A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.
Direction
Kudō's final siege: 25 minutes of pure carnage.
Writing
The villain you hate, the defender you pity.
Director
Eiichi Kudō
Chiezo Kataoka
Shinzaemon Shimada
Kōtarō Satomi
Shinrokuro Shimada
Ryōhei Uchida
Hanbei Onigashira
Tetsuro Tamba
Doi Ōkō Toshi
Satomi Oka
Koen
Sumiko Fuji
Kayo
Yuriko Mishima
Chiyo Makino
Kantarō Suga
Naritsugu
Akira Shioji
Yahachi Horii
Kō Nishimura
Kujuro Hirayama
Kanjūrō Arashi
Saheita Kuranaga
Ryūnosuke Tsukigata
Makino Tsuyoshi
Chōichirō Kawarasaki
Makino Yoshio
Michitarō Mizushima
Sawara Heizo
Kunio Kaga
Higuchi Gennai
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1963 original inspired Takashi Miike's 2010 remake, but purists argue Kudō's quieter desperation hits harder.
The 25-minute battle sequence was shot in near-real-time with hundreds of extras—unprecedented for 1963 Japanese cinema.
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