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Tell us how you got involved in movies and sword fighting

When I was in the 5th grade

my grandfather took me to Otsu

to the famous Seta no Karahashi Bridge

and right there on the bridge

a movie crew was filming a scene

The actors were sword fighting -- slashing and falling to the ground

and someone was choreographing the action

I thought, 'That's what I want to do '

The word ' chanbara '

comes from the sound of clashing swords

' chan, chan, bara, bara'

Put them together and it's 'Chanbara'

The stories come from

the 1 4th to 1 9th century

Japan s feudal period

The era of the samurai

In these films, the leading man must be strong

and respectful

But a strong and respectful hero can't win the girl

It's a tradition from the old days

Romance is awkward

in a traditional Japanese setting

But the audience wants romance

So it's a quandary

There are many different themes

There's samurai versus samurai

The revenge drama

And there s...

samurai versus the townspeople

There's the family feud films

about power struggles between clans

But they all have one thing in common

sword fighting

During the Edo period

there were many ronin -- poor, unemployed

They were samurai

But they weren't connected to a clan

They were wandering, homeless ronin

Life was hard in feudal times with the rigid class system

Young moviegoers related to these stories

The old stories

about poor, outcast ronin

struck a chord

The samurai represents

the refinement of the self, a way of living

How the samurai lives and the way he dies is a beautiful thing

Sacrificing oneself to help others

over all else

Of course

the enemy has the power

and the numbers

But when someone stands up to that

Whether it's Chanbara or a Western

You have to root for that

The ronin acts out his frustration and rage

knowing that in the end

it's hopeless

He knows that death is inevitable

He fights for his own sense of justice

I feel

that's what heroism is

At the time, I was starting middle school

Everything was about indoctrinating us towards militarism

The Emperor was considered a god

We were called ' Shoukokumin'

Little Citizens

The Children of the Emperor

And we must be ready to die for him

That's what we were taught

My father was born and raised in China

in a place called Qingdao

and grew up in a city called Dalian

He reminisced about those days

always adding that we d never understand

He was beaten by his superiors

They struck him again and again with the soles of their leather shoes

All he could do was clench his teeth

My father always had that forceful voice

and his superiors didn't like it

They thought he was too cocky

for a young, inexperienced soldier

Japan didn't have much left

Towards the end of the war

boys who hadn't even reached puberty

were drafted into the military

And with minimal training

they were sent into combat

It was my fathers job to train them

The night before the boys were sent off

on their suicide missions

my father would treat them to sukiyaki for the last time

The next day, they d say, ' Sergeant Mifune, off I go! '

My father told them

' All right, off you go!'

' But you don't have to say, Banzai!' for the Emperor'

Instead

' Just say goodbye to your mother'

' That's all you need to do '

It was his compassion that made him rebellious

I have no experience with war

But listening to his stories

I knew he went through a lot

when I saw him crying

War never brings any good to the people

Especially in Japan

The people were oppressed

We were hungry

There was no food

Money had no value

So we used clothing

We sold whatever clothes we had

Men sold their suits

Women sold their fancy kimono

and exchanged them for food

It was a miserable time

We lost the war

And we were left with emptiness

When the war ended

he received one and a half yen and a blanket

He cut up the blanket with scissors

and sewed it with thread

And, by himself, he made this coat

He also made these trousers

Everyday was a struggle to survive, but...

How do I put this?

Still, there was a vitality

People were ready for something

We had freedom of speech

We were ready to get back to living

Unlike now, there weren't many kinds of entertainment

The movies were one of the few things we had

We were uplifted by the movies

They inspired us to think about how to live

They had a huge impact on us

He wasn't interested in becoming an actor

I never imagined

that I could act

in front of people

He applied for a job as a camera assistant

I saw the ad lor the ' New Face ' competition in the newspaper

Somehow his resume was sent over there

I challenged myself to see if I could do it

Suddenly he was on the path to becoming an actor

Though I was sure I wouldn't be selected

I was fortunate to get into the movie industry

But there was no one like Mifune

How do I say this?

He had a big presence, didn't he?

' Rashomon ' was filmed in 1950

the same year I was born

Honestly, when I saw ' Rashomon ' I thought

' What? '

He was so different from what we expected in a period film

So gruff

He's not an actor

who blends into the background

You feel him

energizing everything around him

I think

he studied his part thoroughly

But in front of the camera

when they yelled ' Action! '

he forgot everything

and just went for it

During the war

Kurosawa made films supporting the war

and he regretted it

Japanese people tend to follow their leaders

and obey orders

Kurosawa vowed that he would never again

be the kind of person who bows to authority

He wanted to create characters

who spoke their minds

who rebelled

So when he found Toshiro Mifune

he found an actor who could pull it off

I know you re going to have my neck

I have nothing to hide

When Kurosawa saw Mifune

he instinctively knew

Mifune had something unique

something that other movie actors

just didn't have

And that unique quality was

the ability

to express anger or joy

physically

' Seven Samurai ' was my movie debut

Toho called me in

to see Mr. Kurosawa

Mr. Kurosawa, unlike his image

was smiling

I expected him to be scary

but he was smiling like a monk

He told me

' In the months before we shoot

' Takashi Shimura and

' Toshiro Mifune

' The three of you

' must hang out together

' Go to the movies together, eat together'

Those were his orders

So Shimura became my uncle

and Mifune became my brother

And he still is

The Kurosawa people were looking for actors

Especially ones who could do fight scenes

Kurosawa came over

and he went down the line

He said, 'Can you guys fight?'

We said, 'Yes, we can fight'

Typical actors response

Say anything to get the part

I said, 'l m ready to fight, anytime '

They did a test of us getting killed

Kurosawa said to me

' What are you doing?'

I made it look flashy, the same way I did in other films

He said, 'Nakajima, come here! '

' This is not just another samurai film '

' It has to feel real'

' Okay'

Kurosawa was tough to work for

One thing was sure

If you didn't do what he said, you were out

If you did exactly as he asked

you were okay

Bastards

Kurosawa never gave acting instructions to Mifune

When it came time to shoot

Mifune had thoroughly researched

how a farmer-turned-samurai

might behave in that'situation

People have no idea how hard he worked

He was always thinking about his character

and how to add humor to it

He had a great sense of humor

First in line, step forward!

I'm talking to you!

I said you!

What was Mifune like?

If I had to describe him in one word

Perseverance

He was a man of perseverance

Even as I grumbled and complained about various things

he just waited quietly

In the beginning, Toshiro Mifune didn't want to be an actor

Those days, the reality was that many people

became actors just to survive

I think that was Mifune s situation

But if he was going to do it

he was going to do it right

He wasn't going to embarrass himself as a man

He had a lot of pride

so he worked that much harder

And through that process, he evolved as a human being

Kikuchiyo, what are you doing?

One sword is not enough!

It was my first adult role

So I didn't know what to expect

I was pretty nervous

Otsu, forgive me

Musashi and Otsu

are shy and awkward with each other

But I think

there s great love between them

Love takes a different shape

For Japanese, I think

It's more reserved

We don't show it outwardly so much

He didn't say much

But he wasn't stuck up or anything

He took his work seriously

Here I am

What do you want?

Why don't you just behead me?

You shame me this way! And you call yourself a priest?

You treat a samurai this way? Idiot!

You re very spirited

Damn you!

In the morning, he was always on time for make-up

He arrived 1 5 minutes early

to the sound stage for filming

I thought to myself

That's how I need to be

Choose wisely or else!

Well, which should I choose?

Too many

Wash these sticks

A true samurai

even if he was really hungry, he wouldn't show it

He...

must live with dignity

I was ecstatic!

My chance to be in a Kurosawa film!

I wanted any role, even the smallest part

As long as I got it

Kurosawa knows a lot about Noh theater

So...

Mifune s make-up

is based on a Noh theater mask

of a ferocious warrior

Even more wonderful

was Lady Macbeth

played by Isuzu Yamada

The make-up for her character

is also inspired by a Noh mask

I played a samurai who guards the shogun

There are three of us

I was Samurai 1

It's a small role

But even with small roles

each one of us was treated

as if we were the main characters

I'm on guard duty

and we're given alcohol

So I'm a bit wobbly

That's when Mifune comes at me

He stabs me

That was the end of my scene

But Mr. Kurosawa liked the way I died

Return to your posts!

That's an order!

The shocking thing about that scene was

they didn't have insurance

And what's more, they used real arrows

and the archers were college students

The arrows were going everywhere

The archers weren't good shots

Who killed our great lord?

They told me to shoot

I was there, but I said

' No way!'

Why did he do such a dangerous scene?

With no insurance?

I think it was from the war, his loyalty

He felt

an obligation to Kurosawa

He owed his success to Kurosawa

He was a poor soldier

who became a movie star

That was Kurosawa s doing

and Mifune felt indebted to him

Mifune just...

persevered

He did so many tough things without complaint

Well, that's how Kurosawa's films were

Other films and other directors

might have friendly sets

where the director and actors

create a warm, family atmosphere

Kurosawa's sets were definitely not like that

Everything was tightly run

Stressful. intense ,

You hear the word ' perfectionist'

For Kurosawa, that's expected

To make a great film

everything matters

When I worked with Mr. Mifune

the film industry was intense

We worked non-stop

We were in the studio 350 days out of 365

When we got lunch

everyone took off for the restaurant

Except Mr. Mifune and me

We stayed behind

Then we ran up

to the hair and make-up room

where we played Blackjack

We had lunch delivered

by the local restaurant

Mr. Mifune always ordered

ramen

For me

that was the real Mifune

He loved to play cards

cussing, 'Damn you, bastard!'

Then he went back to the set

and he was a noble samurai again

We. the Toho movie actors ,

We worked all year round

at full throttle

We all did

Most of the Mifune films

are about men

They didn't know what to do with women

For me to get a good part

I had to go to Shochiku Studios

Toho wasn't big on roles for women

Most Toho movies

directed by Kurosawa and starring Mifune

are about men

'Yojimbo ' was Kurosawa s attempt at doing something fun

He wanted to do something everyone would enjoy

In his other films

he took political themes

or philosophical ideas

and injected them into the story

With 'Yojimbo ' he just wanted to entertain

They were both in their prime

So it was exciting

Don't take us for fools

See this tattoo?

I wasn't in prison for nothing

I'm a wanted man They can't wait to crucify me

Me too

They want my head

Not to brag, but I've committed every crime in the book

So you won't mind if I kill you?

What!

Kill us if you can

It might hurt

Yakuza don't fear swords

There's no cure for idiots

' Yojimbo '

is Mifune at his best

Mentally and physically, as an actor

It all came together

Get your husband and run!

Mifune was very considerate

When we were standing around, waiting on the sound stage

he'd bring us chairs and say

' Hey, sit down '

in that gruff manner

When we were on location

and the food at the inn was

Well...

It wasn't very good

He'd throw some garlic in a pan

then some meat and vegetables

He'd stir fry it up

' Here, eat this, ' he d say

Mifune was

like the ocean

The ocean is boundless

But, sometimes, very turbulent

He was quite dashing

vibrant and refreshing

I never saw it in person

but I suspect he kept a lot inside

And it had to come out somehow

In Kurosawa's films, I always played the stoic characters

Diligent, not sexy at all

Mifune was strong

So strict and disciplined with himself

But if you hold everything inside

it builds up over time

So when night came and the sake started to flow...

He had to let loose

So many times I had to save his butt

Yeah, Mifune was a heavy drinker

We'd go to Shibuya and he picked fights with gangsters

It didn't happen everyday

But when he drank it was usually sake or whiskey

And dinner wasn't over

until he finished the bottle

When he got drunk, he took his sword out

and he'd swing it around wildly

And whenever that happened

I was very scared

He'd get drunk and drive by Kurosawa s house

in his convertible

He'd yell ' Damn you!'

And we'd say 'Qh no'

The big factor was the wind

They had big airplane propellers

On top of that, for the big scene

he told the actors

' Keep your eyes wide open! '

You can't keep your eyes open in a wind storm

In ' Red Beard, ' I'm one of the attackers

My first move

is to run at him

Then he throws me over

and while I'm down

he beats up three or four more people

Then I come back for more

I was trying desperately

not to mess up the take

This is terrible Such violence is bad

Doctors shouldn't do such things

All of the characters have something off balance in their lives

that they live with somehow

My character is sick

and Mr. Kayama is trying to give me medicine

But I refuse to take it

So the doctor comes and says, ' Let me try'

The scene establishes Dr. Akahige's humanity

I didn't know how to do the scene

He fooled me

and pulled me through it

the way he stayed in character as Dr. Akahige

It felt like all of the actors

were breathing the same air

Everything came naturally

Do you want me to yell?

Fine, but I'm still staying

Who says so?

You taught me the road to take

On the movie set

our made-up world and the real world

became one

And we owed it to Mr. Mifune

He led the way

Kurosawa was getting older

and was moving away from stories with samurai heroes

At the same time, Mifune was getting older

so it was becoming harder for him

to play tough guys

That was part of it, but I'm not really sure what happened

I believe they had more to achieve together

It was the end of an era for all of us

I don't know exactly what happened

They went their separate ways

Mifune got busy

working on films overseas

Then time passed and

they never talked about it

But Mifune stayed loyal to Kurosawa through it all

He always wanted to work with Kurosawa again

I was the publicist

for Mifune Productions

The one time he shared something personal

was during the scandal

The words he said to me

have stayed in my memory

' They'll never understand what I'm feeling'

' Whatever I say, they won't hear me '

Actually, they never got divorced

To the very end

my mother refused to sign

the divorce papers

and it turned into a scandal

On the movies

I would go over

the fight scene with him

I'd say, 'You move here

' Then you kill 15 guys '

He'd say

' You want me to kill 15 guys at once?'

' Yes, please, ' I'd say

He had those glaring eyes

He held his sword tightly

clenched his teeth

and moved towards you

It was intimidating

facing him

It wasn't slow and graceful, it was BAM!

No one else

had that power and intensity

One day, he said we had to start doing television

I remember the indescribable pain in the room

He was playing ' Toshiro Mifune '

Being 'Mifune, the movie star,' instead of acting

When we were young

we worked together many times

Mifune and me

I wish we could've gone on to play older couples together

if he had stayed healthy

In the last years of his life

he wasn't able to remember his lines

So we made a ' cheat sheet' with his lines

written out in big letters

I would stand next to the camera and hold the cards

so he could read his lines

I guess it was Alzheimer's disease

His son Shiro took good care of him

Around that time, my father...

started to spend most of his time alone

Then my wife and I started to look after him

I bet he's still playing a samurai

Really, you know

He left us too early

There was no one like him then

Or now

I was really sad

I'm still sad

My father was also in poor health

When Mifune died, my father wasn't able to leave the house

They were comrades

We were part of the golden age of Japanese cinema together

When I look back at each and every film

I couldn't have made them without you

You gave so much of yourself

Thank you, my friend

For one last time

over a bottle of sake

I wish I could've told you all this

Goodbye, my friend

I'll see you soon