Seven Samurai 1956

A gang of marauding bandits approaches a mountain village, and the bandit chief recalls that they have previously ransacked it. Determined to spare the village until after the barley harvest in several months, one of the villagers overhears this unsettling conversation. When he returns home to share the grim news, the villagers find themselves torn between the choice to surrender their crops or fight back against the looming threat. In their confusion, they turn to the village elder, who advises them to hire samurai to defend their home. Although some villagers are hesitant due to the high cost of samurai and their notorious attraction to young women, they realize they have no other option. The elder, recognizing the villagers have little to offer except food, instructs them to “find hungry samurai.”

The men journey into the city but initially face disappointment after being turned away by every samurai they approach, often facing rude rejections due to their inability to pay beyond offering meals. Just when hope seems lost, they witness an impressive act by an aging samurai, Kambei, who executes a dramatic rescue of a young boy held hostage by a thief. A young samurai named Katsushiro then approaches Kambei, seeking to be his apprentice. Kambei, however, insists on a friendship instead. The farmers plead with Kambei to help defend their village, and to their delight, he agrees. Along with Katsushiro’s assistance, he recruits four additional masterless samurai (rnin) from the city, each possessing unique skills and personalities. Though initially planning to gather seven samurai, Kambei decides to leave with only four due to time constraints. When the villagers insist on including Katsushiro, he reluctantly agrees, and a foolish but determined samurai named Kikuchiyo, whom Kambei had dismissed, follows them to the village despite attempts to dissuade him.

Upon arriving at the village, the samurai find the villagers cowering inside their homes, fearful of these supposed warriors. The samurai feel insulted by the lack of a warm welcome, especially for those willing to help for little reward, and they seek an explanation from the elder. Just then, a panic arises as villagers suddenly dash from their hiding places, pleading for the samurai’s protection against the bandits—an alarm falsely raised by Kikuchiyo, who chastises the frightened villagers for their earlier behavior. This moment reveals Kikuchiyo’s underlying intelligence, leading the samurai to accept him into their ranks, thereby completing the team of the “seven samurai.”

As preparations for the siege begin, the villagers slowly start to trust their hired warriors. However, tensions rise when the samurai uncover the villagers’ past crimes of killing and robbing fleeing samurai. They are shocked and outraged, with Kyz, the most composed samurai, expressing a desire to take vengeance on the villagers. Nevertheless, the clownish Kikuchiyo passionately defends the farmers, highlighting their struggles against oppression from the warrior class and revealing his origins as a farmer’s son. “But who made them like this?” he questions Kambei, “You did!” This revelation shifts the samurai’s anger to shame, leading to an atmosphere of compassion as they discreetly share their rice with a grieving old woman.

As preparations for defense continue, including fortifications and training for battle, a budding love affair ignites between Katsushiro and Shino, the daughter of one of the villagers, who disguises herself as a boy to evade the unwanted attention of samurai warriors.

As the fateful raid approaches, a skirmish results in the deaths of two bandit scouts, while one captured scout reveals the location of the bandit camp. Three samurai, accompanied by a villager, launch a pre-emptive strike, resulting in the death of many bandits. However, during the chaos, samurai Heihachi faces a tragic end as he loses control upon witnessing his villager friend’s wife commit suicide. When the bandits arrive soon after, their superior numbers and weaponry pose a serious challenge. Kyz takes it upon himself to raid a bandit camp for their muskets, and after a successful retrieval, Kikuchiyo, sick with envy over Kyz’s accolades, abandons his post to claim another musket. Unfortunately, this decision leads to dire consequences as many farmers, left vulnerable, are killed during the ensuing battle.

Although the samurai operate a strategy where they allow bandits to enter one at a time, targeting them individually, multiple bandits manage to infiltrate the village. On the second night, Kambei anticipates the villagers’ exhaustion and prepares them for a major showdown. As dawn breaks, the bandits confront the samurai, and Kambei orders the last remaining defenders to allow all 13 bandits to enter simultaneously. The chaos that ensues sees most bandits killed easily, save for their leader who remains hidden and dishonorably shoots Kyz in the back.

In a desperate attempt for revenge, the heartbroken Katsushiro is quickly overshadowed by an enraged Kikuchiyo who charges forward, only to be mortally wounded himself. Before dying, Kikuchiyo manages to kill the bandit chief, finally earning his place as a true samurai. In the aftermath, Kambei and Shichirji look on sadly, acknowledging, “we’ve survived once again,” while Katsushiro mourns his fallen comrades. Although the battle concludes in favor of the villagers, the three surviving samurai are left reflecting on their significant losses.

As they observe the villagers joyously sowing their next rice crop, the remaining samurai grapple with their roles within the social hierarchy: despite their victory, they find themselves as the defeated party. Kambei ponders, “Again we are defeated. The farmers have won. Not us,” a poignant remark that echoes the film’s intricate examination of the warrior-farmer relationship, underscoring the irony of their honorable quest leading only to their profound sense of loss.