Chanbara (チャンバラ;[tɕambaɾa]), also commonly spelled "chambara", meaning "sword fighting" films,^[1] denotes theJapanese film genre calledsamurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent toWestern andswashbuckler films.Chanbara is a sub-category ofjidaigeki, which equates toperiod drama.Jidaigeki may refer to a story set in a historical period, though not necessarily dealing with a samurai character or depicting swordplay.

While earliersamurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action-based, samurai films produced afterWorld War II have become moreaction-based,^[2] with darker and more violent characters. Post-war samurai epics tended to portray psychologically or physically scarred warriors.^[3]Akira Kurosawa stylized and exaggerated death and violence in samurai epics. His samurai, and many others portrayed in film, were solitary figures, more often concerned with concealing their martial abilities, rather than showing them off.^[3]

Historically, the genre is usually set during theTokugawa era (1600–1868). The samurai film hence often focuses on the end of an entire way of life for the samurai: many of the films deal with masterlessrōnin, or samurai dealing with changes to their status resulting from a changing society.

Samurai films were constantly made into the early 1970s, but by then, overexposure on television, the aging of the big stars of the genre, and the continued decline of the mainstream Japanese film industry put a halt to most of the production of this genre.^[4]

Chanbara also refers to a martial arts sport similar tofencing.^[5]

Daisuke Itō andMasahiro Makino were central to the development of samurai films in thesilent and prewar eras.

Akira Kurosawa is the best known to western audiences, and similarly has directed the samurai films best known in the West. He directedSeven Samurai,Rashomon,Throne of Blood,Yojimbo and many others.Toshirō Mifune, arguably Japan's most famous actor, often starred in Kurosawa's films. Mifune himself had a production company that produced samurai epics, often with him starring. Two of Kurosawa's samurai movies were based on the works ofWilliam Shakespeare,Throne of Blood (Macbeth) andRan (King Lear). A number of his films were remade in Italy and the United States aswesterns, or as action films set in other contexts.^[6] His filmSeven Samurai is one of the most important touchstones of the genre and the most well known outside Japan. It also illustrates some of the conventions of samurai film in that the main characters are rōnin, masterlessunemployed samurai, free to act as theirconscience dictates. Importantly, these men tend to deal with their problems with their swords and are very skilled at doing so. It also shows the helplessness of the peasantry and the distinction between the two classes.

Masaki Kobayashi directed the filmsHarakiri andSamurai Rebellion, both cynical films based on flawed loyalty to the clan.

Kihachi Okamoto films focus on violence in a particular fashion. In particular in his filmsSamurai Assassin,Kill! andSword of Doom. The latter is particularly violent, the main character engaging in combat for a lengthy 7 minutes of film at the end of the movie. His characters are often estranged from their environments, and their violence is a flawed reaction to this.^[6]

Hideo Gosha, and many of his films helped create thearchetype of the samuraioutlaw. Gosha's films are as important as Kurosawa's in terms of their influence, visual style and content, yet are not as well known in the West. Gosha's films often portrayed the struggle between traditional and modernist thought and were decidedly anti-feudal. He largely stopped making chambara, switching to the Yakuza genre, in the 1970s. Some of his most noted movies areGoyokin,Hitokiri,Three Outlaw Samurai andKedamono no Ken ("Sword of the Beast").

Kenji Misumi was active making samurai films from the 1950s to the mid-1970s. He directed roughly 30 films in the genre, including some theLone Wolf and Cub films, and a number in theZatoichi andSleepy Eyes of Death series.

An excellent example of the kind of immediacy and action evident in the best genre is seen in Gosha's first film, theThree Outlaw Samurai, based on a television series. Three farmers kidnap the daughter of the local magistrate in order to call attention to the starvation of local peasants, a rōnin appears and decides to help them. In the process, two other rōnin with shifting allegiances join the drama, the conflict widens, eventually leading to betrayal, assassination and battles between armies of mercenaryrōnin.^[7]

Recently another director,Keishi Ōtomo, has directed a live-action adaption ofNobuhiro Watsuki's manga seriesRurouni Kenshin, which tells the story of a formerIshin Shishi namedHimura Kenshin (formerly known as "Hitokiri Battōsai" (人斬り抜刀斎). After the end of theBakumatsu, he becomes a rōnin wandering Japan's countryside, offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin. The film was a huge critical and commercial success. Rurouni Kenshin was theatrically released on August 25, 2012, in Japan, grossing over $36 million in the country and over $60 million worldwide as of November 2012. It was released on home media on December 26, 2012. The film has been licensed for distribution in over 60 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The movie premiered in North America as an opening selection for the 2012 LA EigaFest on December 14, 2012. Two sequels titledRurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen andRurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-hen were released in 2014.

A blind burly masseur andyakuza with short hair, he is a skilled swordsman who fights using only his hearing. While less known in the West, he is arguably the most famouschanbara character in Japan.

Four movies about another blind character, Oichi a.k.a. "the Crimson Bat", a female sword fighter, was made in response to the huge success of Zatoichi.

Nemuri Kyoshirō, the master of theEngetsu ("Full Moon Cut") sword style, was a wandering "lone wolf" warrior plagued by the fact that he was fathered in less than honorable circumstance by a "fallen" Portuguesepriest who had turned to worshippingSatan and a Japanese noblewoman whom the "fallen" priest had seduced and raped as part of aBlack Mass and who had committed suicide after Kyōshirō was born. As a result, Kyōshirō despised both Christianity (which he considered weak and hypocritical) and the shogunal government (which he considered corrupt).

A substantial number of films have been made about Miyamoto Musashi, a famed historical warrior and swordsman, most notably athree-movie series (1954-1956) starringToshiro Mifune and a six-movie series (1961-1965 and 1971) starringKinnosuke Nakamura, both based on the novelMusashi byEiji Yoshikawa.

Lone Wolf and Cub, the tale of a samurai traveling Japan with his son in a woodenpram (which is armed and on occasion used in combat) was made most notably into a six-film series (1972-1974) starringTomisaburo Wakayama as Ogami Itto, alive action television series (1973-1976) starringKinnosuke Yorozuya (formerly Kinnosuke Nakamura) as Ogami Ittō, a1993 film withMasakazu Tamura as Ogami Ittō and a 2002-2004 television series starringKin'ya Kitaōji as Ogami Ittō.

Sanjuro, played by Toshiro Mifune, is the wandering rōnin character who acts as a yojimbo (bodyguard) in two of Kurosawa's films,Yojimbo andSanjuro. In both films, 三十郎 Sanjuro (a proper given name but which can also be interpreted as meaning "thirty-years-old") makes up a different surname (桑畑 Kuwabatake which means "mulberry field", and 椿 Tsubaki which means "camellia"), thus leading some to label the character as a "rōnin with no name", in reference to theMan with No Name character who was directly inspired byYojimbo and portrayed by Clint Eastwood inSergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy" ofSpaghetti Western films.

Mifune later played analogous roles in two films released in 1970, theZatoichi filmZatoichi Meets Yojimbo (as 佐々大作 Sasa Daisaku), andIncident at Blood Pass (as 鎬刀三郎 Shinogi Tōzaburō = "ridges on a sword" Tozaburo), the two 1972-1974 TV seriesRonin of the Wilderness andYojimbo of the Wilderness (as 峠九十郎 Tōge Kujūrō = "Mountain pass" Kujuro), the 1975 TV seriesThe Sword, the Wind, and the Lullaby (as 砦十三郎 Toride Jūzaburō = "Fortress" Juzaburo), the 1976 TV seriesRonin in a Lawless Town (as ミスターの旦那 Misutā no Danna = "Mister customer"), the 1981 TV movie seriesThe Lowly Ronin (as 春夏秋冬 Shunka Shūtō = "Spring-Summer Autumn-Winter"), and the 1983 TV movieThe Secret of Cruel Valley (as 素浪人 Surōnin = "Lowly rōnin").

"Bored Hatamoto" Saotome Mondonosuke (also known in English as "The Idle Vassal" and "The Crescent-Scarred Samurai") was ahatamoto or direct vassal ofShogun Tsunayoshi, whose 'crescent-scar' on his forehead signifies his right to kill in the name of the shogun and rid Japan of corruption and evil. Saotome craves action to fight the boredom he feels when not pitting his sword skill against those who would corrupt Japan. The character was famously played byUtaemon Ichikawa on film 30 times from 1930 to 1963 and in a 25 episode TV series from 1973 to 1974, by Takeo Nakamura in a TV series from 1959 to 1960, byHideki Takahashi in a TV series from 1970 to 1971, byMikijiro Hira in a 1983 TV movie, and byKin'ya Kitaōji (Ichikawa's son, who also appeared with his father in some of the films) in 9 made-for-TV movies from 1988 to 1994 and in a 10 episode TV series in 2001.

Tange Samanosuke, aSōma clan samurai, is attacked and mutilated as a result of betrayal, losing his right eye and right arm, and becomes a nihilistic rōnin, using the pseudonym "Sazen". He has been played in numerous films byDenjirō Ōkōchi,Tsumasaburō Bandō,Ryūtarō Ōtomo,Ryūnosuke Tsukigata,Kinnosuke Nakamura, andTetsurō Tanba

Himura Kenshin is the protagonist of theRurouni Kenshinmanga series created byNobuhiro Watsuki. Kenshin is a former legendary assassin known as "Hitokiri Battōsai"^{[note 1]}. Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need, as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin. InTokyo, he meets a young woman namedKamiya Kaoru, who invites him to live in her dojo despite learning about Kenshin's past. Throughout the series, Kenshin begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people, including ex-enemies, while dealing with his fair share of enemies, new and old. The character is portrayed by actorTakeru Satoh in five live-action films adapting the story, such asRurouni Kenshin,Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Taika-hen andRurouni Kenshin: Densetsu no Saigo-hen directed by Keishi Ōtomo.

A samurai film must include samurai warriors, sword fighting and historical setting. Samurai warriors, in film, are differentiated from other warriors by the code of honor, followed to honor the samurai's leader. A samurai must be skilled in warfare and martial arts and ready to defend his honor, even to his death. If not able to defend his honor, a samurai may choose to commit self-disembowelment (seppuku), in order to save reputation or "face". Instead, a samurai may exact vengeance in a case of the loss of someone the samurai cared about, such as occurs in the filmHarakiri. In it, Hanshiro Tsugumo takes revenge on the house of Kageyu Saito for the loss of his adopted son-in-law, who was forced to commit suicide by the house of Kageyu Saito. The house of Kageyu Saito refused to give the son-in-law money. Because he had asked to commit suicide he was forced to perform self-disembowelment, with a remarkable twist not revealed in this discussion. Hanshiro knows an example was unrightfully made of his son-in-law in order to discourage the asking by impoverished samurai for donations from the house of Kageyu. In film, motivation may vary but the samurai's behavior is to maintain honor even in death and is perpetuated by the code of bushido.

Also, looking at the historical setting of the film the audience can take cultural context^[10] of the samurai in that certain period. For instance, theSengoku period (1478–1603) saw Japan torn by civil war as daimyō warlords fought for control of land. In theTokugawa period (1603–1868), peace from civil war meant there were no wars for the samurai to fight and some samurai became rōnin, masterless warriors left to struggle to survive. In theMeiji period (1868–1912), we see a decline of the hereditary existence of the samurai and the rise of westernization. In this period the ideal of the samurai and the code of bushido are popularized into the military warrior's belief. The time frame meant changes in the sorts of conflicts for the samurai to fight and film would capture their resistance against overwhelming odds.

A recurring conflict the ideal samurai encounters is theninjō andgiri conflict.^[11]Ninjō is the human feeling that tells you what is right and giri is the obligation of the samurai to his lord and clan. The conflict originated from overwhelming control of theTokugawa bakufu government over the samurai's behavior. Often samurai would question the morality of their actions and are torn between duty and conscience. This conflict transcends eras in samurai films and can create the perception of the protagonist as being the moral underdog or steadfast warrior. InThe Last Samurai, Katsumoto is no longer of use to his emperor and sentenced to self-disembowelment. He goes against his duty to follow through with his sentence and flees to fight his final rebellion against the central government's army. Ninjo and giri conflict is dynamic to the character of the samurai.

The samurai warrior is often synonymous with their sword. Although swordsmanship is an important aspect of warfare, idealizing the samurai and the sword as having a bond is an invented ideal,^{[citation needed]} although it is popularized in many dramas. TheTokugawa period saw a change in the type of warfare, as combat shifted from the bow and arrow to close range combat with handheld weapons, and competitive sword competition.

There are a number of themes that occur in samurai film plots. Many feature roaming masterless samurai, seeking work or a place in society. Others are period historical tales of true characters. Others show tales of clan loyalty.^[6]

Initially early samurai films were influenced by the still growingWestern film genre before and duringWorld War II. Since then both genres have had a healthy impact on one another.^[12] Two forefathers of the genre,Akira Kurosawa andMasaki Kobayashi, were influenced by American film directors such asJohn Ford.^[13][14][15]

A number of western movies have re-told the samurai movie in a Western context, particularlySpaghetti Westerns. Italian directorSergio Leone'sA Fistful of Dollars and Walter Hill'sLast Man Standing are both remakes ofYojimbo.Clint Eastwood'sMan with No Name character was modeled to some degree on Mifune's wandering rōnin character that appeared in so many of his films.The Hidden Fortress influenced George Lucas when he madeStar Wars.Seven Samurai has been remade as aWestern and ascience fiction context film,The Magnificent Seven andBattle Beyond the Stars. Other samurai influenced western movies includeCharles Bronson and Toshirō Mifune inRed Sun (1971), David Mamet'sRonin (withJean Reno andRobert De Niro),Six-String Samurai (1998) andGhost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999).^[16]

Seven Samurai was highly influential, often seen as one of the most "remade, reworked, referenced" films in cinema.^[17] It made the "assembling the team" trope popular in movies and other media; this has since become a common trope in manyaction movies andheist films.^[18] The visuals, plot and dialogue ofSeven Samurai have inspired a wide range of filmmakers, ranging fromGeorge Lucas toQuentin Tarantino. Elements fromSeven Samurai have been borrowed by many films, with examples including plot elements in films such asThree Amigos (1986) byJohn Landis, visual elements in large-scale battle scenes of films such asThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) andThe Matrix Revolutions (2003), and borrowed scenes inGeorge Miller'sMad Max: Fury Road (2015).^[19]

The Zatoichi character was re-made asBlind Fury in the United States, starringRutger Hauer as a blind swordsman living in the modern US. Most recently,The Last Samurai (2003), the story being loosely based on the true historical French officerJules Brunet assisting Japanese samurai in rebellion against the Emperor.

Earlywu xia weaponmartial arts films fromHong Kong action cinema were inspired by Japanese samurai films from the 1940s onwards. By the early 1970s, thesewu xia films had evolved into hand-to-handkung fu films, popularized byBruce Lee. In turn, kung fu films from Hong Kong became popular and influential in Japan from the 1970s onwards.^[20]

• Sonny Chiba
• Chiyonosuke Azuma
• Ryunosuke Tsukigata
• Raizo Ichikawa
• Shintaro Katsu
• Tomisaburō Wakayama
• Hiroki Matsukata
• Toshirō Mifune
• Tatsuya Nakadai
• Kinnosuke Nakamura
• Denjiro Okochi
• Ryutaro Otomo
• Hiroyuki Sanada
• Tetsuro Tamba
• Tomisaburo Wakayama
• Ken Watanabe
• Masakazu Tamura
• Tsumasaburo Bando
• Utaemon Ichikawa

• Kinji Fukasaku
• Hideo Gosha
• Daisuke Ito
• Kon Ichikawa
• Hiroshi Inagaki
• Masaki Kobayashi
• Akira Kurosawa
• Kenji Misumi
• Kihachi Okamoto
• Kaneto Shindo
• Masahiro Shinoda
• Takeshi Kitano
• Yoji Yamada
• Sadao Yamanaka
• Tokuzō Tanaka
• Kazuo Ikehiro
• Kimiyoshi Yasuda
• Kazuo Mori
• Sadao Nakajima

• Silver, Alain (2004).The Samurai Film. New York: Overlook Press.ISBN 1-58567-596-2.
• White, Allen (22 December 2015)."A Man, a Blade, an Empty Road". UncleanArts. Retrieved2016-01-11.
• Galloway, Patrick (2005).Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook. Berkeley: Stone Bridge P.
• Galloway, Patrick (2009).Warring Clans, Flashing Blades: A Samurai Film Companion. Berkeley: Stone Bridge P.
• Hobshawn, Eric (1992).The Invention of Tradition. New York: Cambridge UP.

• Jidaigeki Renaissance Project
• Toei Kyoto Studio Park
• Gerow, Aaron, ed. (2012)."The Sword and The Screen: The Japanese Period Film 1915-1960".Film Series Commentaries. Yale University Council on East Asian Studies. Program for ajidaigeki film series sponsored by the Yale CEAS and theNational Film Archive of Japan.

• Film genres
• Samurai films
• Samurai in anime and manga

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