Akira Kurosawa‘s directorial debut is based on the homonymous novel by Tsuneo Tomita, the son of prominent judoka Tsunejiro Tomita, with the main character drawing from Shiro Saigo, one of the earliest disciples of Judo, a martial art that was originally created by Jigoro Kano. The film revolves around the challenges Sanshiro Sugata faces, both from himself and from opponents, in his effort to prove judo’s superiority over traditional jujitsu techniques. Gennosuke Higaki, the “villain” in the story, is also based on a real-life fighter, Mataemon Tanabe, who is considered one of the greatest modern jujutsuka.
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As usually in my reviews of the classics, I will focus on presenting a contemporary look on the film, as I feel that the writings about such films by people with much more knowledge than me in the particular era have analyzed the film as thoroughly as possible.
On a second note, the Criterion version of the film I watched begins with the following passage:
“This film has been modified from the original version of Akira Kurosawa’s debut film, which opened in 1943, without consulting the director or the production staff. 1,845 feet of footage was cut in 1944 to comply with the government’s wartime entertainment policies.”
The script revolves around the titular character, a capable fighter who seeks a master in order to reach the top level of martial arts. Initially, he throws himself with the local jujitsu school, but after a shaming defeat of its members by Shogoro Yano, who practices Judo, he decides to be his disciple. As a character, though, Sugata is quite immature, frequently throwing himself in street fights, to the growing irritation of his master. Eventually, a severe punishment that leads to an extreme show of dedication by Sugata, changes him, right at the moment when the city is looking to employ one of the local martial arts schools to train their police officers. In the tournament to determine the winner, Sugata has to fight members of the local jujitsu school, headed by Hansuke Murai. As he meets the latter’s daughter though, his challenges take another path, although the physical one from another jujitsu master named Higaki, remains the most dangerous one.
Kurosawa’s (potential for) command of the medium became evident from his debut, and one has only to look at the use of the loose shoe as a medium of the time passing to understand the fact. Apart from this, Kurosawa unfolded the narrative much like a silent film, including the text on black screen explaining what is happening and particularly the passing of time, while the dialogue is scarce throughout the film.
The buildup of the heroes and the villains is also excellent, with Yano presented as someone majestic, apart from an excellent fighter, while his jujitsu opponents are depicted almost as lowlifes, as they hang together talking about revenge and eventually failing miserable to admonish it. Eventually, however, Kurosawa makes a point of highlighting the fact that people are not all good or all evil, as we watch Sugata’s misbehavior and his subsequent 180 degrees turn, and the “nobility” Murai emits, even in his defeat.
Love and its consequences is another central theme, with Sayo acting as the medium for the rivalry between Sugata and Higaki, as much as Sugata’s reluctance to fight her father. The conclusion of both fights, though, seems to signify that honor and manhood are above all.
Kurosawa focuses much on the analysis of the central character, highlighting the fact that discipline, respect, and proper guidance can truly change a man for the better, all values that agreed with the policies of the Japanese authorities of the time. In his effort, he gets the most from Susumu Fujita, who presents his character’s radical transformation quite eloquently. Takashi Shimura is exceptional as always, emitting dignity and sense of measure from every line and every movement, as Murai. The one who steals the show, however, is Ryunosuke Tsukigata as Higaki, whose presence is the main source of drama in the film, as he presents one of the most interesting villains in the whole of Kurosawa’s filmography.
The fight choreography is another of the best assets of the film, even if a bit hyperbolic at times. The focus in these sequences seems to be on the rhythm, with the fights, particularly the ones in the tournaments looking much like a dance, in contrast to the outdoor ones, which are more violent and brutal. Akira Mimura’s cinematography captures all the aforementioned in very entertaining fashion, while the sense of rhythm that permeates the film is implemented excellently by Toshio Goto and Kurusawa’s editing.
The extreme censorship of the war-time Japanese movie industry did not allow Kurosawa to communicate the comments he did in his later films, but “Sanshiro Sugata” remains a very entertaining movie and clear testament to what was about to follow.