Summary
When Ichimonji arrives, only Taro and Kaede are there, and he is surprised that the celebration is so small. Kaede invites him to sit down on a cushion beneath them, and he is insulted by this treatment, insistent that he is still the Lord and Master, even if he has handed over his castle. Finally, he sits, and Taro reminds him that he has ceded his power and that his father's guards are behaving badly, referencing Kyoami's teasing song about him.
"They are simple soldiers without courtly manners," Ichimonji insists, saying that they are just silly songs. "Comic songs can go too far," Taro says, brusquely, referencing the fact that Ichimonji killed his guard that afternoon when the guard was trying to defend him against ridicule. He tells his father to sign an agreement of respect and seal it with his blood. Ichimonji is furious to receive a pledge ceding all his power to Taro.
"Everything in it you yourself declared in front of Lord Ayabe and also Lord Fujimaki, both very honorable witnesses," the assistant declares, suggesting it does not change anything really. Ichimonji signs it angrily, and seals it with his blood. "Is this the attitude of a son to his father?" Ichimonji asks Taro, suggesting that Kaede has put him up to it. He stands and announces that he will be going to live with Jiro, his other son. After Ichimonji leaves, Kaede tells the assistant that he did well.
Kaede and Taro sit in silence for a moment, before Kaede says, "I was born and raised in this castle. It belonged to my father. But I left it in order to marry you. After the marriage, my father and brothers relaxed their vigilance. Then, they were all murdered by your father, Hidetora. And now, I am back here in this castle seized from my family. How impatiently I have longed for this day." She then points out the spot where her mother took her own life.
At his castle, Jiro receives a letter that tells him Ichimonji is headed there. "Taro chased him out of the First Castle. He says Father's become eccentric," Jiro says. He talks about the fact that his father's counselor, Ikoma, is now the special advisor to Taro, and suggests that it would be unwise to let Ichimonji come there. Jiro's advisors suggest that Taro is behaving very disrespectfully, and that Jiro ought to be the one to inherit the throne from his father. "You ought to seize the opportunity," says one of them, and Jiro decides he will try and win the throne from his brother, who is only 12 months older than him.
Jiro suggests that Taro is not the problem, but that Kaede is to blame for all of this, as one of his advisors suggests that he try to steal Kaede from Taro. He dismisses this thought, but suggests that they have to defeat his father and his 30 soldiers when they arrive.
Ichimonji arrives at Jiro's, where the servants open the gates to him. As they enter, Ichimonji tells one of the assistants he would like to speak to Lady Sué, Jiro's wife. He looks for Sué in a small hut, but she is nowhere to be found. Elsewhere, she is standing, looking at the sunset and praying to Buddha. Ichimonji approaches and speaks to her, noticing her sad expression and apologizing for the fact that he killed her whole family. "You should look upon me with hatred. It would be far easier to bear," he says to her.
Sué simply says, "I don't hate you. Everything is decided in our previous lives. The heart of Buddha embraces all things." Ichimonji suggests that Buddha is no longer looking after them, as Jiro approaches them. Jiro tells his father that he received a letter from Taro saying that Ichimonji's guards were very disrespectful, so he cannot let Ichimonji's guards into his castle. Ichimonji is furious, suggesting that he cannot be alone in the castle. Jiro recommends that his father return to Taro's castle and apologize, but Ichimonji is angered by this suggestion.
Ichimonji's guards are kept out of the castle, much to Ichimonji's chagrin. He realizes that Jiro is being just as strategic as Taro and orders Jiro's men to open the gates, so that he can leave. They open the gates and he leaves his son's kingdom, insisting that he will never see Jiro again.
Ichimonji tries to find a place to go, but his guards tell him that the peasants have taken everything and fled to the mountains in order to escape them. He sits in silence, as an advisor tells him they must go to the Third Castle, but Ichimonji insists that he would go there if he could, but that Saburo's subjects would never welcome him.
A man named Ogura arrives at the Third Castle, and announces that Taro has given him dominion over it. The gates open and a soldier comes out and says, "Without our Master Saburo, the castle is nothing to us. We therefore leave it to you. We have recently had news that he is staying with Lord Fujimaki, and we are riding out now to join him there." Saburo's soldiers leave the Third Castle to go in search of Saburo.
Back at Ichimonji's camp, Tango arrives with food and bows to his master. He tells Ichimonji that he is still his servant and begs Ichimonji to take him back as his servant. Suddenly, Ichimonji orders his men to go kill the peasants, but Tango insists that the peasants were simply obeying Taro. "Taro issued a decree that anyone who gives you food or shelter will die," Tango says.
Ichimonji laments his sorry state, when Tango tells him that he can go and stay with Saburo, who is staying with Lord Fujimaki. Ichimonji refuses, suggesting that Saburo will never accept him after what happened. "Saburo loves you and is always thinking of your welfare," Tango insists, and tells Ichimonji that Saburo ordered him to look after him. Ichimonji begins to weep, as a messenger arrives to tell them that Saburo's soldiers have gone to meet him at Fujimaki's home.
One of Ichimonji's advisors suggests that Fujimaki is strategizing to marry off his daughter in order to get control of Saburo's soldiers, so that he can sow chaos in the region and assume the throne himself. Tango insists that this is not true, but the advisor insists to Ichimonji that they ought to go to the Third Castle. When Kyoami makes a joke about the fact that they will be killed, Ichimonji strikes him down and tells him to stay behind with Tango.
Tango and Kyoami stay in the wilderness that evening. As Kyoami weeps, Tango suggests that their only sin was to tell the truth.
Ichimonji arrives at the Third Castle, and spends the night there. In the middle of the night, he gets frightened and runs to see that there is an invasion taking place. Taro and Jiro's soldiers are storming the castle, and they kill nearly all of Ichimonji's men and light the castle on fire. Ichimonji runs down and finds one of his soldiers, wounded, who tells him that Ogura and the others tricked them into staying there.
Jiro and Taro's soldiers defeat the Third Castle, as Ichimonji's men struggle to defend him in a high tower. Ichimonji comes into a room only to find two women killing one another in joint suicide, then climbs to the top of the tallest tower.
Analysis
While Saburo appeared to be the most irreverent of Ichimonji's sons in the beginning of the film, it turns out that his suspicions about his brothers were correct. Taro, who was exceedingly flattering in the moment of Ichimonji deciding which son he would transfer his power to, is now exceedingly irreverent towards his father, stripping him of power and behaving as a usurper, goaded on by his ambitious wife, Lady Kaede. Ichimonji falls from his pedestal nearly as soon as he hands over his power, and is treated with disrespect by the son he thought he could trust.
Kaede is a mysterious agent in the unfolding of these events, as she is the one who encourages Taro to become more assertive in his authority, shaming him for not being bold enough to usurp the throne. Ichimonji alludes to Kaede's influence over his son after signing the pledge, saying to his son, "The hen pecks the rooster and makes him crow," a symbolic allusion to Kaede's power over Taro. Thus we see that not only are the royals struggling for power on their terms, but also contending with the competing ambitions and interests of in-laws and other courtly figures, who have their own agendas.
Kurosawa shoots scenes with a sensitivity not only to composition and aesthetics, but psychological contours as well. For instance, after Ichimonji leaves his consultation with Kaede and Taro, we see Kaede and Taro sitting on their respective mats, staring out in front of them. Kaede reveals the details of her own backstory, the fact that she grew up in the castle and her family was murdered by Ichimonji. The two royals stare out in front of them as the horrific story unfolds, and the camera never changes angle or distance, maintaining a simple composition to juxtapose with the horrors of Kaede's story.
Jiro, the second son, proves to be just as strategic and disloyal as Taro when he refuses to let his father's guards enter the castle, and plots with his advisors to usurp the throne from his brother. We see that Saburo was right all along—that his elder brothers, having been raised in violence and chaos, have no regard for their family or for doing what is right, but think only of acquiring power at any cost. Ichimonji, meanwhile, must learn the hard way that his sons are not looking out for his best interests, in spite of their flattering treatment earlier.
Kurosawa shoots images of war and violence with a curious poeticism. For instance, when the Third Castle gets invaded by Taro and Jiro's soldiers, we see a montage of arrows flying through the air, bloodied soldiers wounded, blood pouring from the rafters, disembodied arms, turrets going up in flames, and bodies piled atop one another. The orchestral soundtrack comes to the forefront, and we cannot hear any of the screams of the wounded soldiers. The directorial perspective zooms out, and we witness the occurrence of violence from a distance, as a sobering atrocity rather than a gratuitous bloodbath.
