Director: Tomu Uchida
1961–1965 Japan
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A swordsman, writer and artist who lived from circa 1583 until 1645, Miyamoto Musashi is a near-mythic figure in Japanese history and an icon of Japanese popular culture. The first film based on his life was produced in the silent period, followed by dozens more made over the next decades. In the early 1960s, Toei launched into an entire series focused on the legendary samurai – a five-part saga adapted from the works of Eiji Yoshikawa and completed under the direction of Tomu Uchida between 1961 and 1965.
Miyamoto Musashi charts the origins of the eponymous swordsman (Kinnosuke Nakamura) following his participation in the Battle of Sekigahara and traces his path towards the way of the samurai. In Miyamoto Musashi II: Showdown at Hannyazaka Heights,Musashi emerges from a period of learning and contemplation, soon coming into conflict with a rogue group of ronin. Then, in Miyamoto Musashi III: Birth of the Two Sword Style, the samurai develops his personal style of swordsmanship and first encounters Kojiro Sasaki (Ken Takakura), who will become his arch-rival. His feud with Kojiro intensifies in Miyamoto Musashi IV: Duel at Ichijo-ji Temple and ultimately concludes in Miyamoto Musashi V: Duel at Ganryu Island.
A greatly accomplished samurai saga featuring two titans of Japanese cinema in Kinnosuke Nakamura and Ken Takakura, Toei’s Miyamoto Musashi films deserve to stand with the Zatoichi series as one of the great samurai sagas of the 1960s.
