The Horseman
Tajomaru has been captured by a man by the river who says that he fell off his horse and was injured by the arrows he carried due to the fall. The bandit laughs at the man, and begins to tell his version of the story, and just before we enter his perspective of that day Kurosawa cuts to a wide shot of a horseman engulfed in shadow riding a horse across a low horizon as the sun pierces through the clouds above. This shot makes you feel like the heavens have opened up and a hero is riding in from another realm—this is Kurosawa showing us how Tajomaru feels about himself and how he wants others to see him.
The Veiled Woman
When we are first introduced to Masako, the samurai's wife, it is from the point of view of Tajomaru. Kurosawa shows the sun shining through the trees into a stream that leads to the woman’s white horse, finally leading to Masako, dressed in all white. The shot of the sun-soaked forest suggests a connection to nature as well as to sensuality, and with the white of the horse and Masako’s clothing there is also a connection to her purity. This images essentially shows us what it is that Tajomaru wants: he sees this beauty and purity and is sensually captivated, to the point that he will do whatever he has to in order to take it for himself, regardless of morality or consequence.
The Courtyard
The courtyard is a formal, institutional space that is represented on-screen with straight lines that divide the cinematic frame into a neat grid. The viewer occupies the perspective of the judge, facing the testifiers in the foreground and the witnesses in the background. The image creates an officious atmosphere that contrasts with the often unruly testimony of each storyteller.
The Forest
As the woodcutter heads into the forest, Kurosawa shoots the action with fluid, kinetic camerawork. Each frame has movement and dynamism, linking the steady steps of a man walking into the forest to a drumbeat that suggests a larger connection that man has with nature. This sequence also represents Kurosawa bringing the viewer from the reality of the frame narrative into the murky world of storytelling.
