Scene Analysis - Seven Samurai - Duel Between Kyuzo and Unknown

I will be doing my scene analysis on the dual between Kyuzo and the anonymous samurai. This scene introduces Kyuzo as a samurai who will join the others in defending the village against the bandits and it also highlights the skill and finesse Kyuzo has with the sword. I picked this scene because Kyuzo was by far my favorite character in Seven Samurai and because the difference in swordsmanship between Kyuzo and the anonymous really shows during the dual, which will begin to solidify Kyuzo’s role as arguably the most skilled samurai among the bunch. 

The scene starts with Kanbe and Katsushiro arriving to a wall that has been broken. A sizeable crowd has formed. Kyuzo and the unknown samurai are breaking off the branches of the bamboo to make makeshift Bokken, or wooden swords, as indicated by the screenshot up above. One thing the viewer should note is that Kurosawa employs sort of a character dolly on Kanbe and Katsushiro, except it’s the two that walk towards the camera.

 This then turns into a shot of contract dolly and a mesh of spin and depth as Kyuzo and the unknown samurai get ready to battle. The unknown samurai walks away from Kyuzo towards the camera, whilst looking at his opponent and Kyuzo moves to his right, our left, out of frame.

This scene transitions into the unknown samurai moving left, stopping, and holding a stance. Kyuzo matches this movement but stops on the right side. The long shot that appears before us has the two swordsmen at medium to lower centering and the crowd with Kanbe and Katsushiro in the back, more center. It’s interesting to note that Kurosawa’s long shot will include much more than the pivotal characters and props in his scenes. For example, this long shot adds in the roofs and wall that is located behind the crowd.

The few shots that follow the long shot are of Kanbe and Katsushiro, character dolly into the camera and as the two go from Kyuzo and the unknown samurai, switches back and forth from the three entities: Kyuzo, Kanbe and Katsushiro, and the unknown samurai, as shown above. There is significant amount of time focused on these three entities, especially towards the way Kyuzo and the unknown samurai hold/switch stances to begin their dual.

The long take really makes the audience hold their breath as the tension rises between the two and the anticipation is built up even more as there is a series of quick repositions from the unknown samurai yelling out and stepping forward trying to intimidate Kyuzo, and Kanbe with Katsushiro looking from the unknown samurai to Kyuzo rapidly as the battle is about to unfold. The following scene, the dual, has the unknown samurai run to the right, with the camera following and striking at Kyuzo, who retaliates.

Then we see a sort of over the shoulder shot as we have Kyuzo’s back to the audience and the viewers can see the unknown samurai’s facial expression. The two disengage and the unknown samurai remarks about how the dual was a draw, in which Kyuzo retorts that he had won, this attitude that Kyuzo has is highlighted as he turns his face and walks away from the unknown samurai, the camera follows along the shot and turns back to the unknown samurai, who’s facial expression spells out his growing frustration with Kyuzo.

The next scene is similar to the earlier mesh between contract dolly and spin shot as the camera starts off moving left, following Kyuzo’s face, then expands to where the unknown samurai has his back to us. Kyuzo is walking away and stops short to turn halfway to tell the unknown samurai that he would have been dead if the swords they were using were of steel. The unknown samurai angrily throws down his Bokken and follows Kyuzo, a sort of expanding dolly shot. The next shot, where the unknown samurai challenges Kyuzo to a match to the death, the camera begins centered on Kyuzo and the unknown samurai. As Kyuzo walks away from the unknown samurai, he chases Kyuzo and effectively blocks his path. The camera follows left and ends up centering the crowd with Kyuzo and the unknown samurai on either side. Both crowd and duelists are at the medium but the roofs and wall that were mentioned before are still part of the shot.

 

 

As both swordsmen draw their swords, you can see the crowd run back in, what must be, fear minus Kanbe and Katsushiro who remain in their places. The unknown samurai starts circling Kyuzo, moving to his right so that his back is to the camera. Kyuzo answers by moving to his left and from here we can see Kyuzo is facing the unknown samurai. As Kyuzo approaches his opponent, his adversary steps a few steps back and holds his sword up, belting out a war cry. The camera follows him to the right. What follows is another long shot, except this time there is an emphasis on the expression and input of Kanbe who remarks how the battle is already decided. The camera pans out to Kyuzo and the unknown samurai holding a similar long shot of opposition except Kyuzo is on the left now. It should also be noted that the house or shack that the two samurai had dropped their swords at before the Bokken fight is in this shot as well, which effectively places the crowd more to the left,  not centered. The unknown samurai then charges Kyuzo who swiftly ends his life with a right diagonal slice; the unknown samurai drops in slow-motion. The scene ends with a close-up shot of Katsushiro with what appears to be slightly misty-eyed. 

I’d like to talk about the sheer difference in swordsmanship between the two duelists. Kyuzo is arguably the most skilled and finesse samurai of the seven who defend the village and his introduction scene really demonstrates the kind of samurai he is. From the beginning dialogue between the two you can get a sense that Kyuzo is reserved and his challenger is rash in the way he talks. The unknown samurai’s clothes gives off the view that he is not from money and although that is not an indication of his skill as a samurai, it should be noted that he almost seems dirty whereas Kyuzo seems very kept.

 In this snap shot take note of how the unknown samurai is holding his Bokken. His right hand completely envelopes the makeshift sword; he holds it in a fist-like way. This is the incorrect way of holding a sword. But one should note that he is giving weight onto his forward foot, which is the correct way of standing when battling; you can also see the weight distribution as he slides his right foot forward ever so slightly.

In this snap shot the viewer can see that Kyuzo is holding his sword correctly; the main indication is his right hand. His pointer finger is slightly ahead of the rest of his fingers, effectively balancing his grip. If one holds the sword like the unknown samurai does, they are trying to go for power. Holding the sword the way Kyuzo is holding it is the correct way because the wrists of both left and right hand are supposed to be doing most of the work. You’re supposed to hold the sword like a golf club. Although one cannot really see from the snap shot, I assume that Kyuzo is distributing the weight of his grip to his pinkies of both hands. Again, you can see that Kyuzo is emphasizing weight on his forward leg, which is the correct way. 

In this snap shot, the unknown samurai holds a Migi Jodan Gamae stance, meaning upper-level stance with emphasis on the left foot, except the sword is angled slightly farther back. This stance is an aggressive attack posture and is seen as his hands are above his head, left foot is forward, elbows are rotated out, and his feet are shoulder width apart. Although you cannot tell from the snap shot it does not look like he is balancing his stance on his toes, which gives way to the impression that he won’t be able to dodge an attack quickly enough. His whole stance is about power as the grip of his Bokken shows.

In this snapshot, Kyuzo has transitioned into a Waki-Gamae stance which means hidden guard stance. The purpose of this stance is to hide the length of your sword behind you so that the opponent is caught off guard. From this snapshot you can clearly see that Kyuzo is on his toes which indicate that he can dodge and respond by defending or attacking. Again, take note of the way he grips his sword, now his left pointer finger is slightly stretched, balancing his grip. Kyuzo’s correct posture and grip of his sword is an indication of his expertise.

An interesting thing that I found in this snapshot, where the challenger and Kyuzo both draw their actual swords to fight, is that Kyuzo is standing near what seems to be a graveyard. Although I cannot confirm what the rocks actually mean, it’s almost uncanny how the master swordsman, who has arguably seen many battles and has killed many, is standing near the graveyard, while the unknown samurai, who is brash and is of no match to Kyuzo is not standing near the stones. To me, it’s an indication of what is to come and how dangerous of a samurai Kyuzo actually is.

The death of the unknown swordsman really speaks volumes to me. First, Kyuzo never blinks during the brief exchange between the two samurai. Also, from his Waki-Gamae stance the next best move, arguably, should have been a upward diagonal slice from his right to the left, instead he has enough time to strike diagonally strike downward right to left instead. This to me, shows how much more skilled Kyuzo is as a samurai. Again, there are only a few things that the unknown samurai did throughout his battle with Kyuzo that indicates that he was lesser in skill and expertise. He was angry with Kyuzo's attitude, always challenging him; it was almost sad to watch the nameless samurai dig himself further into a hole which resulted in his death. His grip of the sword alongside his power stance really showed his lack of knowledge of fighting. Kyuzo on the other hand balanced his grip effectively and kept to his toes. His Waki-Gamae stance, although not an indication of higher knowledge of swordsmanship alone, should be noted with his deviation from an easy transition from that stance into a right to left upward diagonal cut, to his actual slice which was the downward right to left slice.