Kagemusha - Shadow Warrior is a 1980 film directed by Akira Kurosawa. Set during the Sengoku period in Japanese history, it tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is trained to impersonate the dying daimyo, Takeda Shingen, to deter enemy lords from attacking the vulnerable clan. "Kagemusha" means "shadow warrior" or political decoy in Japanese. The film culminates in the historic 1575 Battle of Nagashino.
Awards and Recognition
The film won the Palme d'Or at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival (tied with *All That Jazz*). It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and received other accolades. In 2009, it was ranked 59th on *Kinema Junpo*'s list of The Greatest Japanese Films of All Time.
Plot Summary
In 1571, during the Sengoku period, Takeda Shingen, the daimyo of the Takeda clan, encounters a thief saved from crucifixion by his brother, Nobukado, due to the thief's striking resemblance to Shingen. The brothers decide the thief could serve as a useful decoy, or "kagemusha." Later, while besieging a castle of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shingen is mortally wounded by a sniper. Before dying, he orders his generals to keep his death secret for three years. His rivals, Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Uesugi Kenshin, remain unaware of his demise and ponder the implications of Shingen's withdrawal from battle.
Nobukado introduces the thief to Shingen's generals, suggesting he impersonate Shingen full-time. Initially unaware of Shingen's death, the thief discovers Shingen's preserved corpse in what he believed was a treasure jar. Distrusting him, the generals release the thief, but when spies witness the jar being discarded in Lake Suwa, they suspect Shingen's death. The thief, overhearing the spies, returns and offers to serve as the kagemusha again. The Takeda clan announces they were making a sake offering to the lake god, and the thief's convincing performance maintains the deception.
The kagemusha successfully mimics Shingen, fooling his retinue and learning about him. During a clan meeting, he follows Nobukado's advice to remain silent until a consensus is reached, then agrees with the generals' plan. Shingen's son, Katsuyori, unhappy with the deception delaying his inheritance, tests the kagemusha but is impressed by his convincing response.
In 1573, Oda Nobunaga advances his campaign in central Honshu. The Tokugawa and Oda forces attack the Takeda, prompting Katsuyori to launch a counter-offensive. The kagemusha leads reinforcements in the Battle of Takatenjin, inspiring victory. However, his overconfidence leads him to ride Shingen's difficult horse, revealing his lack of Shingen's battle scars. Disgraced, he is expelled, and Katsuyori takes over the clan, prompting a full-scale offensive from the Oda and Tokugawa forces.
By 1575, Katsuyori, now leading the Takeda army, faces Nobunaga in Nagashino. The Takeda forces are decimated by Oda arquebusiers. The kagemusha, following the Takeda army, makes a desperate charge towards the Oda lines but is mortally wounded. He attempts to retrieve the fallen fūrinkazan banner from a river but succumbs to his injuries, his body carried away by the current.
See also
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Rurouni Kenshin
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Samurai Spy
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Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
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Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
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The Samurai I Loved (Semishigure)
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