In feudal Japan, a young daimyō named Asano is assigned to host envoys from the imperial court under the supervision of Kira, a protocol official. Asano's principles clash with Kira's demands, and an incident at Edo Castle leaves his retainers without a lord, now masterless ronin. They must now decide what loyalty means.

How it was made

Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and produced by Toho, the film adapts the story of the forty-seven ronin. Toshiro Mifune leads a cast that includes nearly everyone under contract to the studio at the time, and Setsuko Hara appears in what was her final film. It was shot in Eastmancolor, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and a score by Akira Ifukube.

Reception and legacy

It opened in Japan on November 3, 1962, and was Toho's fourth highest-grossing film that year. In the United States it was distributed as 47 Samurai. In 1965, a 207-minute version played for 41 weeks in Berkeley before reaching New York.