Yojimbo

1961 110 min ★ 8.1 Drama, Thriller

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

▶ Watch Trailer

Cast

Toshirō Mifune

Sanjuro Kuwabatake / The Samurai

Tatsuya Nakadai

Unosuke, gunfighter

Yōko Tsukasa

Nui

Isuzu Yamada

Orin

Daisuke Katō

Inokichi

Seizaburō Kawazu

Seibê - brothel operator

Takashi Shimura

Tokuemon, sake brewer

Hiroshi Tachikawa

Yoichiro

Yōsuke Natsuki

Kohei's Son

Eijirō Tōno

Gonji, Tavern Keeper

Details

Director

Akira Kurosawa

Screenplay

Ryuzo Kikushima

Tagline

"Kill one or a hundred... you only hang once"

Status

Released

Original Language

JA

Production

TOHO

Reviews

A

Andres Gomez

June 16, 2014

★ 8/10

Great movie! Akira Kurosawa is just a master movie maker.

C

CRCulver

June 5, 2018

★ 9/10

Akira Kurosawa's 1961 film YOJIMBO is a Japanese period drama where wily strategy is worth just as much as prowess with a sword. In the late Edo era (some decades before its end in 1868) a community is plagued by two opposing gangs who have built up a criminal empire of prostitution and gambling. Even the local officials are on the take. Into this town steps a nameless samurai (Toshiro Mifune). On...

C

CinemaSerf

August 13, 2023

★ 7/10

I was surprised when I saw this, how late it was set - 19th Century - as I'd always imagined it to be of a more historical nature. That doesn't remotely detract from the story though - as again Kurosawa casts Yoshirô Mifune ("Sanjûrô") in the leading role. Here he is a wandering samurai who arrives in a village torn by strife. His skills are sought by the two opposing headmen and he quite successf...