Episode #27 – Throne of Blood (蜘蛛巣城)
Throne of Blood (1957)
蜘蛛巣城 [Kumonosu-Jô]
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Written by Akira Kurosawa and Ryûzô Kikushima
Based on the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Returning to their lord’s castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit’s prophecy comes true, Washizu’s scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit’s prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa’s resetting of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
Cast
Toshirô Mifune – Taketori Washizu
Isuzu Yamada – Asaji Washizu
Akira Kubo – Yoshiteru Miki
Takashi Shimura – Noriyasu Odagura
Minori Chiaki – Yoshiaki Miki
Hiroshi Tachikawa – Kunimaru Tsuzuki
Takamura Sasaki – Kuniharu Tsuzuki
Chieko Naniwa – The Spirit of Spider’s Web
