Seven Samurai Analysis

Courage in “Seven Samurai”, by Kurosawa
In the film “Seven Samurai”, Akira Kurosawa the director portrays courage through the characters such as the samurais but and the peasants. The story is set in the Sengoku period, which meant that Japan was undergoing numerous civil wars, and bandits were raiding a starving small village where Kambei and the 6 other samurais decide to protect later on in the film. In this essay, I will discuss the ways in which Kurosawa shows courage firstly in Kambei and between the male and the female, secondly its link to Aristotle’s idea on courage, love (both romantically, and in the family), and thirdly its relevance in post war Japan.
The main character Kambei Shimada is a ronin who rescues a hostage child from a thief in the village, gathers six more samurais in order to defend that village form being attacked by bandits. It is easy to consider that he is the most courageous person throughout the film. He has agreed to fight for the peasants,

For example, peasant men are required to join the squad to fight the bandits. Therefore, the courage to fight the bandits, who are considered immensely stronger than the practically unarmed peasants, is only shown in men. However for women, the ability to go against the men is shown to be courageous. It is clear in two scenes. First, to protect her pride as a wife of Rikichi, Rikichi’s wife (who was taken by the bandits) forced herself back into the fire when she saw Rikichi (from 2hr 18min). This could be linked to Aristotle’s idea of enduring the pain (of the fire instead of going back to Rikichi in her case) being a “beautiful thing, and not doing so would be a shameful thing.”(p.54) Second, Shino decided to stay as a peasant as her father Manzo wished, even after having a relationship with Katsushiro (from 3hr 24min). For Shino, courage is to remain in the village and not prioritising her love for Katsushiro after the