Harakiri
Short description
Set in early seventeenth-century Japan, during a long peace in which many samurai have lost their masters, Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri follows a ronin named Hanshiro Tsugumo. Destitute and without a household, he presents himself at the estate of the Iyi clan and asks permission to perform ritual suicide in their courtyard, requesting that a worthy second be found to end his suffering. The clan's senior counselor, Saito Kageyu, suspects that Hanshiro is not seeking an honorable death but charity, since other masterless samurai have used the same request to pressure lords into giving them money. To warn him off, Saito recounts how the clan dealt with a ronin named Motome Chijiiwa, who came to the estate some days earlier with the same plea. Hanshiro is not deterred, and insists on telling his own story before the ritual proceeds, revealing how his life and Chijiiwa's are connected.
The film was directed by Masaki Kobayashi, its sixth feature, following the three-part The Human Condition, with a screenplay by Shinobu Hashimoto. Tatsuya Nakadai plays Hanshiro, Akira Ishihama plays Chijiiwa, and the cast includes Shima Iwashita, Tetsuro Tamba and Masao Mishima. It was produced by Shochiku.
Audiences rate the film highly: on IMDb it holds 8.6 out of 10 from around 90,000 votes, and on TMDB 8.5 from a much smaller pool of voters. A critics' rating of 8.6 from ten reviews places it alongside those audience scores. Running 135 minutes, it was released in Japan in September 1962.
What's left behind the scenes
- After Shima Iwashita's character married, she was depicted on screen exclusively with blackened teeth. In feudal Japan, black teeth were a sign that a lady was married. The tradition of teeth blackening was called 'ohaguro'.
- Tatsuya Nakadai and his co-star Rentaro Mikuni clashed during filming over their speaking styles. The former delivered his lines loudly and clearly, while the latter spoke considerably softer—both stood their ground, citing their own professional experiences to support their views. It ended with director Masaki Kobayashi halting production and informing the actors that filming would not resume until they finally reached an agreement. The hiatus lasted three days.
- The film is a vivid example of how Masaki Kobayashi opposed the practice of idealizing Japan's former feudal system. The samurai code of honor is repeatedly called into question throughout the movie. This kind of opposition was characteristic of the post-occupation movement in Japan, which was linked to protests against the presence of American military bases in the country.
- The ronin in the film claim they served Masanori Fukushima until his exile, after which they were left without a master. Fukushima was exiled for unilaterally beginning repairs on a castle in Hiroshima, which contradicted the law. Fukushima and his son were stripped of all their property and banished to another prefecture.
- During the filming of the action scenes, Tatsuya Nakadai (who played the ronin Hanshiro Tsugumo) was constantly afraid because the swords and spears were real—even though the use of real weapons is prohibited in Japanese cinema. He was not particularly comforted by the fact that all the fights were choreographed and the weapons were in the hands of professionals.
- The bamboo swords shown in the film were called 'takemitsu,' and the film's composer was named Toru Takemitsu. A joke circulated among the crew: 'Harakiri via Takemitsu, music by Takemitsu'.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
