Kagemusha (Japan 1980) is a film by Akira Kurosawa set in the sengoku jidai (Era of Warring States) period of Japan. In the middle part of the 16th century the shogunate finally crumbled after several decades of underlying tension (although a Shogun - the title of the supreme military ruler - would still exist for most of this period, he was without any real military power). This basically produced a free-for-all grab for power that would not be resolved until the end of the century. It was a time so raucous that many clans would be wiped off the face of the earth forever.

The key symbol of power was control of Kyoto, the capital and the seat of the emperor (the emperor’s authority was more as a pope’s than a king’s, his blessing was required to be named Shogun). Control of the capital was extremely difficult, though, because the warlords across the country were in a virtual stalemate with no one person able to break out to claim it. The only two ways a warlord could expand his power was either by direct conquest of his surrounding domains or by reaching an alliance with them. The film picks up in 1573 with Takeda Shingen breaking this 3-way alliance:

Takeda Shingen – “The tiger of Kai”
Oda Nobunaga – The first great unifier of Japan
Tokugawa Ieyasu – The eventual Shogun (James Clavell’s book “Shogun” is based upon his final rise to power in 1600)



The fate of the Takeda clan is the main focus of this film. Although Shingen never reached absolute power he is still highly regarded in Japanese history. His greatest strengths were his famed cavalry and the ability to inspire a high degree of loyalty in his men. Seeing an opportunity, he decided to break off his alliance with the Oda and Tokugawa clans (there was a lot of switching sides in the sengoku era) and made a successful raid on Tokugawa lands (Ieyasu’s worst defeat ever, barely escaping alive). But it was Shingen’s use of kagemusha (impersonators) that fascinated Kurosawa and he used this to create a fictional story of the life of a Shingen double.



The final battle scene is a re-creation of the Battle of Nagashino, one of the most famous in Japanese history. Rightly fearing the Takeda cavalry, Nobunaga knew he must come up with a way to tip the scales in his favor. His idea was the use of firearms from behind wooden palisades, which had not been done before in Japanese history and soon became the standard deployment of firearms by all warlords.


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Production Notes:

By 1980, Kurosawa had fallen out of favor as a filmmaker (i.e. out of funding) and had not made a film in years. Fearing "Kagemusha" would never be filmed, he storyboarded the film in watercolor paintings, visualizing the characters, scenes and costumes. But when he went to America for funding, directors George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola interceded on his behalf (the studio dare not refuse these cash cows) and financing was finally secured. Coppola to this day speaks very lovingly of the watercolors Kurosawa gave to him in gratitude.


The depictions in the film of both Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu are historically accurate in both appearance and personality. Oda was a fireball, a raging genius. The scene of his recitation of the song of Atsumori was a well known trait of his. Tokugawa was a pillar of mental strength, patient and crafty, waiting his turn to seize power.

The overall framing for the story uses historical facts and much attention was paid to accuracy in the recreation of the battle of Nagashino. This is not the only film on Shingen, he was a favorite of movie makers for his storied (and ruthless) life. To read more about him, check out this bio.

The use of kagemusha, or doubles, is done to this day. Saddam Hussein had many doubles as have many evil dictators over the years who feared assassination.
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Recap:

"Kagemusha" is a film about identity and the strings of power. The double eventually is consumed by his portrayal of the great warlord and as it inevitably begins to unravel, we see the true loyalty of the retainers as it had been all along: to power itself. Kurosawa's statement on the god of power during this time reveals a human condition that continues into our own times, as we worship both war and money. He gives no happy ending to such a state as no happy ending is possible. We share the ride on the wave of turmoil of the sengoku jidai, like the kagemusha we are outsiders, hopeless spectators observing a tragic spectacle. As so often happens, it is the lowest among us who see the truth.

 

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