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is a 1998 comedy-samurai film directed by
Hiroyuki Nakano is a Japanese film director. Filmography * ''Watching People'' (1989) * ''Spiritual Earth: Aloha Wave'' (1995) * ''Samurai Fiction'' (1998) * ''Pop Group Killers'' (2000) * ''Red Shadow (2001 film), Red Shadow'' (2001) * ''Stereo Future'' (2001 ...
. It is almost entirely black-and-white, and follows a fairly standard plotline for a comedy and ''
jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "historical drama, period dramas", it refers to stories that take place before the Meiji Restoration of 1868. ''Jidaigeki'' show the lives of the samurai, farmers, crafts ...
'' samurai film, but the presence of
Tomoyasu Hotei , also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with artists fr ...
's rock-and-roll soundtrack separates it from the films it was inspired by, such as the works of
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
. A loose spinoff was released in 2001, as '' Red Shadow''.


Overview

While the film is nearly entirely in black-and-white, paying homage to older samurai movies, this allows for the artistic and dramatic use of color; this is most noticeable whenever a character is killed, and the screen flashes red for a moment. Color is used to dramatic effect at the beginning and end of the film as well. ''Samurai Fiction'' was the first full-length feature film for writer-director
Hiroyuki Nakano is a Japanese film director. Filmography * ''Watching People'' (1989) * ''Spiritual Earth: Aloha Wave'' (1995) * ''Samurai Fiction'' (1998) * ''Pop Group Killers'' (2000) * ''Red Shadow (2001 film), Red Shadow'' (2001) * ''Stereo Future'' (2001 ...
, who had been primarily a director of music videos for
MTV Japan MTV Japan (Music Television Japan) is the Japanese version of the cable television network based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Paramount Global, Paramount Global Japan K.K., and was launched on November 15, 1993. It can be viewed on cable ...
. His experience with music videos comes through in the directing of the film. This movie was also the first acting experience for Japanese rock star
Tomoyasu Hotei , also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with artists fr ...
.


Plot

The plot centers on Inukai Heishirō ( Mitsuru Fukikoshi), the son of a clan officer. One of his clan's most precious heirlooms, a sword given them by the Shogun, has been stolen by the samurai Kazamatsuri (
Tomoyasu Hotei , also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with artists fr ...
). Against his father's advice, Heishirō insists on retrieving the sword himself. His father sends two
ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
after him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Kazamatsuri wounds Heishirō, and kills one of his companions. The young noble ends up staying with an older samurai ( Morio Kazama) and his daughter Koharu (Tamaki Ogawa) while he heals from his wound and plans his next move. The older samurai tries to dissuade him from fighting, but Heishirō's honor won't allow him to leave Kazamatsuri alive. The older samurai, who turns out to be the master Hanbei Mizoguchi, convinces him to fight Kazamatsuri by throwing rocks rather than with swords. Meanwhile, Kazamatsuri settles for a few days at a gambling house owned by Lady Okatsu ( Mari Natsuki), who falls in love with him. Then one night one of the ninja sent to protect Heishirō bribes her to poison his sake for one thousand gold. She does, but Kazamatsuri tastes the poison and kills Okatsu. He then kidnaps Koharu in an attempt to get the master Mizoguchi to fight him. Mizoguchi reveals to Heishirō that he killed Koharu's father, and has since never drawn his sword on another man, despite his immense skill. They then go to find Kazamatsuri and rescue Koharu. While Mizoguchi stalls Kazamatsuri, Heishirō takes Koharu aside and says he will marry her if Mizoguchi wins. Kazamatsuri fights Mizoguchi, who only draws his sword after his opponent destroys his wooden sword. He then disarms Kazamatsuri near a cliff. Kazamatsuri, admitting defeat, commits suicide by jumping off the cliff. Heishirō and the others go to the bottom, where there is no sign of Kazamatsuri's body, but Koharu spots the stolen sword at the bottom of the river, where Heishirō retrieves it. Flash forward one year. Heishirō has married Koharu, the sword is restored, and Mizoguchi is now an official in Heishiro's clan.


Cast

* Morio Kazama as Hanbei Mizoguchi * Mitsuru Fukikoshi as Heishirō Inukai *
Tomoyasu Hotei , also known simply as Hotei ( ), is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Hotei claims record sales of over 40 million copies and has collaborated with artists fr ...
as Rannosuke Kazamatsuri *Tamaki Ogawa as Koharu Mizoguchi * Mari Natsuki as Okatsu *
Taketoshi Naitō was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1953 and 2003. He died of lymphoma on 21 August 2012. Selected filmography Film * ''Mahiru no ankoku'' (1956) * ''An Actress'' (1956) - Akio Satomi * ''The Burmese Harp (1956 film) ...
as Kanzen Inukai * Kei Tani as Kagemaru * Fumiya Fujii as Ryūnosuke Kuzumi *Naoyuki Fujii as Shintarō Suzuki *Ken Osawa as Tadasuke Kurosawa *Hiroshi Kanbe as Gosuke *Ryōichi Yuki as Ninja Hayabusa * Akiko Monou as Ninja Akakage *Tarō Maruse as Sakyōnosuke Kajii *Yūji Nakamura as Samejima


Cultural references

The film has a number of inside jokes and allusions. For example, the stolen sword that is at the center of the plot was a personal possession of Toshiro Mifune, the star of many of
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...
's samurai films. One of Heishiro's closest friends is named Kurosawa. ''Samurai Fiction''s opening titles, in which samurai performing
kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced in Japanese martial arts ...
are silhouetted against a red background, were referenced in blue & black in
Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...
's '' Kill Bill Vol. 1''. Also, Tarantino used Hotei's famous instrumental track " Shin Jingi Naki Tatakai" ("Battle Without Honor or Humanity" – the title of a classic yakuza movie by
Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking", Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty Yakuza film, yakuza films, typified by the Battles With ...
, a major influence on Tarantino) as
background music Background music (British English: piped music) is a mode of musical performance in which the music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners, but its content, character, and volume level are deliberately chosen to affect behav ...
for ''Kill Bill Vol. 1''. Hotei played Kazamatsuri in ''Samurai Fiction'' and composed its
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
.


Licensed products

A variety of licensed products were released from the video editions (DVD/LD/VHS), to the original soundtrack (CD), to ''Samurai Foto'', a portfolio collecting 300 pictures taken from the motion picture.


SF episode one

Hiroyuki Nakano envisioned ''Samurai Fiction'' as the first episode in a "''SF''" entitled series. The films would be only vaguely related, in terms of plot or characters as Nakano wanted to explore a number of genres. However, only a second feature film has been made, '' Stereo Future'' in 2001, the following episodes being short films. Unreleased episodes were named ''Super Funky'', and ''Sunday Family''.


External links

*{{IMDb title, 0170544 1998 films 1990s Japanese films 1998 action comedy films Japanese comedy films Japanese action comedy films Jidaigeki films 1990s samurai films Films partially in color