Samurai Reincarnation: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
→top: ButlerBlogBot task 4: apply date format for {{Infobox film}}; report bugs |
|||
| (48 intermediate revisions by 34 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|1981 film written and directed by Kinji Fukasaku}} |
|||
{{plot|date=November 2013}} |
|||
{{distinguish|Samurai Resurrection}} |
|||
{{Infobox film |
{{Infobox film |
||
| name = Samurai Reincarnation |
| name = Samurai Reincarnation |
||
| image = |
| image = Samurai Reincarnation poster.jpg |
||
| caption = |
| caption = Theatrical poster |
||
| director = [[Kinji Fukasaku]] |
| director = [[Kinji Fukasaku]] |
||
| producer = |
| producer = [[Haruki Kadokawa]] |
||
| writer = |
| writer = Kinji Fukasaku<br>Tatsuo Nogami |
||
| narrator = |
| narrator = |
||
| |
| based_on = {{based on|''[[Makai Tensho]]''|[[Futaro Yamada]]}} |
||
| starring = {{ubl|[[Sonny Chiba]]|[[Kenji Sawada]]|[[Hiroyuki Sanada]]|[[Ken Ogata]]|[[Tomisaburo Wakayama]]}} |
|||
| music = [[Hōzan Yamamoto]] |
| music = {{ubl|[[Hōzan Yamamoto]]|Mitsuaki Kanno}} |
||
| cinematography = Kiyoshi Hasegawa |
| cinematography = Kiyoshi Hasegawa |
||
| editing = |
| editing = Isamu Ichida |
||
| distributor = [[Toei Company]] |
| distributor = [[Toei Company]] |
||
| released = |
| released = {{Film date|1981|06|06}} |
||
| runtime = 122 |
| runtime = 122 minutes |
||
| country = Japan |
| country = Japan |
||
| language = Japanese |
| language = Japanese |
||
| budget = |
| budget = |
||
| preceded_by = |
|||
| followed_by = |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
{{nihongo|'''''Samurai Reincarnation'''''|魔界転生|Makai Tenshō}} is a 1981 Japanese [[dark fantasy]] film written and directed by [[Kinji Fukasaku]] and starring [[Sonny Chiba]], [[Kenji Sawada]], and [[Hiroyuki Sanada]]. It is based on the [[Makai Tensho|novel of the same name]] by [[Futaro Yamada]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%AD%94%E7%95%8C%E8%BB%A2%E7%94%9F-690352|title=魔界転生とは|access-date= 2021-01-07|language= Japanese|work=kotobank}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/002919/-/03|title=魔界転生|access-date= 2021-01-07|language= Japanese|work=wowow}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hominis.media/category/actor/post6648/ |title=キスシーンも話題に！沢田研二が『魔界転生』で放った妖しい魅力|access-date= 2021-01-07|language= Japanese|work=ホミニスニュース}}</ref><ref>『キネマ旬報[[Kinema Junpo]]』 （通号 812）1981年6月1日号 p58-60「風太郎忍法帖―ゲームの規則</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sp.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=17055&key_search=%E9%AD%94%E7%95%8C%E8%BB%A2%E7%94%9F|title=魔界転生|publisher=[[Kinema Junpo]]|access-date=27 December 2020}}</ref> |
|||
'''''Samurai Reincarnation''''' (魔界転生 ''Makai Tenshō'') is a 1981 film starring [[Sonny Chiba]] and directed by [[Kinji Fukasaku]]. The film was based on the novel [[Makai Tensho]]. |
|||
The film was nominated for three |
The film was nominated for three [[Awards of the Japanese Academy]] and won two of them.{{cn|date=June 2023}} Sanada won best newcomer of the year and Tokumichi Igawa and Yoshikazu Sano took the award for best art direction.{{cn|date=June 2023}} The film was nominated for best sound but did not win the award.{{cn|date=June 2023}} |
||
==Plot== |
==Plot== |
||
Following the [[Shimabara Rebellion]], Christian rebellion leader [[Amakusa Shiro]] is resurrected, and renounces his God for abandoning him and thousands of Christians to be massacred by the [[Tokugawa clan|Tokugawa]] regime, swearing vengeance. |
|||
Following the massacre of many thousands of Christians by soldiers of the Tokugawa Empire after the [[Shimabara Rebellion]], [[Shiro Amakusa]] renounces the God who he feels abandoned them, and bargains his soul to the forces of darkness for the power to take his revenge. He gains the power to resurrect the dead, and begins with [[Hosokawa Gracia|Hosokawa]], the wife of a samurai who mocked her for her chastity and then left her to die during the invasion. Shiro restores her beauty in exchange for her loyalty. Next, they travel to the cave of legendary swordsman [[Miyamoto Musashi]], who regrets that he neglected his lovely wife to find more opponents to duel, and that his advanced age prevents him from challenging the one rival he considered worthy to test his technique. He initially resists the pair, but suffers a heart attack and agrees to join them. During this exchange, his cave is visited by [[Yagyu Jubei]], son of a samurai master and a powerful swordsman in his own right. Jubei rushes to Musashi's aid only to find an empty suit of armor. The unholy trio then encounter Inshun, a Buddhist monk who is plagued with terrible fantasies of sex and death. Hosokawa taunts him with the failings of his monastic teachings, and he commits suicide in despair, becoming one of Shiro's undead in the process. |
|||
Gaining the power to resurrect the dead, he tempts, resurrects and recruits the betrayed samurai wife [[Hosokawa Gracia]], unfulfilled legendary swordsman [[Miyamoto Musashi]], and Buddhist monk [[Hozoin Inshun]], who represses his sadistic desires, to join his cause as regret-filled demons. [[Yagyu Jubei]], son of Musashi's desired rival, [[Yagyu Munenori|Yagyu Tajima-no-kami Munenori]], arrives at Musashi's cave to seek his teaching, but finds only his empty armor. |
|||
At a local Iga ninja village, young Kirimaru is excited to learn that Jubei is on his way. However, before he can arrive, their Tokugawa controlled rivals the Koga ninja ambush the village with flaming arrows, killing everyone except Kirimaru. He fights his way through the forest against a female ninja, and is mortally wounded, but the female ninja is assaulted by Inshun. The rest of the Koga attack, but are quickly dispatched by the undead warriors. A dying Kirimaru is tenderly offered resurrection by Shiro, and he accepts. Jubei returns to the village to find it in shambles, and goes looking for Kirimaru. He encounters the undead battalion, now on horseback, and they taunt him before leaving, promising to meet again. |
|||
Additionally, young [[Iga-ryū|Iga]] ninja Kirimaru, a friend of Jubei, is narrowly saved by Shiro and his demons after his village is massacred by the rival Tokugawa-controlled [[Kōga-ryū|Koga]] ninja clan. Kirimaru is resurrected and recruited by Shiro for vengeance against the Koga, and the demons taunt the arriving Jubei as they leave. |
|||
In a remote shrine, Shiro chants a ritual curse to wither Tokugawa's crops. The curse succeeds, and a desperate mob petition the magistrate to lift their yearly tax in light of their situation, but his samurai attempt to drive the mob away. Kirimaru comes through the forest to find a young girl mourning the loss of her parents; her father was killed by one of the magistrate's men during the protest. He offers her a flower for their grave, but is overcome by remorse as she sings for them. Meanwhile, Jubei approaches the secluded mountain home of the legendary sword maker [[Muramasa]]. He is shocked to learn that his father, Yagyu Tajima, recently approached Muramasa to commission a sword that would not only cut human flesh, but demonic spirits as well. Jubei wishes a similar sword as well, since Muramasa was exiled by his master Masamune due to his evil nature, and only a truly evil sword can defeat an evil demon. However, Muramasa's daughter Otsu claims that making the sword for Jubei's father has considerably weakened the smith. Muramasa reveals that Otsu is actually the daughter of Musashi's neglected wife who he has adopted as his own. Jubei tells them that he wants the sword to fight against Musashi and the rest of the demons. Just then, the ground begins to tremble as the undead Musashi approaches. Jubei bars the door, and Musashi begins to fight his way in until Otsu plays a haunting tune on her flute. Musashi recognizes the tune and staggers off confused. |
|||
The demons infiltrate the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] at [[Edo Castle]]. Hosokawa seduces Shogun [[Tokugawa Ietsuna]], and the demons assassinate key official [[Matsudaira Nobutsuna|Izu-no-kami]], Koga leader Genjuro, and Jubei's brother Samon. The terminally-ill Tajima attempts to put a stop to Shiro using a sword forged by exiled swordsmith [[Muramasa]], but succumbs to his illness after successfully killing Inshun. Tajima is resurrected and joins Shiro, tempted by the prospect of challenging his son to a duel; he attacks Jubei as he returns home, and Jubei barely escapes. |
|||
Muramasa agrees to make the most evil blade ever to help Jubei defeat the demons, and they begin construction. The villagers are approached by the Shogun's men, who read a proclamation that Tokugawa himself is coming for a lavish hunting party, and expects a high tribute in gold or servitude, nearly inciting a riot among the peasants. Shiro encounters a confused Kirimaru at the shrine, and encourages him to seduce the young girl he met, and to sacrifice her to their dark gods in order to shed his youthful turmoil. He attempts to force himself on the girl by a river, but finds he cannot go through with it. After she runs off, Jubei appears and confronts Kirimaru, who begs Jubei to kill him and put him out of his torment. Jubei draws his sword, however after hearing Kirimaru singing the same song the girl did, he tells Kirimaru that he is also a swordsman and thus his destiny is to fight. If he fights with all his ability and one day feels defeated by his own darkness, only then will Jubei release him. Jubei returns to Muramasa to continue work on his sword. |
|||
In a remote shrine, Shiro casts a curse to wither Tokugawa's crops, sparking protests by farmers against the shogunate's taxes. Kirimaru begins to feel affection for a young girl orphaned by the protests, Omitsu. Jubei seeks out Muramasa, and learns that Tajima had commissioned a sword capable of killing demonic spirits. Musashi attacks in search of Jubei, but is driven away after recognising a flute tune played by Otsu, niece of Musashi's abandoned wife. Muramasa, who had adopted Otsu, is convinced by Musashi's attack to forge a similar sword for Jubei. |
|||
During the Shogun's hunt, a number of villagers run through the field to present him with a written complaint about the taxes. Hosokawa uses her dark magic to convince Tokugawa and the elder Yagyu that the villagers are actually large deer, and they shoot the peasants down with arrows. Later, the peasant bodies have been crucified on a hill for all the village to see, and the people begin praying loudly and clacking stones together in mourning. Muramasa completes his greatest blade ever, and after telling Jubei "If you encounter God, God will be cut" he collapses dead. As the villagers' uneasy vigil extends into the night, Shiro possesses a local woman to tell the crowd that they can lift the curse by burning Tokugawa's men and spreading the ashes. He causes the bodies to glow, which finally incites the crowd to riot, tearing down the fence and charging the samurai on the hill. They cut down as many peasants as they can but are overwhelmed and killed. Shiro rides up and gives the crowd the magistrate's head on a pole, and incite them to ride to Edo and overthrow the Shogun. |
|||
Shiro tempts Kirimaru to seduce Omitsu to complete his descent into evil. Kirimaru attempts to force himself on her, but finds he is unable to go through with it. A watching Jubei ultimately spares the repentant Kirimaru, seeing his latent conscience. Meanwhile, the shogunate holds a lavish hunting party, and a group of angered farmers interrupt the hunt in protest of the high taxes invoked to fund it. Hosokawa and Tajima trick Ietsuna into shooting down the farmers. Muramasa finishes forging Jubei's sword, proclaiming it can even kill God, before passing away from exhaustion. |
|||
As the peasants march, Kirimaru attempts to escape with his girl, but is blocked by Shiro, who reveals Kirimaru's demonic nature. He tries to battle Shiro using his ninja training, but Shiro overcomes him with a magical whip that transforms into a flock of birds that strangle him. Jubei prepares to place Muramasa's body on a funeral pyre, when the girl brings him Kirimaru's body as well. Before they can act, Musashi approaches and challenges Jubei to meet him on an island at sunrise for a duel. He accepts, much to Otsu's chagrin, and declares it to be "the way of the sword". The following morning, he heads to the beach to battle Musashi, who claims not to be swayed a second time by Otsu's flute. The two masters engage each other on the surf as Otsu plays a frenetic tune, until Jubei finally splits Musashi's scabbard and face in half before impaling him through the heart. Musashi's lifeless body drifts out in the tide. |
|||
The executed farmers are crucified on a hill, and Shiro incites a bloody riot among the gathered peasants, before rallying them as his army to ride to [[Edo]] and overthrow the Shogun. Kirimaru attempts to escape with Omitsu, but is killed by Shiro. An arriving Jubei swears to avenge Kirimaru, before Musashi challenges Jubei to a duel at [[Ganryū-jima|Funajima]] the following morning. Jubei and Otsu confront Musashi at Funajima, and Jubei slays Musashi in their duel. |
|||
As the peasants' furious uprising is advancing on the capital, the Shogun's advisors speculate on the future of the Empire. The dying Yagyu Tajima is approached by Shiro about his son Jubei's impending arrival and yields to Shiro's dark influence. Revived from death by Shiro, Tajima begins killing the members of the castle. Meanwhile, Hosokawa has called out the name of her husband in her sleep, prompting a fit of jealously from her new lover Tadoki. In the struggle, a lamp is knocked over and sets the room on fire. She freaks out, drawing a weapon and running through the castle declaring that she will not be abandoned again. She begins attacking retainers, encountering Tajima who also attacks. With the building ablaze, and Hosokawa and Tajima on a killing rampage, the whole castle is thrown into chaos. Tajima kills many men and dares his son to come fight him before the flames die down. |
|||
As the peasants' uprising continues to advance on the capital, Hosokawa takes Ietsuna hostage and rampages through Edo Castle with Tajima, setting the castle ablaze. Shiro reveals himself to the Shogun before the insane Hosokawa falls with Ietsuna into the flames. Jubei, his body now warded with Buddhist prayer symbols, arrives and duels Tajima in the burning castle. Jubei's sword is broken, and Tajima is eventually killed with his own Muramasa sword. |
|||
Upstairs, Hosokawa has Tadoki hostage in the fire, and Shiro reveals himself as the leader of the "Christian Believers". He condemns Tadoki to burn in agony as the Christians did. An insane Hosokawa promises to never leave his side, clutching him as they both fall into the fire. As the castle collapses, Tajima is confronted by Jubei, who has covered his body with Buddhist prayer symbols and chastises his father for obsessing only on his swordplay to the point of coming back from hell to fight his own son. The two begin to duel, during which Jubei loses his eyepatch; although his sword is broken, he disarms his father and kills him. Shiro appears and offers to let Jubei join him; Jubei declines and vows to set his father and Kirimaru's souls at peace. After a brief fight, Jubei decapitates Shiro; although this does not kill him, his body catches his head and promises to return as long as humans have evil in their heart before melting into the flames. |
|||
Shiro appears, offering to let Jubei join him. Jubei refuses, and manages to decapitate Shiro in the ensuing fight. Still living, Shiro takes his severed head, and vows to continue resurrecting as long as humanity exists, before disappearing into the flames. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
{{div col|colwidth=30em}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
*[[Sonny Chiba]] as [[Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi]] |
*[[Sonny Chiba]] as [[Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi]] |
||
*[[Kenji Sawada]] as [[Amakusa |
*[[Kenji Sawada]] as [[Amakusa Shirō|Amakusa Shirō Tokisada]] |
||
*[[Tomisaburo Wakayama]] as [[Yagyū Munenori|Yagyū Tajimanokami Munenori]] |
*[[Tomisaburo Wakayama]] as [[Yagyū Munenori|Yagyū Tajimanokami Munenori]] |
||
*[[Ken Ogata]] as [[Miyamoto Musashi]] |
*[[Ken Ogata]] as [[Miyamoto Musashi]] |
||
*Akiko Kana as [[Hosokawa Gracia|Hosokawa Gracia / Akechi Tama]] |
*Akiko Kana as [[Hosokawa Gracia|Hosokawa Gracia / Akechi Tama]] |
||
*[[Hideo Murota]] as Priest |
*[[Hideo Murota]] as Priest [[Hōzōin-ryū|Hozoin]] Inshun |
||
*[[Hiroyuki Sanada]] as Iga no Kirimaru |
*[[Hiroyuki Sanada]] as Iga no Kirimaru |
||
*[[Tetsuro Tamba]] as [[Muramasa]] |
*[[Tetsuro Tamba]] as [[Muramasa]] |
||
*[[Mikio Narita]] as [[Matsudaira Nobutsuna|Matsudaira Izunokami Nobutsuna]] |
*[[Mikio Narita]] as [[Matsudaira Nobutsuna|Matsudaira Izunokami Nobutsuna]] |
||
*Noboru Matsuhashi as [[Tokugawa Ietsuna]] |
*Noboru Matsuhashi as [[Tokugawa Ietsuna]] |
||
*Jun Ōba as |
*Jun Ōba as Yagyū Samon Tomonori |
||
*Etsuo Shima as [[Yagyū Munefuyu|Yagyū Matajūrō Munefuyu]] |
*Etsuo Shima as [[Yagyū Munefuyu|Yagyū Matajūrō Munefuyu]] |
||
*Masataka Naruse as |
*Masataka Naruse as Koga Genjūrō |
||
*Asao Uchida as [[Sakai Tadayo|Sakai Utanokami Tadayo]] |
*Asao Uchida as [[Sakai Tadayo|Sakai Utanokami Tadayo]] |
||
*[[Haruki Kadokawa]] as [[Itakura Shigemasa|Itakura Naizennokami Shigemasa]] |
*[[Haruki Kadokawa]] as [[Itakura Shigemasa|Itakura Naizennokami Shigemasa]] |
||
| Line 63: | Line 67: | ||
*Saburo Hayashi as [[Mizuno Katsushige]] |
*Saburo Hayashi as [[Mizuno Katsushige]] |
||
*Hideo Nakae as [[Hosokawa Tadatoshi]] |
*Hideo Nakae as [[Hosokawa Tadatoshi]] |
||
*Hideo Shimada as Tachibana Muneshige |
*Hideo Shimada as [[Tachibana Muneshige]] |
||
*Shintarō Mibu as [[Nabeshima Katsushige]] |
*Shintarō Mibu as [[Nabeshima Katsushige]] |
||
*Mizuho Suzuki as Ogasawara Hōmyō Hidekiyo |
*[[Mizuho Suzuki]] as [[Ogasawara Shōsai|Ogasawara Hōmyō Hidekiyo]] |
||
*Shigerō Shiroi as [[Sasaki Kojirō]] |
*Shigerō Shiroi as [[Sasaki Kojirō]] |
||
*Naoko Kubo as Yajima no Tsubone |
*Naoko Kubo as Yajima no Tsubone |
||
*Kinji Nakamura as Ishida Kazusanokami |
*Kinji Nakamura as Ishida Kazusanokami |
||
*Kenji Kawai as Kamio Bizennokami |
*Kenji Kawai as Kamio Bizennokami |
||
*Kōjirō Kawanami as Matsudaira Hayatonoshō |
|||
*Yasuhiro Suzuki as Tomita Shuzen |
*Yasuhiro Suzuki as Tomita Shuzen |
||
*Masaharu Arikawa as Izaki Heinai |
*Masaharu Arikawa as Izaki Heinai |
||
*Masataka Iwao as Yasui Tōbei |
*Masataka Iwao as Yasui Tōbei |
||
*Jun Hamamura as Shigesaemon |
*[[Jun Hamamura]] as Shigesaemon |
||
*Ryuko Azuma as Shigesaemon's wife |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
*Katsutoshi Akiyama as Yohei |
*Katsutoshi Akiyama as Yohei |
||
*Takashi Noguchi as Hikosaku |
*Takashi Noguchi as Hikosaku |
||
| ⚫ | |||
*Kōjirō Shirakawa as Yonejuro |
|||
* |
*[[Seizō Fukumoto]] as Koga Ninja |
||
| ⚫ | |||
*Noboru Mitani as Traveling Monk |
|||
{{div col end}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
*Ai Kanzaki as Otsū |
|||
*Yuko Kikuchi as Okō |
|||
*Yuko Asuka as Koga Kunoichi |
|||
*Chu Takatsuki as Peasant |
|||
*Shigeki Nakajima as Peasant |
|||
*Akira Akabane as Peasant |
|||
*Takaaki Yoshizawa as Peasant |
|||
*Zhèng Pú-Líng as Peasant |
|||
*Mineko Maruhira as Peasant |
|||
*Aoi Nakajima as Peasant Girl |
|||
*Carlotta Ikeda as Ghost |
|||
*Takeshige Hatanaka as Samurai |
|||
*[[Seizo Fukumoto]] as Koga Ninja |
|||
*Ken Mikata as [[Noh]] [[Noh#Roles|Shite]] |
|||
*Madoka Mikata as [[Noh]] [[Noh#Roles|Kokata]] |
|||
*Sojiro Tanida as [[Noh]] [[Noh#Roles|Waki]] |
|||
*Akira Shigeyama as [[Noh]] [[Noh#Roles|Ai]] |
|||
== |
==References== |
||
{{reflist}} |
|||
*Produced by [[Haruki Kadokawa]] (executive producer) |
|||
*Original Music by: [[Hozan Yamamoto]] |
|||
*Cinematography by: Kiyoshi Hasegawa |
|||
*Film Editing by: Isamu Ichida |
|||
*Production Design by: Yoshikazu Sano |
|||
*Art Direction by: Tokumichi Igawa |
|||
*Sound Department: Shigeji Nakayama (sound recordist) |
|||
==Quotes== |
|||
*"[[Koan#Killing the Buddha|If you should encounter God, God will be cut.]]" |
|||
==Trivia== |
|||
*The showdown between Yagyu Jubei and Musashi Miyamoto occurs in a location used a year before in the Fukasaku film ''[[Virus (1980 film)|Virus]]''. |
|||
*Original American Release on home video deleted much of the middle of the movie reducing the running time from 122 minutes to 88 minutes and eliminating many important plot points such as the introduction of Jubei's Father. |
|||
== External links == |
== External links == |
||
* {{ |
* {{IMDb title|0082699|Samurai Reincarnation}} |
||
* {{Amg movie|42739|Samurai Reincarnation}} |
* {{Amg movie|42739|Samurai Reincarnation}} |
||
| Line 125: | Line 95: | ||
[[Category:1981 films]] |
[[Category:1981 films]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:1981 fantasy films]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:1981 horror films]] |
||
[[Category:1980s dark fantasy films]] |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Films about patricide]] |
|||
[[Category:Films based on Japanese novels]] |
|||
[[Category:Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku]] |
[[Category:Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku]] |
||
[[Category:Films set in the Edo period]] |
|||
[[Category:Films set in Edo]] |
|||
[[Category:Films set in Saga Prefecture]] |
|||
[[Category:Japanese dark fantasy films]] |
|||
[[Category:Jidaigeki films]] |
[[Category:Jidaigeki films]] |
||
[[Category:Samurai films]] |
[[Category:Samurai films]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Toei Company films]] |
[[Category:Toei Company films]] |
||
[[Category:Tokyo Shock]] |
|||
[[ja:魔界転生#1981.E5.B9.B4.E7.89.88]] |
[[ja:魔界転生#1981.E5.B9.B4.E7.89.88]] |
||
Latest revision as of 03:02, 7 May 2024
| Samurai Reincarnation | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Kinji Fukasaku |
| Written by | Kinji Fukasaku Tatsuo Nogami |
| Based on | Makai Tensho by Futaro Yamada |
| Produced by | Haruki Kadokawa |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Kiyoshi Hasegawa |
| Edited by | Isamu Ichida |
| Music by |
|
| Distributed by | Toei Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
Samurai Reincarnation (魔界転生, Makai Tenshō) is a 1981 Japanese dark fantasy film written and directed by Kinji Fukasaku and starring Sonny Chiba, Kenji Sawada, and Hiroyuki Sanada. It is based on the novel of the same name by Futaro Yamada.[1][2][3][4][5]
The film was nominated for three Awards of the Japanese Academy and won two of them.[citation needed] Sanada won best newcomer of the year and Tokumichi Igawa and Yoshikazu Sano took the award for best art direction.[citation needed] The film was nominated for best sound but did not win the award.[citation needed]
Plot[edit]
Following the Shimabara Rebellion, Christian rebellion leader Amakusa Shiro is resurrected, and renounces his God for abandoning him and thousands of Christians to be massacred by the Tokugawa regime, swearing vengeance.
Gaining the power to resurrect the dead, he tempts, resurrects and recruits the betrayed samurai wife Hosokawa Gracia, unfulfilled legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, and Buddhist monk Hozoin Inshun, who represses his sadistic desires, to join his cause as regret-filled demons. Yagyu Jubei, son of Musashi's desired rival, Yagyu Tajima-no-kami Munenori, arrives at Musashi's cave to seek his teaching, but finds only his empty armor.
Additionally, young Iga ninja Kirimaru, a friend of Jubei, is narrowly saved by Shiro and his demons after his village is massacred by the rival Tokugawa-controlled Koga ninja clan. Kirimaru is resurrected and recruited by Shiro for vengeance against the Koga, and the demons taunt the arriving Jubei as they leave.
The demons infiltrate the Tokugawa Shogunate at Edo Castle. Hosokawa seduces Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna, and the demons assassinate key official Izu-no-kami, Koga leader Genjuro, and Jubei's brother Samon. The terminally-ill Tajima attempts to put a stop to Shiro using a sword forged by exiled swordsmith Muramasa, but succumbs to his illness after successfully killing Inshun. Tajima is resurrected and joins Shiro, tempted by the prospect of challenging his son to a duel; he attacks Jubei as he returns home, and Jubei barely escapes.
In a remote shrine, Shiro casts a curse to wither Tokugawa's crops, sparking protests by farmers against the shogunate's taxes. Kirimaru begins to feel affection for a young girl orphaned by the protests, Omitsu. Jubei seeks out Muramasa, and learns that Tajima had commissioned a sword capable of killing demonic spirits. Musashi attacks in search of Jubei, but is driven away after recognising a flute tune played by Otsu, niece of Musashi's abandoned wife. Muramasa, who had adopted Otsu, is convinced by Musashi's attack to forge a similar sword for Jubei.
Shiro tempts Kirimaru to seduce Omitsu to complete his descent into evil. Kirimaru attempts to force himself on her, but finds he is unable to go through with it. A watching Jubei ultimately spares the repentant Kirimaru, seeing his latent conscience. Meanwhile, the shogunate holds a lavish hunting party, and a group of angered farmers interrupt the hunt in protest of the high taxes invoked to fund it. Hosokawa and Tajima trick Ietsuna into shooting down the farmers. Muramasa finishes forging Jubei's sword, proclaiming it can even kill God, before passing away from exhaustion.
The executed farmers are crucified on a hill, and Shiro incites a bloody riot among the gathered peasants, before rallying them as his army to ride to Edo and overthrow the Shogun. Kirimaru attempts to escape with Omitsu, but is killed by Shiro. An arriving Jubei swears to avenge Kirimaru, before Musashi challenges Jubei to a duel at Funajima the following morning. Jubei and Otsu confront Musashi at Funajima, and Jubei slays Musashi in their duel.
As the peasants' uprising continues to advance on the capital, Hosokawa takes Ietsuna hostage and rampages through Edo Castle with Tajima, setting the castle ablaze. Shiro reveals himself to the Shogun before the insane Hosokawa falls with Ietsuna into the flames. Jubei, his body now warded with Buddhist prayer symbols, arrives and duels Tajima in the burning castle. Jubei's sword is broken, and Tajima is eventually killed with his own Muramasa sword.
Shiro appears, offering to let Jubei join him. Jubei refuses, and manages to decapitate Shiro in the ensuing fight. Still living, Shiro takes his severed head, and vows to continue resurrecting as long as humanity exists, before disappearing into the flames.
Cast[edit]
- Sonny Chiba as Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi
- Kenji Sawada as Amakusa Shirō Tokisada
- Tomisaburo Wakayama as Yagyū Tajimanokami Munenori
- Ken Ogata as Miyamoto Musashi
- Akiko Kana as Hosokawa Gracia / Akechi Tama
- Hideo Murota as Priest Hozoin Inshun
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Iga no Kirimaru
- Tetsuro Tamba as Muramasa
- Mikio Narita as Matsudaira Izunokami Nobutsuna
- Noboru Matsuhashi as Tokugawa Ietsuna
- Jun Ōba as Yagyū Samon Tomonori
- Etsuo Shima as Yagyū Matajūrō Munefuyu
- Masataka Naruse as Koga Genjūrō
- Asao Uchida as Sakai Utanokami Tadayo
- Haruki Kadokawa as Itakura Naizennokami Shigemasa
- Gōzō Sōma as Abe Bungonokami Tadaaki
- Sen Okamichi as Hotta Bichunokami Masamori
- Masataka Kobayashi as Toda Ujikane
- Saburo Hayashi as Mizuno Katsushige
- Hideo Nakae as Hosokawa Tadatoshi
- Hideo Shimada as Tachibana Muneshige
- Shintarō Mibu as Nabeshima Katsushige
- Mizuho Suzuki as Ogasawara Hōmyō Hidekiyo
- Shigerō Shiroi as Sasaki Kojirō
- Naoko Kubo as Yajima no Tsubone
- Kinji Nakamura as Ishida Kazusanokami
- Kenji Kawai as Kamio Bizennokami
- Yasuhiro Suzuki as Tomita Shuzen
- Masaharu Arikawa as Izaki Heinai
- Masataka Iwao as Yasui Tōbei
- Jun Hamamura as Shigesaemon
- Katsutoshi Akiyama as Yohei
- Takashi Noguchi as Hikosaku
- Kayoko Shiraishi as Hosokawa Gracia (voice)
- Seizō Fukumoto as Koga Ninja
- Hiroshi Inuzuka as Sōgorō
References[edit]
- ^ "魔界転生とは". kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-07.
- ^ "魔界転生". wowow (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-07.
- ^ "キスシーンも話題に！沢田研二が『魔界転生』で放った妖しい魅力". ホミニスニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-01-07.
- ^ 『キネマ旬報Kinema Junpo』 （通号 812）1981年6月1日号 p58-60「風太郎忍法帖―ゲームの規則
- ^ "魔界転生". Kinema Junpo. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
External links[edit]
Categories:
- 1981 films
- 1981 fantasy films
- 1981 horror films
- 1980s dark fantasy films
- 1980s Japanese films
- Films about patricide
- Films based on Japanese novels
- Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku
- Films set in the Edo period
- Films set in Edo
- Films set in Saga Prefecture
- Japanese dark fantasy films
- Jidaigeki films
- Samurai films
- Toei Company films
- Tokyo Shock