Power
Power is one of Ran's main themes, Ichimonji has gained his power through his ruthless and war-mongering obsession with coming out on top. Now, at the age of 70, he has decided to give his authority over to his eldest son, Taro. However, his power is not so easily transferred, and as soon as he cedes some of it to his son, Taro and his wife Kaede want more.
Indeed, many of the characters in Ran seek power in different ways. Taro and Jiro fight for power, while Kaede seeks power through vengeance for her family's murder. Meanwhile, Ichimonji realizes that his lifetime of being power-hungry comes at a price, as he has created an atmosphere of greed and mercenary self-interest.
Violence
Violence is a major part of the fight for power in the film. At the beginning of the film, Saburo speaks out against his father, saying that his war-mongering has created a world in which everyone is used to violence and chaos. This proves true when Saburo's older brothers remorselessly fight for control of the region and Jiro even has his own brother killed. At the battle at the Third Castle, Ichimonji must come to terms with the violent ethic he has ingrained in his kingdom, as he sits in the high tower, flaming arrows flying around him and soldiers getting shot down, dismembered and bloodied. It is through witnessing the violence first-hand that Ichimonji sees the errors of his ways, and the pain he has inflicted on so many.
The violence that Ichimonji created previously comes back to haunt him throughout the film. Kaede, Taro's wife, is a ruthless and vengeful woman, who seeks to take down the Ichimonji's family because, years back, he had murdered her family. She is eventually killed in a bloody moment by Jiro's main advisor, Kurogane. Ichimonji also has a run-in with Tsurumaru, the man he blinded as a young boy, and the brother of Jiro's wife, Lady Sué. The film depicts a kingdom in which time and time again, violence begets violence. Indeed, by the end, nearly every central character, save for Tsurumaru, dies.
Betrayal
Throughout the film there is betrayal after betrayal that leads to the destruction of the Ichimonji clan and the death of every family member. Taro and Jiro betray their father by seeking to gain complete power over the kingdom. Kaede, Taro's wife, betrays him and Jiro in order to enact vengeance on the family. In the violent and greedy logics that dictate royal codes of behavior, no one is to be trusted, and there is always cause for suspicion and paranoia.
Madness is Sanity
After the battle at the Third Castle, Ichimonji descends into madness, walking out into the wilderness with a blank expression, disoriented by the repercussions of his violent legacy. Kyoami and Tango note that, in madness, he ironically experiences a kind of sanity, because it is only then that he is able to experience remorse for all of the wrongdoings he has done over the years. Strangely enough, while madness disconnects Ichimonji from lived reality, it connects him with a moral clarity to which he has never had access. Madness becomes the means by which Ichimonji is able to reckon with the sins of his past.
Chaos and Emptiness
Saboru's main criticism of his father at the beginning of the film is that he has created a world of war and chaos. Chaos then becomes a central theme in the film, as we see the lawlessness of the struggle for power, Ichimonji's struggle to find belonging, and the senselessness of all the violence and destruction that occurs. When Ichimonji visits Lady Sué, Jiro's wife, he is surprised that she is not angrier at him, as she has chosen to become a religious and spiritual person, putting her faith in Buddha. Ichimonji insists to Sué that Buddha is not looking after her, that "Buddha is gone from this miserable world," a reference to the chaos of the kingdom, and the fact that no one is protected by any gods.
Then, at the end, after Saburo and Ichimonji have both died immediately after reconciling, Kyoami yells at the heavens, asking Buddha why he did not protect them, and how he could possibly be so "mischievous and cruel." The film ends with an image of Tsurumaru, the blind man, dropping a picture of Buddha that Sué gave him, and standing at the edge of a ruin, confused and alone. These images all represent the theme of emptiness and chaos that pervades the film.
Revenge
Revenge is represented most fiercely by Lady Kaede. Early on in the film, she tells Taro that she hates his father because he murdered her whole family years ago. She harbors a deep resentment towards the Ichimonji clan, and by the end of the film, we see that all of her actions have been in pursuit of revenge. "All I wanted was to avenge the destruction of my own family. I wanted to see this castle burn," she hisses at Jiro and Kurogane, suggesting that all of her performances of genuine emotion have been false, and she only ever wanted to get her revenge.
Vision
Vision comes up as a theme in different ways throughout the film. Initially, Ichimonji is visited by a vision in his sleep, a dream that signals to him that he must choose a successor. He trusts his vision, even if he does not have a good sense of his sons' characters. Then, later, he begins to have visions in his madness that show him all of his wrongdoings. He has visions that cause him to feel remorse and haunt him like ghosts. He must come to terms with his own sight, his ability to see that which he has done wrong.
Ichimonji's visions of the past are juxtaposed with the literally visually impaired Tsurumaru, the brother of Sué, whose eyes Ichimonji gouged out himself. Tsurumaru is someone who has been deprived of vision by the violence of Ichimonji's regime, a horrifying reminder of all of Ichimonji's sins. When Tsurumaru plays his flute, he sends Ichimonji into a panic; the music has the effect of putting Ichimonji face-to-face with the harm he has caused.
