* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Samurai Fiction
SF サムライ・フィクション
A 1998 period film directed by Nakano Hiroyuki, who came from music video production. Hotei Tomoyasu composed the score and played the swordsman Kazamatsuri Rannosuke. It follows a domain thrown into turmoil after a treasured sword bestowed by the shogun is stolen.
Description
Overview
Samurai Fiction is a Japanese period film released on August 8, 1998, with a running time of 111 minutes. It was directed by Nakano Hiroyuki, known for his music video work, from a screenplay by Saito Hiroshi.
Plot
Kazamatsuri Rannosuke, a swordsman hired to guard a treasured sword bestowed on the domain by the shogun, steals the sword and disappears. If the theft became public, the domain would face confiscation. The senior retainers try to settle the matter quietly, but the young samurai Inukai Heishiro, newly returned from Edo, refuses to accept this and goes after Rannosuke.
Cast
Fukikoshi Mitsuru plays Inukai Heishiro, Hotei Tomoyasu plays Kazamatsuri Rannosuke, Kazama Morio plays Mizoguchi Hanbei and Ogawa Tamaki plays Mizoguchi Koharu.
Music and Recognition
Hotei Tomoyasu composed the score and performed the theme song "SAVE ME". The music won the Best Film Music award at the 32nd Sitges-Catalonia International Film Festival, and Nakano Hiroyuki received the Young Director Grand Prize at the 13th Takasaki Film Festival.
The Sword in the Story
The plot turns on a treasured sword bestowed by the shogun. Swords granted by the shogun or daimyo were valued as symbols of the lord-vassal bond and of a house's standing, so losing one could become a scandal that threatened a house or domain. The film uses the weight of such a bestowed sword as the trigger for its period drama.
Real Swords Featured
Hairyo-to (swords bestowed by the shogun or daimyo)
Swords granted to retainers by the shogun or a daimyo, valued as symbols of the lord-vassal bond and a house's standing. They form the background to the stolen-sword affair in the film
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This page is intended to introduce Japanese sword culture and is not affiliated with any of the works mentioned.