The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail

The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Produced by Motohiko Itō
Written by Akira Kurosawa
Starring Takashi Shimura
Susumu Fujita
Denjirō Ōkōchi
Iwai Hanshirō X
Music by Tadashi Hattori
Production
company
Distributed by Toho Company Ltd.
Release dates
  • April 24, 1952 (1952-04-24)
Running time
59 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese

The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (虎の尾を踏む男達 Tora no O o Fumu Otokotachi, aka They Who Step on the Tiger's Tail) is a 1945 Japanese period drama film, written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is based on the kabuki play Kanjinchō, which is in turn based on the Noh play Ataka.

The film was initially banned by the occupying Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) due to its portrayal of feudal values. It was later released after the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952.[1]

Plot

In 1185, the Heike family fights against the Minamoto family. After a bloody naval battle in the Pacific Ocean, Yoshitsune Minamoto defeats the enemy and the survivors commit suicide. When the triumphant Yoshitsune arrives in Kyoto, his brother, the Shogun Yoritomo, is uneasy and orders his men to arrest Yoshitsune. However, Yoshitsune escapes with six loyal samurai led by Benkei and they head to the country of his only friend Hidehira Fujiwara. Near the border, after crossing the forest disguised as monks, their porter discovers that they are Yoshitsune and the six samurais and advises that the fearful Kajiwara and his soldiers are waiting for them at the border to arrest them. Yoshitsune disguises as a porter and at the barrier, Benkei has to convince Kajiwara that they are six monks traveling to collect donations to repair the Todai temple in Nara.

Cast

Susumu Fujita as Togashi, commander of the border guards
Kenichi Enomoto as porter

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.