An unkempt swordsman rolls into town and hires himself first to one criminal gang, then the other, finally managing to get the better of them both. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the same basic plot was later used to by director Sergio Leone to make A Fistful of Dollars, starring Clint Eastwood, during his Italian (‘spaghetti’) Western period. The Mifune character has no name – when pressed, he usually just makes something up on the spot. He would return in other films, but never to such acclaim: this may have been Kurosawa’s biggest hit, at least at home. The combination of artful action and slight comedy has appealed to audiences all over the world for the past forty years.

The Swordsman Without A Name, unlike the warriors in Seven Samurai or indeed most of Kurosawa’s other protagonists, isn’t what you would really call a good guy: he’s only in it for the money, lending his sword out to whomever can pay him the most, then (usually) dropping out of the fight when it gets dangerous. This isn’t because he’s a coward, but because he’s simply practical: he sees no reason to die for honor or to uphold some nebulous warrior ethic (the bushido code).

Calling himself Sanjuro (it means ‘thirty years old,’ and is the title of the character’s next immediate appearance on film), the swordsman is introduced on the road, hungry and penniless. He throws a stick up in the air to determine which road to take, walking the way it points. He comes upon a town rent by two warring criminal gangs, one apparently leading in prostitution, the other in gambling. After displaying his prowess – that is, cutting down several lesser swordsmen in a few seconds – he hires himself out as a bodyguard (the meaning of yojimbo) to one of the gangs.

Seibei, the leader of the prostitution gang, hires him on the spot, but when Sanjuro overhears Seibei’s wife planning to slit his throat as soon as the next big fight with the rival gang is finished (to get out of paying him, you see), he decides prudence is a better course, and quits. The two gangs meet in the street, feinting at each other like children, as Sanjuro watches from a high observation point, amused at the spectacle. A messenger arrives, however, spoiling the fight: a local government official is about to arrive, so the two gangs make nice and persuade the townspeople to come out from behind their normally shuttered storefronts.

There are other twists and turns as Sanjuro’s loyalties are bidded upon by one side, then the other, with the stakes rising steadily. At one point it seems Sanjuro’s invincible sword arm is matched by the modern pistol of a newly arrived warrior. Only after the gang war is finished and the warrior commits an act of kindness (helping a prostitute reunite with her husband and son then given a handful of gold and helped to escape) is he captured and made to suffer, without his sword to help him.

One of the greatest samurai films ever made – hell, one of the greatest films ever made – Yojimbo is essential viewing. You can’t call yourself literate concerning Japanese film without having viewed this one.

DVD info: Released as part of the Criterion Collection. Black and white. Widescreen (‘Tohoscope’ – 2.35:1). 110 minutes.