"Kiri" is a period drama masterpiece that can be called the culmination of "Toho and Kihachi Okamoto films."

Synopsis of "Kill"

At the end of the Edo period, in the fourth year of the Tenpo era, in the Okonogi domain of Joshu, Genta, a former yakuza turned samurai, and Hanjiro, a former farmer who sold his fields and bought a pair of swords, meet in a post town. Seeking a connection to become a samurai, Hanjiro joins a group of ronin who are sent to subjugate the seven young samurai who attacked the castle lord's chief retainer, and he and Genta become enemies and allies. However, the two are connected by a strange bond and become the center of a major uproar that shakes the domain.

Index

• A masterpiece period drama where the "Kihachi touch" explodes nonstop
• Two war films made between "Kill"
• Toho vs. the problem child who throws a curveball
• Is Toho's aim group sounds + period drama?
• Similarities with Akira Kurosawa's "Tsubaki Sanjuro"
• What is the “period drama that is uniquely his own” that Director Kihachi was particular about?
• The rebellious spirit of "anti-samurai"
• A raging climax as the power of the common people surges forward

A masterpiece period drama where the "Kihachi touch" explodes nonstop

"What is the most entertaining movie in the world?" It's a silly question that will never have an answer, but if I had to choose one based on my personal feelings, I would choose "Kiri," an entertaining period drama directed by Kihachi Okamoto and released in 1968.

At the beginning of the film, a roaring wind blows through a dilapidated post town. The title "Kill" rings out along with the bold and light-hearted theme song by Sato Masaru. Just that alone is unbearably cool. A lone ronin is walking through the town. He is dressed in rags and so hungry that he is likely to be blown away by the rising dust.

Hearing that there is a restaurant at the guardhouse, the ronin runs as fast as he can. However, the strong headwind makes it difficult for him to move forward. It's almost like an anime, but he somehow manages to reach the restaurant and runs in, shouting, "Grandma, it's time for dinner!"... and then he sees the old woman's legs dangling from the ceiling. She has hanged herself.

A few minutes into the film, reality suddenly hits us. This land is not just desolate. It is shrouded in despair, and people have either left, stayed away, or, like the old woman at the restaurant, taken their own lives. Only the samurai manning the border post eat their lunch carefree and pick the gaps in their teeth with toothpicks. To them, the suffering of the common people is nothing more than someone else's problem.

The story hasn't even started yet, but Director Kihachi's skillful movements have already thrown the audience into the world of this film. This sense of speed, the snappy rhythm, and the rebellious spirit that sharply satirizes class society are the true essence of Kihachi Okamoto, and you can't help but be enchanted by the nonstop explosion of "Kihachi's touch."

Two war films made between "Kill"