Overview

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.

Cast

Toshirō Mifune

Sanjuro Kuwabatake / The Samurai

Tatsuya Nakadai

Unosuke, gunfighter

Yōko Tsukasa

Nui

Isuzu Yamada

Orin

Daisuke Katō

Inokichi

Seizaburō Kawazu

Seibê - brothel operator

Takashi Shimura

Tokuemon, sake brewer

Hiroshi Tachikawa

Yoichiro

Yōsuke Natsuki

Kohei's Son

Eijirō Tōno

Gonji, Tavern Keeper

Kamatari Fujiwara

Tazaemon

Ikio Sawamura

Hansuke