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is a 1943 Japanese
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
and the directorial debut of the Japanese
film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
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 ...
. First released in Japan on March 25, 1943 by
Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...
film studios, the film was eventually released in the United States on April 28, 1974. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Tsuneo Tomita, the son of prominent
judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
Tsunejirō Tomita, published in 1942. It follows the story of Sanshiro, a talented though willful youth, who travels to the city in order to learn
Jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...
. However, upon his arrival he discovers a new form of self-defence:
Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
. The main character is based on Saigō Shirō. The film is seen as an early example of Kurosawa's immediate grasp of the film-making process, and includes many of his directorial trademarks, such as the use of wipes, weather patterns as reflections of character moods, and abruptly changing camera speeds. The film itself was quite influential at the time, and has been remade on no fewer than five occasions. It spawned a sequel, '' Sanshiro Sugata Part II'', which was released in 1945 and was also directed by Kurosawa.


Plot

In 1882, Sanshiro is a talented though willful youth who wishes to become a
jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...
master by becoming a student at one of the city's martial arts schools. His first attempts to find a suitable instructor fail, until he finds an accomplished master, Shogoro Yano from the Shudokan Judo school, who he sees successfully defending himself against a group of jujutsu bullies near a river. Initially, Sanshiro is physically capable, but he lacks poise or reflection concerning his self-control and demeanor, even getting into fights at a village festival. His master believes him to be talented but lacking in discipline, describing teaching him judo as "like giving a knife to a madman". After being told about his lack of care about life, Sanshiro jumps into a lotus pond to prove his strength and loyalty. Clinging to a stake in the pond, he stays the whole day and night before he sees the opening of a lotus blossom and finds self-realization. Leaping out of the pond, he goes to Yano to ask for his forgiveness. He starts to appreciate that there is more to his life and to his art than simple muscle and brawl and soon becomes a leading student in his school. The city is looking to employ one of the local martial arts schools to guide the training of its local police force, and the school of Sanshiro becomes a leading candidate along with its rival, the local school of Ryōi Shintō-ryū
jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...
led by Hansuke Murai. He first faces Saburo Kodama, a jujutsu tough who had earlier tried to attack Shogoro by the river. The ensuing match leads to Kodama's death, after a move by Sanshiro crashes him into a corner. In a scheduled competition between the two schools, Sanshiro is chosen to represent his school in a public match against Murai himself to determine which school is best to train the local police in the martial arts. The scheduled bout gets off to a slow start, but Sanshiro soon comes into his own and begins executing devastating throws which cause internal physical damage to his opponent. Although Murai tries to stand every time, energized by the thought of his daughter Sayo, he is forced to give up after the third time he is violently sent to the ground by Sanshiro. After the match, Sanshiro makes friends with his defeated opponent and is attracted to his daughter Sayo, who is a local beauty. Another Ryōi Shintō-ryū jujutsu master, Higaki, competes with Sanshiro for her affections. When he challenges Sanshiro to a duel to the death, Sanshiro accepts and defeats him, inflicting permanent crippling damage to Higaki. After emerging victorious from his duel, Sanshiro prepares for his next assignment in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
and is escorted on the local train by Sayo. He promises to return to her after he finishes his journey.


Cast

* Susumu Fujita as Sanshiro Sugata * Denjirō Ōkōchi as Shōgorō Yano *
Yukiko Todoroki Yukiko Todoroki ( ''Todoroki Yukiko''; September 11, 1917 – May 11, 1967) was a Japanese people, Japanese actress. Her real name was Tsuruko Nishiyama. She participated in the Takarazuka Revue. At Takarazuka, she was known not by her real name ...
as Sayo Murai * Ryūnosuke Tsukigata as Gennosuke Higaki * Takashi Shimura as Hansuke Murai * Ranko Hanai as Osumi Kodana * Sugisaku Aoyama as Tsunetami Iimura * Ichiro Sugai as Police Chief Michitsune Mishima * Yoshio Kosugi as Master Saburō Kodama * Kokuten Kōdō as Buddhist Priest * Michisaburō Segawa as Wada *
Akitake Kōno was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than sixty films from 1943 to 1973. Career Kōno started acting with the Zenshinza theater troupe before joining the Toho Company, Toho studio in 1942. Mostly a character actor, he appeared in film ...
as Yoshima Dan *Shōji Kiyokawa as Yūjirō Toda *Kunio Mita as Kōhei Tsuzaki *Akira Nakamura as Toranosuki Niiseki *Eisaburō Sakauchi as Nemeto *Hajime Hikari as Torakichi


Production

Following five years of second unit director work on films such as '' Uma'' and ''Roppa's Honeymoon'', Kurosawa was finally given the go-ahead to direct his first film, even though he himself claimed that, in films like ''Uma'', "I had been so much in charge of production I had felt like the director". After hearing of a new novel from the writer Tomita Tsuneo in an advertisement, Kurosawa decided the project was for him and asked film producer Iwao Mori to buy the rights for him. Kurosawa, having been told that Toho would not be able to buy the rights until it was published, eagerly awaited its release, to the point where he stalked bookstores night and day until he found a copy; he quickly read the book and wrote a screenplay for it. Despite his enthusiasm,
Masahiro Makino was a Japanese film director. He directed more than 260 films, primarily in the chanbara and yakuza film, yakuza genres. His real name was , but he took the stage name Masahiro, the kanji for which he changed multiple times (including , , and ). ...
was first asked to direct, but he declined. According to Japanese cinema scholar Donald Richie, the reason Kurosawa was allowed to direct the film was because he had had two film scripts printed, including one of which had won the education minister's prize. However, his work was too far away from the government requirements for a wartime film. Tomita's novel, on the other hand, was considered "safe", dealing, as it did, with a Japanese subject such as the martial rivalry between judo and jujitsu; being a period piece; and having a popular subject. Kurosawa deliberately went out to make a "movie-like movie", as he knew he would not be able to insert any particularly didactic qualities in the film. When he went to the board of censors (which he likened to being on trial), the film passed on the basis of recommendation by Yasujiro Ozu, who called it an important artistic achievement despite other voices claiming it was too "British-American". After the initial release, Japanese censors reportedly trimmed the film by 17 minutes. Some of this footage was later recovered and added to a DVD release, and the original script with the missing material still exists; intertitles are included in the release that describe what occurred in the missing parts. The 1952 re-release (from which the 2009 Criterion DVD is made) opens with (translated from the original Japanese text): Paul Anderer emphasized Kurosawa's attention to the character of Gennosuke Higaki in the film. Higaki, created by Tsuneo Tomita for the novel and inspired by real life jujutsu master Mataemon Tanabe, is the film's central villain. Anderer stated:


Themes

The central theme of the film is the education and initiation of Sugata and the way in which, whilst learning the ways of Judo, he also learns about himself. The film's central scene concerning this theme is when, after being accosted by Yano for getting involved in a streetfight, Sugata leaps into the cold waters near Yano's temple and stays there in order to show his master his dedication, and the fact that he is neither afraid to live nor to die. However, the resident monk chides him for this self-serving display, and he emerges from the pond a humbler man after witnessing the blooming of a lotus blossom, a Buddhist symbol of purity.


Remakes


Films

''Sanshiro Sugata'' has been remade five times since it was initially released, although these versions are even harder to find in the west than the original. The 1955 and 1965 versions share the script of the original versions, whereas the subsequent three releases are all based on the novel rather than Kurosawa's screenplay. *''Sugata Sanshirō'' (1955) - Directed by Shigeo Tanaka *''Sugata Sanshirō'' (1965) - Directed by Seiichirō Uchikawa *''Ninkyō Yawara Ichidai'' (1966) - Directed by Sadao Nakajima *''Sugata Sanshirō'' (released in the Philippines as ''The Master''; 1970) - Directed by Kunio Watanabe *''Sugata Sanshirō'' (1977) - Directed by
Kihachi Okamoto was a Cinema of Japan, Japanese film director who worked in several different film genre, genres. Career Born in Yonago, Tottori, Yonago, Okamoto attended Meiji University, but was drafted into the Air Force 1943 and entered World War II, an exp ...


Television

*''Sugata Sanshirō'' (1970) was aired on NTV, started by Muga Takewaki. *''Sugata Sanshirō'' (1978-79) was aired on NTV, started by Hiroshi Katsuno and Masaya Oki.


See also

*
List of incomplete or partially lost films The following is a list of notable films that are incomplete or partially lost. For films for which no footage (including Trailer (promotion), trailers) is known to have survived, see List of lost films. For films that were never completed in the ...
* Segata Sanshiro


Notes


References


External links

* *
Sanshiro Sugata
' at the
Japanese Movie Database The , more commonly known as simply JMDb, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database but lists only those films initially released in Japan. Y. ...

"Sanshiro Sugata": Kurosawa's Elegy for the Reluctant Kamikaze
at
Bright Lights Film Journal ''Bright Lights Film Journal'' is an online popular-academic film magazine, based in Oakland, California, United States. It is edited and published by Gary Morris. Originally a print publication established in 1974, it was discontinued in 1980 t ...
. {{Akira Kurosawa 1943 films 1940s action films 1940s Japanese-language films 1943 directorial debut films Censored films Films based on Japanese novels Films directed by Akira Kurosawa Films with screenplays by Akira Kurosawa Japanese action films Japanese black-and-white films Japanese martial arts films Judo films Toho films