Samurai Reincarnation

We wrap up my ink-slinging samurais this week with a quick ode to Sonny Chiba from Kinji Fukasaku's Makai Tensho (1981).  Based on the novel Futaro Yamada, Makai Tensho retells a fantastical version of the story of Shiro Amakusa, wherein the Christian leader renounces God after the massacre following the Shimabara Rebellion and brings back to life a number famous swordsmen to exact his revenge. Romantic folk hero Jubei Yagyu enters the fray to defeat the resurrected samurai and stop the powerful wizard Amakusa.  Considering, how most samurai movies of the 60's and 70's are grounded in an all too gritty, blood-spraying reality, this one's a bit of a shock.  Fukasaku, however, is able to deliver a colorful and atmospheric fantasy tale with some great visuals aided by an iconic performance by Chiba as Jubei.

The Sword of Doom

As I mentioned, those watercolors on ink a few weeks past were in part inspired by Japanese prints.  So for this week of drawings, I figured I'd break out my ink brushes (some for sumi-e and some not) and do a little wrist action-inking.

The first subject is the glassy-eyed amoral swordsman Ryunosuke Tsukue, played masterfully by Tatsuya Nakadai, making his last stand (...or is it?) in Kihachi Okamoto's 1966 film, The Sword of Doom. Doom has long been one of my favorite samurai films, and trying to capture Nakadai's long distance stare is half the fun.  The movie also features one of the most enigmatic cliffhangers of all time.  Originally meant to be a trilogy adapting one of the Japan's longest novels, only the first film was completed and the film ends mid-swordfight.

While I'm happy with the figures, I got a little too fast and loose with the background and architecture.