When the Last Sword Is Drawn

When the Last Sword Is Drawn
Theatrical poster for When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2003)
Directed by	Yōjirō Takita[1]
Produced by	Nozomu Enoki Hideji Miyajima
Written by	Jiro Asada (story) Takehiro Nakajima
Starring	Kiichi Nakai Koichi Sato Yui Natsukawa Takehiro Murata
Music by	Joe Hisaishi
Cinematography	Takeshi Hamada
Editing by	Nobuko Tomita
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date(s)	2003
Running time	137 min.
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

When the Last Sword Is Drawn (壬生義士伝, Mibu Gishi Den^?) is a 2003 Japanese movie directed by Yōjirō Takita loosely based on real historical events. When the Last Sword Is Drawn won the Best Film award at the 2004 Japanese Academy Awards, as well as the prizes for Best Actor (Kiichi Nakai) and Best Supporting Actor (Koichi Sato). It received a further eight nominations.^[2]

Synopsis

The film tells the story of two Shinsengumi samurai. One of them is Saitō Hajime (played by Koichi Sato), a heartless killer and the other is Yoshimura Kanichiro (played by Kiichi Nakai), who appears to be a money-grubbing and emotional swordsman from the northern area known as Nambu Morioka. The main storyline is set during the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate, but it is told in a series of flashbacks as two characters reminisce. The themes include conflicting loyalty to the clan, lord, and family.

More than just a story of swordplay, it is the story of a man willing to do anything for the good of his family, even if it means never being able to see them.

Yoshimura (left) and Saito (right) are Shinsengumi

Cast

• Kiichi Nakai — Yoshimura Kanichiro
• Kōichi Satō — Saitō Hajime
• Yui Natsukawa — Shizu/Mitsu
• Takehiro Murata — Ono Chiaki
• Miki Nakatani — Nui
• Yuji Miyake — Ohno Jiroemon
• Eugene Nomura — Hijikata Toshizo
• Masato Sakai — Okita Soji
• Ito Atsushi — Young Chiaki Ono

References

1. ^ Infobox data from "壬生義士伝" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/2003/ea000140.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-16.  and Mibu gishi den (2003) at the Internet Movie Database
2. ^ "Awards for Mibu gishi den (2003)" (in Japanese). Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359692/awards. Retrieved 2009-05-05. 

External links

• Mibu gishi den (2003) at the Internet Movie Database
• Mibu gishiden at AllRovi
• "壬生義士伝" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/2003/ea000140.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
• "MIBU GISHI DEN". Complete Index to World Film. http://www.citwf.com/film222871.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
• "壬生義士伝" (in Japanese). www.walkerplus.com. http://www.walkerplus.com/movie/title/mo1628.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
• "壬生義士伝(2002)" (in Japanese). www.allcinema.net. http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=239937. Retrieved 2009-05-08. 
• "壬生義士伝" (in Japanese). Variety Japan. http://search.varietyjapan.com/moviedb/cinema_39432.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16.