Kikuchiyo

A character in the Akira Kurosawa film, The Seven Samurai and the anime adaptation of the film, Samurai 7.
Overview

Kikuchiyo, played by Toshiro Mifune: A farmer's son who attempts to jump his place in society by calling himself a Samurai.

In the first half of the film he is used largely as comedy relief, featuring such events such as his illiteracy and his inability to ride a horse. His over-the-top mannerisms eventually garner him a fan club, consisting of the small children of the village. One of his main identifying features is the oversize sword he carries (a nodachi). Rather than sheathing his sword, he saunters around while resting it over his shoulder. His heritage as a farmer's son is revealed after he lambastes the other Samurai for their perceptions of the farmers, as well as a speech concerning the social hierarchy and the treatment of peasants by Samurai. His death in the end of the film provokes mixed responses. He is the only character in the film to be given the "hero's death" in the Hollywood style, as he dies from a bullet wound after killing the leader of the bandits.

Symbols

*The excessively large sword Kikuchiyo carries; a representation of his overcompensation and inexperience. Casting away the sword in the final battle for another sword was his becoming a “Samurai”, the fruition of his attempts to change his lot in life.

*The banner under which the samurai fight, consisting of six circles, aligned much as they would be on a dice, to represent the samurai, with a triangle on the bottom for Kikuchiyo. Simultaneously a joke about his not being a Samurai, and a representation of his being an individual apart.

Context

While Kurosawa's characters' eccentricities as well as the emphasis his stories put on changing of roles and standing out may seem commonplace, this was far from the case in 1950's Japan. The character of Kikuchiyo was one of the first obvious examples of Akira Kurosawa's emphasis on individualism which marked much of his later career. It was Kurosawa's emphasis on characters like Kikuchiyo that helped lead to criticism of Kurosawa's being too “western” alongside his different directorial style.

Anime

In the Anime adaptation Samurai 7, Kikuchiyo is a former farmer who had most of his body replaced with a mechanized one in an effort to become a Samurai. The distinguishing oversized sword (here with a mechanized chainsaw enhancement) is carried over to the Anime. He dies a hero's death during the final battle: Instead of seizing an opportunity to escape, he trades his sword for an enormous Nobuseri one and digs in his feet, standing the sword up and uses it to stop the crushing capital city-ship from hitting the village. The capital ship stops just short of the village, but Kikuchiyo is destroyed from overheating, leaving nothing but his smoking boots.

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See Also

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