Tomu Uchida: Miayamoto Musashi 4 – The duel at Ichijoji (1964)

Cast: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Wakaba Irie, Isao Kimura, Chieko Naniwa, Mikijirô Hira, Satomi Oka
Even less action than the previous episode, but more watchable. Quite a lot of plot and story development instead of action, which paradoxically makes the story more involved and patchy. Again, Musashi's potentially greatest opponent Kojiro jumps in and out of the story at the oddest and most coincidental moments. Musashi's great love Otsu has succumbed to madness, but she actually gets a love scene with him near the end. Yes indeed, like many Japanese men, MM is awkward at expressing love for women, and is far more comfortable expressing love for the young boy who idolizes and follows him. However, in an anguished short scene, MM confesses his love for Otsu, who then asks to be regarded as his wife. MM then sets off to beat the functionaries of a treacherous clan in an arranged duel. 73 against one. Boastful Kojiro watches, secure in the knowledge that only he is a worthy opponent.
I found this episode quite rewarding, though I think this is only because I was able to watch the whole series basically back to back.
A word about the fight scenes. The fights in this ep are pretty odd. They consist mostly of MM slashing people once then running away, especially in the final scene. Doesn't look very heroic to me!






PW: malamute