what was the signifcants of the doll figuer?
And why did the character (that commited harakiri) kill himself with a bamboo sword, and not a metal sword? Was it because he sold the metal sword for money?
Yes he did sell the sword. They made him commit seppuku with the bamboo sword.
my ymdb site
http://www.ymdb.com/mehsuggeth/l35858_ukuk.html
In the Introduction by Donald Ritchie, he claims it to be a metaphor for the hollowness of the samurai code - the message Hanshiro is there to convey - all pomp and ceremony on the surface, but in reality empty. I suppose an exclamation point is added by his picking the armor up and throwing it, demonstrating it's uselessness.
I assume the significance of the sword is in it being associated with the samurai's soul. The house of Iyi takes it as an insult that a supposed samurai would be carrying around a fake sword while trying to scam them. That he uses it to kill himself is only because he is forced to by the counselor, perhaps as extra punishment for his insult to the samurai honor.
I hope that helps.
[deleted]
(following landor's remark)
I think this is also the moment he realizes the hollowness of bushido (the way of the samurai/warrior).
The doll represents the ancestors of that clan. In asia, it's very important because people think ancestor will bless them after death. If you see Disney's Mullan, you'll know about it.
Others have answered about the bamboo sword.
By doll you mean the armor from the opening and closing scenes? I'm no expert but I assume it is the armor worn by the founder of the clan, kept assembled out of respect for and for inspiration from their heritage as warriors. I LOVE this movie.
shareThe bamboo swords: many ronin (and also some lower-ranked clan samurai) became so poor that they had to sell their sword blades. They substituted bamboo blades to conceal the shame of having to sell their "soul" (as the swords were considered to be the "soul of the samurai").
Chijiiwa Motome was desparately poor, and his wife became sick. He tried to find work that would pay more than tutoring children (which paid hardly anything at all). Rebuffed, he became desperate and you see him in front of the pawn shop. A bit later, you see him walking forlornly off into the mists.
Earlier, he and Hanshiro (his father-in-law) had discussed how disgraceful it was that poor, starving ronin were trying to get money by falsely claiming to want to commit seppuku; the clans were giving out "go away" money. But then Motome's infant son became sick, and had no money for a doctor or medicine. So he came up with his desparate scheme of trying to extort money by claiming to want to commit seppuku.
Unfortunately for Motome, the Ii clan decided to call his bluff. You can see in the film that the Ii clan had a regular metal blade prepared for him to use for his seppuku. However, the Ii samurai became absolutely enraged when they found out that he was carrying bamboo blades. So they decided to force him to use his own bamboo wakizashi.
As for the armor (the doll?) This was an heirloom set of armor from the years when the Ii samurai actually fought in battles. It was considered to represent and honor the brave ancestors.
Yes, he sold his sword and was forced to use the bamboo sword by the clan as a means of degrading him further. However, he died by biting off his own tongue. The wounds he inflicted on himself with the bamboo sword were not fatal.
shareMotome bit his tongue after asking the Ii clan kaishakunin (second) to cut off his head. The kaishakunin (Onodaka Hikokuro, played by Tamba Tetsuro) arrogantly refused, insisting on carrying on with this mockery. So Motome decided to take himself out. Motome realized that it was impossible for him to kill himself using a bamboo wakizashi, so he bit his tongue, ending the mockery -- suicide rather than further degradation.
I'm almost positive that the Ii clan officials, when confronting Motome with his own bamboo sword, thought that Motome would try to run away -- giving themselves an excuse to simply cut him down. I think that they were utterly surprised when Motome threw the stand at them and shoved the bamboo sword inside himself to carry on, rather than cowering. I think that this enraged them even more.
The armor is reverence to the very essence of their clan. There is an emotional presence to it, one that's ominous and fatherly. When Massa Tsugumo takes the armor under his arm, he's saying "I just trashed your asses" and when he throws it down, he is, essentially saying, "I just rocked this place... hard as a motherf uck."
I think the general theme attached to the armor/doll figure is, as the historical essence of the Iyi Clan, it signals the demolition of the Clan by Tsugumo and it is indicative of the destruction of the Samarai Code, which Kobayashi accomplished by allowing the Samarai Code to fall on its own sword as it were. Not unlike Bunuel's treatment of Christianity, Kobayashi's hero doesn't destory the Samarai Code, he strictly adheres to it and, in bringing it to its own logical end, he causes it to self-destruct. I like it when he slashes that one dude and he falls against the wall smearing his blood all over the place.
By the way, Ja Rule of Murder Inc Records said this about 'Harakiri in a Source interview. It may be of interest to you:
THE SOURCE : Have you seen any movies recently that really stood out for you?
JA RULE : Yeah, I don't know how recent it is but, I saw this movie Harakiri that was off the hinges. This Chinese dude Kobayashi made it. Have you seen
Kwaidan?
THE SOURCE : No.
Ja RULE : Shi t's tight as a bit ch.
Ja needs to learn his Japanese from his Chinese.
But that's too much to ask from a titan of Hip Hop culture.
And racist of me to even bring it up!
--------------------------------------------------------
By the way, Ja Rule of Murder Inc Records said this about 'Harakiri in a Source interview. It may be of interest to you:
THE SOURCE : Have you seen any movies recently that really stood out for you?
JA RULE : Yeah, I don't know how recent it is but, I saw this movie Harakiri that was off the hinges. This Chinese dude Kobayashi made it. Have you seen
Kwaidan?
THE SOURCE : No.
Ja RULE : *beep* tight as a bitch.
--
Charlie
well, at at he has good taste in films, which is more than you can say for most rappers.
shareJust a question to clarify some things. Motome was never beheaded right? Even after he bit his tongue? The scene was cut abruptly to suggest that he was indeed beheaded, but when they brought in his corpse it seemed as though his body was intact; i.e. no beheading took place. It's really saddening if that's the case, because while biting your tongue is faster than disembowelment via bamboo sword, it isn't exactly a split second thing. But the fact that he wasn't beheaded would clearly show how arrogant and heartless his second was.
Man, I shed some tears during this film. I didn't expect that from any of the samurai movies I've watched.
They don't cut off the head completely in these ceremonies, to distinguish it from a mere death sentence/execution. It's the responsibility of the "Second" to cut the neck and to keep some tissue/skin left and therefore keeping the head attached to the body. At least that's how it is described at wikipedia :)
shareAbout the doll figure : pay attention to what Hanshiro says when he starts to tell the story of his life. He says that his faith soon may be the faith of others. By destroying the armor he desacrated one of the most important symbols of the hounour of the whole clan. The irony is that they have lied about whole situation to save their empty honor, but that's a subject for separate discussion.
share"The doll figure" is the statue of the clan's ancestor, which is a sacred object. Remember how Hanshiro Tsugumo used it as a cover, because the clan's warriors wouldn't approach him while he was under its protection? By destroying the "doll", he destroyed the very heart of the clan. All other insults (all the dead, wounded and disgraced samurai) only add to the the main disaster. As a result of Hanshiro Tsugumo's actions the Iyi house is dead (or at least its honor is dead, which in Japanese culture is the same as being dead). The covering-up efforts that follow emphasize the idea of hollowness of that clan and through it, the samurai code the way it is functioning in many other clans. The true samurai, Hanshiro Tsugumo shows his enemies what the real samurai honor is before he dies. Although nobody would ever know the real story, the Iyi clan would never be the same.
share