Lost and found: Kikuchiyo the Seventh Samurai

When viewing Akira Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai' (1954) there is one character who stands out from the rest and gradually takes over the film. This character is called Kikuchiyo and he is one of the most interesting and complex characters I have ever come across in film or literature. The factors which make Kikuchiyo memorable and the most arresting character of 'Seven Samurai' are to be the focus of this piece of writing. I will be discussing Kikuchiyo's character assuming a prier knowledge of the film so I would like to warn anyone who has not yet seen it that reading on will reveal the story and aspects of the film which will have the best impact when experienced for the first time without any prier knowledge. I notice how difficult it is for some to remember the names and their characters so I have also included a list to help readers identify the characters:

Kambei Shimada: The leader of the group
Katsushirō Okamoto: The youngest and inexperienced
Gorōbei Katayama: The Strong man. He assumes a second in command position.
Shichirōji: He was once Kambei's lieutenant and he re assumes this role.
Heihachi Hayashida: He is recruited to keep up the spirits of the group.
Kyūzō: The most skilled fighter of the group. Dedicated and serious.
Kikuchiyo: A false Samurai who proves himself within the film.

Lost and Found: Kikuchiyo the Seventh Samurai



The character of Kikuchiyo is revealed to us slowly through out the film, the more we see of him the more we like him and the more we understand his character.
Kikuchiyo's being ungrounded is the over riding factor of his character. His whole being evolves around his status and his desire to become a worthy, better version of himself. Through out the film Kikuchiyo is trying to prove himself, and this is of vital importance. For a man who has no reputation, no family, no family history, no home, no friends, there is no one to whom he has to prove himself. There is no one who cares or has any interest in his worth except for himself, and that is the most moving aspect of his character and the most revealing. Kikuchiyo wishes to prove his worth to himself and wants to be worthy of respect form those around him. His mission is a personal one, one in which he competes against himself and his personal daemons. Kikichiyo is battling his shadow self.

Kikuchiyo is not a real Samurai, he is not from an aristocratic line. He has in his possession a scroll which he claims has been passed down through his family and that he is 'Kikuchiyo'. He is reproached for this by Kambei because the scroll indicates that Kikuchiyo is thirteen years old, far too young to be the character in front of us. This suggests that not only is the so-called Kikuchiyo not a Samurai but also cannot read otherwise he would not have made such an obvious mistake. This character the so called 'Kikuchiyo' has no name as he cant remember it, therefore the group adopt the name 'Kikuchiyo' in order to have something to call him and so he is continued to be called by it. Kikuchiyo's not having a real name is significant of his being spiritually lost and it is also significant that the name which he is given is one from a boy who is from a Samurai family. This is significant because Kikuchiyo's manner is like a child's and he wishes to become a better person, to rise above his station by being a Samurai which he is not. Kikuchiyo is an orphan and this is why he cannot remember his name, he has no family and no home, no friends and no money, all he has is his false title and a giant sword which looks much to big for him. The sword is another significant object, it's size suggests that it is a symbol of the characters trying to fill boots that are too big for him. It also echo's his false status as a Samurai as the rest of the Samurai in the film have Katana's, a much smaller type of sword compared to Kikuchiyo's which is almost the size of him.
To understand Kikuchiyo's position fully we must understand a little of the society in which he lives. The story is set in 16th century Japan. In this time there was a very strict social order, whatever station you were born into was the station in which you were expected to remain forever. Kikuchiyo is an orphan who is from a farmers family. Through out the film all the farmers are woeful and lowly. They're existence is hard and unforgiving. In a scene in which the Samurai are gathered around an elderly woman who wants to die because she has nothing to live for, Kikuchiyo remarks at how he hates miserable people. This shows us how deep Kikuchiyo's inner turmoil and conflict goes. He is understanding and sympathetic to the farmers and perhaps the most passionate of all the characters in the film, yet he scorns a vulnerable old woman and attempts to dash the Samurai's attempts to comfort her. This display demonstrates his anger and frustration and his philosophical view point, he holds a kind of existential stance, unwilling to live the life he was born into he wishes to lift himself out of an unnecessarily painful and meaningless existence.



'I never want to be a worm'
-Kikuchiyo

Kikuchiyo is first presented to us as a silent and disheveled man but at the same time as a warrior. The only characters within the film who have swords are the Samurai and bandits. As the character is played by the actor Toshiro Mifune he has inherited a charisma and a domineering presence from the actor which holds the character to be a ferocious and confident individual. This character has some gestures which help us to acknowledge his characteristics. He scratches himself publicly and adopts a casual and uncouthed conduct throughout the film.
The first few scenes in which we see Kakuchiyo are worth noting as they set up our first judgments about his character and it is these first judgments which we reflect upon later in the film when we come to understand his character more.

Katsushirō Okamoto is the youngest of the Seven Samurai and is an inexperienced aristocrat. Katsushirō enters the film at the same moment as Kikuchiyo and at the same moment both characters become impressed by Kambei's heroic display in rescuing a child who is held hostage by a thief and follow him. Kikuchiyo barges his way through the peasant farmers with out so much as a glance and skulks his way around Kambi without speaking, his silence comes across as a mixture of a challenge and a shyness, it is as though Kikuchiyo would like to adopt Kambi as a mentor in the same way as Katsushirō Okamoto does but Kikuchiyo can not bring himself to ask or to admit that he requires guidance. At this moment we can compare Kikuchiyo and Katsushirō and find important similarities and differences. Katshushirō is inexperienced and young and is in need of a mentor, he is aristocratic and is willing to throw himself at the feet of Kambei and beg to be taken on as a disciple. Kikuchiyo comes across as inexperienced also, and is undisciplined. Despite being older than Katsushirō, Kikuchiyo behaves with a manner similar to a teenager. The clearest difference between Kikuchiyo and Katshushirō is their refinement and their dress. Kikuchiyo dresses more like Kambei who is a Samurai who roams as a Ronin with no master and little wealth, he travels and lives a simple life, it is unclear if he has a home or not. This can reveal to us a hint of the similarities and contrasts of the characters of Kambei and Kikuchiyo which become more noticeable further into the film. It is within this scene a fore mentioned that Kambei asks Kikuchiyo if he is a real Samurai and does not seem to believe his answer as Kikuchiyo insists that he is a samurai.

The only other character who holds a profoundness similar to Kikuchiyo is Kambei. Kambei is the leader of the group, he is the first to accept the offer from the farmers and he does so because of his kindness. Before this moment he is seen selflessly saving a child held hostage by a thief. It is within this scene where Kambei prepares to trick the thief into letting close enough to intervene by dressing as a monk and shaving his head. When Kambei's head is shaved there is a curiously long moment between himself and Kikuchiyo where both characters look at each other. This may suggest a significance to the audience that the two characters are important when examined together. Kambei is an older and high ranking Samurai. It is mentioned within the film that he had distinguished himself in war and gained ownership of a castle. His military status is noted when Shichirōji re-assumes his position as Kambei's lieutenant. He is respected throughout the film and is held as the leader due to his skill, experience, military status and reputation. These qualities are that which Kikuchiyo desires. However as the film progresses there are two notable moments where Kambei expresses his experience of being a reputable samurai. Kambei remarks how he is alone in the world and has nothing to show for his lifetime as a fighter. The second moment is at the end of the film where Kambei and the other two surviving Samurai contemplate the events of the story by the graves of the dead hero's. It is a profound scene where Kambei remarks, “we have lost again”. Kikuchiyo's desire to be a respected individual such as a samurai is reflected by the experience of Kambei who has nothing to show for his life, he is a wanderer like Kikuchiyo and has no master nor any wealth or friends/family to speak of. His life similar to the farmers is at moments bleak and empty, the very life Kikuchiyo is trying to escape.

Kikuchiyo is aware of the dualism between the farmers and the Samurai. In his emotionally delivered and passionate speech to the Samurai Kikuchiyo notes the faults of both parties. The farmers are deceitful and dishonest people who have hunted down Samurai at the end of battles to harvest their wealth and who now are relying on Samurai's compassion to save them. Whilst the Samurai who are noble and honored have fought wars and burnt down villagers and raped women causing the farmers to become deceitful and to hide their provisions and lie. Neither the farmers nor the Samurai are completely virtuous. Kikuchiyo does not pretend to have virtue, he is neither a farmer nor a Samurai, and this leaves him in some ways the most honest character of the film.

Kikuchioy's position as a farmer and Samurai leave him part from both positions. He conducts himself without Samurai decorum but also without the fear and woe of the farmer. Japans strict social structure is one which Kikuchioyo is able to transcend because of his undefinable position. He is held to no station nor code of conduct. Kikuchiyo is the embodiment of the 'fool' who is a common character in stories, being of the most lowly position as a 'fool' the character is able to reveal truth without reproach where others cannot, even truths which a respected individual might be punished for.

By the end of the film Kikuchiyo is dead and in the ground. In the last shot we see Heihachi's flag which accepts him whilst acknowledging his difference by representing him as a triangle whilst the others are circles. He is accepted as a Samurai and buried with the same status as the other four who have fallen in battle. The title of the film accepts him as a Samurai. Kikuchiyo has earned his place and has succeeded in elevating his position and reaching his potential. He his much more than an orphan of a farmers status. Kikuchiyo defined his own life and his character shows us the individual struggle with the shadow self and a chaotic world.