Yojimbo
A rōnin with a hidden past is drawn into a deadly power struggle between two warring yakuza bosses vying for control of a lawless gambling town on the brink of chaos.
“Kill one or a hundred... you only hang once”
Synopsis
A nameless ronin, or samurai without a master, arrives in a small village in feudal Japan, where two rival businessmen are vying for dominance in the local gambling trade. Adopting the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin persuades both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as their personal bodyguard. He then skillfully orchestrates a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 57+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Akira KurosawaShot by Kazuo MiyagawaScored by Masaru SatoDesigned by Yoshiro Muraki
Full synopsis
Also known as
- Yojimbo - Der Leibwächterde
- The Bodyguarden
- Yôjinbôen
- Le Garde du corpsfr
- La sfida del samuraiit
- Yôjinbôja
- 用心棒ja
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Cast & Crew
57 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Toshiro Mifune
as Sanjuro Kuwabatake / The Samurai
Tatsuya Nakadai
as Unosuke, gunfighter
Eijiro Tono
as Gonji - Tavern Keeper
Yoko Tsukasa
as Nui
Isuzu Yamada
as Orin
Daisuke Kato
as Inokichi
Seizaburo Kawazu
as Seibê - brothel operator
Takashi Shimura
as Tokuemon, sake brewer
Hiroshi Tachikawa
as Yoichiro
Yosuke Natsuki
as Kohei's Son
Kamatari Fujiwara
as Tazaemon
Ikio Sawamura
as Hansuke
Supporting cast
39Atsushi Watanabe
as The Cooper (Coffin-Maker)
Susumu Fujita
as Homma, Instructor Who Skips Town
Kyu Sazanka
as Ushitora
Ko Nishimura
as Kuma
Takeshi Kato
as Ronin Kobuhachi
Ichiro Nakatani
as First Samurai
Sachio Sakai
as First Foot Soldier
Akira Tani
as Kame
Namigoro Rashomon
as Kannuki the Giant
Yoshio Tsuchiya
as Kohei
Gen Shimizu
as Magotaro
Jerry Fujio
as Roku - Samurai Whose Arm is Cut
Yutaka Sada
as Matsukichi
Shin Otomo
as Kumosuke
Shoichi Hirose
as Ushitora Follower
Hideyo Amamoto
as Yahachi
Shoji Oki
as Sukeju
Fuminori Ohashi
as Second Samurai
Hiroshi Kiyama
as Farmer
Senkichi Omura
as Traveler
Noriko Honma
as Farmer's Ex-wife
Ryusuke Nishio
as Seibei Follower
Naoya Kusakawa
as Seibei Follower
Nadao Kirino
as Seibei Follower
Mitsuo Tsuda
Shinpei Takagi
as Ushitora Follower
Jun Otomo
as Seibei Follower
Akio Kusama
as Ushitora Follower
Yasuzo Ogawa
as Ushitora Follower
Hiroshi Takagi
as Ushitora Follower
Jun Ichiro Mukai
as Seibei Follower
Takuzo Kumagai
Ichiro Chiba
as Second Foot Soldier
Haruya Sakamoto
as Ushitora Follower
Rinsaku Ogata
as Seibei Follower
Takeo Ogushi
as Ushitora Follower
Yoko Terui
as Woman at Seibei's House
Hiromi Mineoka
as Woman at Seibei's House
Michiko Kawa
as Woman at Seibei's House
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
3Other crew
4Parents Guide
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