especially a soldier, in the service of a lord in the late Middle Ages** Retainer sacrifice, the sacrifice of a human servant* Retainer...
s of the house forced him to complete the ceremony and kill himself. When Motome's sword was revealed to be a fake made of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
, they insisted that he disembowel himself with it, so that Motome's death was agonizingly painful. Despite this warning, Tsugumo maintains his request to commit seppuku.
While preparing for the suicide, Hanshiro Tsugumo recounts to Saito and the retainers that his lord's house was considered a threat and toppled by the shogunate, whereupon his friend, another samurai, committed seppuku and left Tsugumo to look after his son, Motome Chijiiwa. Required to protect Chijiiwa and support his own daughter Miho, Hanshiro was unable to kill himself, and instead lived in poverty and worked menial jobs to support his family. In later years Chijiwa and Miho were married and had a son, Kingo; but continued to live in poverty. When Miho and Kingo became ill and could not afford to pay a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, Chijiiwa threatened seppuku at a lord's house. Soon after his seppuku, Miho and Kingo died from their illnesses.
Hanshiro then reveals that, before coming to the Iyi house, he tracked down three retainers of the house, Hikokuro Omodaka, Hayato Yazaki, and Umenosuke Kawabe, whom he blames for the deaths of his family, and disgraced them by cutting off their topknots
Chonmage
The chonmage is a form of Japanese traditional haircut worn by men. It is most commonly associated with the Edo Period and samurai, and in recent times with sumo wrestlers...
. Of the three, Omodaka challenged Tsugumo to a ritual duel instead of trying to ambush him; advised Tsugumo not only that Tsugumo's hovel was inconvenient for a duel but also to write an explanation of where he was going so as not to inconvenience his landlord; and continued to attack Tsugumo even after disgraced by the breaking of his sword.
When Tsugumo finishes his account, Saito angrily orders the retainers to kill him; whereupon Tsugomo kills four and wounds eight while slowly succumbing to his wounds. When a new group of retainers arrive armed with guns, Tsugumo attempts seppuku, but is shot nevertheless. Kawabe and Yazaki are ordered to commit seppuku, while Omodaka is reported to have done so already; their deaths, and the four inflicted by Tsugumo, are reported as from "illness", lest word be transmitted that the Iyi House has lost face
Lost Face
Lost Face is a collection of seven short stories by Jack London. It takes its named from the first short story in the book, about a European adventurer in the Yukon who outwits his Indian captors' plans to torture him. The book includes London's best-known short story, To Build a Fire....
to a ronin.
Themes
The film presents a negative view of the emerging feudal system at the beginning of the 17th century, depicting the hypocrisyHypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....
in the flimsy pretext of honor exhibited by the daimyo
Daimyo
is a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in pre-modern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
. At the time, harakiri was seen as a means to retain one's honor after a disgrace. The vanity of the feudal lord's counsellor Kageyu Saito is also shown: the outward appearance of honour is shown to be more important to him than real honour. He orders the retainers disgraced by Hanshiro Tsugumo to commit seppuku, and makes sure that those who were slain or had their topknots cut off by Hanshiro are written off as casualties to illness so that his house would not appear weak. An ironic commentary appears when Tsugumo is able to fight off a great many retainers with a sword, yet is helpless against three guns; a foreshadow of the Meiji restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, wherein sword-bearing samurai were defeated by the "new" Japanese military.
Awards
The film was entered in the competition category at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival1963 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Armand Salacrou *Rouben Mamoulian *Jacqueline Audry *Wilfrid Baumgartner *François Chavane *Jean De Baroncelli *Robert Hossein...
. It lost the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
to The Leopard
The Leopard (film)
The Leopard is a 1963 Italian film by director Luchino Visconti, based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel of the same name.-Cast:* Burt Lancaster as Prince Don Fabrizio Salina* Claudia Cardinale as Angelica Sedara / Bertiana...
, but received the Special Jury Award.
Main cast
- Tatsuya NakadaiTatsuya Nakadaiis a Japanese leading film actor.He became a star after he was discovered working as a Tokyo shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the early 1950s...
- Hanshiro Tsugumo - Rentaro Mikuni - Kageyu Saito
- Shima Iwashita - Miho Tsugumo
- Akira Ishihama - Motome Chijiiwa
- Tetsuro TambaTetsuro Tambawas a Japanese actor.-Biography:Tamba is perhaps best known by Western audiences for his role as Tiger Tanaka in the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice . By then, he had among other roles appeared in two films by director Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri and Kwaidan...
- Hikokuro Omodaka - Ichiro Nakaya - Hayato Yazaki
- Yoshio Aoki - Umenosuke Kawabe