Honno-ji in Flames / 敵は本能寺にあり / Teki wa Honnoji ni ari (‘The Enemy is at Honno-ji’, 1960)

Obscure Japanese Film #42

Hakuo Matsumoto

 

The presence of Chikage Awashima and Keiko Kishi among the cast of this jidaigeki (period drama) made me think it might be a cut above the average, and so it is – at least to some extent…

Takahiro Tamura

 

The late 16^th-century: Akechi Mitsuhide (Hakuo Matsumoto) is a daimyo and military commander continually bullied into doing things he doesn’t want to by his lord, Oda Nobunaga (Takahiro Tamura). Not only has he been forced to break his word to two brothers fighting on the opposing side that he would spare their lives if they surrendered, but he’s also been manipulated into agreeing to a marriage for his daughter, Tama (Keiko Kishi), against her wishes, and there seems to be no respite from the unreasonable demands. Notions of feudal fealty dictate that Mitsuhide go along with all this without complaint – it’s a classic example of the conflict in Japanese drama between giri (obligation) and ninjo (inclination). One day, Mitsuhide raises his voice in objection to a command from his lord and Nobunaga beats him over the head in front of his peers, leaving a permanent scar. This proves to be one humiliation too far for Mitsuhide, and the worm finally turns…

Keiko Kishi

 

The basic premise is not dissimilar to that of the later Samurai Rebellion (1967), although kabuki actor Hakuo Matsumoto (1910-82) does not quite have  the charisma of Toshiro Mifune (who does?) and receives few opportunities to show what he can do with a sword as this is no chanbara. However, the few short battle scenes are well-staged and Matsumoto certainly looks the part. As an actor, he was apparently keen to push the boundaries and even played Othello on stage the same year. [1]

Chikage Awashima

 

Honno-ji in Flames is quite a lavish Shochiku production directed by veteran Tatsuo Osone (1904-63), who also made the previously-reviewed contemporary crime thriller, Kao, but was more in his element here. This is a well-made film with good camerawork courtesy of Osone’s frequent collaborator Hideo Ishimoto and a decent if unremarkable score by Mitsuo Kato. The screenplay is an original work co-written by the historical novelist Shotaro Ikenami (1923-1990), author of the books on which the Hideo Gosha films Kumokiri Nizaemon (1978) and Hunter in the Dark (1979) were based. In this case, he used the true story of Akechi Mitsuhide and filled in the gaps (Mitsuhide did indeed rebel against his lord, Oda Nobunaga, at Honno-ji temple in Kyoto in 1582). 

Michiko Saga and Takahiro Tamura

 

What the film lacks is characters of more than one dimension – a shame, as a bit more depth in this department might have made it a classic. It does, however, have a downbeat ending I found highly effective and some nice touches, such as the scene in which Nobunaga’s wife (Michiko Saga from The Mad Fox) actively participates in a battle by supplying arrows to her husband instead of running away to hide as the women so often do in these films. Overall, it’s an impressive effort well worth a look for fans of this genre.

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[1] Confusingly, Hakuo Matsumoto was also known as Koshiro Matsumoto VIII, and the filmography for ‘Koshiro Matsumoto’ on IMDb contains entries not only for him, but for his son, Koshiro Matsumoto IX (1942-) and grandson, Koshiro Matsumoto X (1973-), while there’s also a separate page for ‘Hakuo Matsumoto.’

Patience Has an End / ごろつき無宿 / Gorotsuki mushuku (‘Rogue Wanderer’) 1971

Obscure Japanese Film #41

Ken Takakura and Takashi Shimura

Isamu (Ken Takakura) works in a coal mine in Kyushi with his father (Yoshi Kato), who is fatally injured in a cave-in. On his deathbed, his dad’s last wish is that Isamu quit the mines to escape suffering a similar fate. Soon after, Isamu heads for Tokyo. On the train, he meets Yuki (Etsuko Nami), who is also on her way to begin a new life as a professional volleyball player in the big city (where they will keep running into each other). Once in Tokyo, Isamu finds work at Toei Chemicals, where his first job is to help expand their territory and build a fence which cuts off an important access route for the local fishermen, one of whom is killed as a result. Isamu soon realises he is basically a hired stooge for a company run by ruthless yakuza, so he quits. However, he has impressed Asakawa (Takashi Shimura), an ex-yakuza gone straight who now runs a street-vending business. Asakawa hires Isamu as a candy floss salesman (!), but he becomes involved in an ongoing conflict between Asakawa’s people and the same yakuza gang associated with Toei Chemicals. Meanwhile, Isamu pursues his dream of graduating from selling candy floss to running a banana stall, as that’s where the real money lies.,,

Etsuko Nami

 

What I like about this Toei production is that, while not quite an out-and-out comedy, it has a real sense of its own absurdity and provides quite a few laughs along the way. For example, there’s a scene in which Takakura pokes fun at his own famously unsmiling screen persona; his vain efforts to practise smiling in the hope it will help increase his sales are hilarious. He also spends a great deal of time struggling to learn a sales pitch filled with innuendos about bananas. Toshiaki Minami and Haruo Tanaka are amusing too as fellow vendors – the latter’s face when forcing himself to eat Isamu’s mother’s inedible home-made mochi being especially priceless. 

Takakura trying to smile

 

Yoko Hayama and Haruo Tanaka

Toshiaki Minami far right

After the mainly comic middle section, the film turns into a straight yakuza film for the well-staged and bloody climax in which Isamu finally loses his patience and goes after the bad guys with a samurai sword. The main villains are played by yakuza movie regulars Fumio Watanabe and Akira Shioji rounding out a strong cast. While Kurosawa favourite Takashi Shimura’s role is nothing special, it’s always great to see this actor and he even gets to kick some butt himself at one point.

Fumio Watanabe and Akira Shioji

Patience Has an End is not a film to be taken very seriously, but it’s fast-moving and entertaining all the way, with a strong music score courtesy of Takeo Watanabe, who seems under the influence of Ennio Morricone’s spaghetti westerns in his use of trumpets. Director Yasuo Furuhata (1934-2019) is not well-known abroad, but he enjoyed a long-lasting association with star Ken Takakura and enjoyed a very successful career in Japan. He originally wanted to make more serious films, but at this stage was stuck making yakuza fare for Toei. In later years, he had the opportunity to break away from the genre and scored a big hit with Railroad Man (also starring Takakura), for which he won a number of awards.