Yojimbo

1961 · directed by Akira Kurosawa

Rating

90/100

Hit

yes

Prestige lists

Criterion

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

Yojimbo (1961), directed by Akira Kurosawa, rates 90/100 — a hit. See how its director, cast and crew rate across their careers.

Cast

• Toshirō Mifune
• Tatsuya Nakadai
• Yōko Tsukasa
• Isuzu Yamada
• Daisuke Katō
• Seizaburō Kawazu
• Takashi Shimura
• Hiroshi Tachikawa
• Yōsuke Natsuki
• Eijirō Tōno

Crew

• Kazuo Miyagawa — Director of Photography
• Akira Kurosawa — Editor
• Masaru Satō — Original Music Composer
• Akira Kurosawa — Screenplay
• Ryuzo Kikushima — Screenplay

More from Akira Kurosawa

1. Seven Samurai (1954) — 100/100 · hit
2. Rashomon (1950) — 99/100 · hit
3. Ikiru (1952) — 91/100 · hit
4. Ran (1985) — 91/100 · hit
5. High and Low (1963) — 91/100 · hit
6. Throne of Blood (1957) — 90/100 · hit

How these numbers work: Methodology