Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Stupid friends are dangerous.
Mutsuta's wife: You glisten too brightly.

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Glisten?

Mutsuta's wife: Yes. Like a drawn sword.

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: A drawn sword?

Mutsuta's wife: You're like a sword without a sheath. You cut well, but the best sword is kept in its sheath.
Mutsuta's wife: I hesitate to say this after you so Kindly saved us, but killing people is a bad habit.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: He was just like me. A drawn sword that wouldn't stay in its sheath. But, you know, the lady was right. The best sword is kept in its sheath. You'd better stay in yours.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: You tired of being stupid yet?
[last lines]

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: See ya around.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Fool! Doesn't it seem too good to be true? And if it seems so, it usually is.
[repeated line]

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Wait...
Mutsuta, the Chamberlain: I'm at fault for not inspiring your confidence. This long horse face of mine causes all sorts of trouble. A long time ago, someone saw me on horseback and said, "The rider has a longer face than the horse!"
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: We can't move like this! We look like a centipede!
Iori Izaka: [recounting his story about his falling out with his ugly-yet-noble uncle] I met the Superintendent.

Samurai: What did he say?

Iori Izaka: He was cooperative. At first he looked embarrassed, but the story of my uncle shocked him. He pondered. "All right", he said, "I'll help you. I'll talk with your group. Gather them quickly. That's what he said."

Samurai: He's great!

Samurai: Right!

Samurai: A powerful support for us. Not a good-natured scarecrow.

[All laugh, then turn to face the sound of loud yawns coming from the darkness outside]

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Wait.

[the muscular, scruffy middle-aged ronin languidly swaggers in. His hair is unkempt, his sandals tucked into his kimono, his katana, in its scabbard, propped over his shoulder. He looks a mess compared to the other nine warriors before him. He cracks another huge yawn before stepping inside. He idly taps his katana against his shoulder]

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: An interesting story.

Iori Izaka: Don't let him go!

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Fool! If I wanted to run, why would I speak?

[He wanders further into the shrine, hitching his shoulder]

Iori Izaka: Why are you here?

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Free room overnight. By the way, overhearing has a merit.

[Rubs his chin]

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: They say outsiders can be good judges. Listen. I say the Chamberlain is alright, but the Superintendent is no good.

Samurai: Don't insult him!

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Take it easy. I haven't seen them. So I'm not cheated by their looks. The Chamberlain is ugly, isn't he? Right? But from your story I judge he's a great man. He doesn't mind being called a fool. Great! But the Superintendent... you mentioned his name with admiration. That means he looks attractive, right? But people aren't what they seem.

[He sits down on one of the straw mats]

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Be careful.
Iori Izaka: Let's follow them for now. Circumstances will decide whether we attack or not.

[to Sanjuro, who is lazing by the window, listening to their conversation]

Iori Izaka: What do you say?

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: It's a stupid plan, but some excitement might keep me awake.

[He yawns and hauls himself up to join Izaka and his companions on one of their shenanigans]
Mutsuta's wife: [Indicating Sanjuro] Who is that gentleman?

Iori Izaka: It's hard to explain. A strange series of events has made him our ally. Indeed, he saved our lives.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: [before their final duel] Must we fight?

Hanbei Muroto: Yes. You're treacherous. You made a fool of me.

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Don't get so mad. I couldn't help it.
Mutsuta's wife: Well, then, please do your best... but please refrain from excessive violence.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: I can't watch you blunder your way to your deaths.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Were you born in the Year of the Ox? You always fly off the handle.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Nobody thinks to look right under his own nose.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Why are you looking at me like that? You want to draw your swords? Forget it. A stupid friend's sword is deadlier than an enemy's.
Chidori, Mutsuta's daughter: It's so quiet, even in the daytime. You can lean back in the hay and feel like you're floating. Enveloped in its scent, you drift into a dreamy haze.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: I'm smarter when I drink.
Hanbei Muroto: Everything in that notice was a bald-faced lie. Superintendent Kikui is the rotten one.

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: But you're his...

Hanbei Muroto: Retainer. Like attracts like. I'm rotten too. You see, Chamberlain Mutsuta is a shrewd character. Not easy to break. But with him out of the way, this clan is ours for the taking. Kikui is cunning but not a commanding presence. He pushes Mutsuta out of the way...

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: And you and I eat him up.

Hanbei Muroto: Precisely. I'll take you to him now. But remember: He has an inflated view of himself, so...

Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Stroke his ego and he'll purr?

Hanbei Muroto: You catch on fast. Good boy.
Mutsuta, the Chamberlain: Thank goodness he won't return.

Mutsuta's wife: Thank goodness?

Mutsuta, the Chamberlain: He's a great man. But extraordinary men like him just make me look bad.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: Stop following me or I'll kill you.
Sanjûrô Tsubaki: [caught with an armful of flowers] I... like camelias.

Sanjuro Quotes

Extended Reading

Sanjuro short comments

Jannie 2022-03-26 09:01:09

95% of the whole film feels like three boats of mothers carry nine silly gophers, how stupid the gophers are, the more witty the mother is. The last 5% is still the iconic ending of Akira Kurosawa. The samurai is just a special type of wage earner, and the spirit and reality are always in conflict. In the end, there is only one death to die for.
Josianne 2022-03-16 09:01:05

#资料馆留影##黑泽明评论展#Are you sure this is not a comedy? "Tsubaki Thirty-year-old" means "a tea tree of thirty years old". After reading it, I understood why Liu Zhenwei had arranged a Spring Thirty Mother in "A Chinese Journey to the West", which was a joke of intertextuality. In "Invincible in the East," Lin Damei's tricks, even her side-lying posture, are exactly the same as Mifune's Toshiro. Hong Kong films have benefited a lot from this film. The whole story is so exciting, you really belong to you, Ze Huang! The silly mother and daughter, Toshiro Mifune's weird knights, nine samurai with melon eggs, and horse-faced lord. "A good knife must be hidden in a sheath" is really a motto of life! classic.