HarakiriHonor is more than upholding an arbitrary code--it is doing what is right and good in spite of the dangers and the criticism of others. Harakiri is a Japanese period piece set in the early 17th century and at the dawning of the Edo period of Japan. Swarms of samurai have become rōnin (masterless) following the advent of the Tokugawa shogunate, and are fundamentally turned into paupers. This includes Hanshirō Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai), who comes to the estate of the Iyi clan in the middle of May in 1630 to perform harakiri (ritual disembowelment, also known as seppuku) and restore his honor as a samurai.
|
|
An awareness of the setting of Harakiri is important in comprehending why Hanshirō would come to the Iyi clan with the intention to kill himself. Even audiences unacquainted with medieval Japanese culture will have some inkling of what the act entails and its purpose: for a samurai to regain honor in a final moment of sacrifice. Yet harakiri is often associated with reversing some prior dishonor, resulting from some terrible offense or criminal act; in Hanshirō's case, neither apply. As with many before him, the Age of Warring States (or Sengoku period) in Japanese history--somewhat equivalent to the Civil War--made the samurai an indispensable part of the Japanese military. The Sengoku period would eventually give way to the Edo period, which involved consolidation of centralized power and a focus on "no more wars". While this sounds ideal, the heretofore honored samurai suddenly became far less significant to this new world order, and the massive downsizing left this specialized social caste ill-equipped to survive. The heroes of yesterday became pariahs, leaving once lauded warriors like Hanshirō feeling worse than useless. Shortly after Hanshirō arrives at the Iyi clan's stronghold, he is met by the clan's leading counselor, Kageyu Saitō (Rentarō Mikuni), who tells him a story about the last rōnin who visited under the auspices of committing harakiri, a young man named Motome Chijiiwa (Akira Ishihama). Saitō is aware of a story that has spread about a rōnin who showed up at another clan and pledged to commit harakiri, only to be taken in by that clan as a retainer instead. This rumored precedent has left clans like his in a position of either accepting the masterless samurai into their fold or giving them money to leave instead. The story that Saitō tells Hanshirō is intended to deter him from trying to pull the same farce, but Saitō is assuming that Hanshirō must be a crook, simply on the basis of this rumor. Even after Saitō tells the story, Hanshirō insists that his motivations are to reclaim his honor; Saitō remains cynical and suspicious of the rōnin all the same. Furthermore, Saitō's story seems tailored to support his claims that Motome arrived determined to defraud the Iyi clan. The accompanying flashback depicts Motome as skittish and riddled with anxiety, carrying himself with a dubious attitude befitting a crook. Rather than allow Motome to back out of his ritual suicide, Saitō decides to make an example out of the terrified samurai, forcing him to kill himself with the woefully inappropriate bamboo swords he brought in lieu of a sharp blade. As the horrible scene unfolds, the stern and skilled swordsman Hikokuro Omodaka (Tetsurō Tamba) acts as his "second", yet refrains from bringing down his katana to finish the job until the moment of supreme agony for Motome. For all the audience knows by this point, Saitō's story might be a total fabrication, offered up solely to abstain from paying off the rōnin he presumes are all out to exploit his clan.
After Saitō's testimony, Hanshirō asks if the details from the story were absolutely true. Saitō claims that they were, which leads to Hanshirō sharing his own story about how he previously knew Motome. Yet when Saitō earlier asked Hanshirō if he knew Motome, the samurai claimed that he did not. What made Hanshirō change his reply? He claims that he wanted to know the circumstances that led to Motome's death from the Iyi clan directly, and continues to describe how Motome became like an adopted son to him, and subsequently became the husband of his daughter, Miho (Shima Iwashita). Hanshirō's story elaborates on how horrible life had become for them under the now dominant Tokugawa shogunate, which dissolved their clan and compelled his lord to commit harakiri out of shame. Hanshirō tells this story in turn to shame Saitō, the Iyi clan, and all those involved in the tragic way Motome lost his life, by calling out their definition of honor as nothing but a facade. Yet despite Hanshirō's sorrowful tale, there is a lingering doubt that his story could also be a fabrication, and the telling of it forces the audience to consider how much of Saitō's story was true. At one point, Hanshirō delivers a quote to Saitō: "Suspicious minds conjure their own demons". Hanshirō says this to inspire guilt in Saitō for his clan's treatment of Motome, but the quote has added meaning for the audience of Harakiri. Many modern films thrive on upending expectations in the audience, including through an unexpected twist or surprise that forces viewers to reconsider their understanding of the preceding events after a revealing conclusion. With its flashbacks and testimonies filtered through unreliable parties, Harakiri shares stylistic themes with The Usual Suspects. Audiences familiar with the latter may find themselves viewing the former through their own cinematic bias, similar to how Saitō and his clan viewed Motome and (later) Hanshirō. Presenting Saitō's story first is supposed to make the audience suspicious of Hanshirō; but after Hanshirō's story--and by the end of Harakiri--it becomes clear how those presumptions subvert what it means to be truly honorable: to treat others without bias or prejudice and do what is decent for those in need. Despite the Iyi clan occupying a favored position in the Tokugawa shogunate, their behavior reveals them as worse than mere bureaucrats willing to cover up their failings under the guise of "honor"; they are unfeeling despots and tyrants who exploit their authority to dehumanize those who come to them for aid. Their definition of bushido is as hollow as the ceremonial suit of red armor that adorns their halls.
Recommended for: Fans of a samurai movie that meditates on the definition of honor and is deeply rooted in Japanese history. While passing acknowledgments of key battles in the Sengoku era--like the Battle of Sekigahara and the Siege of Osaka--help frame the subsequent tragedy of samurai like Hanshirō, Harakiri does not exclude unfamiliar audiences in doing so, and may even foster viewer interest in this dynamic period in Japanese history afterwards.
After Saitō's testimony, Hanshirō asks if the details from the story were absolutely true. Saitō claims that they were, which leads to Hanshirō sharing his own story about how he previously knew Motome. Yet when Saitō earlier asked Hanshirō if he knew Motome, the samurai claimed that he did not. What made Hanshirō change his reply? He claims that he wanted to know the circumstances that led to Motome's death from the Iyi clan directly, and continues to describe how Motome became like an adopted son to him, and subsequently became the husband of his daughter, Miho (Shima Iwashita). Hanshirō's story elaborates on how horrible life had become for them under the now dominant Tokugawa shogunate, which dissolved their clan and compelled his lord to commit harakiri out of shame. Hanshirō tells this story in turn to shame Saitō, the Iyi clan, and all those involved in the tragic way Motome lost his life, by calling out their definition of honor as nothing but a facade. Yet despite Hanshirō's sorrowful tale, there is a lingering doubt that his story could also be a fabrication, and the telling of it forces the audience to consider how much of Saitō's story was true. At one point, Hanshirō delivers a quote to Saitō: "Suspicious minds conjure their own demons". Hanshirō says this to inspire guilt in Saitō for his clan's treatment of Motome, but the quote has added meaning for the audience of Harakiri. Many modern films thrive on upending expectations in the audience, including through an unexpected twist or surprise that forces viewers to reconsider their understanding of the preceding events after a revealing conclusion. With its flashbacks and testimonies filtered through unreliable parties, Harakiri shares stylistic themes with The Usual Suspects. Audiences familiar with the latter may find themselves viewing the former through their own cinematic bias, similar to how Saitō and his clan viewed Motome and (later) Hanshirō. Presenting Saitō's story first is supposed to make the audience suspicious of Hanshirō; but after Hanshirō's story--and by the end of Harakiri--it becomes clear how those presumptions subvert what it means to be truly honorable: to treat others without bias or prejudice and do what is decent for those in need. Despite the Iyi clan occupying a favored position in the Tokugawa shogunate, their behavior reveals them as worse than mere bureaucrats willing to cover up their failings under the guise of "honor"; they are unfeeling despots and tyrants who exploit their authority to dehumanize those who come to them for aid. Their definition of bushido is as hollow as the ceremonial suit of red armor that adorns their halls.
Recommended for: Fans of a samurai movie that meditates on the definition of honor and is deeply rooted in Japanese history. While passing acknowledgments of key battles in the Sengoku era--like the Battle of Sekigahara and the Siege of Osaka--help frame the subsequent tragedy of samurai like Hanshirō, Harakiri does not exclude unfamiliar audiences in doing so, and may even foster viewer interest in this dynamic period in Japanese history afterwards.